This article contains a more in depth analysis of a discovery I made concerning ancient astronomical cycles embedded in the antediluvian chronology of the patriarchs back in 2009 (see
Ancient Astronomy of the Bible). Back then, I concluded that each of the patriarchs from Adam to Noah symbolically represented one of the planets in the solar system, as follows:
| Patriarch | Planet |
| Adam | ? |
| Seth | Neptune |
| Enosh | Uranus |
| Cainan | Saturn |
| Mahalalel | Jupiter |
| Jared | Mars |
| Enoch | Earth/Sun |
| Methuselah | Venus |
| Lamech | Mercury |
| Noah | Moon |
What the evidence shows is that somehow in ancient times they knew of the planets Neptune and Uranus. This is corroborated by an account in Josephus stating that the antediluvians were experts in making astronomical observations. As for Uranus, it can be faintly seen with the eye, and it is referenced as a star in an ancient Babylonian tablet. But there is no explanation for knowledge of the existence of Neptune. And also note whereas we number planets of the solar system from the Sun going outward, here the planets are ordered from outside the solar system going inward. At the time I had no explanation for the chronology given to the patriarch Adam.
The spiritual interpretation of this is that the race of Adam fell from direct contact with heaven. However there is a more literal interpretation here: that there was some extraterrestrial influence or contact in ancient times involving the race of Adam. Contact was at first open, but then was broken off as man degenerated into evil. Swedenborg does state that the first 11 chapters are semi-historical, but written in a symbolic mythical manner. From the spiritual revelations he received, he was shown that Adam was not a literal individual, but rather represented the first race of men who were spiritual, unlike the previous inhabitants of earth.
In other revelations received by Swedenborg, he saw that extraterrestrials exist on other planets, and the ones he encountered are all in human form, like us. Due to the limited scientific knowledge of his days he assumed they were from our planets of the solar system (see
An Explanation of Swedenborg's Extraterrestrial Encounters). The question then arises: how is it that these extraterrestrials are human like us? And do they share the same genetic code? There are two explanations:
- Life tends to evolve throughout the universe toward the human form, or,
- An advanced race, due to the harshness of each planet's environment, "seeds" a planet to establish and expand their own race.
I think both explanations are possibilities. But let us first examine the evidence.
ANTEDILUVIAN CHRONOLOGY
From a very precise astronomical observation during the birth of Abraham as recorded in the book of Jasher, we can establish that Abraham was born in 1953 B.C. (see
The Astronomy of the Birth of Abraham (1953 B.C.)). From this we can derive the dates of the chronology of the patriarchs before the flood:
| Patriarch | Total Years | Birth (B.C.) | Death (B.C.) |
| Adam | 930 | 3901 | 2971 |
| Seth | 912 | 3771 | 2859 |
| Enosh | 905 | 3666 | 2761 |
| Cainan | 910 | 3576 | 2666 |
| Mahalalel | 895 | 3506 | 2611 |
| Jared | 962 | 3441 | 2479 |
| Enoch | 365 | 3279 | 2914 |
| Methuselah | 969 | 3214 | 2245 |
| Lamech | 777 | 3027 | 2250 |
| Noah | 950 | 2845 | 1895 |
The book of Jasher also contains a curious chronological reference: Adam died in the 243rd year of the life of Methuselah, which was the 243rd year of the reign of Enoch:
And it was in the year of Adam's death which was the two hundred and forty-third year of the reign of Enoch, in that time Enoch resolved to separate himself from the sons of men and to secret himself as at first in order to serve the Lord. (Jasher 3:17)
A period of 243 years is something that is significant to modern astronomers: every 243 years the planet Venus makes a direct transit across the Sun. While conjunctions are common, transits of Venus across the face of the Sun are not. Two transits will occur 8 years apart, which will repeat itself exactly 243 years later. Enoch began his reign in 3214 B.C., the year his son Methuselah was born. As it turns out,
there was a Venus transit across the face of the Sun in 3214 B.C., and this Venus transit repeated itself exactly 243 years later in 2971 B.C. which was the year of the death of Adam.
