calendars and uivination in the calendars and uivination in the calendars and uivination in the calendars and uivination

ion in the
uead 8ea 8crolls: the case ol uead 8ea 8crolls: the case ol uead 8ea 8crolls: the case ol uead 8ea 8crolls: the case ol
4Q!18: 4Q2odiac calendar and 4Q!18: 4Q2odiac calendar and 4Q!18: 4Q2odiac calendar and 4Q!18: 4Q2odiac calendar and
lrontologion lrontologion lrontologion lrontologion

lelen k. }acobus lelen k. }acobus lelen k. }acobus lelen k. }acobus



1nis ucaJ 5ca 5crc||, writtcn in Aramaic, nas twc units: a zcJiac ca|cnJar anJ a
tnunJcr cmcn tcxt (urcntc|cicn). t wi|| uc sncwn tnat tnc zcJiac ca|cnJar is
matncmatica||y scpnisticatcJ. ts acccmpanyin tnunJcr cmcn tcxt nas stanJarJ
uc||cnistic para||c|s. 1nc cnrc uc|cns tc tnc |atc 6raccc-kcman pcricJ anJ tncrc is
an iJcntijiau|c Vcscpctamian uackrcunJ. 1nis scrc|| is impcrtant jcr tnc stuJy cj
tnc Jcvc|cpmcnt cj tnc jcwisn ca|cnJar, tnc nistcry cj astrcncmy, astrc|cy, anJ
ancicnt scicncc.

1he corpus ol mainly lebrew texts lound in the caves at and around
Qumran, by the uead 8ea, known as the uead 8ea 8crolls, consists ol the
remains ol a large body ol writings by dillerent }ewish groups who
llourished in lsrael around 2,000 years ago.
1

1here are a substantial number ol biblical texts lrom which scholars are
currently learning about the textual development ol dillerent books in the
lebrew lible.
2
1he archives ol those who wrote or preserved the scrolls also
contain a variety ol non-biblical texts, these include prayers, biblical
commentaries, rules ol a community who may have lived at Qumran or
belonged to its sect, dillerent kinds ol calendars, and two texts which
explicitly use the zodiac.
!



1 lhilip k. uavies, '8ect lormation in larly }udaism', in uavid }. chalcralt, ed.,
5cctarianism in ar|y juJaism (london: lquinox, 200), pp. 1!!-, oeza Vermes, 1nc
ccmp|ctc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s in n|isn (london: lenguin, 199), pp. 26-90.
2 lor a translation ol the biblical scrolls lor the general reader, see: martin Abegg,
leter llint and lugene Llrich, eds., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s 8iu|c: 1nc o|Jcst kncwn 8iu|c
1rans|atcJ jcr tnc lirst 1imc intc n|isn (New York: larpercollins, 1999).
! lor the most current translation ol the non-biblical scrolls lor general readers,
see: michael wise, martin Abegg and ldward cook, eds., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s: A Ncw
1rans|aticn (New York: larpercollins, 200), [herealter wise et al., ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s],
matthias Albani, 'loroscopes', in l.l. 8chillman and }.c. Vanderlam, eds.,
ncyc|cpcJia cj tnc ucaJ 5crc||s (Oxlord: Oxlord Lniversity lress, 2000), [herealter
Albani, 'loroscopes'], pp. !0-!, mathias Albani, 'loroscopes in the Qumran

lelen k. }acobus




!0
One ol these is a zodiacal physiognomic text in lebrew, written in code,
4

and the other is lunar zodiac calendar with a divination text, catalogued as
4Q!18 (4Q stands lor Qumran cave 4) with the title 4Q2odiology and
lrontology ar ('ar' denotes that the text is written in Aramaic),

this author
prelers the title 4Q2odiac calendar and lrontologion, an adaptation ol that
assigned to the text by oeza Vermes.
6


uescription ol 4Q!18 uescription ol 4Q!18 uescription ol 4Q!18 uescription ol 4Q!18
1he portable, lragmentary, parchment manuscript is dated to around the
end ol the lirst century lcl to the beginning ol the lirst century cl.

lt is a
small scroll consisting ol a writing block 11.cm wide and 8.cm deep. 1he
surviving columns ol Aramaic consist ol two units: a zodiac calendar with a
brontologion, that is, a thunder omen text (lrom the oreek urcntcs,
'thunder', and |cicn, 'speech'). lrobably about one-sixth ol the original is
extant: just over two columns remain lrom a possible eleven or twelve-
column manuscript.
1hese extant, lacunose columns ol writing contain the last two and a
hall months ol the year, and the beginning ol the brontologion. 1he latter
consists ol prognostications lor two signs ol the zodiac, using a protasis-
apodasis lormulaic structure (il x, then y), lamiliar lrom both mesopotamian
omina and lellenistic divination texts.
8

1he calendar lists each day ol the month and the moon's diurnal
position in the zodiac. 1he user ol this manuscript would apply the calendar
to work out the zodiac sign ol the moon on the date when the thunder-clap
takes place. lt would then be possible to give an interpretation lor the
meaning ol the thunder according to the written prediction lor that sign.
when restored, it can be seen that the calendar is schematic and begins
with the moon in 1aurus on days one and two ol the lirst month, Nisan (the
Aramaic translation ol the labylonian month-name, Nisannu),
9
see 1able 1.


8crolls', in }.c. Vanderkam and l.w. llint, eds., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s Ajtcr lijty Ycars
(leiden: lrill, 1999), pp. 29-!!0.
4 m. wise, 'A loroscope written in code (4Q186)', in wise, Abegg and cook, 5crc||s,
pp. 2-8, mladen lopovic, 'keading the luman lody and writing in code: lhysio-
nomic uivination and Astrology in the uead 8ea 8crolls', in Anthony lilhorst, lmile
luech and libert 1igchelaar, eds., l|crcs l|crcntinc: ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s anJ otncr ar|y
jcwisn 5tuJics in ucncur cj l|crcntinc 6arcia Vartincz (leiden: lrill, 200), pp. 21-84.
}.c. oreenlield and m. 8okololl, with A. Yardeni and u. lingree, '!18. 4Q2odiology
and lrontology ar', in llann et al., eds., uisccvcrics in tnc juJacan ucscrt. vc|umc 1e:
qumran cavc !: XXv (Oxlord: clarendon lress, 2000), [herealter oreenlield et al.,
'!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology ar'], pp. 29-2, plates 1-16.
6 Vermes, 1nc ccmp|ctc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s in n|isn, p. !61.
A. Yardeni, in oreenlield et al., '!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology ar', p. 260.
8 l. kochberg, 1nc ucavcn|y writin: uivinaticn, ucrcsccpy, anJ Astrcncmy in Vcsc-
pctamian cu|turc (cambridge: cambridge Lniversity lress, 2004), pp. 4-1!, !9-9, .
9 l.}. lickerman, 'calendars and chronology', in w.u. uavies and l. linkelstein, eds.,

calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




!1
1he Aramaic month-names are still in use in the }ewish, luni-solar calendar
today.
1he lunar month ol Nisan overlaps with the sun in Aries, depending on
where the conjunction takes place. ln this text, the moon is schematically at
the beginning ol 1aurus on the lirst day ol the month, therelore, the
conjunction could possibly occur at about 18` Aries.
10
1he moon's phase at
the beginning ol the month would be, therelore, the lirst visible lunar
crescent, as it is in the mesopotamian luni-solar calendar.
11
(Lnlortunately,
wise dismissed this reasoning because he thought that the text described a
!64-day year, in common with the calendars ol the priestly courses at
Qumran).
12


1he lrontologion 1he lrontologion 1he lrontologion 1he lrontologion
1he brontologion in 4Q!18 rellects the accompanying zodiac calendar by
also beginning in 1aurus. lelow is a translation ol the remains ol the
thunder omen text, written on the last three and a hall lines ol the
manuscript (4Q!18 col 8, lines 6-9).

