Mazzaroth

Mazzaroth
1) Bethulah-Virgo The Seed of the woman shall come
2) Mozonaim-Libra There shall be a price paid by Him for a purchased

possession
3) Akrab-Scorpio The price shall be a conflict w/ the serpent foe

and the Victor will have His heel wounded
4) Kesit-Sagittarius He shall be sent swiftly, surely as an arrow from

a bow
5) Gedi-Capricorn He shall be slain as a sacrifice
6) Deli-Aquarius He shall rise again and pour blessings upon His

people
7) Dagim-Pisces His people shall be multitudes and held in union

w/ each other
8) Telah-Aries He who was slain, whose heel was bruised,

shall rule and tread His enemies under foot
9) Shur-Taurus He shall come in power, triumphant and have

dominion
10) Thaumim-Gemini He shall be the Son of Elohim and the Son of

man, the victim and ruler
11) Klana-Cancer He shall hold fast His possessions, and the

rewards of His work
12) Arie-Leo He shall finally put all His enemies under foot
and execute judgment
Enoch 48:3 Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the
stars of the heaven were made, His name (Son of Man) was named
before the Lord of Spirits.
Josephus Antiquities Book 1 Chapter 2

He (Adam) had indeed many other children, (8) but Seth in particular. As for the rest, it
would be tedious to name them; I will therefore only endeavor to give an account of
those that proceeded from Seth. Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to
those years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous
man; and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind
him who imitated his virtues. (9) All these proved to be of good dispositions. They
also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in a happy condition,
without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died.
They (Seth & children) also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of
wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order.
Josephus Antiquities Book 1 chapter 3
9. Now when Noah had lived three hundred and fifty years after the Flood, and that all
that time happily, he died, having lived the number of nine hundred and fifty years.
But let no one, upon comparing the lives of the ancients with our lives, and with the
few years which we now live, think that what we have said of them is false; or make
the shortness of our lives at present an argument, that neither did they attain to so
long a duration of life, for those ancients were beloved of God, and [lately] made by
God himself; and because their food was then fitter for the prolongation of
life, might well live so great a number of years: and besides, God afforded
them a longer time of life on account of their virtue, and the good use
they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries, which
would not have afforded the time of foretelling [the periods of the stars]
unless they had lived six hundred years; for the great year is completed
in that interval. Now I have for witnesses to what I have said, all those that have
written Antiquities, both among the Greeks and barbarians; for even Manetho, who
wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the Chaldean Monuments,
and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus the Egyptian, and those
who composed the Phoenician History, agree to what I here say: Hesiod also, and
Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus
relate that the ancients lived a thousand years. But as to these matters, let every one
look upon them as he thinks fit.
Astrology is bad but is Astronomy?

Deu 18:14 For these nations whom you shall expel listen to observers of clouds,
and to those divining. But as to you, Jehovah your God has not given to you to do
so.
H6049 ‫‛ ענן‬ânan
anan
2Ch 33:5 And he built altars to all the host of the heavens in the two courts of the
house of Jehovah.
2Ch 33:6 And he made his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of
Hinnom, and did magic and divined, and used sorcery, and used mediums and
conjurers; he multiplied the doing of the evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke
Him to anger.
Isa 2:5 Oh house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.
Isa 2:6 For You have forsaken Your people, the house of Jacob, because they are
filled from the east, and are spirit-knowers like the Philistines. And they clap
hands with children of foreigners.
Mic 5:12 And I will cut off sorceries out of your hand, and there shall not be ones
divining.
Lev 19:26 You shall not eat with the blood; you shall not divine, nor conjure spirits.
Total KJV Occurrences: 11
observed, 2
2Ch_33:6 (2) soothsayers, 2 Isa_2:6 (2), Mic_5:12 bring, 1 Gen_9:14 enchanters,
1 Jer_27:9 meonenim, 1 Jdg_9:37 observe, 1 Lev_19:26 observer, 1 Deu_18:10
observers, 1
Deu_18:14 sorceress, 1 Isa_57:3
Gal 4:10 You observe days and months and seasons and years.
Psa 19:1 To the chief musician. A Psalm of David. The heavens are recounting the
glory of God, and the expanse proclaiming His handiwork.
Psa 19:2 Day by day they pour forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech, nor are there words where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their measuring line has gone out through all the earth, and their words to
the end of the world; in them He has set up a dwelling-place for the sun,
Book of Enoch Chapter 35
1Then I proceeded to the extremities of the earth southwards; where I saw three gates open to the south,
from which issued dew, rain, and wind.
2From there I went to the extremities of heaven eastwards; where I saw three heavenly gates open to the
east, which had smaller gates within them. Through each of these small gates the stars of heaven passed on,
and proceeded towards the west by a path which was seen by them, and that at every period of their
appearance.
3When I beheld them, I blessed; every time in which they appeared, I blessed the Lord of glory, who had
made those great and splendid signs, that they might display the magnificence of this works to angels
and to the souls of men; and that these might glorify all his works and operations; might see the effect of
his power; might glorify the great labour of his hands; and bless him for ever.
Rom 10:17 Then faith is of hearing, and hearing through the Word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, Did they not hear? Yes, rather, "into all the earth their voice
went out, and to the ends of the world their words." LXX-Psa. 18:5; MT-Psa. 19:4
Psa 147:4 He appoints the number of the stars; He calls to them all by names.
Isa 40:25 To whom then will you compare Me, or am I equaled, says the Holy One?
Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and look: Who has created these? Who brings
out their host by number? By greatness of vigor, and might of power, He calls
them all by names; not one is lacking.
Jer 31:35 So says Jehovah, who gives the sun for a light by day, the laws of the
moon, and the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves
roar, Jehovah of Hosts is His name.
Amo 5:8 He who created the Pleiades and Orion, and turns the deep darkness into
the morning, and He darkened the day into night; who calls for the waters of the
sea and pours them out on the face of the earth, Jehovah is His name;
Isa 13:10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations shall not give light;
the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not reflect its
light.
Isa 27:1 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish
Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the
dragon that is in the sea.
Job 9:9 who made the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;
Job 26:13 By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens; his hand hath formed the
crooked serpent.
Job 38:31 Can you bind the bands of the Pleiades, or loosen the cords of Orion?
Job 38:32 Can you bring out the constellations in their season; or can you guide the
Bear with its sons?
Job 38:33 Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion
thereof in the earth?
Wis 7:17 For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists, to know the
structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
Wis 7:18 the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices
and the changes of the seasons,
Wis 7:19 the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
Gen 37:9 And he dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers. And he
said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream: And, behold, the sun and the moon
and the eleven stars were bowing themselves to me.
6. Joseph's Dream
If we realize that the Hebrews were quite familiar with the same constellation figures
t hat we have inherited through the Greeks, several indirect allusions to them gain
an added meaning. Thus Joseph dreamed that “the sun and the moon and eleven stars
made obeisance” to him (Gen_37:9). The twelve constellations of the zodiac are the
twelve among which the sun and moon move, and thus constitute, as it were, their
family. Eleven of them therefore represented eleven sons of Jacob, Joseph himself being
of course the twelfth. There is some evidence that the time came when the suggestion of
this dream was acted upon to the extent that some of the tribes adopted certain of the
constellation figures by way of crest or armorial bearing. In Nu 2 it is stated that each of
the four camps into which the host of Israel was divided had its own standard:
7. The Standards of the Tribes
“Neither the Mosaic law nor the Old Testament generally gives us any intimation as to
the form or character of the standard (deghel). According to rabbinical tradition, the
standard of Judah bore the figure of a lion, that of Reuben the likeness of a man, or
of a man's head, that of Ephraim the figure of an ox, and that of Dan the figure of an
eagle; so that the four living creatures united in the cherubic forms described by
Ezekiel were represented upon these four standards” (Keil and Delitzsch,
Commentary on the Pentateuch, III, 17). A variant of this tradition gives as the
standard of Reuben, “unstable as water” (Gen_49:4 the King James Version), a Man
and a River, and of Dan, “Dan shall be a serpent in the way” (Gen_49:17), an Eagle
and a Serpent. These four forms are also found in the constellations in the four
quarters of the heavens. Aquarius, the man with a stream of water, and Leo were the
original zodiacal constellations of the two solstices, Taurus was that of the spring
equinox, and Aquila and Serpens were close to the autumnal equinox, the latter
being actually upon the colure.
8. The Cherubim
This distribution of the four cherubic forms in the four quarters of heaven gives a special
significance to the invocation used by Hezekiah and the Psalmist, “Thou that dwellest
between the cherubims” (Isa_37:16 King James Version: Psa_80:1 the King James
Version). The Shekinah glory rested indeed between the golden cherubim over the
ark in the Holy of Holies, but “the Most High dwelleth not in houses made with
hands” (Act_7:48), and the same cherubic forms were pictured on the curtains of the
heavens. “Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee”
(1Ki_8:27); 'Thou dwellest between the cherubim,' filling the infinite expanse of the
stellar universe.
9. Balaam's Prophecy
When Balaam saw “Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God
came upon him” (Num_24:2), it was not unnatural that he should allude in his prophecy
to the great standards which he would see floating above the camps, and three of the four
appear to be indicated: the bull of Joseph - “He hath as it were the strength of the wild-
ox”; the lion of Judah - “He lay down as a lion and as a great lion,” the King James
Version; and Aquarius, the man pouring out a stream of water from a pitcher, the
cognizance of Reuben - “Water shall flow from his buckets” (Num_24:7, Num_24:8,
Num_24:9).
In a similar way when the prophets refer to the enemies of Israel under the figure of
dragons or reptiles, there seems occasionally an indirect reference to the serpents
that represent the powers of evil in the pictures that have been associated with the
star groups. Thus in Isa_27:1, the English Revised Version, it is prophesied that the
Lord “shall punish leviathan the swift serpent, and leviathan the crooked serpent;
and He shall slay the dragon that is in the sea”; the first allusion being appropriate to
the attitude of Hydra, the second to Draco, the third to Cetus. Whilst the group of
constellations, Andromeda, Cetus and Eridanus, the woman persecuted by a dragon
that casts a river out of its mouth, a river which flowing down below the horizon
appears to be swallowed up by the earth, would seem to have furnished John with
some of the material for the imagery of Rev 12 in his great vision.
Act 28:11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had
wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux.
Summary of what the Constellations teach
1) Bethulah-Virgo The Seed of the woman shall come
2) Mozonaim-Libra There shall be a price paid by Him for a purchased