This can hardly be a coincidence. It implies that the chronology embedded in Genesis is symbolic, and is related to astronomical events. Presuming that these ancient astronomers knew that the earth rotated around the Sun, Enoch represents the earth since his life of 365 years represents a solar year of 365 days. As the 243 year period of the transits of Venus begins with the birth of Methuselah we can say Methuselah represents Venus.
Are there any other significant numbers in the chronology? Below is a table which shows the age of each patriarch at the time of death. Significant periods that match astronomical cycles that match exactly I have marked in
red, whereas ones that are close are marked in
orange:
| Death of: | Seth | Enosh | Cainan | Mahalalel | Jared | Enoch | Methuselah | Lamech | Noah |
| Adam | 800 | 695 | 605 | 535 | 470 | 308 | 243 | 56 | |
| Seth | | 807 | 717 | 647 | 582 | 420 | 355 | 168 | |
| Enosh | | | 815 | 745 | 680 | 518 | 453 | 266 | 84 |
| Cainan | | | | 840 | 775 | 613 | 548 | 361 | 179 |
| Mahalalel | | | | | 830 | 668 | 603 | 416 | 234 |
| Jared | | | | | | 800 | 735 | 548 | 366 |
| Enoch | 857 | 752 | 662 | 592 | 527 | | 300 | 113 | |
| Methuselah | | | | | | 1034 | | 782 | 600 |
| Lamech | | | | | | 1029 | | | 595 |
The first column represents the year of the death of a patriarch before the flood. The other columns represent the age of the other patriarchs at the time of death. As Enoch did not die but ascended into heaven, his row shows the age of each patriarch at the time of his ascension. As his death is not mentioned, his age is shown in italics for the years of the deaths of each patriarch.
Just as the ages at death may be significant, the same applies to the age of birth. Below is a similar table showing ages of the patriarchs at each birth:
| Birth of: | Adam | Seth | Enosh | Cainan | Mahalalel | Jared | Enoch | Methuselah | Lamech |
| Seth | 130 | | | | | | | | |
| Enosh | 235 | 105 | | | | | | | |
| Cainan | 325 | 195 | 90 | | | | | | |
| Mahalalel | 395 | 265 | 160 | 70 | | | | | |
| Jared | 460 | 330 | 225 | 135 | 65 | | | | |
| Enoch | 622 | 492 | 387 | 297 | 227 | 162 | | | |
| Methuselah | 687 | 557 | 452 | 362 | 292 | 227 | 65 | | |
| Lamech | 874 | 744 | 639 | 549 | 479 | 414 | 252 | 187 | |
| Noah | | 926 | 821 | 731 | 661 | 596 | 434 | 369 | 182 |
Below I discuss how each of the numbers are astronomically significant.
ENOCH AND THE CALENDRICAL YEAR
Enoch was 308 years old at the time of death for Adam. There is a cycle of the moon which lasts about 19 years during which time the eclipses repeat during the same time of the year, but it is off slightly and after 308 years it is off by a day from the solar calendar. His life of 365 years obviously represents a solar year.
After the death of Adam Seth next dies, at which time Methuselah was 355 years old. There are 355 days in the lunar year. Just as the life of Enoch represents the solar year, his son Methuselah in this manner represents the lunar year.
In the antediluvian chronology a Saturn-Uranus conjunction occurred in the year of the ascension of Enoch in 2914 B.C., and another had occurred earlier near the time of Enoch's birth in 3275 B.C. Eight Saturn-Uranus conjunctions occur over a period of about 360 years, which represents a perfect year of 360 days just as Enoch's life of 365 years represents a solar year of 365 days. A Saturn-Uranus conjunction occurred near the birth of Adam (3905 B.C.) and another near the birth of Seth (3770 B.C.).
During the 360 year period of Saturn-Uranus conjunctions, Saturn does 12 revolutions around the Sun as it has a 29.5 year. This corresponds to a year of 360 days, with months of 29 or 30 days, similar to a 29.5 day lunar month. This may be the origin of applying a year to a day in prophecy throughout the Bible:
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure. (Num 14:34)
Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. (Ezek. 4:6)
Thus the life of Enoch represents the solar year of the earth orbiting the Sun, and Methuselah's age at the death of Seth represents the shorter lunar year of 355 days.