6. vacat [ll in 1aurus] it thunders (there will be) mtsut against [
. [and] allliction lor the province, and a sword [in the cou]rt ol the king
and in the province, [
8. will be. And to the Arabs [ ], hunger, and they will plunder each oth[er
vac]at
9. ll in oemini it thunders, (there will be) lear and sickness lrom the
loreigners and m[
1!


cultural background to the lrontologion cultural background to the lrontologion cultural background to the lrontologion cultural background to the lrontologion
As the lirst scholars who studied this text milik, wise, oreenlield and
8okololl with lingree, and Albani have pointed out, the Qumran thunder-
omen text is virtually identical to late lellenistic brontologia, versions ol
which have survived in late lyzantine, medieval and other late secondary
sources.
14
Albani, lingree and wise observed that there is a structural


1nc camuriJc uistcry cj juJaism, vc|umc ! (cambridge: cambridge Lniversity lress,
1984), pp. 60-69.
10 8ee also m.O. wise, '1hunder in oemini: An Aramaic lrontologion (4Q!18) lrom
Qumran', in m.O. wise, ed., 1nunJcr in 6cmini (8hellield: 8hellield Academic lress,
1994), [herealter wise, 'Aramaic lrontologion'), pp. 40-42.
11 A.}. 8achs and l. lunger, Astrcncmica| uiarics anJ kc|atcJ 1cxts jrcm 8auy|cnia,
vc|umc !: uiarics jrcm e.8c tc .e.8c (Vienna: Verlag der Osterreichischen Akademie
der wissenschalten, 1988), [herealter 8achs and lunger, Astrcncmica| uiarics], p. 20.
12 wise, 'Aramaic lrontologion', p. 42.
1! oreenlield et al., '!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology ar', p. 264.
14 }.1. milik, 1cn Ycars cj uisccvcry in tnc wi|Jcrncss cj juJca, }. 8trugnell, trans.
(london: 8cm, 199). [herealter milik, 1cn Ycars cj uisccvcry], p. 42, u. lingree, in
oreenlield et al., '!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology ar', pp. 20-2, wise, 'Aramaic

lelen k. }acobus




!2
parallel between 4Q!18 and 8uppl. gr. 1192 lolios 42v to 4, in the
libliothque Nationale in laris.
1
1his sixteenth-century rendering ol an
apparent lellenistic-style 'selenodromion' (sc|cnc: 'moon', Jrcmc|cia:
'timetable'), a lunar zodiac calendar with an accompanying zodiacal
brontologion, is one ol several similar texts published in the monumental
opus ol oreek astrological manuscripts, cata|cus ccJicum Astrc|ccrum
6racccrum.
lingree, wise and Albani lurther noted the textual similarity between
the 4Q!18 brontologion and earlier mesopotamian cmina (in particular,
lingree singled out the [still] unpublished numa Anu n|i|, tablet 44). wise
compared the 4Q!18 brontologion with numerous lellenistic and Akkadian
omen texts throughout his study.
milik drew attention to the parallel between the Aramaic brontologion
lrom Qumran and the tenth century compendium ol practical, rural
lolklore, 6ccpcnica look 1, chapter 10.
16
1he lew lellenistic astronomical
divination texts in the 6ccpcnica include predictions about king and country
commodity prices and the weather lrom the position ol the moon and
}upiter in the zodiac.
1
lt also contains presages lor the year ahead, based on
the moon's place in the zodiac when the uog 8tar, 8irius, rises heliacally.
18

6ccpcnica lurther describes prognostications lor the lorthcoming year,
determined by the moon's position in the zodiac when the lirst thunder
occurs alter the heliacal rising ol 8irius (6ccpcnica, 1:10 is attributed to
'2oroastres'
19
). 1he parts ol this section when the moon is in 1aurus and
oemini,
20
in particular, have striking similarities with the meagre remains ol
the 4Q!18 brontologion, lor which only 1aurus and oemini are attested.
loth 6ccpcnica 1:10 vss !-4 and 4Q!18 col. 8 lines 6-8 reler to the royal court
and the Arabs within those two zodiac signs. Neither ol these elements
occurs in any ol the other zodiac signs in the 6ccpcnica text.


lrontologion', pp. 1!-0, m. Albani, 'uer 2odiakos in 4Q!18 und die lenoch-
Astronomie', in Vittci|uncn unJ 8citrac Jcr lcrscnunsstc||c juJcntum Jcr
1ncc|ciscncn laku|tat cipzi, (199!), Vol. , [herealter Albani, 'uer 2odiakos in
4Q!18'], pp. 4-20.
1 l. loudreaux, ed., cata|cus ccJicum Astrc|ccrum 6racccrum, 8.! (lrussels:
lamertin, 1912), [herealter loudreaux, cata|cus ccJicum, 8.!], l.42v to 4, pp. 19!-9.
8ee m. Albani, 'uer 2odiakos in 4Q!18', p. 1, n. 44, u. lingree, in oreenlield et al.,
'!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology ar', p. 21, wise, 'Aramaic lrontologion', pp. 2,
29, !1, !!-!, and notes, !6, 48, 6!, 69, , 8.
16 l. leckh, ed., 6ccpcnica sivc cassiani 8assi 5cnc|astici Jc rc kustica c|cac (leipzig:
liblioteca 1eubneriana, 189), [herealter leckh, 6ccpcnica sivc cassiani], 1homas
Owen, trans., 6ccpcnica: Aricu|tura| ursuits (london: 8pilsbury, 180-6). [herealter
Owen, 6ccpcnica], milik, 1cn Ycars cj uisccvcry, p. 42.
1 lor lorecasts concerning }upiter through the signs ol the zodiac, see Owen,
6ccpcnica, 1:12, pp. 22-!0.
18 Owen, 6ccpcnica 1:8, pp. 16-1, leckh, 6ccpcnica sivc cassiani, pp. 1-1.
19 Owen, 6ccpcnica, x, xi, 1:10, pp. 19-21.
20 leckh, 6ccpcnica sivc cassiani, p. 19, 1. Owen, 6ccpcnica, 1:10, p. 19.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




!!
1he relevant extract (with similarities to the Qumran brontologion, in
bold) is as lollows:

j it tnunJcrs wncn tnc mccn is in 1aurus, it is a sign that the wheat and
barley will be injured, and that there will be allliction lrom locusts but
mirth in tnc rcya| pa|acc . and to them in the east, vexation and lamine. j
it tnunJcrs wncn it is in 6cmini, it portends trouble and disease, and injury
to the corn, and pcrJiticn tc tnc Araus Apo ov
21
[lmphases added].

