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Astronomical Myth in the Biblical David and the Virgin-born Jesus K. Chandra Hari∗ 1. Introduction

The historicity of David, Solomon and Jesus is under debate since a very long time. We read in the gospel of Luke that – “Jesus was the son of Virgin Mary engaged to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David”. Biblical descriptions of the kingdoms of David and Solomon have not met with any supporting archaeological evidence in the excavations in and around Jerusalem. Archaeological findings do not credit Jerusalem with any importance (material culture is of a surprisingly low level) in the 10th century BC (early part of Iron Age II) when these great kings were supposed to have ushered in a Golden Age. David according to historians is possibly a legend of exploits much bigger than his life as is typical of legends and over the scores of centuries of its growth it might have accumulated many myths around it. If at all there had been a truly historical person at the core of such legends, he stands hidden by the myths that envelope him. Almost similar is the position that we meet with the case of Solomon who succeeded David to for reign of 40 years like his father. Empires of David and Solomon according to scholars were impossibilities between Egypt and Assyria, both far more populated with more sophisticated people. Further, we may take note that the Egyptian, Babylonian, Assyrian and Hittite peoples in the ancient Near East have left the material evidence of their empires in the form of tablets or papyri, art and inscriptions on buildings and monuments but the empire of David and Solomon is not mentioned in any such ancient near eastern source. According to Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman1, Bible is the effort of a group of defeated and dispossessed people of seventh century BCE to create an epic that united the people of Judah under Josiah who was the heir to the Omride dynasty of 9th-10th century BCE. David and Solomon as such were basically portrayals that reflect the age of Josiah who sought a united kingdom, territorial expansion, military conquests and the centralization of cult and politics in Jerusalem. Josiah challenged the Pharaoh and met with death while Jerusalem got destroyed and Jews had to be on exile from which they returned after the Persian conquest of Palestine in 539 BCE. Various biblical stories like the Moses’s challenge of the Pharaoh, Abraham's journey from Mesopotamia to Canaan, Conquest of Canaan and return to the promised land etc have their seeds in Josiah’s campaign and the return of the exiles in 6th century BCE. We may on the basis of the findings of archaeologists conclude that:

1. Bible began to be compiled about the 6th Century BCE by scribes on the basis of written records and, when these did not go back far enough, on national myths.

2. The records date back to the 10th century BCE when corroboration begins to appear in the records of other countries. The Assyrians palace inscriptions that refer to the Middle East campaigns contain names of the Israelite and Judean kings of the Omride dynasty mentioned in the Bible.

∗ chandrahari@hotmail.com 1 The Bible Unearthed, New York: The Free Press

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3. Absence of archaeological or textual evidence from non-biblical sources place question marks on the very existence of David and Solomon and their empires.

4. According to a report that quoted Professor Zeev Herzog, a veteran Israeli archaeologist, the scholarly community was almost entirely in agreement on the dubious historicity of the early part of the Bible. "It's difficult for the public to accept this," he wrote, "but it is clear to scholars that the Israelites did not dwell in Egypt, that they didn't wander the desert, that they didn't conquer the Holy Land and divide it among 12 tribes, and that the kingdom under David and Solomon, described in the Bible as a regional power, was at most a small tribal kingdom."

5. Some of the cities referred to as assaulted in 12th century BCE probably did not exist then and it appears that the description of Jericho as surrounded by wall is only an imagination.

In the light of these revelations of archaeologists the biblical story denuded of the humbug socio-political commentary and history of the near east may yield for us at least a few natural or astronomical myths of the 10th century BC when David and Solomon were supposed to have their reign.

2. Astronomy in Ancient Myths

Over the last few decades, a number of works2,3,4 have appeared that tend to explain the origin and contents of many myths and legends as representing some of the ancient astronomical observations. Researchers such as Dr. Edwin C. Krupp5 have suggested allegorical incorporation of celestial entities like the sun, moon, planets, and the constellations in the ancient myths of Hercules, Gilgimesh Mithra, and many others. Esoteric contents, social religion and the nature worship inherent in the Biblical compilation of myths make it a daunting task to decipher the astronomical element. Recent studies6, on the Bible against the backdrop of the Dead Sea scrolls and other archaeological findings tend to establish Jesus as a historical personality, a philosopher of the Essenes Sect and political revolutionary. An archaeological finding have given no corroboration of the tradition of Twelve Apostles and was probably a future incorporation much like the motifs of Virgin, the star of Bethlehem, and the symbolism of the zodiacal sign of Pisces in the portrayal of Jesus. Scholars have credited the Biblical narrative with zodiacal symbolism as early as 17957 when Dupuis termed it as the story of Sun and the 12 zodiac signs and also explored the 2 Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, Hamlet's Mill, Boston: Gambit Inc., 1969: 3 Eberhard Zangger, The Flood From Heaven: Deciphering the Atlantis Legend, Great Britain:

Sidgwick & Jackson Limited 1992. 4 Harald A. T. Reiche, "The Language of Archaic Astronomy: A Clue to the Atlantis Myth?"