ENOSH AS URANUS
The book of Jasher notes in another passage the age of Noah as the patriarchs before him die before the coming of the flood:
And it was in the eighty-fourth year of the life of Noah, that Enosh the son of Seth died, he was nine hundred and five years old at his death. (Jasher 5:1)
The first one who dies is Enosh, who died in the 84th year of Noah. This is significant - according to this theory Enosh represents the planet Uranus, and Uranus has an orbital period of 84 years. A multiple of 84 years appears in three other numbers: Lamech was 168 years (2 x 84) and Enoch was 420 years (5 x 84) when Seth died; and Mahalalel was 840 years (10 x 84) when Cainan died. Seth and Cainan are the father and son of Enosh respectively who represents Uranus.
Enosh, who represents Uranus, was 90 years old when he gave birth to his son Cainan who represents Saturn. Saturn-Uranus conjunctions occur on a periodic basis every 45 years, and 90 is 2 x 45.
SETH AS NEPTUNE
Seth should represent Neptune, since his son Enosh represents Uranus. If we look at all conjunctions between Neptune and Uranus, the latter of which represents his son Enosh, there were three conjunctions in the years 3664-63 B.C. which is close to the birth of Enosh by Seth in 3666 B.C. A Uranus-Neptune conjunction is a perfect representation of the birth of Enosh by Seth. Uranus-Neptune conjunctions take place about every 171 years, and this is the only date in the antediluvian chronology that is close to a Uranus-Neptune conjunction.
As Seth is the first after Adam he did not live to see any death, however his age at births of a couple of other patriarchs is significant. Neptune has an orbital period of about 165 years, and Seth was 330 years (2 x 165) at the birth of Jared. Seth was 492 years old at the birth of Enoch which is close to 494 years (3 x 165), or three revolutions of Neptune.
CAINAN AS SATURN
Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune enter into a conjunction about every 179 years, and Cainan died in the 179th year of Noah. This 179 year period is noted in the life of Mahalalel his son who lived 895 years which is 5 x 179.
Saturn and Neptune enter into a conjunction about every 35-36 years. Cainan was 70 years old when he gave birth to Mahalalel which is double this cycle. There were a series of Saturn-Neptune conjunctions from 3571 to 2676 B.C. over a period of 895 years which is 5 x 179. This is an inexact match for the life of Cainan which was from 3576 to 2666 B.C.
Adam was 325 years old when Cainan was born which is 11 revolutions of Saturn. Seth the son of Adam was 225 years old when Cainan's son Mahalalel was born which is 9 revolutions of Saturn.
MAHALALEL AS JUPITER
Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years which is 5 x 179. There is a 179 year period (178.73) in which Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune enter into a conjunction. Mahalalel lived from 3506 - 2611 B.C. There was a Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune cycle that lasted from 3501 – 2608 B.C. On Aug. 5, 2611 B.C. Jupiter was occulted by Mercury – a rare occurrence.
Jupiter has a synodic period of almost exactly 83 years. Lamech was 416 years old at the time of Mahalalel's death, which is close to 415 years which is 5 x 83. Jared, the son of Mahalalel, was exactly 830 years old at the time of Mahalalel's death which is 10 x 83. Enoch's age of 668 years comes close to 664 years which is 8 x 83.
JARED AS MARS
There is a synodic period of 32 years between Venus and Mars. Jared lived 962 years which is 30 x 32. Jared lived from 3441 to 2479 B.C. and there is a series of Venus-Mars conjunctions which lasted from July 9, 3438 B.C. to July 9, 2479 B.C.
Jared represents Mars and Methuselah represents Venus, and there is a clever method by which the Mars-Venus conjunctions in the timeline of Jared is indicated in the chronology. In the year Jared was born, Enosh was 225 years old and Venus has an orbital period of 225 days. In the year Methuselah was born, Adam was 687 years old and Mars has an orbital period of 687 days. The orbital periods are switched for the planetary representations of Jared and Methuselah to represent a conjunction between the two planets in the chronology for the life of Jared.