possession
3) Akrab-Scorpio The price shall be a conflict w/ the serpent foe

and the Victor will have His heel wounded
4) Kesit-Sagittarius He shall be sent swiftly, surely as an arrow from

a bow
5) Gedi-Capricorn He shall be slain as a sacrifice
6) Deli-Aquarius He shall rise again and pour blessings upon His

people
7) Dagim-Pisces His people shall be multitudes and held in union

w/ each other
8) Telah-Aries He who was slain, whose heel was bruised,

shall rule and tread His enemies under foot
9) Shur-Taurus He shall come in power, triumphant and have

dominion
10) Thaumim-Gemini He shall be the Son of Elohim and the Son of

man, the victim and ruler
11) Klana-Cancer He shall hold fast His possessions, and the

rewards of His work
12) Arie-Leo He shall finally put all His enemies under foot
and execute judgment
Gospel in stars?
http://philologos.org/__eb-tws/
http://philologos.org/__eb-mazzaroth/
Rom 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our
report?
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Rom 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words unto the ends of the world.
Psa 19:1 <To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.> The heavens declare the glory of God; and
the firmament sheweth his handywork.
Psa 19:2 Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
Psa 19:3 There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Psa 19:4 Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In
them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,
Psa 19:5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to
run a race.
Psa 19:6 His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and
there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from
the night; and let them be for signs (flag, beacon, monument), and for seasons, and for days, and
years:
Psa 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Psa 148:3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.
Isa 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out
their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is
strong in power; not one faileth.
Bereshit (Genesis) 11:27-32 This is the account of Terah. Terah became the father of Abram,
Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. While his father Terah was still alive,
Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. Abram and Nahor both married. The
name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah; she was the daughter
of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iscah. Now Sarai was barren; she had no children. Terah
took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his
son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they
came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran.
"Ur of the Chaldeans" literally means "Light of the Astrologers".
Bamidbar (Numbers) 24:15-19 Then he uttered his oracle: "The oracle of Balaam son of Beor, the
oracle of one whose eye sees clearly, The oracle of one who hears the words of God, who has
knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and
whose eyes are opened: "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out
of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the
sons of Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow
strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city."
II Luqas (Acts) 28:11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the
island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux.
Isa 13:10 For the stars of the sky and its Mazzarot will not give their light. The sun will be
darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.
Job 9:9 Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south.
Job 38:32 Can you lead forth the Mazzarot in their season? Or can you guide Ayish with her
cubs?
Amo 5:8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into
the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and
poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name:
Psa 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
Deu 4:14 And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that
ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
Deu 4:15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the
day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
Deu 4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure,
the likeness of male or female,
Deu 4:17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth
in the air,
Deu 4:18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in
the waters beneath the earth:
Deu 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the
moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve
them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
"When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to
follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one
who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer,
or an augur, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For whoever
does these things is an abomination to the LORD; and because of these abominable practices the
LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your
God. For these nations, which you are about to dispossess, give heed to soothsayers and to
diviners; but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you so to do. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)
2Ki 23:3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the
LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart
and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the
people stood to the covenant.
2Ki 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn
incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them
also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets (mazzalot),
and to all the host of heaven.
Shoftim (Judges) 5:19-20 "Melakim (Kings) came, they fought; the kings of Canaan fought at
Taanach by the waters of Megiddo, but they carried off no silver, no plunder. From the heavens
the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 13:6-10 Wail, for the day of HaShem is near; it will come like destruction from
the Almighty. Because of this, all hands will go limp, every man's heart will melt. Terror will seize
them, pain and anguish will grip them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look
aghast at each other, their faces aflame. See, the day of HaShem is coming--a cruel day, with
wrath and fierce anger--to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of
heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened and the
moon will not give its light.
Constellation: Bethulah
Meaning......: Virgin
Star...: Tsemech
Meaning: Branch. Used exclusively of the Messiah. Jer 23:5-6, Zech 3:8, Zech 6:12 Isa 4:2.
Star...: Zavijaveh
Meaning: Gloriously beautiful. Isa 4:2
Constellation: Mozanaim
Meaning......: Scales. Iyov (Job) 31:6, Eze 45:10

Jacob's son Joseph who is a prophet of God makes use of a prophetic tool called a "cup of
divination":
Bereshit (Genesis) 44:1-5 Now Joseph gave these instructions to the steward of his house: "Fill
the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry, and put each man's silver in the mouth of his
sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one's sack, along with the
silver for his grain." And he did as Joseph said. As morning dawned, the men were sent on their
way with their donkeys. They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, "Go
after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid
good with evil? Isn't this the cup my master drinks from and also uses for divination? This is a
wicked thing you have done.'"
And has predictive dreams with what is clearly astronomical meaning. The only way to correctly
interpret his dream is my means of astronomy. His father immediately understands Joseph's
dream of the sun and the moon being references to himself and his wife:
Bereshit (Genesis) 37:5-10 Joseph had a dream, and when he old it to his brothers, they hated
him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain
out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered
around mine and bowed down to it." His brothers said to him, "Do you intend to reign over us?
Will you actually rule us?" And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had
said. Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said, "I had another
dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me." When he told
his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had?
Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before
you?"
This further suggests that Jacob himself understood astronomy. These predictions of Joseph are
fulfilled EXACTLY, see: Bereshit (Genesis) 45:9-12. Joseph is further described in scripture as a
"God fearing man" Bereshit (Genesis) 42:18, who receives the blessing of his father Jacob after his
prophesy with its astronomical symbolism concerning him comes to pass.
Scripture clearly states that Daniel was "learned" in the knowledge of the Chaldean astrologers
and in fact was made "Chief of the astrologers":
Daniel 4:4-9 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous. I had a
dream that made me afraid. As I was lying in my bed, the images and visions that passed through
my mind terrified me. So I commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be brought before me to
interpret the dream for me. When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners came, I
told them the dream, but they could not interpret it for me. Finally, Daniel came into my presence
and I told him the dream. (He is called Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and the spirit of
the holy gods is in him.) I said, "Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the
holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.
VIII. Book of Jubilees and the celestial bodies?
Jubilees, Chapter 12:15... And Terah went forth from Ur of the Chaldees, he and his sons, to go
into the land of Lebanon and into the land of Canaan, and he dwelt in the land of Haran, and
Abram dwelt with 16 Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years. And in the sixth week, in the
fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the seventh
month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what would be the
character of the year with regard 17 to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. And a
word came into his heart and he said: All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of
the sun are all in the hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out?
Pseudo Jubilee 12:16 Terah his father in Haran two weeks of years. And in the sixth week, in
the fifth year thereof, [1951 A.M.] Abram sat up throughout the night on the new moon of the
seventh month to observe the stars from the evening to the morning, in order to see what
would be the character of the year with regard
17 to the rains, and he was alone as he sat and observed. And a word came into his heart
and he said: All the signs of the stars, and the signs of the moon and of the sun are all in the
hand of the Lord. Why do I search (them) out?
18 If He desires, He causes it to rain, morning and evening; And if He desires, He withholds
it, And all things are in his hand.'
19 And he prayed that night and said, 'My God, God Most High, Thou alone art my God, And
Thee and Thy dominion have I chosen. And Thou hast created all things, And all things that
are the work of thy hands.
20 Deliver me from the hands of evil spirits who have dominion over the thoughts of men's
hearts, And let them not lead me astray from Thee, my God. And stablish Thou me and my
seed for ever That we go not astray from henceforth and for evermore.'
21 And he said, 'Shall I return unto Ur of the Chaldees who seek my face that I may return to
them, am I to remain here in this place? The right path before Thee prosper it in the hands of
Thy servant that he may fulfil (it) and that I may not walk in the deceitfulness of my heart, O
my God.'
22 And he made an end of speaking and praying, and behold the word of the Lord was sent
to him through me, saying: 'Get thee up from thy country, and from thy kindred and from the
house of thy father unto a land which I will show thee, and I shall make thee a great and
numerous nation.
23 And I will bless thee And I will make thy name great, And thou shalt be blessed in the
earth, And in Thee shall all families of the earth be blessed, And I will bless them that bless
thee, And curse them that curse thee.
24 And I will be a God to thee and thy son, and to thy son's son, and to all thy seed: fear not,
from
25 henceforth and unto all generations of the earth I am thy God.' And the Lord God said:
'Open his mouth and his ears, that he may hear and speak with his mouth, with the language
which has been revealed'; for it had ceased from the mouths of all the children of men from
the day of the
26 overthrow (of Babel). And I opened his mouth, and his ears and his lips, and I began to
speak
27 with him in Hebrew in the tongue of the creation. And he took the books of his fathers,
and these were written in Hebrew, and he transcribed them, and he began from henceforth
to study them, and I made known to him that which he could not (understand), and he
studied them during the six
28 rainy months. And it came to pass in the seventh year of the sixth week [1953 A.M.] that
he spoke to his father and informed him, that he would leave Haran to go into the land of
Canaan to see it and
29 return to him.
Antiquities of the Jews:
Book 1 - Chapter 3:9. Now when Noah had lived three hundred and fifty years after the Flood, and
that all that time happily, he died, having lived the number of nine hundred and fifty years. But let
no one, upon comparing the lives of the ancients with our lives, and with the few years which we
now live, think that what we have said of them is false; or make the shortness of our lives at
present an argument, that neither did they attain to so long a duration of life, for those ancients
were beloved of God, and [lately] made by God himself; and because their food was then
fitter for the prolongation of life, might well live so great a number of years: and besides,
God afforded them a longer time of life on account of their virtue, and the good use
they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries, which would not have
afforded the time of foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had lived six
hundred years; for the great year is completed in that interval. Now I have for witnesses
to what I have said, all those that have written Antiquities, both among the Greeks and
barbarians; for even Manetho, who wrote the Egyptian History, and Berosus, who collected the
Chaldean Monuments, and Mochus, and Hestieus, and, besides these, Hieronymus the Egyptian,
and those who composed the Phoenician History, agree to what I here say: Hesiod also, and
Hecatseus, Hellanicus, and Acusilaus; and, besides these, Ephorus and Nicolaus relate that the
ancients lived a thousand years. But as to these matters, let every one look upon them as he thinks
fit.
Job 8:8 For now ask of the former generation, and prepare to the search of their
fathers;
Job 8:9 for we are but of yesterday, and we know nothing because our days on earth
are a shadow.
Job 8:10 Shall they not teach you, speak to you, and bring forth words out of their
heart?
Book 3 chapter 10
Mention of Aries
5. In the month of Xanthicus, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our
year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this
month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,)
Reuben Taurus Shor
Simeon Gemini Teomim
Levi Cancer Sartan
Judah Leo Aryeh
Zebulon Virgo Bethulah

