The alphabet is a symbol of Jesus, the very principle of order in the universe. In Jesus, the Light of the world, we can understand that Time, itself, is an ordered arrangement, the Hebrew aleph and tau.
A. Ordering of Time: Signs of Seasons
The great lights were given for “signs
of seasons;” the numero/alphabet, numerals and letters, represented the units of the order of the
seasons and the naming of the units so that they might be reckoned with in
order, creating a calendar. [i] The
pluralized form represented the group or entire circle. This counting and
naming of the units of time was probably the first mundane use of the signs
which developed into writing. The graphic shapes of these first signs
may have been stylized copies of the outlines of the constellations of the
stars, or conventionalized representations of astral phenomena, following the
basic idea that things on the earth are copies,
or reflections, of things in the heavens.
The oldest
meaningful written signs that have been discovered and deciphered are calendar
markings. The cave paintings discovered at Lascaux in France and Altamira in
Spain are probably some of the oldest graphic records. Some of these can only
be seen as art, yet others seem to represent seasonal groupings of flora and
fauna, and the figures of the ecliptic or other constellations of the stars. We might say that time markings have existed from the beginning. Clearly, God Himself taught Adam to read these signs of Time.
Counting of time
in primitive cultures is usually based primarily on counting of days, as this
is the most immediate and the most easily observed recurrence of heavenly
phenomenon. Larger cycles then are based on observation of the moon. In many
languages the very concept of numbering and measuring comes from the original
counting of time from the cycles of the moon. In fact, Nilsson says: “Practically everywhere
the month as a unit of enumeration or a measure is denoted by the same word as
moon, (Nilsson, 148).” The new months were observed by the early Israelites by the blowing of trumpets.
In our calendars
the period known as a month
is marked by the division of the ecliptic of the heavens through which the sun
passes during a cycle of the moon, (i.e. from new moon to new moon). In the course of a solar year there are
twelve of these divisions plus a period of about eleven days. These twelve divisions, (or thirteen,
counting the eleven days as a division), are known as the zodiac from the Greeks, meaning “circle of animals.” However, the Hebrew
word for zodiac was probably mazzaroth, indicating "moving things."
The name for this
circle as well as its divisions is quite different in various cultures
throughout the world due to differences in the philosophy of time and the
methods of time-reckoning. Whereas some
other cultures adopted or adapted the idea of a circle of animals, the heirs of
the tradition from which our Bible comes, the Hebrews, rejected images of creatures
and named the divisions of the ecliptic from abstract figures which became the
numero-alphabet, numerals and letters.
Months as units of
recurring phenomena that could be predicted made it possible to designate the
months of the year consecutively by number, starting from a certain point.[v] In this process the stars were grouped
together in what we know as constellations.
The oldest Semitic records that describe the months show that the word
for month is written, using the letters aleph and tau, (transliterated), itu,
ittu, or attu. In a Semitic language,
this word would have had an initial silent consonant, to carry the vowel, so the
probable transliteration of itu would
be aleph, tau, vau, ‘itu, meaning “sign.”
B. Order Requires A Leader
Creation of a calendar required the knowledge of a
consecutive, repetitive order, that is, a cycle, the circle, which has no
beginning and no end. However, the process of naming, or numbering the units of
that circle required a starting point. The evidence all points to the fact that
the constellation we call Taurus, the Ox, (from the Greek), was the leader or first of the signs of the year. As the precession
moved the equinoctial point, and/or as the methods of calculating the times
varied, the constellation we know as Aries was incorporated into or replaced
the Taurus configuration.
If
the graphic representations of these constellations were the first written
numero-alphabet, used to identify the months or divisions of the ecliptic, it
is probable that the graphemes representing these divisions first took their
shape from the configuration of the prominent stars within these divisions.
There is evidence that this is true. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
the aleph, which bears a resemblance
in form to the head of an ox, is not only the numeral one, but also is named aleph,
which, as a word, means “ox.” (In the participle
form aleph means “gentle, tame.” This “ox” was tamed and in a pen.)
The strong
prohibition against images which might be used for idolatrous purposes would
forbid the use of an image of a beast, at least among the Semitic heirs of the
scriptural tradition. Therefore the original
figure was probably abstract rather than an overt image of a bull
or ox. The abstraction would have been an imitation of the figure that would
result from joining the points represented by the prominent stars in the
constellation, or perhaps the representation of the triangle (in Aries) as it
crossed the prime meridian line. The
triangle would suggest a horn, therefore a horned animal. Again, the figure would represent the idea of
an earthly counterpart of the heavenly Pattern.