lnterestingly, loudreaux also drew a comparison between 6ccpcnica 1:10
and laris 8uppl. gr. 1191
22
more than lorty years belore milik revealed the
existence ol the parallel brontologion in the uead 8ea 8crolls.
A previously unpublished brontologion: the prognostication lor thunder
when the moon is in Aquarius, has recently been discovered by uaryn
lehoux.
2!
lxcised lrom the modern scholarly publication,
24
it is combined
with the month ol lebruary in a version ol a oraeco-koman cultic calendar,
lor one year, in the manuscript known as the Oxlord larapegma. 1his
thirteenth-century copy ol an earlier text that contains cultic inlormation
about least-days, includes the date lor the lgyptian New Year on 20
August in the lgyptian 'wandering' year and a relerence to the birthday
ol Augustus on 2! 8eptember.
lt is evident lrom this data that the original must have been composed
very shortly belore the death ol Augustus in 14cl because the wandering
lgyptian New Year date coincides with the year ahead, 1cl.
2
1his means
that the Oxlord larapegma would be contemporaneous with the
paleographical dating ol 4Q!18 by Yardeni, although it is not known when
the brontologion was added.

1he zodiac calendar 1he zodiac calendar 1he zodiac calendar 1he zodiac calendar
4Q!18 is the largest lragment at Qumran with extant Aramaic month names
(8hevat, month 11, and Adar, month 12, survive). lt is here suggested that
4Q!18 may be a pre-rabbinical, proto }ewish calendar. 1he results ol the
empirical tests, below, suggest that the calendar works on the same metonic
cycle as the rabbinical }ewish calendar, in which nineteen solar years are
coordinated with 2! synodic lunar months, a system derived lrom
labylonia.


21 Owen, 6ccpcnica, p. 20.
22 loudreaux, ed., cata|cus ccJicum, 8:!, p. 19!.
2! u. lehoux, Astrcncmy, wcatncr anJ ca|cnJars in tnc Ancicnt wcr|J: arapcmata anJ
kc|atcJ 1cxts in c|assica| anJ Ncar-astcrn 5ccictics (cambridge: cambridge Lniversity
lress, 200), [herealter lehoux, Astrcncmy, wcatncr anJ ca|cnJars], pp. 164, !92-99.
1he text is c. laroccianus 1!1, lolios 42!-42!v, in the lodleian library, Oxlord.
24 8. weinstock, ed., cata|cus ccJicum Astrc|ccrum 6racccrum, vc|umc -:! (lrussels:
lamertin, 191), pp. 128-!.
2 lehoux, Astrcncmy, wcatncr anJ ca|cnJars, p. !98, n. 204.
lelen k. }acobus




!4
Astronomically, in order to keep the calendrical months in line with the
seasons ol the year, every two to three years an extra month is added, or
intercalated, to the year seven times in a lixed position in the nineteen-
year cycle.
26
lt is accepted that the nineteen-year cycle was standardised
during the lersian period in early lilth century lcl labylonia,
2
some lilty
years belore meton ol Athens, whose name is attributed to the cycle.
28
An
important leature ol the cycle is that the solar and lunar positions return to
the same point, and same lunar phase, on or around the same solar date,
once in every 2! mean lunar months (nineteen years and seven intercalary
months).
29

lt is not certain whether the proto-}ewish calendar or any ol the pre-
rabbinical calendars would have intercalated a second llul (the sixth
month), lollowing the labylonian practice ol adding a second Llulu in the
lirst year ol the nineteen-year cycle.
!0
8tern argues that they probably did
not because that would mean a shilt ol position ol the seventh month when
important biblical lestivals are held,
!1
although it is probable that this


26 w. lendrick lritchett and O. Neugebauer, 1nc ca|cnJars cj Atncns (cambridge,
massachusetts: larvard Lniversity lress, 194), p. 6, O. Neugebauer, Astrcncmica|
cuncijcrm 1cxts (New York: 8pringer-Verlag, 1982 [lirst edition lrinceton, N.}-lund
lumphries, 19]), p. !!, Alan c. lowen and lernard k. ooldstein, 'meton ol Athens
and Astronomy in the late lilth century lc', in l. leichty et al., eds., A 5cicntijic
uumanist: 5tuJics in Vcmcry cj Auranam 5acns (lhiladelphia: Occasional lublications
ol the 8amuel Noah lramer lund, 1988), [herealter lowen and ooldstein, 'meton'],
p. 42, n. 1, O. Neugebauer, 1nc xact 5cicnccs in Antiuity, (New York: uover, 1969),
[herealter, Neugebauer, xact 5cicnccs], p. .
2 }. lritton, '1reatments ol Annual lhenomena in cuneilorm 8ources', in }.m.
8teele and A. lmhausen, eds., 0nJcr onc 5ky: Astrcncmy anJ Vatncmatics in tnc Ancicnt
Ncar ast (mnster-Lgarit-Verlag, 2002), [herealter lritton, '1reatments ol Annual
lhenomena'], pp. !!-!6, }. lritton, 'calendars, lntercalations and Year-lengths', in
}ohn m. 8teele, ed., ca|cnJars anJ Ycars: Astrcncmy anJ 1imc in tnc Ancicnt Ncar ast
(Oxlord: Oxbow looks, 200), pp. 122-24, }. lritton and c. walker, 'Astrology and
Astronomy in mesopotamia', in c. walker, ed., Astrcncmy 8cjcrc tnc 1c|csccpc (New
York: 8t martin's lress), pp. 4-46, O. Neugebauer, uistcry cj Ancicnt Vatncmatica|
Astrcncmy (New York: 8pringer-Verlag, 19), p. 622, l. kochberg-lalton, 'calendars:
Ancient Near last', in 1nc Ancncr 8iu|c uicticnary, vc|umc ! (New York: uoubleday,
1992), pp. 810-11.
28 lowen and ooldstein, 'meton', p. 0, l.k. ooldstein, 'A Note on the metonic
cycle', sis, (1966), Vol. (1), pp. 11-16.
29 Neugebauer, 1nc xact 5cicnccs, p. 9, cl. 1. loiy, atc AcnacmcniJ anJ uc||cnistic
8auy|cn (leuven: leeters, 2004), p. 28 (1he 8eleucid king Antiochus lll attended the
New Year lestival in labylon 'on the same day, nineteen years later', in 20J4lcl).
!0 lritton, '1reatments ol Annual lhenomena', pp. !!-!6 (ligs. !-4), l. kochberg-
lalton, 'Astronomy and calendars in Ancient mesopotamia', in }.m. 8asson, ed.,
civi|isaticns cj tnc Ancicnt Ncar ast, vc|umc 1 (New York: 8chreibner, 199), [herealter
kochberg-lalton, 'Astronomy and calendars'], p. 19!8.
!1 8tern, ca|cnJar anJ ccmmunity: A uistcry cj tnc jcwisn ca|cnJar .nJ ccntury 8c-!tn
ccntury c (Oxlord: Oxlord Lniversity lress, 2001), p. !1, cl. l.2. wacholder and u.l.

calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




!
practice did take place because the rabbis banned it lor precisely that
reason.
!2

low the 4Q!18 zodiac calendar may work and how this inlormation can
be extracted lrom the data in the manuscript will now be illustrated. 1he
lunar year is !4 days long, the solar year is approximately !6Z days long
11Z

days longer (the dillerence between the solar and lunar year is
known as the cpact).
!!
1he lebrew calendar as it has evolved today is
intercalated according to a nineteen-year cycle ol twelve twelve-month
years and seven thirteen-month years, so that the lestivals will lall in the
correct seasons.
!4
1he 'regular' year is !4 days ol alternating six hollow
months ol 29 days lollowed by lull months ol !0 days.
!
ll an extra !0-day
month were not intercalated every two to three years, the lestivals would
slip back 11Z

days every year, so that in eight years, the date ol the spring
lestival ol lassover, when a lamb is slaughtered, would lall during the
winter months, when there are no lambs.
1he twellth month in an intercalary year is doubled: Adar l, the
additional month ol !0 days, is placed belore Adar ll, which has 29 days, in
keeping with the alternating sequence ol lull and hollow months. As shall
be seen, the accumulative, astronomical ellect ol the 11Z-day epact over
two to three years is rellected in the position ol the moon in the zodiac in
relation to the calendar.
when reconstructed, it is evident that 4Q2odiac calendar has !60 days,
!6

the number ol degrees in the zodiac. A !60-day calendar is known lrom the
lthiopic manuscripts ol the Astrcncmica| 8cck cj nccn (also known as the
8cck cj uminarics, ! nccn, chapters 2-82). 1he textual history ol ! nccn is
complex and involves conllicting pericope on the calendrical status ol lour
additional days between the seasons, thereby creating a !64-day year (! n
: 1-2, 82: 4-6, 9-11).
!
Neither the !60-day nor !64-day year-lengths are


weisburg, 'Visibility ol the New moon in cuneilorm and kabbinic 8ources', ucurcw
0nicn cc||cc Annua|, (191), Vol. 42, [herealter wacholder and weisburg, 'Visibility
ol the New moon'], pp. 2!-!9.
!2 labylonian 1almud, 8anhedrin 12a, see, wacholder and weisburg, 'Visibility ol
the New moon', p. 2!.
!! lowen and ooldstein, 'meton', p. 42.
!4 }.l. 8egal, 'lntercalation and the lebrew calendar', vctus 1cstamcntum, (19),
Vol. , pp. 26!-68.
! A. 8pier, 1nc ccmprcncnsivc ucurcw ca|cnJar: 1wcntictn tc 1wcnty-5cccnJ ccntury,
(}erusalem: leldheim, 1986), pp. 1-16.
!6 m. Albani, Astrcncmic unJ 5cncpjuns|auuc: 0ntcrsucncn zum Astrcncmiscncn
ucnccnuucn, vc|umc e, wisscnscnajt|icnc Vcnc-rapnicn zum A|tcn unJ Ncucn 1cstamcnt
(Neukirchen-Vluyn: Verlag, 1994), pp. 8!-8, Albani, 'uer 2odiakos in 4Q!18', pp. 20-
21: Albani, 'loroscopes', p. !00, oreenlield et al., '!18. 4Q2odiology and lrontology
ar', pp. 20-1.
! }.c. Vanderlam, ca|cnJars in tnc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s, Vcasurin 1imc (london,
koutledge, 1998), pp. 1-2, idem, 'calendars: Ancient lsraelite and larly }ewish', in
u.N. lreedman, ed., Ancncr 8iu|c uicticnary, vc|umc !, p. 818, 1ranslations: o.w.l.

lelen k. }acobus




!6
extant in the Aramaic lragments ol the Astrcncmica| 8cck cj nccn, which are
among the oldest scrolls lound at Qumran. 1here are dillerences as well as
signilicant overlaps with the lthiopic texts.
!8

1he !60-day year is attested in mesopotamian sources and dates back to
an administrative system in the late third millennium lcl.
!9
1here is a
scholarly dispute between Albani, lorowitz and loch as to whether an
ideal, solar-stellar year ol !60 days is presupposed, in the mLl. AllN.
40

lrown, like loch, argues that !60 days is assumed, but not stated, in the
text.
41
1he year-length is evident in the seventh-century lcl cuneilorm
text, 1nc uivincr`s Vanua|, in which an astronomer seeks permission lrom the
king to intercalate to prevent evil, ostensibly an observatory method ol
keeping the calendar in check.
42

ln a similar vein, the report ol the Assyrian scholar lalas to the king
urges an intercalation to thwart a malelic prediction, although the length ol
the year is not included in the report:



Nickelsburg and }.c. Vanderlam, ! nccn: A Ncw 1rans|aticn (minneapolis: lortress,
2004), [herealter Nickelsburg and Vanderlam, trans., nccn], pp. 96-116, matthew
llack, trans., 1nc 8cck cj nccn cr ! nccn: A Ncw n|isn Jiticn witn ccmmcntary anJ
Nctcs, in ccnsu|taticn witn j.c. vanJcrkam, witn an AppcnJix cn tnc 'Astrcncmica|` cnaptcrs
(.-.) uy ottc Ncucuaucr, 5tuJia in vctcris 1cstamcnti scuJcpirapna, vc|umc
(leiden: lrill, 198), pp. !86-419, m. lnibb, trans., 1nc tnicpic 8cck cj nccn: A Ncw
Jiticn in tnc int cj tnc Aramaic ucaJ 5ca lramcnts: n ccnsu|taticn witn JwarJ
0||cnJcrjj, vc|umc . (Oxlord: clarendon, 198), pp. 16-92.
!8 wise et al., ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s, pp. 29-!0!, }.c. Vanderlam, '8ources lor the
Astronomy in 1 lnoch 2-82', in c. cohen et al., eds., 8irkat 5na|cm: 5tuJics in tnc 8iu|c,
Ancicnt Ncar astcrn itcraturc anJ cstuiu|ica| juJaism rcscntcJ tc 5na|cm V. au| cn tnc
occasicn cj uis 5cvcntictn 8irtnJay (winona lake, lndiana: lisenbrauns,
2008), pp. 96-8 [herealter, Vanderlam, '8ources lor the Astronomy in 1 lnoch 2-
82'], }.1. milik, 1nc 8ccks cj nccn: Aramaic lramcnts cj cavc ! witn tnc cc||aucraticn cj
Vattncw 8|ack (Oxlord: clarendon, 196), [herealter milik, 1nc 8ccks cj nccn], pp. ,
24-9, Nickelsburg and Vanderlam, trans., ! nccn, pp. 104, 106, 108-9, 114, 116.
!9 l. lrack-lernsen, '1he !60-uay Year in mesopotamia' in }.m. 8teele, ed., ca|cnJars
anJ Ycars (Oxlord: Oxbow, 200), pp. 8!-100, k.l. lnglund, 'Administrative 1ime-
leeping in Ancient mesopotamia', jcurna| cj tnc ccncmic anJ 5ccia| uistcry cj tnc
oricnt, (1988), Vol. !1(2), pp. 121-8.
40 libliographical details summarised in Vanderlam, '8ources lor the Astronomy in
1 lnoch 2-82', pp. 9!-8.
41 u. lrown, Vcscpctamian |anctary Astrcncmy-Astrc|cy (oroningen: 8tyx, 2000),
[herealter lrown, Vcscpctamian |anctary Astrcncmy-Astrc|cy], pp. 119-20.
42 l. Oppenheim, 'A labylonian uiviner's manual', jcurna| cj Ncar astcrn 5tuJics,
(194), Vol. !!(2), p. 200, lines -1, c. williams, '8igns lrom the 8ky, 8igns lrom the
larth: 1he uiviner's manual kevisited', in 0nJcr onc 5ky (mnster: Lgarit-Verlag,
2002), pp. 44-, 482, lrown, Vcscpctamian |anctary Astrcncmy-Astrc|cy, p. 211, w.
lorowitz, Vcscpctamian ccsmic 6ccrapny (winona lake, lndiana: lisenbrauns, 1998),
p. 11.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