Technology Review, Vol. 80, Number 2, December 1977, pp. 84-100. Reprinted in Astronomy of The Ancients, edited by Brecher and Feirtag (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press 1979). Second edition

5 Dr. Edwin C. Krupp, Beyond The Blue Horizon: Myths and Legends of the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Planets, New York: HarperCollins 1991, pp. 124-148

6 Dominic Crossan, The Historical Jesus: The Life of A Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, (New York: Harper, San Francisco 1991). Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, (New York: Harper Collins 1994), p. 108.

7 Charles François Dupuis, Origine de tous les Cultus, (Paris 1795)

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contribution of solar and lunar zodiacs in giving rise to the myths and legends worldwide. Archaeological investigations that took place since his days have established the prevalence of Zodiac in and around Palestine. As regards the incorporation of calendar myths in the biblical narrative different opinions exists and is in itself a topic research as to which of the gospels were first wrote and by whom8. The zodiacal cult of Mithras and the ideas of Zodiac and precession of the equinoxes probably had its spread towards west and the Greeks around the time of the final compilation of the Bible and as the story of Jesus and his teachings were probably reworked to gain the grandeur of an equal amount of knowledge of heavens as other contemporary religions/sects.

III. Astronomical Myths of the Bible

Many attempts have taken place to correlate David, Jesus and other biblical characters with zodiacal signs and their associated symbolism. Leaving aside all such studies and controversies, here the focus is onto two critical prophecies of which we find a description in the Bible and which are of extreme significance to the historians as well as the faithful believers of the narrative.

1. Luke 19.30-35 speaks of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on an ass on which hitherto no one had sat and an echo of the same can be found in the second book of Samuel 16.1 that speaks of a couple of saddled asses for the King David to ride over. Jesus chose to ride over an ass into Jerusalem to style himself as the Messiah spoken of in the prophecy that we see at the Book of Zechariah 9.9:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass”9

It is apparent that the King riding over the ass is a custom dating back to the supposed times of David and Solomon viz., the 10th century BCE.

2. The second of the prophecies that we shall consider here and has played a role in the biblical portrayal of Jesus belongs to the Book of Isaiah: 7:13-14:

“And he said, “Hear then. O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign, Behold, a young woman (virgin) shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Imman’u-el”.

According to Laurence Gardner, the Semitic word translated as ‘virgin’ is almah – which actually means no more than ‘a young woman’. What then is the source of the popular interpretation of the virgin birth of Jesus? We can find it in the place name Bethleh-em, the house of David – Hebrew word bethulah means a physical virgin and the place name had it’s origin from the fact that many Sun-Gods were considered as born of Virgin, the zodiacal sign Virgo. David itself belonged to Bethleh-em as Sun, the Virgin born.

8 Burton L. Mack, The Lost Gospel: The Book of Q & Christian Origins, (New York: Harper, San

Francisco 1993), see especially Chapter 11 "Mythmaking and the Christ," pp. 207-225. Also, Who Wrote The New Testament: The Making of The Christian Myth, (New York: Harper, San Francisco 1995).

9 The Holy Bible, Thomas Nelson & Sons, New York (1952) pp.743 - 744

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Deciphering the Astronomical Element

When contrasted against the Biblical epochs of David and Jesus viz., 1000 BC and 0 BC, the above central myths that may be identified as the “King riding over an Ass for coronation/anointing” and “Virgin giving birth to a son” receive an astronomical interpretation in terms of the precession of the equinoxes.

1. King riding over an Ass for coronation/anointing

Sun had its maximum declination (solstice) in 1000 BC over γ-Cancri & δ - Cancri as is evident from the following data:

• Epoch: 3rd July 1000 BC, 00:00 Jerusalem, JD = 1356356.41667: Sun: α = 06-00-00 & δ = 23049’.

γ-Cancri (Asellus Australis) located almost over the ecliptic had α = 05-47-00, δ = +23043’ while δ - Cancri (Asellus Borealis) or the Northern Ass had α = 05-42-00, δ = +26040’.