Issachar Libra Moznayim
Dan Scorpio Akrab
Gad Sagitarius Keshet
Asher Capricorn Ghedi
Napthali Aquarius Deli
Joseph Pisces Dagim
Benjamin Aries Toleh
Idolatry consists in revering the created thing rather than the creator. Behind the worship of sun,
moon and stars are the demonic powers of the heavenly realm (1Cor. 10:20). Angels, fallen and
unfallen, are God's instruments in the government of the physical world and nature (Hebrews
2:5). Seeking answers about the future in the stars-then or now-brings us under the control of
demonic agencies-to our own harm and destruction.
But the existence of powerful counterfeits in the world strongly suggests that there exists a real
body of truth that was lost, or corrupted by the god of this world. All ancient civilizations for
some reason have ended up with twelve only constellations (signs) of the Zodiac, and
many legends connected with these signs contain similar themes and stories. In studying
such matters science can not be the final arbitrator, for much truth about man and his history is
passed down through the stories, traditions, through the art, music, poetry, and literature of earlier
civilizations. Our generation lives under an illusion that we know more and are more
advanced than were the men of old. The reverse is true. Mankind has been moving inexorably
downhill all the way-especially in the matter of quality of life, richness of culture and social life. We
live near the end of history, far removed from the profound realities men knew before the Flood.
STAR NAMES AND LANGUAGES
One important fact emerges here. Many star and constellation names in a variety of languages
around the world have a similar meaning. For example, one constellation was known as Virgo to
the Romans, Bethulah to the Hebrews, Parthenos to the Greeks, and Kanya to the Indians, but all
mean "VIRGIN". Linguistically, this strongly implies there was a common origin for the names. It
is accepted theory that the three main linguistic branches from which most languages diverged
had a common origin in Anatolia (see Gamkrelidze and Ivanov in Scientific American March
1990, or Colin Renfrew in Scientific American October 1989). Scripturally, this division of
languages occurred at Babel, which was near Anatolia. This would imply an origin of star and
constellation names prior to the Babel event which suggests that they may have been known as
far back as Noah and the Flood. Linguistically, that is as far back as we can go. However, the
Isaiah 40:26 statement takes us right back to the Creation and Adam.
SEASONS AND CONSTELLATIONS
The time or season of the year used to be known by the constellations passing overhead or the
one that the Sun was in. In Job 38:32 God said to His upright servant "Can you bring forth
Mazzaroth (the 12 signs) in their season?" These 12 signs form the path that the Sun appears to
take in the heavens, namely the Zodiac. The word ZODIAC comes from the Greek word ZOAD
meaning "a way, a step, a circuit, a circle". In Chaldean the word has similar associated
meanings. Psalm 19:6 actually uses the Hebrew equivalent of this word where it states that "(the
Sun) goes from one end of heaven, and his CIRCUIT is unto the other end of it:"
There is evidence that the constellation patterns making up the Zodiac, and indeed the rest of the
night sky, were formed and named by God. In Job 26:13 we find the statement "By His Spirit He
has garnished and decorated the heavens; His hand has formed the FLEEING SERPENT." Note
that in Hebrew poetic style the heavens and the fleeing serpent are connected. So we ask "Is
there a fleeing serpent in the heavens?" The answer is YES! The constellation of HYDRA. It is a
particularly apt constellation to remark upon as it is the longest constellation in the sky. It takes 7
hours to pass overhead. This comment in Job implies that the Spirit of God Himself formed and
decorated the heavens with the constellation patterns, and, as shown above, He gave them their
names as well. Obviously, Abraham was familiar with the constellation patterns and star names
because God used the message there to instruct him. What is this message?
THE STARS CARRY A GOSPEL MESSAGE
In Romans 10, Rabbi Paul gives us some key verses to help with this. Verse 15 states "and how
shall they preach except they be sent? As it is written 'How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the GOSPEL OF PEACE, and bring GLAD TIDINGS of good things'." So the bringing of
the GOOD NEWS, the GOSPEL OF PEACE is what Paul is talking about here in this context. In
verse 18, Paul then goes on to say: "But have they (the heathen) not heard? YES! Truly they
have heard! For 'their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world'."
What a fascinating statement! Paul says here that the heathen have heard the Gospel of Peace,
because "THEIR sound went into all the earth and THEIR words unto the ends of the world." The
question is who are the "THEY" that are doing the preaching? Well, if you have a marginal
reference, you find that Paul is quoting directly from Psalm 19:4 where the stars are being spoken
of. Indeed, Psalm 19:3 gives the additional information that "there is no speech or language
where (the stars) voice is not heard." Therefore, the "THEY" in Psalm 19 and Romans 10:18 are
the stars in the heavens. As a consequence, it can only be concluded that it is the stars that are
preaching the Gospel - in a particular way by their names and the arrangement of the
constellation patterns.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUN
The next point to note comes from Psalm 19:4-6. Dr. D. E. Spencer paraphrases verse 4 as "In
amongst these starry witnesses, God has established a dwelling place for the Sun." The next
verse goes on to describe the SUN as the Heavenly Bridegroom, who comes forth to run his race
and returns to his place of origin. But in the Bible, John the baptiser speaks of Christ (Messiah) as
coming down from heaven, and calls Him the "Bridegroom" (John 3:25-31). The beloved disciple
John also refers to the relationship of Christ to His Church as that of a heavenly bridegroom with
an earthly bride, while Rabbi Paul echoes the idea in Ephesians 5.
It is therefore apparent from Psalm 19 and the other passages that the Sun represents Christ, the
heavenly Bridegroom.
This idea is accentuated by the prophet Malachi. He calls Israel's Messiah the SUN of
Righteousness who will blaze forth for the sake of His people in the Last Day (Malachi 4:2). So
the Sun represents Christ, the light of the world (John 8:12), who came from heaven, ran His race
on earth, and returned to Heaven. The race that the Sun runs is given by the Zodiac
constellations or star patterns, so all the strong-man figures along the Zodiac represent Christ the
SUN of Righteousness and the work He was to do. Note further that Psalm 19 is in two parts: In
Part 1 we have the message of the stars - In Part 2 we have the message of God's word, the
Bible being discussed. One is set against the other in such a way that David, who wrote this
Psalm about 1000 BC, is implying that the message in the stars and the message in the
Scriptures are one and the same.
THE STRONG MAN CONSTELLATION FIGURES
The story told by the strong man figures of the sky has been corrupted by Greek and Roman
mythology. This was recognised by Jamieson in his Celestial Atlas published in 1822. On page
40 he states that "The Lion does not seem to have been placed among the zodiacal symbols
because Hercules was fabled to have slain the Nemean Lion. It would seem, to the contrary, that
Hercules, who represented the Sun, was said to have slain the Nemean Lion, because Leo was
ALREADY a zodiacal sign." Notice here that this nineteenth century astronomer actually states
that the Sun (the light of the world) is symbolised by the strong man Hercules. This is in
agreement with the Biblical interpretation which identifies the strong man who runs his race along
the path of the Sun as Jesus Christ the victor.
Another point is also pertinent. The Greeks thought of each of these "strong man" figures as
being a different deity. In the Biblical interpretation they represent different works of the same
person, namely Jesus Christ the Messiah. Even though it will pre-empt the discussion later, an
example may be appropriate. To the Greeks, the Zodiac sign of Gemini the Twins represented
Apollo and Hercules, the twin sons of Zeus, the chief deity. The Roman equivalent was Castor
and Pollux which star names are retained today. It is shown later that these two pictures are of
the same Lord Jesus Christ in His twin role as the Son of God and also the Son of Man.
HE ORIGIN OF MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION:
Interestingly enough, the skeptic Volney is recorded by Rolleston as saying that "Everywhere in
antiquity is the existence of the tradition of the expected conqueror of the serpent, a divine
person, born of a woman, who was to come." Rolleston noted that Volney "sees this tradition
reflected in the constellations, but why it should be there he does not say."(Part 1 page 19). A
very similar statement is made by Depuis in L'Origine des Cultes who admits that this tradition
was prevalent in all nations. Greek, Roman and other pagan mythologies have been built around
this message from the stars and as a result must be considered as a perversion of the original.
Nevertheless as Dr. D. E. Spencer concluded "Pagan mythology still retains sufficient of the truth
for you to recognise it." (Word Key "Mazzaroth," broadcast over radio HCJB 1972).
Rolleston (Part 1 p.23) elaborates on this: "Should the tradition of the Divine yet woman-born
Conqueror of the serpent, crushing His foe, but suffering from its venom, be met with among all
nations, it is only what might have been anticipated among the descendants of one common
father. From the Grecian Hercules, half human and half divine, subduing the hydra and dying
from its poison; from the Indian incarnation of the Divinity, the virgin-born Krishna, slaying a
serpent and wounded by it in the heel; to the serpent-worship of Mexico, and that of the woman-
born and unfathered deity Mexitli; this image is everywhere present, pointing to one origin of the
tradition and the race."
Dr. Spencer gave a further example of interest. In mythology "Zeus, the supreme deity of the
Greeks reigned on Mount Olympus 'in the midst' of the twelve lesser gods of the Greeks." He
then points to the pre-existent truth that has been corrupted by this mythology and makes an
important observation. "Is it not more than chance that just as the blazing fire of the Sun dwells in
the midst of the twelve constellations of Mazzaroth, so the blazing pillar of fire was the dwelling
place of Jehovah in the midst of the twelve tribes of Israel? Furthermore, can it be mere chance
that Jesus Christ, 'the Light of the world', is the One who dwelt in a tabernacle of flesh in the
midst of the twelve disciples?" (The Gospel in the Stars, pp. 20, 53).
GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM
As noted at the beginning, Galatians 3:8 says that God preached the Gospel unto Abraham. It is
important that we know when He did this as the stars were mentioned by God to Abraham on two
distinct occasions, once in Genesis 15, then again in Genesis 22. We must not confuse these two
separate incidents. Galatians 3:6 gives us the answer to this question. Rabbi Paul states that it
was on the occasion when "Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness."
Importantly as we search both Genesis passages, it becomes apparent that this quote comes