!
let them intercalate a month: all the stars ol the sky have lallen behind.
month Xll must not pass unlavourably. let them intercalate.
4!


lrown argues that the intercalary month would be added principally lor
divinatory purposes, in order that the stars and planets did not rise on
calendrically inauspicious dates.
44

1he most relevant study to 4Q2odiac calendar involving the !60-day
year is that ol the so-called 'dodekatemoria' and ' '' 'lalendertexte' cuneilorm
tablets lrom the late lourth and third century lcl in which the zodiac signs
and months are substituted by numbers.
4
with 4Q!18, it is arguably
possible to see that the calendar was intercalated because the data in the
text itsell shows that the months are aligned to their correct season by their
corresponding lunar zodiac signs. lelow (see lig. 1), is a reconstruction and
translation ol month twelve, Adar. (1he column number 8 is based on a
hypothetical reconstruction ol the lull manuscript commencing with the
lirst month).
1he twellth luni-solar month, Adar, is aligned lrom lebruary to march,
which corresponds approximately to the solar zodiac sign ol lisces. ll the
ideal conjunction lor Adar took place when the sun and moon were at 18`
lisces in a !60-day year, the 4Q!18 zodiac calendar would overlap with the
solar zodiac.
46


1 AuAk. On the 1st and on the 2
nd
, Aries, on the !rd and on the
4th, 1aurus, on the [th and on the 6th and on the th, oemini,]
2 on the 8
th
and on the 9th, c[ancer, on the 10
th
and on the 11th,
l]eo, on the 12th [and on the 1!th and on the 14th, ]
! Vir[go], on the 1th and on [the 16th, libra, on the 1]th and on
the 1[8th, 8corpio,]
^ 21st^
4 [On the 1]9th, and on the 20th, 8agitt[arius, on the 22nd and on
the 2!rd, cap]ricorn, [on the 24th and on the 2th]
Aqu[arius], on the 26th and on the 2[th and on the 2]8th,
li[sces, on the 29th and the !0th,]
6 Arie[s.] vacat [ll in 1aurus] it thunders .

ligure 1: 4Q!18 col. 8, lines 1-6 (Adar 1-Adar !0).



4! l. lunger, Astrc|cica| kcpcrts tc Assyrian kins, 8tate Archives ol Assyria 8
(lelsinki: lelsinki Lniversity lress, 1992), p. , lines 8-10.
44 lrown, Vcscpctamian |anctary Astrcncmy-Astrc|cy, pp. 12!-24, 19-9.
4 lis lrack-lernsen and }ohn m. 8teele, 'labylonian mathemagics: 1wo
Astronomical-Astrological 1exts', in c. lurnett et al., eds., 5tuJics in tnc uistcry cj tnc
xact 5cicnccs in ucncur cj uaviJ inrcc (leiden: lrill, 2004), [herealter lrack-lernsen
and 8teele, 'labylonian mathemagics'), pp. 9-121, table 8, p. 119.
46 8ince the ideal conjunction lor Nisan in the text is probably 18` Aries.
lelen k. }acobus




!8
1he lull moon moving through the zodiac on day 1!-14 would be in the
opposite sign to lisces, which is Virgo, as indeed it is in 4Q!18 (see lig. 1).
4

1his author's doctoral research shows that the data in 4Q!18 correlate with
the moon's position in the zodiac on dates in the }ewish luni-solar calendar
lollowing an intercalation. ln the }ewish calendar (which is schematic
48
),
and the !60-day mesopotamian zodiacal calendar explicated by lrack-
lernsen and 8teele,
49
the lirst day ol each month corresponds to the lirst
lunar crescent and the lull moon occurs on days lourteen or lilteen.
1herelore, one can check that the data in 4Q!18 is reasonably correct
both lrom the zodiacal position ol the moon, and the month-date. ll the
months and days were not given in the text, then it would be a simple
astronomical table, but by including months and days, it becomes a zodiac
calendar. 1o be specilic it becomes a schematic lunar ephemeris: a
tabulation ol the moon-sign according to the day ol the month. 1his linding
is signilicant in the study ol the calendars in the uead 8ea 8crolls because
the variety ol calendrical texts in lebrew lound at Qumran do not have any
explicit evidence ol intercalation and it is not known how the !64-day
priestly calendars could have lunctioned in practice.
0
lor example,
olessmer and Vanderlam have postulated dillerent possible solutions, and
leckwith argues that no intercalation took place at all (il so, it is unclear
how the harvest lestivals and lassover could have been observed).
1

lt will be uselul to consider the scientilic basis ol 4Q2odiac calendar in
antiquity. As can be seen lrom the tabular arrangement in 1able 1, below,
the zodiacal signs are in their correct order both horizontally and vertically
when laid out in a grid. 1he passage ol the moon in the zodiac is given a
recurring schematic pattern ol two and three days: three days to move
through a major lunar phase every seven days, and two days per sign
between the other phases. ln essence, the moon travels about two-and-a-
hall days to traverse a sign, but 4Q!18 does not deal with lractions.



4 1he day begins at sunset in mesopotamia, see 8achs and lunger, Astrcncmica|
uiarics, p. 1.
48 leo uepuydt, 'listory ol the heleq', in }.m. 8teele and A. lmhausen, eds., 0nJcr onc
5ky: Astrcncmy anJ Vatncmatics in tnc Ancicnt Ncar ast (mnster: Lgarit-Verklag,
2002), pp. 8!-84.
49 lrack-lernsen and 8teele, 'labylonian mathemagics', p. 119, table 8.
0 k.1. leckwith, ca|cnJar anJ cnrcnc|cy, jcwisn anJ cnristian: 8iu|ica|, ntcrtcstamcnta|
anJ atristic 5tuJics (leiden: lrill, 2001), [herealter leckwith, ca|cnJar anJ
cnrcnc|cy], pp. 12-40, }. len-uov, ucaJ cj A|| Ycars: Astrcncmy anJ ca|cnJars at
qumran in tncir Ancicnt ccntcxt, 5tuJics cn tnc 1cxts cj tnc ucscrt cj juJan, vc|umc
(leiden: lrill, 2008), pp. 18-20.
1 L. olessmer, 'calendars in the Qumran 8crolls', in }.c. Vanderkam and l.w. llint,
eds., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s Ajtcr lijty Ycars (leiden: lrill, 1998), pp. 26!-68, Vanderlam,
ca|cnJars, pp. 80-84, leckwith, ca|cnJar anJ cnrcnc|cy, pp. 1!9-40.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