Summer solstice precisely coincided with δ - Cancri located nearly on the ecliptic (β = +005’) only in 785 BC but as the precession is a very slow variation of one degree in seventy-two years, the solstice was perhaps synonymous with the solar transit over δ-Cancri for hundreds of years on either side of 785 BC.

• Epoch: 01 July 785 BC, 01:00 Jerusalem: Sun: α = 06-00-00 & δ = 23047’.

γ-Cancri α = 06-00-09, δ = +23045’ while δ - Cancri α = 05-55-00, δ = +26044’. In this particular year Mars and Venus could be seen as morning stars while Jupiter and Mercury were evening stars. About these stars we can find the following details in Star Names And Their Meanings by RH Allen10.

“Asellus borealis and Asellus australis, the Northern and the Southern Ass Colt, were the Ονοι, or Asses, of Ptolemy and the Greeks; the Aselli, or Asini, of the Latins, distinguished by their position as here given, even to the present day, and now popularly known as the Donkeys…” Also, Allen says that these stars had the description as a Yoke and the biblical narrative too speaks of two Asses as stated earlier. In Luke 19:29-30, we see remarkable wording: ‘When he drew near to Beth’phage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying – “Go into the village opposite, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat; untie it and bring it here…” Astronomical myths almost universally describe the solstices in terms of Mounts in view of the maximum declination of Sun. Gospel of Mathew 17.1-2 is apparently description of the solstice: “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John his brother and led them up a high mountain apart. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the Sun and his garments became white as light”.

We have in this story Jesus the Sun, Peter → Jupiter, James and John → Mercury and Venus, with Mercury and Venus on either side of Sun as it’s said – “led them up a high mountain apart”. Emphasis added may be noted that gives the identity of Jesus.

10 RH Allen, Star Names And Their Meanings, Dover Publications, Inc, New York, pp. 111-112

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2. Virgin giving birth to a son – Birth of Jesus

The birth of Jesus received the portrayal as the son of a virgin due to the coincidence of the date of birth of Jesus with the autumnal equinox that entered the zodiacal sign Virgo. This coincidence in fact was a must for the recognition as a Messiah or Savior as ordained in the cryptic prophecy of Isaiah quoted earlier. In further pursuance of this idea, the date of birth of Christ may be fixed as 24 September 7 BCE that marked the beginning of the Jewish New Year – Rosh Hashanah – the day of anniversary of creation. According to Luke 1.26 & 36, John the Baptist was six months elder to Jesus and this peculiar interrelationship of their birth dates is in fact a Jewish calendar myth arising from the peculiarity of Jewish calendar that begins with Nisan but the New Year is celebrated in Tishri. John the Baptist of the Bible as such symbolized the spring equinox and had the date 22 March, the beginning of the last quarter, so that John and Jesus had their ministry ended at the age of 39.5 years/40 years – an esoteric number of the Jews. Crucifixion of Jesus falls, (forty sidereal years after the birth of John the Baptist), on 3rd April 33 AD which coincided with full moon and the Passover. Thus the above two myths together represents the precession and calendar phenomena of the period of nearly thousand years in which the cardinal points regressed through fourteen degrees. Summer solstice of the tenth century BCE and autumnal equinox of 0 BCE gets representation in the portrayal of the House of David, Solomon and Jesus. This astronomical interpretation of the biblical narrative is in agreement with the archaeological findings that do not extend any historical support to the narrative prior to those of Kings Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh of Judah who reigned during 732-642 BCE, when the solstice happened on the Aselli. IV. Influence of the Babylonian Zodiac Use of zodiacal signs in the interpretation necessitates a note about the sidereal zodiac prevalent in those days. Original epoch of Zodiac and the Babylonian sidereal astronomy may be are topics open to dispute but there are certain features that are strikingly different from the present day conceptions of the Zodiac.

1. Babylonian Zodiac of the Seleucid period around 300 BC had a zero point nearly seven degrees west of the vernal equinox.

2. Above zero point in turn placed the fiducial star at a longitude of 8 signs or 2400 or at the end point of the eighth sign of the zodiac that represented the genitals and this conception lies at the root of worship of time as genitals.

3. The fiduciary star was λ - Scorpii or Shaula, known in India as Mūlādhāram (Mūla, the fiducial) and variously portrayed as the Phallus, Healer, Death and the source of all occult powers and the one who has transcended the death.