Methuselah gave birth to his son when he was 187 years old where the last 2 digits represent the number 687, similar to how the last 2 digits of 130 and 930 in the life of Adam represent the number 330 in the life of Seth (see above section, "Seth as Neptune").
LAMECH AS MERCURY
According to this theory Lamech represents the planet Mercury, which has an orbit of only 88 days. However there are longer synodic cycles for the planet Mercury. From
Mercury Catalog (now defunct):
“…consecutive transits of Mercury appear to be separated by either 3.5, 7, 9.5, 10 or 13 years. The pattern is rather complex because of Mercury's elliptical orbit. The shorter periods are a consequence of several longer harmonics between the orbital periods of Mercury and Earth. The 13 year period is of particular note because it corresponds to nearly 54 orbits of Mercury around the Sun (it falls short of a perfect fit by just 2.01 days). A longer period of 33 years (10 + 10 + 13) produces an even better fit which corresponds to 137 orbits of Mercury minus 1.67 days. If one combines the 13 year and 33 year periods together, the 46 year total equals 191 orbits of Mercury plus only 0.34 days.”
There are a series of 17 synodic periods of Mercury each lasting 46 years from 3032-2250 B.C. which lasted 782 years. The year 2250 B.C. was when Lamech died. Lamech lived 777 years, but if he had lived 5 years longer he would have been aged 782 when his son Methuselah died in 2245 B.C., which was also the year of Noah's flood. Lamech was 182 years old when he fathered Methuselah which symbolically references this longer 782 year period.
There is thus a five year discrepancy in the chronology of Lamech, and this five year discrepancy is noted in the book of Jasher, which adds the odd detail that it took Noah five years to build the ark from the death of Lamech to the time of the flood:
In his five hundred and ninety-fifth year Noah commenced to make the ark, and he made the ark in five years, as the Lord had commanded. (Jasher 5:34)
This five year discrepancy also shows up in other areas of the chronology:
- Cainan was born in 3576 B.C. but his astronomical cycle began 5 years later in 3571 B.C.
- Mahalalel was born in 3506 B.C. but his astronomical cycle began 5 years later in 3501 B.C.
- Enoch was born in 3279 B.C. and there was a Saturn-Uranus conjunction 5 years later in 3275 B.C.
The five year discrepancy thus seems to be intentional. The Saturn-Uranus conjunctions demarcate a 360 year period, and in ancient times a 360 day year was seen as a "perfect" year since the circle was divided into 360 degrees to simplify mathematical calculations.
NOAH AS THE MOON
Noah represents the Moon, as the crescent Moon was often viewed as a boat that travelled across the night sky in the ancient world. The ancient Sumerian god of the Moon, Nanna, was originally depicted as a crescent boat.
Lunar eclipses repeat over a 19 year period which is known as the Metonic cycle and was the basis of the ancient Greek calendar. As the Hebrews used a soli-lunar calendar the 19 year the Metonic cycle was likely known to them as well. Noah and three other patriarchs lived a multiple of 19:
| Patriarch | Total Years | Metonic Cycles |
| Adam | 930 | 49 x 19 (for 931) |
| Seth | 912 | 48 x 19 |
| Methuselah | 969 | 51 x 19 |
| Noah | 950 | 50 x 19 |
Adam is one year off from 931 years which is a perfect multiple of 19, which was perhaps done to signify his fallen state. There is a 76 year Callippic cycle which is an improvement over the 19 year Metonic cycle of the Moon, and Seth lived a multiple of the Callippic cycle (912 = 12 x 76).
In the year 2245 B.C., the year of the Flood of Noah, the Moon constantly occulted the star Beta Capricorni in the constellation of Capricorn, the fish goat. This star is close to the constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer, and is thus a fitting symbolism for the Flood of Noah.
OCCULTATIONS OF STARS BY LUNAR ECLIPSES
A period of 800 years appears twice in the chronology:
- Seth was 800 years old when his father Adam died.
- Enoch would have been 800 years old when his father Jared died.
It just so happens that similar lunar eclipses will occult stars close to the ecliptic
every 800 years. Studies have been done on the star Regulus as it is one of the brightest stars in the sky that is close to the ecliptic (see
PREDICTABLE PERIODIC EVENTS and
Occultations by Eclipsed Moon).