directly from Genesis 15:6. The context was given by Genesis 15:5. Abraham was childless and
had no heir. Then God "brought him forth abroad, and said, 'Look now towards heaven, and TELL
the stars if you be able to list them'; and He said unto him, 'So shall your seed be'."
Several important points emerge from this interview that Abraham had with the Almighty. In the
first place, the word "TELL" is the same census-taking word as used in Psalm 147:4 so the star
names are in view here. The second point is vital. The Almighty made a key comment when
Abraham had finished listing off the star names. He said: "So shall your seed be." Does this mean
that Abraham was to have many children? We have Rabbi Paul's exegesis of the original Hebrew
on this. In Galatians 3:16, Paul says: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made.
He said not, And to seeds (plural) as of many; but as of one, 'And to your seed (singular) WHICH
IS CHRIST!"
Here is an amazing statement! Abraham lists the star names in sequence from constellation to
constellation telling the story of the stars from their names, and God says to him "So will your
seed, the Messiah, be." Here was the promise to Abraham that the Messiah would come from his
lineage. Furthermore, the Gospel was obviously associated with these star names as Galatians
3:8 states that God preached the Gospel to Abraham on that occasion - a Gospel associated with
the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
It is important not to confuse this incident in Abraham's life with a later one. On the second
occasion in Genesis 22:17, Abraham was promised seed like "the stars of heaven and the sand
of the sea shore for multitude." This is a different interview with the Lord when the Patriarch
received a different promise. According to Paul in Galatians 3, it was specifically on the first
occasion in Genesis 15 that Messiah was promised from Abraham's lineage and Abraham
believed God. Finally note that God preached the Gospel of Christ to Abraham by this method,
and by faith Abraham accepted the message. The stars must therefore be preaching the same
message in every language around the world, because Psalm 19 states that there is no speech
or language where their voice is not heard.
THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SPHINX
Well, if there is a message in the stars, where does the story begin since the Zodiac is a circle.
An important clue is obtained from the Sphinx in Egypt. The word SPHINX comes from the Greek
word SPHIGGO which means to "bind closely together". The significance of this meaning
becomes apparent when ancient Egyptian Zodiacs are inspected. In those zodiacs such as one in
the tombs of the kings at Karnak, the sphinx curiously linked the 12 signs together. Its woman-like
face gazed upon the sign of Virgo, while its lion-like body and tail pointed to Leo. Dr Spencer
notes that several other places in the Near East have similar inscriptions. Dr Spencer writes: "The
sphinx is the key symbol which shows where the story in the stars begins and ends. It begins with
Virgo the Virgin, and the first coming of Jesus Christ as Saviour; and closes with Leo the Lion,
marking the Return of Messiah as the Lord of Glory. It begins with the story of His coming in
humility and seeming defeat, and climaxes with the story of His coming again in power and
overwhelming victory."
A PERSONAL TESTIMONY
Dr Spencer had a reason to be sure of that. On his radio study "Mazzaroth", he stated that
on one occasion in the late 1960's he preached in Los Angeles at the Church of the Open
Door on Romans 10:18 and concluded that all men had heard the Gospel in one way or
another. After the service was over a very old woman introduced herself to him. She had
been a missionary in Japan in her youth. She said to Dr Spencer: "I was sent far up into
the hills to teach a class of women who had never seen a Christian of any kind. They had
never heard the Gospel. They had never heard the name of Jesus from the lips of anyone.
It was before the days of radio and television, and few of them could even read. They were
totally without the knowledge of the Gospel of Christ as far as I knew. Yet when I had
finished telling them the beautiful story of the Redeemer, whose shed blood had paid the
price for their sins, an old crone stood to her feet and said 'Missy! That is the same story
that I have been telling my village for years, but this is the first time we have ever heard
the Redeemer's name.' Upon careful inquiry, I discovered that she had been repeating the
names of the stars along the path of the Sun from the ancient Japanese charts of the
Zodiac. These, she said, told exactly the same story that I had shared with them
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ." This missionary then went on to tell Dr. Spencer that
the Gospel message is even hidden cryptically in the characters of the Oriental alphabets.
For example, the Chinese word for "COME" consists of a figure on a large central cross
with a smaller cross on either side, while the word for "RIGHTEOUSNESS" consists of a
slain lamb over the pronoun "I."
With that introduction, we are now prepared to examine briefly the 12 signs of the Zodiac to see
what the Story says in its essence. Let us take note of the clue given by the Sphinx and begin
with the constellation Virgo.
8. Did Abram "tell out" the gospel story?
In Genesis 15:5, in the Authorised Version, we read that God told Abram to "tell" (Hebrew
"sephar") the stars, if thou be able to number (sephar) them: and he said unto him 'so shall thy
seed be'". This is usually translated in more modern versions as "count the stars" and the NKJV
adds "so shall your descendants (zera, seed) be." (NIV - "offspring").
10. The Tower of Babel?
Before continuing, we will examine one doubtful reference by Bullinger. In the Authorised Version,
the incident of the Tower of Babel refers to men "building a tower whose top may reach unto
heaven". In the original the "may reach" is not there and has been added to make sense. It
literally reads "a top unto heaven" and could indicate that the top of the tower would be dedicated
to heaven, i.e. the worship of heavenly bodies. It is this that would have angered God more than
just the building a high tower.
11. The days of the week.
For the reader's interest, this might be the best point to give the origin of the names for the days
of the week. They are all based upon the names of the planets that were those of Saxon gods
and Seiss gives the following:
Sun-day, Mun (moon) - day, Tue (Tuisco - Anglo-Saxon name for Mars) -day, Wed (Woden - A.
Sax. for Mercury) - day, Thurs (Thor - AS. for Jupiter) - day, Fri (Friga or Freiya = AS. for Venus) -
day, Satur (Saturn) -day.
That a seven day week has been known from the earliest days of antiquity and have been
followed in most civilisations is evidence that they were based upon the six days of creation and
the seventh day of rest as we read in Genesis
The start of the Zodiac
Although Rolleston said that the constellations start with Aries, Bullinger and Seiss start with
Virgo, the woman, and the last one is Leo, the lion. Bullinger contends that this is indicated as the
starting point in the Egyptian pantheon of gods by the Sphinx, which has the head of a woman
and the body of a lion. Thus the two ends are joined to complete the circle.
1. VIRGO
This is the first constellation of the circuit which the Greeks wrongly renamed Ceres. A virgin
(Is. 7:14) holding a branch (Jer. 23:5-6) and an ear of corn. Corn = seed (Latin Spica, the modern
name of this bright star. Old name was Arabic Al Zimach seed). Star Zavijaveh means "gloriously
beautiful" (Is. 4:2).
(A) Coma. Woman with a child on her lap - Name means Desire of all nations"
Albumazer, an Arabic astronomer of the 8th century, said that the Persians, Chaldeans and
Egyptians said this was a young woman (Persian = virgin) on a throne nourishing an infant boy,
having a Hebrew name Ihesu which in Greek is called Christos. Shakespeare referred to this as
"the good boy in Virgo's lap" (Titus Andronicus Act 4 Sc. 5).
Original Egyptian name Shes-nu = the desired son. Renamed by the Egyptians as Coma
Berenice = The hair or wig of Berenice.
The possible connection of this decan with the Star of Bethlehem will be discussed at the end
of this section.
(B) Centaur. Half man - half horse. Said to indicate the two natures of Christ (?). Hebrew name
is Beza or Al Beze (Arabic) = the despised (Is. 53:3)
(C) Bootes. A man with a spear and sickle (Rev. 14:15-16). Name The Coming One (Ps.
96:13). Arcturus, the name of the bright star in the left knee= the keeper (of those) going up on
the heights. Star Nekkar the pierced (Zec. 12:10).
2. LIBRA
Latin = Libra (scales). A pair of scales (Heb. Mozanaim). Arabic - Al Zubena (= purchase or
redemption).
Star names; - lower scale - Zuben al Genubi - Arabic (the price which is deficient) (Ps. 62:9) -
upper scale - Zuben al Chemali - Arabic (the price that covers). Alternative name - al Gubi
heaped up (the value of the redemption). Zuben al Akrab - The price of the conflict.
(A) Crux = the cross
(B) Lupus or Victima (Beast slain or victim)
(C) Corona = A crown
3. SCORPIO A Scorpion.
Cqptic = Isidis (the attack of the enemy)
(A) and (B) Ophiuchus and Serpens. The "strong man" Ophiuchus (serpent-holder) wrestles
with the serpent who is reaching for the crown.
The scorpion is stinging the heel of Ophiuchus, who is treading on the
scorpion (Gen. 3:15). In his heel is the star Antares (= wounding).
(C) Hercules - the mighty vanquisher. Foot is placed on the coiled dragons neck. Star Ras al
Gethi = the head of him who bruises (Gen. 3:15).
4. SAGITTARIUS - The Archer
Same meaning in several languages (Rev. 6:2). Star Naim = The gracious one.
(A) Lyra - The harp. The name indicates the praise of God. Brightest star is Vega = He shall be
exalted. (Ps. 2 1:13)
(B) Ara - the Altar. The burning fire prepared for His enemies.
(C) Draco - The Dragon. The name comes from the Greek = Trodden on (Ps. 91:13). Brightest
star Thuban = The subtle. Names of other stars all refer to similar aspects of the dragon.
5. CAPRICORNUS - The Sea Goat
Ancient pictures are half goat, half fish; i.e. the sacrifice and those who it is sacrificed for
(Christians use of the fish as a symbol). Second brightest star Deneb al Gedi = the sacrifice
cometh. Others have similar meanings.
(A) Sagitta = The Arrow that pierces (Ps. 38:2).
(B) Aquila = Eagle. This has been wounded by the arrow. Names of stars are "wounding
piercing" etc.
(C) Delphinus - The Dolphin. The one who rises.
6. AQUARIUS= The Water Bearer (Is. 44:3)
(A) Piscis Australis = The Southern Fish. Star Fom al Haut = the mouth of the fish
(B) Pegasus = The Winged Horse
(C) Cygnus = The Swan. Brightest star Deneb = The Judge or Adige = flying swiftly.
7. PISCES = The Fish.
Star names indicate "the fish (multitudes) of those who will follow"- i.e. The Church (Ps.
115:14).
(A)The Band - (that unites the two fish) (Hos. 11:4)
(B) Andromeda - The Chained Woman (who will be delivered).
(C) Cepheus - The Crowned King.
8. Aries - The Ram or Lamb (John 1:29)
Brightest star El Nath = wounded, slain; (others similar).
(A) Cassiopeia - The Beautiful Enthroned Woman. The captive woman now delivered.
Brightest star Schedir (Hebrew) = freed. 2nd star Caph = The Branch (of victory). (Is. 54:1-8,
62:3-5).
(B) Cetus - the sea monster. The enemy bound.
(C) Perseus - The Breaker. Hebrew = Peretz. Greek = Perses (Micah 2:13). Winged feet =
coming swiftly. Head he carries wrongly called Medusa by Greeks; Hebrew Rosh Satan = Head
of the Adversary.
9. Taurus - The Bull