There is a
traceable basic identity of this constellation in many cultures and languages
of the world. For example, the ox, Taurus, is identical to the Akkadian “Bull of Light,” the point of the vernal equinox, according to some, approximately
4000 years ago. The Persians designated the divisions of the ecliptic by the
letters of the alphabet, and with them, too, the ‘A’ (or aleph) stands for the Ox as the first, or leader, of the signs. The
Beta star in Taurus is called ‘Shar-atan’
meaning “a sign” (Seiss, 91). The
name of the sign Taurus in Syriac is Amroo, “the Lamb,” and “the Branch.” The Arabs call it ‘Al-Hamal, “the Sheep, the Gentle, the Merciful,” (ibid.). Here again the sign represents Christ a the Beginning and the End.
C. The Beginning of Astrology
It is important that these heavenly signs be symbols of Christ, for in many ancient
cultures the signs were prostituted to use as models for idols. In Babylon there was widespread worship of
Baal, represented as a bull, and his consort, Astarte, a cow figure. This
was probably a perversion of the use of the sign intended for time-telling into
a form of idolatry: the sign we call Taurus was copied and worshiped as a
god. Baal was also worshiped in Canaan as a sun-god, its horns representing
the sun's rays.[vi]
An ideograph for the Babylonian idol Merodach-Bel signifies "the bullock of the sun,"
indicating that this figure was a symbol taken from the heavens. In Egypt the sign Aries is associated with the idol god Amen-Re and means “the Lord of the Head.”
The sign we know
from the Greeks as Aries is identical in some respects, at least in part, to
the sign Taurus. This may be accounted for by the fact that, as the precession caused
some drift, the space which the sign occupied in the ecliptic, the
"mansion" or "house" representing one-twelfth of the
heavens, was adjusted also.Another reason
that these two signs may overlap in meaning and symbolism is that different
cultures divided the ecliptic differently. It may be that the Semites who were
in the lineage of the Scriptural tradition divided it by sevenths instead of by
twelfths, or perhaps even by twenty-two, the number of the letters of the
alphabet. Whatever its divisions, its proper use was as a time-reckoning
indicator, representing Christ, and not for idol worship.
We find what may
have been the same process at work in the Hebrew names of the months Ab and Abib; the first month “A” has slipped into the second month “B”
because of the precession, (although the modern order shows Abib as the seventh and Ab as the eleventh). In fact, before the
month was Ab it was probably just “A,”
(aleph), meaning “month one,” just as
the first day of creation was “day one.”
The verb, ’âlaph, means “to speak.” As a noun it
means “word, logos” or “a thing,” (Ges. Lexicon, s. v.) Perhaps the first lesson that God taught to Adam was how to read the
signs of the heavens, for the sun, moon and stars were created to be read. These "signs" became the etymons
of all future written words, the logos.
Another form of
the verb ’âlaph also suggests its
role as the place where the years are joined together: it means “to join
together, to associate,” from whence comes the noun eleph, meaning “thousand, a family....” and “the leader of a family
or tribe.” It also means “a family or tribe,” (Ges. Lexicon s.v.).
The word ’âleph, (as distinguished from the
letter), is used many times in the plural to denote “thousands.” For example,
Numbers 10:35-36:
And whenever the ark set out,
Moses said, “Arise, O Lord, and let thy enemies be
scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee.” And when it rested, he said, “Return, O lord,
to the ten thousand thousands (translating a
plural form of ’âleph) of Israel,” (RSV).
Psalm 68 celebrates this movement of the ark,
beginning with the words: "Let God
arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him!"
as in Numbers 10:35.
Psalm 68:17: "With mighty
chariotry, twice ten thousand, thousands upon thousands, (again translating
’âlephim, plural of ’âleph), the Lord came from Sinai into the holy
place,"
(RSV).
The Hebrew here could be literally
translated "thousands (of) iterations, or repetitions." The word for year, shanah, is a form of the word for “iteration, repetitions”; we
might say cycles. Thus the reference
is to the God of time, to indicate His eternal nature as He rides upon the
time-telling ecliptic as if it were a wheel of His chariot, (see Psalms 68: 4, 23). Each revolution of
the “wheel,” (i.e. a year), brings around another ’âleph and He rides through thousands of these ’alephim, (plural), or revolutions of years.[vii]
In many cultures
the beginning of the yearly cycle has often been pinpointed by using the
prominent star named Aldebaran in
Taurus.[viii] Aldebaran means “the leader,” or “the
first,” denoting that which arranges or sets in order as a shepherd leads a
flock. The root of the word Aldebaran is
Hebrew dâbar, commonly translated “word,” the primary meaning of which is:
“setting in a row, ranging in order,” also “to lead, guide as a flock or herd
to pasture,” “to rule, direct a people, to bring into order or subdue.” In
Hebrew, Syriac, Arabic and Coptic, it also means “coming,”
or “who cometh.” All of these are
prominent images of Christ.