In studies of occultations of the the star Regulus similar lunar eclipses will be separated by 19 or 65 years. The 19 year periodicity is from the Metonic cycle of the Moon. The 65 year period is more accurate for predicting the return of a similar lunar eclipse in the sky. That a 65 year period was considered significant is shown in a prophecy of Isaiah:
And within sixty-five years Ephraim will be shattered from being a people (Isa. 7:8).
It would be interesting to study if this 65 year period was actually related to a lunar eclipse cycle. A period of 65 years appears three times in the antediluvian chronology, all related to a birth:
- Adam was 130 years or 2 x 65 when he gave birth to Seth.
- Mahalalel was 65 years old when he gave birth to Jared.
- Enoch, the son of Jared, was 65 years old giving birth to Methuselah.
We will first take a look at the first instance to see if the chronology is related to any occultations of stars by lunar eclipses.
ADAM AND THE PROPHECY OF THE STARS
The numbers 65 and 800 are related to occultations or conjunctions with stars by lunar eclipses and these two numbers also appear in the chronology for Adam. Adam was 130 years or 2 x 65 when he gave birth to Seth after which he lived 800 years. This implies an occultation or conjunction of a star in the vicinity of a lunar eclipse at the birth of Adam (3901 B.C.) and again at the birth of Seth (3771 B.C.) and again at the death of Adam in (2971 B.C.). The following chart shows the lunar eclipses and occulted stars that occured close to the eclipse in those years:
| Event: | 3901 B.C. | 3771 B.C | 2971 B.C. |
| Lunar eclipse | Feb 15 | Feb 17 | Feb 23 |
| Occulted star | Feb 17 (Alpha Librae) | Feb 19 (Alpha Librae) | Mar 2 (Beta Capricorni) |
| Lunar eclipse | Aug 10 | Aug 14 | Aug 18 |
| Occulted star | Aug 8 (Beta Capricorni) | Aug 8 (Beta Capricorni) | Aug 13 (Beta Capricorni) |
This is not a good match. The Moon did not occult a star near the time of a lunar eclipse. The years are our calendrical year from January to January, and in ancient times years typically began with the vernal or autumnal equinox. Moreover Adam lived 930 years, but 931 years is 50 x 19, a multiple of the Metonic cycle of the Moon. If we shift the date by 1 year to begin at 3902 B.C., the time when Adam was in the Garden of Eden, we obtain this result:
| Event: | 3902 B.C. | 3772 B.C | 2972 B.C. |
| Lunar eclipse | Feb 25 | Feb 28 | Mar 5 |
| Occulted star | Feb 25 (Spica) | Feb 27 (Spica) | Mar 5 (Spica) |
| Lunar eclipse | Mar 27 | Mar 30 | |
| Occulted star | Mar 24 (Spica) | Mar 27 (Spica) | |
| Occulted star | Mar 26 (Alpha Librae) | Mar 28 (Alpha Librae) | |
| Occulted star | Mar 27 (Beta Scorpii) | Mar 30 (Beta Scorpii) | |
| Lunar eclipse | Aug 22 | Aug 24 | Aug 29 |
| Occulted star | Aug 27 (Zeta Tauri) | Aug 28 (Zeta Tauri) | Sep 4 (Zeta Tauri) |
| Lunar eclipse | | Sep 23 | |
| Occulted star | | Sep 25 (Zeta Tauri) | |
This is an amazing result. Two of the years contained more than two lunar eclipses, and the stars Spica in the constellation of Virgo and Beta Scorpii in the constellation of Scorpio were occulted on the same night as the lunar eclipse (marked in
red). In two cases three stars were occulted by the Moon right before a lunar eclipse. Thus the year 3902 B.C. was astronomically significant enough to choose it as a starting point in the chronology.