4. Hindu epics and ancient literature of the Tantrik cults, called Puranas variously describe the above fiduciary star as the bearer/ son of the Milky Way, as marking the year beginning celebrated since ancient times as the festival of lights and is the foundation of the present day Hindu way of life characterized by genital worship of time as Mahākāla (Great Time) Siva. 11

In this tradition of the sidereal zodiac, the autumnal equinox entered the sign Virgo only in AD 231- epoch that had a new moon at the zero point or the beginning of Aries coinciding with vernal

11 K. Chandra Hari, Hindu Zodiac & Ancient Astronomy, Sri Sabarigiri Publications, Kadapara, Kumbanad,

India-6.

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equinox. Biblical narrative as such had its genesis in the Babylonian astronomical conceptions of the period 785 BCE to AD 231 in which the cardinal points coincided with the quarters of the Babylonian Zodiac of fixed signs. The esoteric dimensions of astronomical legends had their origin in conceiving a tāntrik (occultist) or yogic body on the sky whose genitals or Kunda was the source of the occult power that gave immortality viz., the serpent fire or Kundalini. Manipulation of this esoteric power had great significance on the element of time, especially the eclipses and therefore the ancient Hindu Zodiac drew its name from the nodes of Moon (that apparently caused the eclipses) as Rāhu – Śikhi Cakra, Wheel of the Nodes of Moon or Wheel of the Serpent of Time. Occult symbols such as the seal of Solomon or coiled serpent and the Caduceus or the two intertwined serpents on a staff – the symbol of healing that modern medical science has adopted, are representations of the immortality arising out of the great Kundalini serpent. More particularly, Caduceus or the two intertwined serpents on a staff, represents the tāntrik esoteric body consisting of the cerebro-spinal axis and the two intertwining tāntrik nerves (nādis) Ida & Pingala of Sun & Moon. Central to all tāntrik conceptions is the sidereal zodiac conceived as a tāntric body, the bottom of the cerebro-spinal axis of which is marked by the fiduciary star λ-Scorpii. Caduceus as such is a representation of the luni-solar phenomena aiding the occult power Kun d alinī (serpent power according to Sir John Woodroff) with reference to λ-Scorpii or Mūlādhāram as may be understood from tāntrik texts like Sadcakranirūpan a.

V. Epoch of King David in Indian Epics

Allegorical description of the solstices falling at the middle of the Cancer on δ - Cancri was almost universal as is evident from the Indian Epics, Mahābhārata & Rāmāyan a. In Mahābhārata, the chapter titled as “Pusya parva” describe the epoch as the reign of King Pus ya, the 8th lunar manzil of the ancient Indian/ Babylonian tāntrik zodiac. The eighth lunar manzil extended from east to west across 93020’ to 106040’ and solstice transited it during 969 BCE to 8 BCE. Pus ya also meant δ - Cancri and the episode of Mahābhārata describes the association of Prince Janamejaya (Sun) and Prince Pus ya (δ-Cancri) at the residence of Guru Veda and the conflict of the latter’s disciple Uttaňka with the serpent Taksaka, bosom friend of Indra who represented the solstice in Vedic pantheon. Taksaka is the famed serpent of the Hindu zodiac, the 9th lunar manzil Āślesā, also known as Kārkotaka from whom the sign Cancer received the Indian name of Karkat aka. Initial episodes of Mahābhārata concluding with the annihilation of the serpents represented by the 9th lunar manzil as such provide an allegorical description of the shift of solstice from the 9th manzil represented by α - Cancri/ ε - Hydrae to the 8th manzil represented by δ - Cancri.

Above astronomical phenomenon appears at the beginning of Rāmāyan a also in the description of King Rāma’s coronation/ beginning of the 14-years exile on a day presided over by Pus ya naks atra (8th lunar manzil). As explained by John Bentley12 almost two hundred years before and the verses translated independently13 suggest solstice and a solar eclipse coinciding with the 8th lunar manzil represented by γ and δ Cancri. Event may be dated as the solar eclipse of 3rd July 903 BC when the Sun, Moon, Mars and the ascending node had conjoined γ and δ Cancri. It was a total eclipse in

12 ‘A Historical Review of Hindu Astronomy’, Part –I, Asiatic Review, Calcutta 13 Rāmāyana, Ayōdhyā-kānda IV.18-22, page.210 of Gita Press edition 1998

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places east of New Delhi where Ayodhya is situated, the eclipsed Sun rose in the solar month of Cancer and Mars was visible during the eclipse. Mahābhārata cryptically described the epoch at the outset as Pus ya-parva while Rāmāyan a depicted the author as Vālmīkī – Rs i born of Vālmīka, a cryptic reference to ĀśỊes ā, the 9th lunar manzil (on sidereal zodiac: 106040’ – 1200).