The Pleiades = The congregation of the judge.
(A) Orion - The coming Prince. Hebrew Oarion = light. He holds a club and the head of "the
roaring lion" (1 Pet. 5:8). Betelgeuz = The coming of the branch. Rigol = the foot that crushes. Al
Nitak = the wounded one.
(B) Eridanus - The River of the Judge. Star names refer to "flowing" etc.
(Dan. 7:10; Nahum 1:8).
(C) Auriga - The Shepherd (Is. 40:10-11). Hebrew root = shepherd. Star
p Capella (Latin) = she goat.
10. Gemini - The Twins
There is some confusion of the pictures for this constellation in the different languages, but
they generally refer to two people. Probably referring to the two natures of Christ and his eventual
victory.
(A) Lepus - The Hare (the enemy); trodden under Orion's foot. Star names refer to "the
deceiver" etc.
(B) Canis Major (The Dog) or Sirius (The Prince). Sirius is the brightest of all stars. (Is. 9:6).
(C) Canis Minor - The Second Dog. Star Procyon Redeemer.
11. Cancer - The Crab
There are a variety of pictures for this constellation. The meaning is uncertain.
(A) Ursa Minor - The Little Bear. No bears found in any ancient Zodiacs. Confusion may be
from Hebrew Dohver Sheepfold, Dovh Bear.
(B) Ursa Major - The Great Bear. Possibly "Sheepfold" as Ursa Minor as Al Naish "assembled
together"; Dubhe = "Herd of animals or a flock" etc. Many stars similarly named.
(C) Argo - The Ship. Became part of Greek Argonaut story. Meaning is the "Return of the
travellers".
12. Leo - The Lion
The Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Hebrew name means "Lion hunting down its prey".
Name in other languages similar. Denebola Judge who cometh.
(A) Hydra - The Serpent. Hydra means "He is abhorred". Star names similar.
(B) Crater - The Cup. The pouring out of wrath on the wicked (Ps. 75:8).
(C) Corvus - The Raven. Birds of prey devouring the Serpent.
Truly, "Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world'." Mankind
is left with no excuses.
(from Reference 6 above, with permission of the author)
VIRGO: Seed of the Woman, Desire of nations, Man of humiliation, becomes exalted Shepherd
and Harvester.
LIBRA: The scales demand a price to be paid, Cross to endure, the Victim slain, a Crown
purchased.
SCORPIO: A Conflict, Serpent's coils, Struggle with the Enemy, the Evil Vanquisher.
SAGITTARIUS: The double-natured One triumphs as a Warrior, Pleases the Heavens, Builds
fires of punishment, Casts down the Dragon.
CAPRICORNUS: Life comes from death, He's the Arrow of God, Pierced, Springs up again in
abundant life.
AQUARIUS: Life-waters from on High, Drinking the heavenly river, Delivering the Good News,
Carrying the Cross over the earth.
PISCES: The Redeemer's People multiplied, Supported and led by the Lamb, The Bride is
exposed on earth, the Bridegroom is exalted.
ARIES: The Lamb is found worthy, the Bride is made ready, Satan is bound, the Breaker
triumphs.
TAURUS: The conquering Ruler comes, the sublime Vanquisher, the great Judgment, the ruling
Shepherd.
GEMINI: The Marriage of the Lamb, the Enemy is trodden down, the Prince comes in great Glory.
CANCER: The great Bride, the Church and Israel, are brought safely into the kingdom.
LEO: The Lion King is aroused for rending, the Serpent flees, the Bowl of Wrath is upon him, his
Carcass is devoured.
In Numbers 21, Moses designed the brazen serpent on a pole that was used of God as an oracle
of healing. 743 years later, in 2 Kings 18:4, we find that Israel had began to worship the brazen
serpent with offerings and incense. From here the image was adopted into Greek mythology
where it became the symbol of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.
Astrology
Astrology
as-trol´o-jī:
I. The Desire to Forecast the Future
1. Methods of Soothsaying
2. Divination
3. Looking in the Liver
4. The Astrologers, or Dividers of the Heavens
5. The Stargazers, or Seers of the Constellations
6. The Monthly Prognosticators, or Men Who Knew the Omens of the New Moon
II. The Worship of the Heavenly Bodies: The Form of Idolatry to Which the Israelites were
Most Prone
1. Chiun, Certainly the Planet Saturn
2. Saturn or Moloch Worship
3. Mazzaloth, or Planet Worship
4. Gadh and Meni or Star Worship
5. Lucifer, the Shining Star
III. Systems or Astrology
1. Names of the Week-Days, Due to an Astrological System
2. Origin of Modern Astrology
3. “Curious Arts” of Ephesus
Literature
I. The Desire to Forecast the Future
The desire to penetrate the future and influence its events has shown itself in all lands and
ages. But it is clear that a knowledge of the future does not lie within the scope of man's natural
powers; “divination” therefore has always been an attempt to gain the help of beings possessing
knowledge and power transcending those of man. The answer of the Chaldeans to King
Nebuchadnezzar when he demanded that they should tell his dream was a reasonable one: “There
is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter:... there is no other that can show it
before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” (Dan_2:10, Dan_2:11).
“Divination,” therefore, in all its forms is but an aspect of polytheism.
It was for the twofold reason that the arts of divination were abominable in themselves, and
gave to their votaries no knowledge of the will of God, that such arts were forbidden in the Law
(Deu_18:9-15). Israel was to be perfect with God and He would reveal to them His will perfectly
through that prophet like unto Moses whom He would send. Keil and Delitzsch in commenting
on this passage well remark: “Moses groups together all the words which the language contained
for the different modes of exploring the future and discovering the will of God, for the purpose of
forbidding every description of soothsaying, and places the prohibition of Molochworship at the
head, to show the inward connection between soothsaying and idolatry, possibly because
februation, or passing children through the fire in the worship of Moloch, was more intimately
connected with soothsaying and magic than any other description of idolatry” (Commentary on
the Pentateuch, III, 393).
1. Methods of Soothsaying
The forms of soothsaying mentioned in this catalogue are as follows: “One that practiceth
augury” (me‛ōnēn) is of uncertain etymology, but the tabbins connect it with ‛ayin, “an eye”;
literally therefore one who ogles, or who bewitches with the evil eye. “An enchanter”
(menaḥēsh), sometimes supposed to be a snakecharmer, is probably one who fascinates like a
snake; in other words a mesmerist or hypnotist. The word occurs in connection with Joseph's
divining-cup, and such cups were employed both in Babylon and Egypt, and their use was akin to
the more modern crystal-gazing, the hypnotic state being induced by prolonged staring, as in the
fascination ascribed to serpents. On this account, snakes were sometimes figured upon such cups.
Thus in Talmud we read: “If one finds vessels with delineations of the sun, the moon, or of a
serpent upon them, let him cast them into the salt sea” (‛Abhō-dhāh-Zārāh, fol 42, col. 2). “A
sorcerer” (mekhashshēph) is one who mutters incantations or speaks in ventriloquial
whispers, as if under the influence of the spirits of the dead. “A charmer” (ḥōbhēr ḥebher), is
one who inflicts a spell by weaving magical knots. “A consulter with a familiar spirit” ('ōbh),
denotes one who is possessed of a python or soothsaying demon. Such were the woman of Endor
whom Saul consulted on the eve of the battle of Gilboa (1 Sam 28) and the pythoness of Philippi
out of whom Paul cast the spirit (Act_16:16-18). The word ('ōbh) means “bottle” and either
indicates that the medium was the receptacle of the spirit or is a relic of the old tradition that genii
(jinns) might be enslaved and imprisoned in bottles by means of magical incantations. “A
wizard” (yidh‛ōnī) means a wise man, “a knowing one.” The word in Old Testament is always
used in connection with 'ōbh, and denotes a man who could interpret the ravings of the medium.
“A necromancer” (dōrēsh 'el ha-mēthīm) is one who calls up the spirits of the dead and has
intercourse with them. “Consulting the teraphim” (Eze_21:21) may have been a form of
consulting the dead, if, as is probable, the teraphim were ancestral images, raised by superstition
to the rank of household gods. The manner of consultation we do not know; but as an illustration
of the use of the image of a dead person, we may remember that a modern medium will often ask
for a portrait of a deceased relative for the alleged purpose of entering into communication with
the departed spirit.
It will be seen that these forms of soothsaying are allied to the arts which in modern times
bear the names of hypnotism and mediumship. They are more briefly referred to in Isa_8:19,
“When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits and unto the wizards,
that chirp and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should
they seek unto the dead?” Here again mediumship and spiritism are connected with the
ventriloquial whispers and mutterings, which are supposed to be characteristic of the utterances
of the dead.
2. Divination
But the first term in the catalogue, “one that useth divination” (ḳeṣem) is of wider
application. It signifies a “divider” and refers to the practice which men have followed in an
infinite variety of ways for trying to get light upon the future by resorting to what seems to them
the arbitrament of chance. The results of a battle and of the fall of dice are alike unknown
beforehand. But the second can be tested, and men assume that the result of the first will
correspond to the second. Any chance will serve; the shuffling of a pack of cards; the flight of
birds; the arrangement of dregs in a cup; nothing is too trivial for the purpose. The allotment of a
particular interpretation to a particular sign was of course purely arbitrary, but the method could
be applied in an infinite number of ways, every one of which could be worked out to an extent
only limited by the limits of the misdirected ingenuity of man. Two such forms of “divination,”