!9


N
i
s
a
n

l
y
y
a
r

8
i
v
a
n

1
a
m
m
u
z

A
v

l
l
u
l

1
i
s
h
r
i

H
e
s
h
v
a
n

l
i
s
l
e
v

1
e
v
e
t

8
h
e
v
a
t

A
d
a
r

1 _ } C p ] - ] _ ) [
2 _ } C p ] - ] _ ) [
! } C p ] - ] _ ) [ _
4 } C p ] - ] _ ) [ _
C p ] - ] _ ) [ _ }
6 66 6 C p ] - ] _ ) [ _ }
C p ] - ] _ ) [ _ }
8 p ] - ] _ ) [ _ } C
9 p ] - ] _ ) [ _ } C
10 ] - ] _ ) [ _ } C p
11 ] - ] _ ) [ _ } C p
12 12 12 12 - ] _ ) [ _ } C p ]
1! 1! 1! 1! - ] _ ) [ _ } C p ]
14 14 14 14 - ] _ ) [ _ } C p ]
1 ] _ ) [ _ } C p ] -
16 ] _ ) [ _ } C p ] -
1 _ ) [ _ } C p ] - ]
18 _ ) [ _ } C p ] - ]
19 19 19 19 _ ) [ _ } C p ] - ]
20 20 20 20 _ ) [ _ } C p ] - ]
21 21 21 21 _ ) [ _ } C p ] - ]
22 ) [ _ } C p ] - ] _
2! ) [ _ } C p ] - ] _
24 ) [ _ } C p ] - ] _
2 ) [ _ } C p ] - ] _
26 26 26 26 [ _ } C p ] - ] _ )
2 2 2 2 [ _ } C p ] - ] _ )
28 28 28 28 [ _ } C p ] - ] _ )
29 _ } C p ] - ] _ ) [
!0 _ } C p ] - ] _ ) [

1able 1: 4Q!18 with zodiac glyphs.
ley to symbols: Aries [, 1aurus _, oemini }, cancer C, leo p, Virgo ],
libra -, 8corpio ], 8agittarius , capricorn _, Aquarius , lisces ).

lelen k. }acobus




40
1he calendar is divided into 12 synodic months (lrom one lunar phase to the
next) ol !0 days and it begins with the lirst month, Nisan, in the spring. ln a
month, the moon traverses the 12 signs ol the zodiac plus the lirst sign that
it travelled through to catch up with the sun, which will have moved one
zodiac sign ahead during that month. lence, in each !0-day month in the
!60-day calendar, the moon will have travelled through 1! signs. ln
contrast, the sun takes one month ol !0 days to traverse each sign and a
year ol !60 days to travel through all 12 signs (not explicit in the
manuscript).

1esting the zodiac calendar 1esting the zodiac calendar 1esting the zodiac calendar 1esting the zodiac calendar
when the days ol the months in 4Q2odiac calendar are converted to }ulian
or oregorian dates
2
and the zodiac sign ol the moon is computed
accordingly, the results yielded are signilicant. lig. 2 is a sample ol data lor
14 Adar, converted to the oregorian calendar lor the contemporary period.
uue to the 11Z day epact, there is an incremental eleven-day dillerence
each year between the lebrew (lunar) date and the oregorian (solar)
calendar, which is remedied by the two or three year intercalary month.
!

As stated above, the two luminaries return to the same calendrical position
alter nineteen years.


14 AuAk lLNAk 8loN llA8l
14 march 2006 Virgo lull
4 march 200 Virgo lull
20 lebruary 2008* leo lull
21 march 2008 Virgo lull
10 march 2009 Virgo lull
28 lebruary 2010 Virgo lull

ligure 2: 4Q 2odiac calendar (14 Adar converted to the
oregorian calendar, 2006 to 2010 at noon).
*lntercalary Year, Adar l.


As can be seen lrom the converted dates, the lull moon is in Virgo and the
sun is in lisces, except in Adar l when, due to the epact, the months are
three weeks behind the season. luller data lor the calendar reveals a similar
pattern in the years requiring a correction when, 'the stars have lallen


2 calendar converter program: ka|uacn 1, online at: http:JJwww.lourmilab.chJ
documentsJcalendarJ [accessed 1 }uly 2009]. Note, in the lebrew calendar the day
begins and ends at sunset, in this programme, it commences at 12 noon.
! cl. kochberg, 'Astronomy and calendars', p. 19!1.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




41
behind', in particular in Adar l, when an intercalation is due.
4
1he diviner
using 4Q!18 might calibrate the moon's position lor every third year or so,
when the moon will be in a slightly earlier zodiacal position.
lerhaps the complete scroll contained the variations lor non-intercalary
years, il so, the manuscript, including the brontologion, would be about !.9
metres long. kolled up, it would be bulky to carry, but possible, il it was a
template lor one year (the practitioner used his knowledge to calculate the
moon's position in non-intercalary years), the scroll would be about 1.!8
metres long and easier to transport.

lowever, no extant lragments lor

other years have been identilied.
ln order lor there to be a correlation using contemporary }ewish
calendar conversion tables, it is possible that the Qumran zodiac calendar
was structured to similar synodic cycles to those ol the rabbinical calendar
known today (that is, lrom the ideal lirst crescent). 1he early development
and the history ol the adoption ol the }ewish calendar prior to the tenth
century cl, however, is uncertain and remains an area ol scholarly
research.
6

On a similar note, the tropical zodiac, delined as beginning at 0` Aries
longitude, appears to have been extant during the period that this scroll
was copied or composed. lt is used in 4Q2odiac calendar, il it were not, the
position ol the moon in the zodiac in modern ephemerides would not
correspond with 4Q!18. 1his norm is attributed to the oreeks

and has been

preserved in astrological tables by western astrologers. 1he antiquity ol the
zero-degree cardinal point has been recently archaeologically conlirmed in
the Antikythera mechanism (10-100lcl) on the lront, 'zodiac' dial, where
the letter a|pna is visible next to 0` libra.
8

whatever its length, the Aramaic zodiac calendar simply required a
rudimentary understanding ol astronomy, and a knowledge ol which years
were intercalary, in order to be read. As we shall now see, calendrical
education, particularly with regard to the zodiac, was regarded as
elementary lor the literate within the wider society.



4 uiscussed in this author's doctoral thesis.
l thank lernard lccles lor his leedback on this point.
6 8tern, ca|cnJar anJ ccmmunity, pp. 1-81, wacholder and weisburg, 'Visibility ol
the New moon', p. 2!9.
}ames lvans, 1nc uistcry anJ racticc cj Ancicnt Astrcncmy (Oxlord: Oxlord
Lniversity lress, 1998), pp. 21!-14.
8 uerek }. ue 8olla lrice, 6cars jrcm tnc 6rccks: 1nc Antikytncra Vccnanism A
ca|cnJar ccmputcr jrcm ca. 8c: 1ransacticns cj tnc Amcrican ni|cscpnica| 5ccicty, e!:
(lhiladelphia: American lhilosophical 8ociety, 194), p. 18, kobert lannah, 1imc in
Antiuity (london, koutledge, 2008), pp. 48-49, note 9. 8ee lolynomial 1exture
mapping (l1m) image Al!1a, online at: http:JJwww.hpl.hp.comJ
researchJptmJantikythera_mechanismJlull_resolution_ptm.htm7jumpid=reg_k100
2_L8lN [accessed 10 }anuary 2009].
lelen k. }acobus




