| Zodiac Calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Their Reception: Ancient Astronomy and Astrology in Early Judaism Contributor(s): Jacobus, Helen R. (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004284052 ISBN-13: 9789004284050 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $261.25 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: October 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Religion | Judaism - Sacred Writings - Science | Time - Science | Astronomy |
| Dewey: 529.326 |
| LCCN: 2014033847 |
| Series: IJS Studies in Judaica |
| Physical Information: 556 pages |
| Themes: - Religious Orientation - Jewish |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The ancient mathematical basis of the Aramaic calendars in the Dead Sea Scrolls is analysed in this investigation. Helen R. Jacobus re-examines an Aramaic zodiac calendar with a thunder divination text (4Q318) and the calendar from the Aramaic Astronomical Book (4Q208 - 4Q209), all from Qumran. Jacobus demonstrates that 4Q318 is an ancestor of the Jewish calendar today and that it helps us to understand 4Q208 - 4Q209. She argues that these calendars were taught in antiquity as angelic knowledge described in 1 Enoch and the Book of Jubilees. The study also encompasses Babylonian, Hellenistic, Byzantine astronomy and astrology, and classical and Jewish writings. Finally, a medieval Hebrew zodiac calendar related to 4Q318 with an astrological text is published here for the first time. |