that is of “dividing,” are mentioned by Ezekiel in his description of the king of Babylon: “The
king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination
(ḳeṣem): he shook the arrows to and fro, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver”
(Eze_21:21). The arrows were either marked to represent certain courses of action, and one was
drawn out or shaken out, or else they were thrown promiscuously up into the air, and the augury
was deduced from the way in which they fell.
3. “Looking in the Liver”
“Looking in the liver” is one of the most venerable forms of divination. Here again it was a
question of “division.” Each of the various parts of the liver, its lobes, the gall bladder, the ducts
and so forth, had a special significance allotted to it, theory, apparently, being that the god to
whom the animal was sacrificed revealed his will by the way in which he molded the organ which
was supposed to be the seat of the victim's life.
It will be noted that no explicit mention is made of astrology in this catalogue of the modes of
soothsaying. But astrology was, as will be shown, closely connected with Moloch-worship, and
was most directly a form of “divination,” that is of division. Morris Jastrow the Younger indeed
considers that astrology rose from hepatoscopy, and points out that, the common designation for
“planet” amongst the Babylonians is a compound ideograph, the two elements of which signify
“sheep” and “dead.” He considers that the sacrificial sheep was offered to the deity specially for
the purpose of securing an omen. Hence, when the planets were used as omens, this name of
“slain sheep” was naturally applied to them, even as “augury,” divination by the flight of birds,
came to represent amongst the Romans all kinds of divination. “On the famous bronze model of a
liver found near Piacenza and which dating from about the 3rd century bc was used as an object-
lesson for instruction in hepatoscopy, precisely as the clay model of a liver dating from the
H̬ammurabi period was used in a Babylonian temple school, we find the edge of the liver
divided into sixteen regions with names of the deities inhabiting them corresponding to divisions
of the heavens in which the gods have their seats, while on the reverse side there is a line dividing
the liver into 'day' and 'night.' Professor Korte, in a study of this remarkable object, summing up
the results of many years of research, explains this by showing that the liver was regarded as a
microcosm reflecting the macrocosm, or, in other words, the liver of the sacrificial animal from
being originally a reflection of the soul or mind of the god to whom the animal was offered, was
brought into connection with the observation of the heavenly bodies revealing the intention of the
gods acting in concert” (Morris Jastrow, Jr., “Hepatoscopy and Astrology in Babylonia and
Assyria,” in Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., 665-66).
Three well-marked classes of astrology, that is to say of divination by the heavenly bodies,
are mentioned in Isa_47:13, as being practiced in Babylon. “Let now the astrologers, the star-
gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee.”
4. The Astrologers, or Dividers of the Heavens
The astrologers are the “dividers of the heavens” (hōbherē shāmayīm); that is to say the
significance of any stellar conjunction was made to depend upon the division of the heavens in
which it occurred. The earliest of such divisions appears to have been into the four quarters,
North, South, East, West, and astrological tablets of this character have been discovered in
considerable numbers. Thus tablet W.A.I. III, 56, 1, gives a table of eclipses for each day of the
month Tammuz up to the middle of the month, and the significance of the eclipse is connected
with the quarter in which it was seen. On the first day the eclipse is associated with the South, on
the second with the North, on the third with the East, and on the fourth with the West (Sayce,
Astronomy and Astrology of the Babylonians, 222). Tablets of this description are very instructive
since they prove that those who drew up such lists of omens had not even a rudimentary
knowledge of astronomy. For the Babylonian months were intended to be natural months, yet at
this time it was not realized that an eclipse of the sun could only take place when the moon was
invisible, that is to say about the 28th or 29th day of the month, if the calendar was correct.
Further, it was not realized that neither sun nor moon can ever be in the North in the latitude of
Babylon. Such tables of omens then were not derived, as has sometimes been supposed, from a
striking event having occurred near the time of an observed eclipse, but they must have been
drawn up on an entirely arbitrary plan.
The same principle of “division” was applied to the moon itself for the purpose of drawing
omens from its eclipses. Thus in R. C. Thompson's Reports of the Magicians and Astrologers of
Nineveh and Babylon we read in No. 268, “The omens of all lands. The right of the moon is
Akkad, the left Elam, the top Aharru, the bottom Subartu.” The constellations of the zodiac also
had omens allotted to them in a similar manner.
5. The Star-Gazers, or Seers of the Constellations
The astrologers mentioned in the Book of Daniel ('ashshāphīm) were not “dividers of the
heavens,” but mutterers of incantations. The star-gazers or seers of the stars or constellations
(ḥōzīm ba-kōkhābhīm) may be illustrated from two of Thompson's Reports. No. 216,
“Saturn has appeared in Leo. When Leo is obscured, for three years lions and jackals ... and kill
men”; and No. 239, “When Mars (apin) approaches Scorpio the prince will die by a scorpion's
sting and his son after him will take the throne.” It may be remarked that as the planet Saturn
takes three years to pass through the constellation Leo, the ravages of lions are predicted to last
for that time.
At a later date we find a complete system of astrology based upon the constellations of the
zodiac which happen to be rising at the moment when the stars were consulted. Examples of this
form of divination are found in the works of Zeuchros of Babylon, who flourished about the
beginning of our era. By his day the system had received a considerable development. Twelve
signs did not give much scope for prediction, so each sign had been divided into three equal
portions or “decans”; each decan therefore corresponding nearly to the part of the ecliptic which
the sun would pass through in a decade or “week” of 10 days of the Egyptians. A yet further
complexity was brought about by associating each one of the 36 decans with one of the 36 extra-
zodiacal constellations, and a further variety was obtained by associating each zodiacal
constellation with its sunanatéllon, or constellation rising with it; that is, at the same time; or
with its paranatéllon, or constellation rising beside it; that is, a constellation on the same
meridian. At what time these particular forms of augury by the constellations came into use we do
not know, but the division into the decans is distinctly alluded to in the 5th tablet of the Bah
Creation Epic: “4. For the twelve months he (Marduk) fixed three stars.”
6. The Monthly Prognosticators, or Men Who Knew the Omens of the New
Moon:
The monthly prognosticators were the men who knew the omens of the new moon
(mōdhī‛īm le-ḥŏdh-āshīm). At one time the error of the calendar was made the basis of
prediction. This is seen in the great astrological work based on the omens drawn up for Sargon of
Agadé, and entitled from its opening phrase Enuma anu Bel, “When the heaven god Bel” (the
“Illumination of Bel”), as, for instance, “The moon as on the 1st day is seen in its appearance on
the 27th day; evil is fixed for the land of Elam”; and “The moon as on the 1st day is seen on the
28th day: evil is fixed for the land of the Ahurru.” Other omens were drawn from the position of
the horns of the new moon when first seen; the right horn being assigned to the king and the left
to his enemies, as in Thompson's Reports, No. 25: “When at the moon's appearance its right horn
is high (literally, “long”) and its left horn is low (literally, “short”) the king's hand will conquer
land other than this.” The “monthly prognosticators” had not learned that the righthand horn is
always the higher and that the amount of its elevation depends on the time of the year, or they
kept the knowledge to themselves.
II. The Worship of the Heavenly Bodies: The Form of Idolatry to Which The Israelites Were Most
Prone
As we should naturally expect, the earliest astrological tablets relate chiefly to omens
dependent upon the two great lights, the sun and moon. There is no evidence at present available
to fix the date when the planets were first recognized as distinct from the fixed stars. Probably
this discovery was intimately connected with the formation of the constellations; it cannot have
been long delayed after it. Certainly planet-worship, and as connected with it, planetary
divination, prevailed in the Euphrates valley at a very early period.
1. Chiun, Certainly the Planet Saturn
One planet is certainly mentioned in Old Testament, and we may safely infer that the other
four were known, since this particular planet is the least conspicuous both in brightness and in
motion, and was therefore probably the last to be discovered. The reference to Saturn occurs in
Amo_5:25, Amo_5:26 : “Did ye bring unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty
years, O house of Israel? Yea, ye have borne the tabernacle of your king (the King James Version
Moloch) and the shrine of (the King James Version Chiun) your images, the star of your god,
which ye made to yourselves.” This passage was quited from Septuagint by Stephen in his
defense, “And they made a calf in those days, and brought a sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced
in the works of their hands. But God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven; as it is
written in the book of the prophets,
“Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices

Forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,
And the star of the god Rephan,
The figures which ye made to worship them” (Act_7:41-43).
The difference between the names Chiun and Rephan, is due either to Rephan being local
Egyptian name for the planet Saturn, and therefore used by the Septuagint as its equivalent, or to
an actual error of transcription in the text from which they were translating: the initial of the word
being taken as rēsh (‫ )ר‬when it should have been kāph (‫)כ‬, r instead of k. The
word should therefore be transliterated Kaivan, which was the name of the planet
Saturn amongst the ancient Arabs and Syrians, while kaimanu, “constant” or “regular,” was its
name with the Assyrians. The English Revised Version in Amo_5:26 adopts the reading of the
King James Version margin, “Siccuth your king,” Moloch meaning king; but the authority of the
Septuagint and the parallelism of the text and its general line of thought support the reading given
by some of the ancient versions and followed by the King James Version.
2. Saturn or Moloch Worship
The difficulty of the passage is that both Amos and Stephen appear to represent the worship
of the golden calf as identical with the worship of Moloch and of the planet Saturn; yet though
Kaivan is only mentioned here, the nature of the reference would imply that this deity was one
familiar both to speaker and hearers. The difficulty vanishes at once, if the plain statement of
Stephen be accepted, that when God permitted Israel to “go after the stubbornness of their heart,
that they might walk in their own counsels” (Psa_81:12) He “gave them up to serve the host of
heaven.” The worship of the golden calf was star worship; it was the solar bull, the constellation
Taurus, in which the sun was at the time of the spring equinox, that was thus represented. The
golden calf was therefore analogous to the familiar symbol of the Mithraic cult, the bull slain by
Mithra, Sol Invictus, if indeed the latter did not take its origin from this apostasy of Israel. See
CALF, GOLDEN.
And Moloch the king, the idol of the Ammonites and Phoenicians, was intimately connected
both with the solar bull and the planet Saturn. According to the rabbins, his statue was of brass,
with a human body but the head of an ox. On the Carthaginian worship of Moloch or Saturn,
Diodorus (book xx, chapter i) writes: “Among the Carthaginians there was a brazen statue of
Saturn putting forth the palms of his hands bending in such a manner toward the earth, as that the
boy who was laid upon them, in order to be sacrificed, should slip off, and so fall down headlong
into a deep fiery furnace. Hence it is probable that Euripides took what he fabulously relates
concerning the sacrifice in Taurus, where he introduces Iphigenia asking Orestes this question:
'But what sepulchre will me dead receive, shall the gulf of sacred fire me have?' The ancient fable
likewise that is common among all the Grecians, that Saturn devoured his own children, seems to
be confirmed by this law among the Carthaginians.” The parallelism of the text therefore is very
complete. The Israelites professed to be carrying the tabernacle of Yahweh upon which rested the
Shekinah glory; but in spirit they were carrying the tabernacle of the cruelest and most malignant
of all the deities of the heathen, and the light in which they were rejoicing was the star of the
planet assigned to that deity.
Moloch then was the sun as king, and especially the sun as he entered upon what might be
considered his peculiar kingdom, the zodiac from Taurus to Serpens and Scorpio, the period of
the six summer months. The connection of the sun with Saturn may seem to us somewhat forced,
but we have the most direct testimony that such a connection was believed in by the Babylonians.
In Thompson's Reports, obverse of No. 176 reads: “When the sun stands in the place of the moon,
the king of the land will be secure on his throne. When the sun stands above or below the moon,
the foundation of the throne will be secure.” The “sun” in this inscription clearly cannot be the
actual sun, and it is explained on the reverse as being “the star of the sun,” the planet Saturn. No.
176 rev. reads: “Last night Saturn drew near to the moon. Saturn is the star of the sun. This is the
interpretation: it is lucky for the king. The sun is the king's star.” The connection between the sun
and Saturn probably arose from both being taken as symbols of Time. The return of the sun to the
beginning of the zodiac marked the completion of the year. Saturn, the slowest moving of all the
heavenly bodies, accomplished its revolution through the signs of the zodiac in about 30 years, a
complete generation of men. Saturn therefore was in a peculiar sense the symbol of Time, and
because of Time, of Destiny.
3. Mazzaloth, or Planet Worship
The connection between the worship of the golden calves, of the heavenly host and of
Moloch, and of these with divination and enchantments, is brought out very clearly in the
judgment which the writer of the Book of Ki pronounces upon the apostate ten tribes: “They
forsook all the commandments of Yahweh their God, and made them molten images, even two
calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they
caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and
enchantments” (2Ki_17:16, 2Ki_17:17). The sin of apostate Judah was akin to the sin of apostate
Israel. In the reformation of Josiah, he put down the idolatrous priests that “burned incense unto
Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets (mazzālōth), and to all the host of heaven”
(2Ki_23:5). He also destroyed the 'ăshērāh and he “defiled Topheth ... that no man might make
his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech” (2Ki_23:10). “Moreover them that had
familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the teraphim, and the idols, and all the abominations that
were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away” (2Ki_23:24). The idolatries
to which the Israelites of both kingdoms were especially prone were those of the heavenly bodies,
and inextricably woven with them was the passion for employing those heavenly bodies as
omens, and in consequence for every kind of divination and witchcraft.
The word translated “planets” in 2Ki_23:5 is mazzālōth, closely akin to the mazzārōth
of Job_38:32. This rendering probably reproduces correctly the meaning of the original. R. C.
Thompson in his introduction to the Reports writes (xxvii): “The places where the gods stood in
the zodiac were called manzalti, a word which means literally 'stations,' and we are probably
right in assuming that it is the equivalent of the mazzālōth mentioned in 2Ki_23:5. The use of
the word in late Hebrew is, however, somewhat more vague, for mazzāl, though literally
meaning a constellation of the zodiac, is also applied to any or every star, and in the Berē'shīth
Rabbā', cx, it is said 'One mazzāl completeth its circuit in thirty days, another completeth it in
thirty years.'” The two bodies referred to are evidently the moon with its lunation of about 30
days, and Saturn with its revolution of about 30 years; these being the two planets with the
shortest and longest periods respectively. By a natural metonymy, mazzālōth, the complete
circuit of the zodiac, came also to mean mazzālōth, the bodies that performed that circuit, just
as in the present day we speak of a railway, which means literally the “permanent way,” when we
really mean the trains that travel upon it.
4. Gadh and Meni or Star Worship
The references in Old Testament to the planets other than Saturn are not so clear. In
Isa_65:11 two deities are apparently referred to: “Ye that forsake Yahweh, that forget my holy
mountain, that prepare a table for Fortune (Gad), and that fill up mingled wine unto Destiny
(Meni); I will destine you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter.” It is clear
that Gad and Meni are the titles of two closely associated deities, and Gesenius identifies them
with Jupiter and Venus, the Greater and Lesser Good Fortunes of the astrologers; But as I have
suggested in the Astronomy of the Bible (133, 217), if any of the heavenly bodies are here
intended (which cannot as yet be considered certain), it is more probable that they are the two
beautiful starclusters that stand on the head and the shoulder of the Bull at the old commencement
of the zodiac, as if they marked the gateway of the year - the Hyades and Pleiades. Both groups
were considered traditionally as composed of seven stars; and the two names Gadh (the Hyades)
and Menī (the Pleiades) taken together give the meaning of the “Fortunate Number,” i.e. seven.
The lectisternia - the spreading the table and mingling the wine to Gadh and Menī̌ - at the
beginning of the year to secure good fortune throughout its course, were therefore held about the
time of the Passover, as if in parody, if indeed they were not a desecration of it: heathen rites
added to one of the most solemn services of Yahweh.
5. Lucifer, the Shining Star
The planet Venus is more distinctly referred to in Isa_14:12 : “How art thou fallen from
heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!” (the King James Version). The word here rendered
Lucifer, that is, “light-bearer,” is the word hēlēl corresponding to the Assyrian mustelil, “the
shining star,” an epithet to which the planet Venus has a preëminent claim.
Mars and Mercury, the two remaining planets, are not mentioned as such in Old Testament,
but the deities connected with them, Nergal = Mars (2Ki_17:30) and Nebo = Mercury (Isa_46:1),
both occur.
III. Systems of Astrology
1. Names of the Week-Days, Due to an Astrological System
In astrology the planets were regarded as being 7 in number, but the idea that the number 7
derived its sacredness from this fact is an inversion of the true state of the case. It was that 7
being regarded as a sacred number, the number of the planets was artificially made to correspond
by including in the same class as the five wandering stars, bodies that differed so widely from
them in appearance as the sun and moon. So artificial a classification cannot have been primitive,
and it is significant that in Gen_1:14 the sun and moon are presented as being (as indeed they
appear to be) of an altogether different order from the rest of the heavenly bodies. Yet there is one
feature that they have in common with the five planets: all move among the stars within the band
of the zodiac; each of the seven makes the circuit of the mazzālōtȟ.
We owe the names of the days of the week to this astrological conception of the planets as
being 7 in number, and some writers (e.g. R. A. Proctor in his 7Myths and Marvels of Astronomy,
43-47) have supposed that the week of 7 days owed its origin to this astrological conception and
that the 7th day - Saturn's Day - became the Sabbath, the Day of Rest, because Saturn was the
planet of ill-omen and it was then unlucky to undertake any work. The way in which the
allotment of the planets to the days of the week was arrived at was the following. The Greek
astronomers and mathematicians concluded that the planet Saturn was the most distant from the
earth and that the others followed in the descending order of Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury,
Moon. In the progress of astrology there came a time when it was found necessary to assign a
planet to every hour so as to increase the number of omens it could afford. Starting then with
Saturn as presiding over the first hour of the first day, each planet was used three times over on
that day, and three planets were used a fourth time. The sun, the fourth planet, took therefore the
first hour of the second day, and gave it its name, so that Sunday followed Saturday. In like
manner the third day became the moon's day, and so on with the other planets which followed in
the order Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and again Saturn. This idea of the relative distances of
the planets was that arrived at by the astronomers of Alexandria, and was necessarily subsequent
to the reduction of the planetary motions to a mathematical system by Eudoxus and his
successors. The division of the day implied was one of 24 hours, not of 12; the Egyptian division,
not the Babylonian. But the Egyptian week was one of 10 days, the 7-day week was Semitic, and
the week implied in the system is the free week, running on continuously, the Jewish week, not
the Babylonian. For the Babylonians, though they paid some attention to the 7th day, began their
reckoning afresh at the beginning of each month. This particular astrological system therefore
owed its origin to four distinct nationalities. The conception of the influence of the planets was
Babylonian; the mathematical working out of the order of the planets was exclusively Gr; the
division of the day into 24 hours was Egyptian; the free continuous 7-day week was particularly
Jewish. These four influences were brought together in Alexandria not very long before the
Christian era. Here therefore and at this time, this particular system of astrology took its origin.
This form of astrology was readily adopted by the Jews in their degenerate days, as we find
from references in Talmud. Thus, Rabbi Chanena said to his disciples, “Go and tell Ben Laive,
the planetary influence does not depend upon days but hours. He that is born under the influence
of the sun (no matter on what day) will have a beaming face”; and so the rabbi went through the
whole list of the planets Shabbāth, fol 156, col. 1). The above was spoken as a criticism of
Rabbi Shimon Ben Laive who had written, “Whoever is born on the first day of the week will be
either a thoroughly good or a thoroughly bad man; because light and darkness was created on that
day”; and the rabbi spoke similarly for the other days. We get a relic of this superstition in our
nursery rhyme, “Monday's child is full of grace; Tuesday's child is fair of face,” etc.; and some
present-day astrologers still use the system for their forecasts. It will of course be noted that the
system takes no account of the actual positions of the heavenly bodies;. the moon does not shine
more or less on Monday than on any other day.
2. Origin of Modern Astrology
It was from Alexandrian astrology that modern astrology immediately derived its form; but
the original source of all astrology in the ancient world lay in the system of planetary idolatry
prevalent in the Euphrates valley, and in the fact that this idolatry was practiced chiefly for the
purpose of divination. At one time it was supposed that a real astronomy was cultivated at an
early time in Babylonia, but Jastrow, Kugler and others have shown that this idea is without basis.
The former writes, “The fact however is significant that, with perhaps some exceptions, we have
in the library of Ashurbanipal representing to a large extent copies from older originals, no text
that can properly be called astronomical ... It is certainly significant that the astronomical tablets
so far found belong to the latest period, and in fact to the age following on the fall of the
Babylonian empire. According to Kugler the oldest dated genuinely astronomical tablet belongs
to the 7th year of Cambyses, i.e. 522 bc” (“Hepatoscopy and Astrology in Babylonia and
Assyria,” in Proc. Amer. Phil. Soc., 667).
The conquests of Alexander the Great brought into close connection with each other the
Babylonian and Greek systems of thought, and Babylonian astrology was introduced to the
Greeks by Berosus the Chaldean priest. In Greek hands, astrology was changed from its character
of an oriental religion into the appearance of a science. In Babylonia the stars had been consulted
for the benefit of the king as representing the state; amongst the Greeks, with their strong
individualistic tendency, the fortunes of the individual became the most frequent subject of
inquiry, and the idea was originated of determining the character and fortune of a man from the
position of the stars at his birth - genethlialogy - a phase of astrology which never existed in the
Euphrates valley. This extension rendered it necessary to increase greatly the complexities of the
omens, and the progress which the Greeks had made in mathematics supplied them with the
means of doing so. Thus came into existence that complex and symmetrical system of divination
of which we have the earliest complete exposition in the writings of Claudius Ptolemy about 130
ad; a system which, though modified in details, is in effect that in use today.
3. “Curious Arts” of Ephesus
Since this mathematical astrology did not come into existence until about the commencement
of the Christian era, it is clear that there could not be any reference to its particular form in the
Old Testament. We may probably see one reference in the New Testament (Act_19:19). Of the
converts at Ephesus it is written, “Not a few of them that practiced magical arts brought their
books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the price of them, and found
it 50,000 pieces of silver.” Books of magical incantations and prescriptions were certainly
included, but it is also likely that the almanacs, tables and formulas, essential to the astrologer for
the exercise of his art, were also in the number. It was of course impossible then, as now, for the
convert to Christianity to consult astrologers or to practice astrological divination. Partly because
it was an absurdity, for the divisions of the heavens upon which the predictions are based, are
purely imaginary; the “signs” of the zodiac, and the “houses” have nothing whatsoever
correspending to them in Nature; such division is exactly that denounced by the prophets of old
as ḳeṣem, “divination.” Next, and of more importance, it ascribes to mere creatures, the planets
or the spirits supposed to preside over them, the powers that belong to God alone; it was and is
essentially idolatrous. As one of the chief living astrologers puts it, “The TRUE astrologer
believes that the sun is the body of the Loges of this solar system, 'in Him we live and move and
have our being.' The planets are his angels, being modifications in the consciousness of the
Loges” (Knowledge, XXIII, 228). Astrology is indeed referred to in the Old Testament, with other
forms of divination, and the idolatry inherent in them, but they are only mentioned in terms of the
most utter reprobation. The Jews alone of all the nations of antiquity were taught by their religion
neither to resort to such arts nor to be afraid of the omens deduced from them. Isaiah knew the
Lord to be He that “frustrateth the signs of the liars, and maketh diviners mad” (Isa_44:25), and
Jeremiah declared, “Thus saith Yahweh, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at
the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them” (Jer_10:2). And what held good for the
Jews of old holds good for us today. Above all, astrology is an attempt to ascertain the will of
God by other means than those which He has appointed - His Son, who is the Way and the Truth
and the Life, and His Holy Scriptures in which we learn of Him, and which are able to make us
“wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Ti_3:15).
Literature
Franz Boll, Sphaera: Neue griechische Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der
Sternbilder, 1903; Kugler, Kulturhistorische Bedeutung der babylonischen Astronomie, 1907;
Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babel; E. W. Maunder, Astronomy of the Bible, 1908; The Bible
and Astronomy, Annual Address before the Victoria Institute, 1908; E. W. Maunder and A. S. D.
Maunder, “Note on the Date of the Passage of the Vernal Equinox from Taurus into Aries,” in
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, LXIV, 488-507; also three papers on “The
Oldest Astronomy” in Journal of the British Astronomical Association, VIII, 373; IX, 317; XIV,
241; R. A. Proctor, Myths and Marvels of Astronomy; R. C. Thompson, Reports of the Magicians
and Astrologers of Nineveh and Babylon; G. V. Schiaparelli, Astronomy in the Old Testament;
also two papers, “I Primordi” and “I Progressi dell' Astronomia presso i Babilonesi,” in Rivista di
Scienzia, 1908; C. Virolleaud, L'astrologie chaldéenne. Le livre intitulé “Enuma Anu Bel,” 1908,
1909.