The association of the creation of Adam with the constellations of Virgo and Scorpio is probably intentional. The myths surrounding the original constellations preserved prophecies given to the Most Ancient Church, long before the Messianic prophecies were given to the Jews. Swedenborg confirms that there were two ancient churches that preceded the Jewish church before they were corrupted by idolatry. This was discussed in detail in the book
The Witness of the Stars by E.W. Bullinger. Virgo is the virgin and Jesus was born of a virgin, whose birth was prophesied in a prophecy given to the serpent in the Garden of Eden:
I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel (Gen. 3:15).
In depictions of the constellation Scorpio, it is shown as stinging the foot of the hero Ophiucus, the serpent holder who struggles with the serpent:
Beta (β) Scorpii is the star in Scorpio that is near the ecliptic:
What we may see here is that in ancient times the Moon was seen to occult three stars before a lunar eclipse, and from revelation that may have been interpreted as a future prophecy of the God-man born of a virgin, who would defeat evil represented by the scorpion.
JARED, ENOCH AND THE PLEIADES
Jared died 800 years after having given birth to Methuselah. As periods of 65 and 800 years apply to occultations of stars by lunar eclipses, this is a strong indication that the chronology references a lunar eclipse that occults or is in conjunction with a star at the birth of Enoch (3279 B.C.) which repeats 65 years later at the birth of Methuselah (3214 B.C.) and again 800 years later at the death of Jared (2479 B.C.). Focusing on stars up to magnitude 3, the following chart shows what stars were occulted by the Moon near the time of a lunar eclipses:
| Event: | 3279 B.C. | 3214 B.C | 2479 B.C. |
| Lunar eclipse | Mar 10 | Mar 11 | Mar 15 |
| Occulted star | Mar 11 (Alpha Librae) | Mar 12 (Alpha Librae) | (none) |
| Lunar eclipse | Sep 2 | Sep 5 | Sep 9 |
| Occulted star | Sep 5 (Alcyone) | Sep 8 (Zeta Tauri) | Sep 11 (Alcyone) |
In 3214 B.C. the moon was in a close conjunction with Alcyone on September 7.
The other 65 year period is between the birth of Mahalalel (3506 B.C.) and the birth of his son Jared (3441 B.C.). The following alignments occurred in those years:
| Event: | 3506 B.C. | 3441 B.C. |
| Lunar eclipse | May 27 | May 27 |
| Occulted star | May 30 (Deneb Algedi) | May 26 (Kaus Borealis) |
| Lunar eclipse | Nov 20 | Nov 22 |
| Occulted star | Nov 19 (Zeta Tauri) | Nov 18 (Alcyone) |
The chronology of Jared and Enoch is pointing us to the star Alcyone in the Pleiades cluster. This fills in several gaps: the birth of Mahalalel, Jared and Enoch can now be explained by an astronomical cycle.
THE SONS OF GOD OF THE PLEIADES
We can tentatively conclude that the chronology for Jared and Enoch is pointing us to the star cluster of the Pleiades. So why? It is actually an interesting result and I was surprised to find it. It is related to an odd passage in the Bible concerning the antediluvians:
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. ...There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. (Gen. 6:1-2, 4)
The word for giants in Hebrew is Nephilim, which literally means "the fallen ones." They were inhabitants in the land of Canaan before it was conquered by the Israelites under Joshua. There is some debate as to the identity of these "sons of God." The only other time the phrase "sons of God" is used in the Old Testament is in the book of Job (Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7) and it either refers to the angels of heaven or evil spirits.
The apocryphal book of Enoch was written beginning in the 3rd century B.C. which preserves the tradition that these sons of God were "angels" who descended from heaven and sinned by mating with the women on earth. This belief is preserved by early Jewish authors such as Philo, Josephus, ancient Rabbinical texts, and several ancient church fathers of the early Christian church. It is quoted as scripture in the book of Jude and the Epistle of Barnabas. These "angels" somehow changed their nature into flesh. If this tradition preserved an actual event, they are obviously not angels but rather extraterrestrial humans, with a slight genetic difference that would cause giants to be born. The book of Enoch may in fact be the earliest explicit reference to an extraterrestrial contact.