42
cultural background cultural background cultural background cultural background
2odiac calendars began to appear in the oreek, ltolemaic and
mesopotamian worlds in the lilth, lourth and third centuries lcl, mainly
independently ol corresponding omen texts. 8ome ol these calendars,
which exist in archaeological artelacts such as the Antikythera mechanism,
parapegmata and papyri, are intricate mathematical constructs which
coordinate the sun, moon and the stars. oreat ellorts appear to have been
made to impart this science in the late antique world in literary and
scientilic texts and three-dimensional artelacts.
Vitruvius, the koman, writer, architect and engineer, explained the
astrological, cosmological, calendrical and scientilic importance ol the solar
and lunar zodiac in many places throughout look 9 ol on Arcnitccturc, which
he presented to the lmperor Augustus in the mid-20s lcl:

9.. 1hese signs, therelore, are twelve in number and each individual
sign occupies one-twellth part ol the lirmament, and all ol them are
constantly rotated lrom east to west . the moon, traversing its circuit in
a little more, by about an hour . completes a lunar month by returning
to the sign in which it had lirst set out

6. ln the turning ol a month, the sun . traverses the space ol a single
sign, that is, one-twellth part ol the lirmament. ly travelling across the
distance ol twelve signs in twelve months, it completes the interval ol
the revolving year then it returns to the sign in which it began. ln other
words, that [zodiacal] circuit which the moon runs thirteen times in
twelve months, the sun measures out only once in the same number ol
months.
9


Ovid, in imparting the history ol koman calendar, writes in lasti, (early lirst
century cl), that during the prehistoric koman period ol komulus (eighth
century lcl) the year had 10 months.
60
1hen, he states, people were
ignorant about the stars [no reasons are given], and the passages ol the sun
and the moon were not synchronised with the zodiac calendar:



9 Vitruvius, 1cn 8ccks cn Arcnitccturc, trans. l.u. kowland (cambridge: cambridge
Lniversity lress, 1999), p. 110.
60 lonnie llackburn and leolranc lollord-8trevens, 1nc oxjcrJ ccmpanicn tc tnc
Ycar: An xp|craticn cj ca|cnJar custcms anJ 1imc-rcckcnin (Oxlord: Oxlord Lniversity
lress, 1999), p. 669, l.o. kichards, Vappin 1imc: 1nc ca|cnJar anJ its uistcry (Oxlord:
Oxlord Lniversity lress, 2000), p. 20, uenis leeny, cacsar`s ca|cnJar: Ancicnt 1imc
anJ tnc 8cinnins cj uistcry (lerkeley: Lniversity ol calilornia lress, 2008), pp. 202-!,
8.}. oreen, oviJ. lasti : A ccmmcntary, Vncmcsync 5upp|cmcnta .! (leiden: lrill, 2004),
pp. 44-4, A.l. 8amuel, 6rcck anJ kcman cnrcnc|cy (munich: Oscar leck, 192),
[herealter 8amuel, 6rcck anJ kcman cnrcnc|cy], pp. 164-6, 16-0, kobert lannah,
6rcck anJ kcman ca|cnJars: ccnstructicns cj 1imc in tnc c|assica| wcr|J (london:
uuckworth, 200), p. 99.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




4!
. who had then noticed . that the [zodiac] signs which the brother
[Apollo, the sun] travels through in a long year, the horses ol the sister
[uiana, the moon] traverse in a single month7
61


with regards to }ewish writings, it would appear that lhilo (c. 20lcl-0cl)
knew ol a lunar and solar zodiac to which he relers in several ol his works.
lor example, he explicates the periodic relationship in a commentary
relating to oenesis !: 9-11, }oseph's second dream that the sun, moon and
11 stars bowed down to him:

1he sun and moon they say, ever revolve along the circle [zcJia] and pass
through each ol the signs, though the two do not move at the same
speed, but at unequal rates as measured in numbers, the sun taking
thirty days and the moon about a twellth ol that time, that is, two and
hall days.
62


lhilo's zodiacal relerences are extensive and he and }osephus alter him
used the zodiac in prose to explain both scientilic thought and cosmology in
the description ol the vestments ol the ligh lriest and the 1emple. 1he
symbolic relerences to the years (sun) and to the months (moon) are kept
separate by both writers.
6!
lhilo relers to the lunar zodiac in his
explanation ol the ncumcnia, the new moon lestival:

. the moon traverses the zodiac in a shorter lixed period than any other
heavenly body. lor it accomplishes that revolution in the span ol a single
month, and therelore, the conclusion ol its circuit, when the moon ends
its course at the starting point at which it began ..
64


keturning to the cosmological passages in the uead 8ea 8crolls, relerences
to the zodiac, the luminaries and birth-times are attested.
6
milik drew a


61 Ovid, lasti. !.9-10, trans. 8ir }ames oeorge orazer (cambridge, massachusetts:
larvard Lniversity lress, 199), pp. 126-29.
62 lhilo, on urcams ., vc|umc , trans. l.l. colson and o.l whitaker (london:
william leinemann [cambridge, mass.: larvard Lniversity lress], 19!4), pp. 492-9!.
6! 8ee lelen k. }acobus, '4Q!18: A }ewish zodiac calendar at Qumran', in c. lempel,
ed., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s: 1cxts anJ ccntcxt (leiden: lrill, 2010).
64 lhilo, on 5pccia| aws ., vc|umc , trans. l.l. colson (london: william leinemann
[cambridge, massachusetts: larvard Lniversity lress], 19!), pp. !92-9!.
6 m. morgenstern, '1he meaning ol 8cit Vc|aJim', jcurna| cj jcwisn 5tuJics, (2000),
Vol. 1(1), pp. 141-44, l.}.c. 1igchelaar, 'Your wisdom and Your lolly: 1he case ol 1-
4Qmysteries', in l. oarca martnez, ed., wisJcm anJ Apcca|ypticism in tnc ucaJ 5ca
5crc||s anJ in 8iu|ica| 1raJiticn (leuven: leeters, 200!), p. 88, lrancis 8chmidt,
'kecherche son thme de geniture dans le mystre de ce qui doit tre': Astrologie et
prdestination a Qoumrn', in A. lemaire and 8.c. mimouni, eds., qcumran ct |c
juJasmc Ju 1curant Jc Nctrc rc: cc||ccticn Jc |a kcvuc Jcs tuJcs juivcs, vc|umc !
(leuven: leeters, 2006), pp. -8, m. ooll, '1he mystery ol creation in 4Qlnstruction',

lelen k. }acobus




44
connection between the zodiac in 4Q!18 and a hymn in the ccmmunity ku|c
(1Q8 col 10, lines 1-), a document which is clearly regarded as sectarian.
milik translated the pericope as lollows:

when the lights shine lorth lrom the loly uwelling-llace, and when also
they retire (lit. are gathered) to the llace ol olory, when the
constellations (ol the 2odiac) make (their), entrance on the days ol the
new moon, and their circuit at their positions every new moon
succeeding one alter another, it is a oreat uay lor the loly ol lolies, and
a sign lor the unlocking ol everlasting mercies corresponding to the
beginning ol the constellations (ol the 2odiac), to last lor all time to
come.
66


lowever, he is the only scholar to have translated this text in terms ol
relerences to the zodiac.
6
1he sublime, cosmological poems lrom the
1hanksgiving lymns (lebrew: ucJayct) in the uead 8ea 8crolls are religious
texts also containing philosophical ideas about astronomy, pre-destination
and eternity. 1he 1hanksgiving 8croll (col. 20, lines -14), describes the
orbits ol the sun and moon, the renewal ol each day and the cycle ol seasons
and lestivals. 1he author connects the circuits ol the luminaries pre-set
lorever lrom the beginning ol time to ood. 1he use ol a sacred calendar,
in which the lestivals are lixed in the right order by their 'signs', is
ambiguous and could be interpreted as relerring to the zodiac. 1he poem
describes the orbits ol all the heavenly bodies as predictable as is
everything on earth, due to a divine and predetermined plan:

. [lor the instruct]or, [th]anksgiving and prayer lor prostrating onesell
and supplicating continually at all times: with the coming ol light.
8. lor [its] domin[ion], the midpoints ol the day with respect to its
arrangement according to the rules ol the great light, when it turns to
evening and light goes lorth
9. at the beginning ol the dominion ol darkness at the time appointed lor
night, at its midpoint, when it turns toward morning, and at the time
that
10. it is gathered in to its dwelling place belore (the approach ol) light, at
the departure ol night and the coming ol day, continually, at all the


ucaJ 5ca uisccvcrics, (200!), Vol. 10(2), p. 168, wise et al., ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s, p. 111, l.l.
8chillman, '4Q299 (4Qmysteriesa)' in u.w. larry and l. 1ov, eds., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s
kcaJcr, art !: ca|cnJrica| anJ 5apicntia| 1cxts (leiden: lrill, 2004), p. 20!.
66 }.1. milik, 1nc 8ccks cj nccn, p. 18.
6 cl. l. Qimron and }.l. charlesworth, trans., 'kule ol the community and kelated
uocuments', in }.l. charlesworth, ed., 1nc ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s: ucurcw, Aramaic, anJ 6rcck
1cxts witn n|isn 1rans|aticns, 1nc rincctcn 1ncc|cica| 5cminary ucaJ 5ca 5crc||s rcjcct
! (1bingen: mohr-8iebeck, 1994), p. 4!, l.8. Alexander and o. Vermes, trans.,
uisccvcrics in tnc juJcan ucscrt, vc|umc .e, pp. 60, 11-18, 122, wise et al., ucaJ 5ca
5crc||s, p. 1!2.
calendars, uivination and the uead 8ea 8crolls




4
11. birthings ol time, the loundations ol the seasons, and the cycle ol the
lestivals in the order lixed by their signs, lor all
12. their dominion in proper order, reliably, at the command ol ood. lt is
a testimony ol that which exists. 1his is what shall be,
1!. and there shall be no end. Apart lrom it nothing has existed nor shall
yet be. lor the ood ol knowledge
14. has established it, and there is none other with him.
68


ln the lollowing extracts lrom the 1hanksgiving 8croll (col 9, lines 9-1, 20-
22, 2-26), angels, stars, shooting stars, lightning, the destiny ol luture
generations and inscribed heavenly tablets are included in the sacred,
cosmological design.

9. And in your wisdom [ ] eternity, and belore you created them, you
know {all} their deeds
10. lor everlasting ages. And [without you no]thing is done and nothing
is known without your will. You lormed
11. every spirit, and [their] work [you determin]ed, and the judgement
lor all their deeds. You yoursell stretched out the heavens
12. lor your glory, and all [ ] you [de]termined according to your will, and
powerlul spirits according to their laws, belore
1!. they came to be ho[ly] angels [and ]m eternal spirit in their
dominions: luminaries according to their mysteries,
14. stars according to [their] paths, [stor]m [winds] according to their
task, shooting stars and lightning according to their service, and
storehouses
1. devised lor th[eir] purposes [ ] according to their mysteries. ..
20. And you allotted it to all their ollspring according to the number ol
generations ol eternity
21. and lor all the everlasting years . And in the wisdom ol your
knowledge you determ[i]ned their des[t]iny belore
22. they existed. According to your wi[ll] everything [comes] to pass, and
without you nothing is done. vacat
2-26. . lverything is engraved belore you in an inscription ol record
lor all everlasting seasons and the numbered cycles ol the eternal years
with their appointed times.
69


4Q!18 is culturally eclectic and cannot be neatly categorised, yet it can be
shown empirically that, unlike the lebrew calendars ol the priestly courses


68 carol Newsom, trans., qumran cavc !: : !qucJaycta witn nccrpcraticn cj
!qucJaycta-j anJ !qucJayctu: uisccvcrics in tnc juJacan ucscrt, vc|umc ! (Oxlord:
clarendon, 2008), p. 29.
69 carol Newsom, trans., qumran cavc !: : !qucJaycta witn nccrpcraticn cj
!qucJaycta-j anJ !qucJayctu: uisccvcrics in tnc juJacan ucscrt, vc|umc ! (Oxlord:
clarendon, 2008), p. 1!0, carol Newsom, 1nc 5c|j as 5ymuc|ic 5pacc: ccnstructin
Jcntity anJ ccmmunity at qumran, pp. 222-2!, 226.
lelen k. }acobus




46
at Qumran, it has a delinite astronomical basis. 1here is textual support in
the uead 8ea 8crolls to suggest that the cosmological perspective and
scientilic basis ol such a paradigm may have been attributed a religious and
spiritual signilicance. liturgical themes in the uead 8ea 8crolls
interweaving concepts ol repeated astronomical cycles with timelessness
and eternity could be inspired by a zodiacal calendar, which integrates the
sun, moon and the stars: a biblical lunction ol the luminaries described in
oenesis 1: 14-19.
1here is also evidence lrom across the lellenistic world to suggest that
zodiac calendars existed in dillerent cultural lorms in the wider society. lts
presence in Qumran cave 4 where a variety ol non-zodiacal lebrew
calendars were lound implies that there was a wide range ol calendrical
activity at the turn ol the era, as indeed there was throughout the region. ll
one considers that the }ulian calendar was introduced in 46J4lcl,
gradually displacing most ol the lunar calendars except the lunar calendar
ol the eastern provinces,
0
that should be illustrative ol the preoccupation
ol the period. 1here is no reason why }ewish groups should not have
similarly shared an intellectual interest in the subject.
1he 4Q!18 zodiac calendar, it is suggested, is the only calendar ol this
type lor which there is an extant primary source that survived. lt is the sole
such calendar in the uead 8ea 8crolls to be explicitly connected to
prognostication. lrom it we learn that the zodiac calendar could be used as
an ephemeris. listorically, the }ewish calendar is based on the labylonian
calendar, which in its earlier lorm was connected with omen divination,
probably as a means ol keeping the months synchronised with the stars.
what is surprising is that 4Q2odiac calendar is a perpetual calendar that can
still be used today, albeit because western astrology is anachronistic. As a
result ol the preservation and practise ol ancient astrology until the
present, 4Q!18 demonstrates that the tropical zodiac was in use in some 10
years belore ltolemy. Not only may 4Q!18 lead us to revisit the historical
development and adoption ol the pre-rabbinical }ewish calendar, but it
might also impact on our knowledge ol the history ol cosmology, and the
practice ol astrology amongst monotheistic groups 2,000 years ago.



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