Mazzaroth

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Mazzaroth

1) Bethulah-Virgo The Seed of the woman shall come

2) Mozonaim-Libra There shall be a price paid by Him for a purchased

3) Akrab-Scorpio The price shall be a conflict w/ the serpent foe

4) Kesit-Sagittarius He shall be sent swiftly, surely as an arrow from

5) Gedi-Capricorn He shall be slain as a sacrifice

6) Deli-Aquarius He shall rise again and pour blessings upon His

7) Dagim-Pisces His people shall be multitudes and held in union

8) Telah-Aries He who was slain, whose heel was bruised,

9) Shur-Taurus He shall come in power, triumphant and have

10) Thaumim-Gemini He shall be the Son of Elohim and the Son of

11) Klana-Cancer He shall hold fast His possessions, and the

Josephus Antiquities Book 1 Chapter 2

Astrology is bad but is Astronomy?

Book of Enoch Chapter 35

Summary of what the Constellations teach

1) Bethulah-Virgo The Seed of the woman shall come

2) Mozonaim-Libra There shall be a price paid by Him for a purchased

3) Akrab-Scorpio The price shall be a conflict w/ the serpent foe

4) Kesit-Sagittarius He shall be sent swiftly, surely as an arrow from

5) Gedi-Capricorn He shall be slain as a sacrifice

6) Deli-Aquarius He shall rise again and pour blessings upon His

7) Dagim-Pisces His people shall be multitudes and held in union

8) Telah-Aries He who was slain, whose heel was bruised,

9) Shur-Taurus He shall come in power, triumphant and have

10) Thaumim-Gemini He shall be the Son of Elohim and the Son of

11) Klana-Cancer He shall hold fast His possessions, and the

"Ur of the Chaldeans" literally means "Light of the Astrologers".

Meaning: Gloriously beautiful. Isa 4:2

Meaning......: Scales. Iyov (Job) 31:6, Eze 45:10

VIII. Book of Jubilees and the celestial bodies?

Antiquities of the Jews:

Reuben Taurus Shor

Simeon Gemini Teomim

Levi Cancer Sartan

Judah Leo Aryeh

Zebulon Virgo Bethulah

Dan Scorpio Akrab

Gad Sagitarius Keshet

Asher Capricorn Ghedi

Napthali Aquarius Deli

Joseph Pisces Dagim

Benjamin Aries Toleh

STAR NAMES AND LANGUAGES

SEASONS AND CONSTELLATIONS

THE STARS CARRY A GOSPEL MESSAGE

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SUN

HE ORIGIN OF MYTHOLOGY AND TRADITION:

GOD'S PROMISE TO ABRAHAM

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SPHINX

8. Did Abram "tell out" the gospel story?

10. The Tower of Babel?

11. The days of the week.

The start of the Zodiac

(A) Crux = the cross

(B) Lupus or Victima (Beast slain or victim)

(C) Corona = A crown

Cqptic = Isidis (the attack of the enemy)

4. SAGITTARIUS - The Archer

5. CAPRICORNUS - The Sea Goat

(A) Sagitta = The Arrow that pierces (Ps. 38:2).

(C) Delphinus - The Dolphin. The one who rises.

6. AQUARIUS= The Water Bearer (Is. 44:3)