Now, the book of Enoch contains a couple of curious references when describing the punishment of these "angels" who sinned in the afterlife:
"...I saw a place which had no firmament of the heaven above, and no firmly founded earth beneath it: there was no water upon it, and no birds, but it was a waste and horrible place. I saw there seven stars like great burning mountains, and to me, when I inquired regarding them, the angel said: 'This place is the end of heaven and earth: this has become a prison for the stars and the host of heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord in the beginning of their rising, because they did not come forth at their appointed times. And He was wroth with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt should be consummated (even) ⌈for ten thousand years⌉.'" (Enoch 18:12-16)
And in another passage the "angels" are described as seven stars:
"I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. And there I saw seven stars of the heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. Then I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in hither?' Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels, who was with me, and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why dost thou ask, and why art thou eager for the truth? These are of the number of the stars ⌈of heaven⌉, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here till ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.' And from thence I went to another place, which was still more horrible than the former, and I saw a horrible thing: a great fire there which burnt and blazed, and the place was cleft as far as the abyss, being full of great descending columns of fire: neither its extent or magnitude could I see, nor could I conjecture. Then I said: 'How fearful is the place and how terrible to look upon!' Then Uriel answered me, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: 'Enoch, why hast thou such fear and affright?' And I answered: 'Because of this fearful place, and because of the spectacle of the pain.' And he said ⌈⌈unto me⌉⌉: 'This place is the prison of the angels, and here they will be imprisoned for ever.'" (Enoch 21:2-9)
There is only one set of stars that are said to be be seven in number, and these are the seven stars of the Pleiades. Thus I was rather surprised to find that the symbolic chronology of Jared and Enoch were associated with lunar eclipses near the time that the star Alcyone of the Pleiades was occulted by the moon.
There are several other indications that this tradition is ancient, and even predates the book of Enoch. In Greek mythology, the Pleiades are seven sisters who were put into the starry heaven in order to escape from the pursuit of the giant huntsman Orion. However there is even an earlier tradition from a myth from the Near East:
"In the ancient Near East, the Pleiades were associated with the binding of the Sibettu demons of which there are seven. The Sibettu-Pleiades were designated sons of the underworld god Enmesarra, who, when defeated by Marduk, were bound and placed in jail. Enmesarra and his sons remain under permanent guard, and at night the demon sons are the Pleiades in the eastern sky, seven stars bound." (A Study of the Geography of 1 Enoch 17-19, by Kelley Coblentz Bautch, p. 148).
Just as the angels in the book of Enoch are bound in the netherworld for having sinned, so this myth associates the binding of the seven Sibettu demons with the Pleiades. However this is not all: the Pleiades are singled out in the Bible in three passages (Job 9:9, 38:31, Amos 5:8). Of these the second passage is worth quoting:
Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades or loose the cords of Orion? (Job 38:31)
This may be in fact a reference to the binding of the sons of God in the underworld for having sinned by mating of the women of this earth.
If we go even earlier still to ancient Babylonian and Sumerian tablets, we find that all star names have the prefix of MUL to indicate a star. However the Pleiades are given a special designation: MUL.MUL - meaning, the star of stars (see
Babylonian star catalogues). It is never explained why the Pleiades are given such a special designation.
In addition to the book of Enoch, the book of Jasher associates Enoch with these "sons of God":
"...an angel of the Lord then called unto Enoch from heaven, and wished to bring him up to heaven to make him reign there over the sons of God, as he had reigned over the sons of men upon earth." (Jasher 3:23)
This explains why the chronology for the life of Enoch is associated with the Pleiades. But what about Jared? Actually the book of Enoch explains this as well:
"And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.' And Semjâzâ, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended ⌈in the days⌉ of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it." (Enoch 6:1-6)
The name Jared means "descent" in Hebrew and the book of Enoch states he was so named as the sons of God descended from heaven at the time of his birth. From the chronology it was shown Jared was born in 3441 B.C., and in this year the star Alcyone of the Pleiades was occulted by the Moon near the time of an eclipse.
This, in my opinion, can hardly be a coincidence. A very early tradition preserved in an extra-Biblical work is confirmed in the hidden astronomy embedded in the early chapters of Genesis. We thus have here the earliest explicit reference to extraterrestrial contact, and it had an influential role on early Christianity as the book of Enoch also contained early prophecies of the coming Messiah.
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