4Q318: A Jewish Zodiac Calendar At Qumran?

Abstract

The zodiology 4QZodiology and Brontology ar (4Q318) 1 has been recognised as a calendar by several scholars. However, its method of functioning has hitherto been relatively unexplored, in contrast to the scholarship on the 364-day calendar traditions. 2 This paper will explain how the zodiology, or selenodromion, described as a "zodiacal calendar" by the official editors 3 and "a different calendrical system" by E. Tov, 4 is an intricate calendar, astronomically. We shall show that it is a working, schematic calendar that is related directly to the Jewish calendar in use today. The relationship between the zodiology and the brontologion will also be reassessed, based on new evidence. We shall also trace and identify the historical and cultural background of 4QZodiology and Brontology ar (4Q318) across the Classical world. The place of the Qumran zodiac calendar in the discourse on sectarianism is not discussed in depth in this essay.

An ancient Arabian zodiac. The constellations in the Safaitic inscriptions, Part II

“…Zodiac calendars were rather common in the Ancient Near East, from the third century BCE to the second century CE (see, most recently, Jacobus for references). A zodiac calendar was used by the Jewish community at Qumran (Greenfield & Sokoloff ; Jacobus , , ); the zodiac was known to the Nabataeans (Glueck ; McKenzie et al. : ch.…”

“… For evidence and a succinct discussion of the various attested zodiac calendars in antiquity, see Jacobus : 374–394. …”

“… In some zodiac calendars, the moon moves through the signs in two‐ to three‐day intervals; for a discussion on these differences vis‐à‐vis the Qurman calendar, see Jacobus : 392. …”