Mahābhārata begins with a reference to the 12-Year Satra (Sacrificial session) held by Kulapati Śaunaka (meaning the Dog) at Naimis āran ya where Sauti Ugraśravā presented the story of Mahābhārata before the assembled R s is. After Paus ya parva, in Mahābhārata, we see Śaunaka (Dog) querying about the Sarpasatra (snake-sacrifice) held by Janamejaya and from chapter 13 to 59 the characters of the epic drama are mainly the serpents (symbol of the 9th lunar manzil) and the contents include their origin as well ancestral details. This prefatory account of the Nāgas (snakes) and Nāgakanyās in fact is an allegorical portrayal of the course of Sun “Pitr yāna or Daks in āyana” that follows the summer solstice. R s i Śaunaka is none other than the ‘Dog star Sirius’ which heliacally rises after the summer solstice followed by constellations Hydra or Kadru, Mother of all serpents, and the Virgo or Kanyā appearing in succession on the eastern horizon before sunrise as we proceed along the path of the Pitr s. Sirius or α-Canis Major, the brightest of the stars, was invisible in the period preceding summer solstice around 1000 BC as it was below the horizon during night-time. As sun advanced across the 9th lunar manzil ĀśỊesā and approached the 10th lunar manzil “Maghā of Pitrs” Sirius or Śaunaka (Dog) became visible above the horizon before sunrise. Standard data puts the heliacal rising of Sirius in 1000 BC14 approximately 105 days ahead of the vernal equinox or 11 days after summer solstice at latitude of 300. Heliacal phenomena constitutes one of the basic rhythms of the sky and have been in tremendous use for calendar purposes in almost all ancient cultures like the Pharaonic Egypt, Maya etc. and is therefore not surprising to have played a role in India as well.

After one-and-a-half months of the summer solstice Maghā of Pitrs [Regulus or α - Leonis] and part of Hydra became visible above the horizon before sunrise. The principal star of Hydra, α-Hydrae or Alphard rose exactly on the east with equator cutting the snake into two with α-Hydrae on the equator and was visible above the horizon before sunrise along with Maghā of Pitrs. In Mahābhārata the phenomenon became the meeting of Rs i Jaratkāru with the Pitr s and his marriage with Vāsuki’s (Equator personified as a snake) sister of the same name.

With further passage of time we see the heliacal rising of Crater, Corvus, Virgo and Spica till sun reaches the equator on the autumnal equinox. All these constellations figure in the introductory chapters of Mahābhārata along with the serpents in the form of Amr takumbha, Garuda, Mōhinī, Rāhu and Ketu etc.

An astronomical myth of the epics is a very exhaustive topic and we shall not go into more details in the present paper. Here it’s sufficient to observe that the biblical epoch has an exact parallel in the Indian epoch and both have found an allegorical description in the respective legends and compilations such as the Bible or the Indian epics. It’s worth noting here that the Indian epics Mahābhārata & Rāmāyan a presents the history of the lunar and solar dynasty (Candra-vamśa &

14 In 2000 BC Sirius heliacally rose 96 days after the spring equinox, i.e. just the day after summer solstice at

300 latitude.

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Sūrya-vamśa) respectively – an explicit admission of the astronomical content of the epics. Most of the Hindu dynasties in India in later times articulated their genealogies so as to claim the legacy of the epic heroes and in this exercise they ended up sponsoring the creation of fictitious historical characters and narratives in the Purān ic literature. Almost similar is the situation in the case of Bible.

VI. Conclusions

Biblical portrayals of David, Solomon and Jesus have their some of the salient features originating out of the astronomical myths prevalent over Mesopotamia and also probably India. Two of the cardinal aspects of the biblical narrative are shown to have their origin in the astronomical phenomenon of summer solstice of 1000BCE /786 BCE and autumnal equinox of the period around the beginning of the Common Era or perhaps two centuries later. Epoch of David and Solomon that we find described in the Bible meets with a similar astro-mythological exposition in the Indian epics as well in a far more detailed manner. Astronomical interpretation of the biblical story line with due consideration for the Jewish calendar leads us to the epochs around which the legend of Jesus was built up during the compilation of gospels – namely – the birth of Jesus deriving its mythical dimensions from the date 24 September 7 BCE and crucifixion on the date 3rd April 33 AD. Both these dates do not contradict any known historical factors such as the reign of Herod or Pontius Pilate between which the biblical drama took place.