In the imagery,
then, the star Aldebaran is the head of the year, the shepherd of the flock, or
the head of the families, many of which form a tribe. Examples of this usage
are found in Judges 6:15; 1Samuel 10:19; 23:23. The
word is translated “thousands” in the RSV, “clans” in the NIV. This word lies
behind Ephesians 3:15: "The Father, (Hebrew Ab, the first two letters of the alphabet), from whom every family, (or ’eleph,
the first letter), in heaven and on earth
is named." This is again taking the idea that God's Name is symbolized by the heavenly
alphabet from which every name derives.[ix]
In time reckoning,
the point of the beginning of one cycle is identical to the point of the end of
the previous cycle if the cycles are consecutive. That the years were
calculated as consecutive occurrences is attested by the fact that the aleph and the tau, the first and the last letters of the alphabet are identical
in meaning and are combined in the imagery of the signs of the ecliptic.
The Hebrew word for the circle of the
ecliptic may have been zeez, or mazzaroth, instead of the Greek zodiac. The lexicographers see that these words carry the idea of
"moving things" but are unable to deal with them other than as
animals! They obviously do not recognize that they are referring to the moving
heavens. The imagery of the ecliptic amongst the Semitic peoples is not of
animals at all, but rather of buildings, such as palaces, mansions and rooms.
With this view of the heavens, we can relate what Moses saw as the Pattern-in-the-Heavens with the
building of the tabernacle and the ordering of the community. The root meaning “to build” is bânâh.
The feminine noun for building is binyâh and the masculine binyan. Two other forms from the same
root are mibneh, “a structure,” and
the form tabnîyth, “construction,
pattern, figure.” It was this tabnîyth
that the Lord showed to Moses while on the Mount and commanded him: "Make the tabernacle and all its furnishings
exactly like the pattern I will show you," (Exod. 25:9 NIV). And again: "See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain," (25:40 NIV).
This concept was
so important that Stephen referred to it in his final
sermon, (Acts 7:44). The writer of the
book of Hebrews clearly shows that this heavenly
Pattern was the true tent of which the
earthly tabernacle was only a copy:
(Jesus) a minister in the sanctuary
and the true tent which is set up not by man but by the Lord.... They (the
priests) serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly sanctuary; for when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed
by God, saying, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern which
was shown you on the mountain,' (RSV Hebrews 8:2, 5).
The passage in
Exodus chapter 24 through 26 shows us
that God promised Moses both written instructions,
(Exod. 24:12), the lûach, (tables),
and a visual Pattern, the tabnîyth, (Exod. 25:9,
40; 26:30). In 26:30 the plan or pattern is also called the mishpât, elsewhere translated “judgment.”
(The "judgment seat" was not only related to legal hearings on earth
but was used to determine the times so that each year would have "perfect
justice," that is, its full number of days.)[x]
Was the luâch the same Pattern as the tabnîyth? Was the luâch
simply the written version and the tabnîyth
the tele-portrait? I believe that they were, in a sense, the same, except that
the luâch was the graphic, numerical
record of the time-reckoning function whereas the tabnîyth included the legal, social, and religious order of the
community. In other words, the luâch,
calendar, was only a part of the tabnîyth.
The luchôth, (plural of luâch, "two tables"), came to be known in later tradition
as “the calendar.” These luchôth were
“The work of God and the writing, the
writing of God graven upon the luchôth," (32:16). In 31:18 we find that this writing was "written with the finger of God.”
In Psalm 8:3 we find that "the heavens are the work of
thy fingers." Since this was the work of God and written with His
fingers, then we should understand that it was a copy of the "writing" which is the display of
the stars of the heavens which was also called the work of His fingers.
One of the things
Moses was to make according to the
Pattern was the ’êphôd, (Exod. 28), part of which was "the cunningly woven band (or girdle)," the chêsheb. The word comes from the root châshab meaning “to think, account....to
count, reckon...compute.” This "cunningly
woven band" was to be in connection with the "breastplate of judgment." This
carefully constructed accessory to the ’êphôd
was for the purpose of counting, reckoning the times and seasons so that each
year would have “perfect justice.”
Ezekiel uses extensively the words
derived from bânâh, “to build.” It
seems that he is sometimes viewing the heavenly "building" from the
earth and sometimes viewing the earthly structures from the heavens, but always
the one is "over against," or corresponding to, the other, perhaps the
mirror image.
God's creation of the heavens and the earth in the beginning was a pattern for all further building and creation.
