The 364-day calendar I found in Genesis 11 is also known in the literature of the centuries preceding Jesus, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, but in apparently simplistic form. In finding the key to understanding the political situation in the Second Temple period (roughly, the two centuries before Jesus to 70 AD) I cite the Zadokite hypothesis of Qumran's origins by Larry Schiffman, who sees the origins of Qumran in groups sympathetic to the old priesthood of the Zadokites. The old priesthood declined and came under pressure, including pressure on iys solar calendar tradition. I suggest that the old Zadokite priests were replaced by the Hasmonean priests, probably about the middle of the second century BC. These incomers espoused the luni-solar calendar, while the old tradition (which had long been secret in its structural details) fled into the desert with admiring imitators of the old (Biblical) priesthood. These latter then tried to continue the secret calendar traditions hidden in Genesis. However, they had their own agendas of an extremist nature so that they did not exactly follow what the priests had done, but 'improved' it around a theology of 364 days as a year of perfect length. I find solid evidence in Genesis 11 for the original scheme they imitated so nearly. The calendar tradition of 364 days was originally a work-rota for priests in the Temple, meant to be synchronised within the (Babylonian-style) luni-solar scheme, which as subjects of the successive Empires of Mesopotamia they could hardly ignore. The old scheme however actually had a realistic solar year, over a six year period; hence it is called a 'synchronistic' calendar.
Why six years? It took six years for the 24 priestly families (see 1st Chron 24: 1-19) to complete the cycle, so that the first family started again at the first week of the year. This scheme gave a solar year missing only a few hours at the six-year stafe. However, I perceive in Genesis 11;10-26 a longer cycle, also, of 84 years, which perfected the synchronism astronomically. When the Zadokite priestly tradition was displaced by the march of politico-religious history, and Hasmoneans usurped the Temple and adpted a luni-solar scheme, the imperfect devotees of Zadokism took to the desert, at least in part, where some made calendars that were less solar-exact than the original tradition had been, but intended to be functional. These schemes rejected the solar year of 365.25 days as a main base, and became fancifully representative of an ideal world in which a defective, controlling 364 days was God's 'true year', only blighted by 'sin' - expressed in the current solar year of 365.25 days. Astronomy was perverted by sincere, wishful thinking into portraying skewed synchronistic ideals, which history would judge as wanting. From a Jewish point of view, too, the solar calendar had become the flagship of their enemies, the Romans. For these, and other, reasons, the solar calendar was doomed. Jewish survivors of the Roman wars of 66-70AD regrouped and, being Pharisees who were descended, theologically, from the Babylonian wing of Judaism, and thus favouring the now-predominant luni-solar scheme) they felt the best way to reunite Judaism was around that one calendar: it is therefore this calendar, with its Babylonian month names like Nisan and Adar, which now controls religious life in Judaism.
The Mishmarot (4Q320-330) or calendar schemes of Qumran show synchronistic models that had once been more scientically accurate, but which history moved on from. I do not say this to belittle the Qumranian achievement, least of all to do the same disservice to the old Zadokite tradition I perceive in the Bible, because all the schemes are fascinating in their own right. I stress the role of history just to indicate that their science reflected their theological bias, and once the reasons for that were removed, or some new factors emerged, they changed. Thus, the removal of the Temple and the espousal by the Romans of an Egypt-inspired solar calendar were just such new contexts. However, the original synchronistic scheme, which is a covert calendar hidden in Genesis 11:10-26 is a superior calendar scheme worthy of note: it has 84 years of 365.25 days,
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Re: interesting
Date: 2011-01-06 06:50 am (UTC)Dear Micheal
The 364-day calendar I found in Genesis 11 is also known in the
literature of the centuries preceding Jesus, including the Dead Sea
Scrolls, but in apparently simplistic form. In finding the key to
understanding the political situation in the Second Temple period
(roughly, the two centuries before Jesus to 70 AD) I cite the Zadokite
hypothesis of Qumran's origins by Larry Schiffman, who sees the
origins of Qumran in groups sympathetic to the old priesthood of the
Zadokites. The old priesthood declined and came under pressure,
including pressure on iys solar calendar tradition. I suggest that the
old Zadokite priests were replaced by the Hasmonean priests, probably
about the middle of the second century BC. These incomers espoused the
luni-solar calendar, while the old tradition (which had long been
secret in its structural details) fled into the desert with admiring
imitators of the old (Biblical) priesthood. These latter then tried to
continue the secret calendar traditions hidden in Genesis. However,
they had their own agendas of an extremist nature so that they did not
exactly follow what the priests had done, but 'improved' it around a
theology of 364 days as a year of perfect length. I find solid
evidence in Genesis 11 for the original scheme they imitated so
nearly. The calendar tradition of 364 days was originally a work-rota
for priests in the Temple, meant to be synchronised within the
(Babylonian-style) luni-solar scheme, which as subjects of the
successive Empires of Mesopotamia they could hardly ignore. The old
scheme however actually had a realistic solar year, over a six year
period; hence it is called a 'synchronistic' calendar.
Why six years? It took six years for the 24 priestly families (see 1st
Chron 24: 1-19) to complete the cycle, so that the first family
started again at the first week of the year. This scheme gave a solar
year missing only a few hours at the six-year stafe. However, I
perceive in Genesis 11;10-26 a longer cycle, also, of 84 years, which
perfected the synchronism astronomically. When the Zadokite priestly
tradition was displaced by the march of politico-religious history,
and Hasmoneans usurped the Temple and adpted a luni-solar scheme, the
imperfect devotees of Zadokism took to the desert, at least in part,
where some made calendars that were less solar-exact than the original
tradition had been, but intended to be functional. These schemes
rejected the solar year of 365.25 days as a main base, and became
fancifully representative of an ideal world in which a defective,
controlling 364 days was God's 'true year', only blighted by 'sin' -
expressed in the current solar year of 365.25 days. Astronomy was
perverted by sincere, wishful thinking into portraying skewed
synchronistic ideals, which history would judge as wanting. From a
Jewish point of view, too, the solar calendar had become the flagship
of their enemies, the Romans. For these, and other, reasons, the solar
calendar was doomed. Jewish survivors of the Roman wars of 66-70AD
regrouped and, being Pharisees who were descended, theologically, from
the Babylonian wing of Judaism, and thus favouring the now-predominant
luni-solar scheme) they felt the best way to reunite Judaism was
around that one calendar: it is therefore this calendar, with its
Babylonian month names like Nisan and Adar, which now controls
religious life in Judaism.
The Mishmarot (4Q320-330) or calendar schemes of Qumran show
synchronistic models that had once been more scientically accurate,
but which history moved on from. I do not say this to belittle the
Qumranian achievement, least of all to do the same disservice to the
old Zadokite tradition I perceive in the Bible, because all the
schemes are fascinating in their own right. I stress the role of
history just to indicate that their science reflected their
theological bias, and once the reasons for that were removed, or some
new factors emerged, they changed. Thus, the removal of the Temple and
the espousal by the Romans of an Egypt-inspired solar calendar were
just such new contexts. However, the original synchronistic scheme,
which is a covert calendar hidden in Genesis 11:10-26 is a superior
calendar scheme worthy of note: it has 84 years of 365.25 days,