[i] Ges. Lexicon
definition of ’ôwth, commenting on
Gen. 1:14 in speaking of the uses of the copula vau: "... (b) Sometimes the copulative is used to connect
nouns, the second of which depends upon the first, as though in the
genitive.... Gen. 1:14, ‘and they shall
be (the lights of heaven) for signs and times,’ i.e.... ‘signs of times.'"
Further on under (c) he states that
"the copulative is inserted by way
of explanation between words in apposition...Sometimes it has a cumulative
sense." Tregelles inserts his note:
"[Sometimes two nouns are joined by Vau...the
former of which denotes genre, the latter specie, or at least the latter is
also contained in the former, so that one might say, and specially, and particularly, and namely...]"
Applying this usage to Gen. 1:14 we
understand that the alphabet denoted the names of the seasons, or months. These "signs" were, therefore,
according to sense (c), "Signs, specially, particularly, or namely, of
seasons," (Lexicon).
Nilsson states: "The
consciousness of a fixed and constant order is...impressed upon the mind of the
primitive man much more powerfully by the eternal revolution of the
constellations than by the variations of the seasons," (Primitive Time Reckoning, 146). Seasons vary but movement of the heavens does not.
[ii]
As cited by James Cornell in The
First Stargazers: An Introduction to the Origins of Astronomy, (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons,
1981), 39. What is more likely is that
God taught Adam to read His writing! See
also Alexander Marshack, The Roots of Civilization, (New York,
McGraw-Hill, 1972).
[iii] William Tyler Olcott, Star Lore of All Ages, (N. Y. and London, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1911). Hereafter cited in text.
[iv] David Diringer, Writing, for series: Ancient
People and Places, (New York and Washington, Frederick Praeger, 1962). 20. Diringer defines writing as "the
conveyance of ideas or sounds by marks on some suitable medium ranging from
stone to wood, clay, metal, leather, linen, parchment, paper and wax. The Egyptian hieroglyphics were called mdu-ntr, 'speech of the gods'" (ibid.
47).
Gelb distinguishes
writing from speech: "Writing can never be
considered an exact counterpart of
the spoken language....All writing– even the most developed phonetic writing–
is full of forms which, when read aloud, are ambiguous and easily
misunderstood. The existence of these
so-called ‘visual morphemes,’ that is, forms or spellings which convey the
meaning only in writing, shows clearly that writing can sometimes function as a
means of communication separately and in addition to speech....Such examples as
there are of this sort of symbolism have many parallels in the semasiographic
stage of writing in which meanings– not words or sounds– are suggested by
signs” (A Study of Writing, p. 15).
[vi] See "Animal Worship", JE, vol. 1, 604-6. This article concludes that this kind of animal
worship was based in the ancient concept of the identity of all life. This was,
again, probably the corruption of the time-telling function of the
constellations. Of course, as time-indicators they did identify with all life,
but not as an idol god. The ancient notion that inspired the Biblical writers, however,
was based on the idea that the heavens represent the ideal and perfect Pattern of the will of God
which is to be copied and imitated and observed in the order of things in the
earth.
[vii]See my Commentary "Thousand Years" on
Revelation 20:4, 7. For those
who think the Bible had not discovered
deep time, these passages should be considered.
[viii] This system seems to come from the ancient
system of marking time when the spring equinox was in Taurus. Ulansey says: "In Graeco-Roman times the spring
equinox was in the constellation of Aries, and the autumn equinox was in
Libra.... their last positions before that were in Taurus and Scorpius, a
situation which lasted from about 4000 BCE. to 2000 BCE." (David Ulansey. The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World. New York,
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, 50-51.) Hereafter cited in text.
Nilsson says that the
Pleiades are the most important stars as to their use for determining the times
for certain natural phenomena. (See also his note 2. "On this special
problem Andree has collected much material, which has been considerably
augmented by Frazer." [I have no way to trace these references.] The Pleiades are a star cluster in the
constellation Taurus, following close behind the star Aldebaran. Since
Aldebaran is much brighter than the Pleiades, it would no doubt have served as
an indicator or pointer for the Pleiades, (Primitive
Time Reckoning, 129).
[ix] Again going back to the time-telling and mapping
function of the letters, we can conceive of A-B as meaning "the
source," or i.e., "father."
[x] "And the sun and the stars bring in all the years
exactly, so that they do not advance or delay their position by a single day
unto eternity; but complete the years with perfect
justice in 364 days," Charles, Book of Enoch, 74.12.
The writer was allowing for the one and
one-fourth days to be intercalated in certain years, so that there were not
only the sun years, but there were larger and larger cycles that were used to
adjust for the fractions.
This lesson is an edited excerpt from my book Revelation In Context.
My Book is available at the Living Word Bookstore in Shawnee, Oklahoma and is also available online at www.amazon.com or www.xulonpress.com
Free downloads are available at www.revelationincontext.sermon.net .
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