Josephus' astronomical signs

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toejam
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Josephus' astronomical signs

Post by toejam »

I am hoping someone has a full list of all the times Josephus makes reference to astronomical signs from the 2nd Temple period onward.

I only recall these:

Antiquities 17.6.4 - a lunar eclipse, c.4BCE

Wars of the Jews 6.5.3ff - a star resembling a sword and a comet which stood over the city for an entire year, a mysterious light that surrounded the Temple altar for half an hour, and chariots and warring armies seen in the skies, c.66CE

Any others?
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DCHindley
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Re: Josephus' astronomical signs

Post by DCHindley »

toejam wrote: Thu Jul 12, 2018 4:25 pm I am hoping someone has a full list of all the times Josephus makes reference to astronomical signs from the 2nd Temple period onward.

I only recall these:

Antiquities 17.6.4 - a lunar eclipse, c.4BCE

Wars of the Jews 6.5.3ff - a star resembling a sword and a comet which stood over the city for an entire year, a mysterious light that surrounded the Temple altar for half an hour, and chariots and warring armies seen in the skies, c.66CE

Any others?
I had to cut my searchin' off short, but these come up:

Received Greek text
Whiston's English translation
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 1:31 τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ ἵστησι τὴν γῆν ἀναχέας περὶ αὐτὴν τὴν θάλασσαν κατ᾽ αὐτὴν δὲ ταύτην τὴν ἡμέραν εὐθὺς φυτά τε καὶ σπέρματα γῆθεν ἀνέτειλε τῇ τετάρτῃ δὲ διακοσμεῖ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἄστροις κινήσεις αὐτοῖς ἐπιστείλας καὶ δρόμους οἷς ἂν αἱ τῶν ὡρῶν περιφοραὶ σημαίνοιντο JOE Antiquities of the Jews 1:31 On the third day he appointed the dry land to appear, with the sea itself around it; and on the very same day he made the plants and the seeds to spring out of the earth. On the fourth day he adorned the heaven with the sun, the moon, and the other stars; and appointed them their motions and courses, that the changes of the seasons might be clearly signified.
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 1:183 Ἐπαινέσας δὲ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὁ θεός ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἀπολεῖς φησί μισθοὺς οὓς ἄξιόν ἐστίν σε ἐπὶ τοιαύταις εὐπραγίαις κομίζεσθαι τοῦ δ᾽ ὑπολαβόντος καὶ τίς ἂν εἴη χάρις τούτων τῶν μισθῶν οὐκ ὄντων οἳ διαδέξονται μετ᾽ αὐτόν ἔτι γὰρ ἦν ἄπαις ὁ θεὸς καὶ παῖδα αὐτῷ γενήσεσθαι καταγγέλλει καὶ πολλὴν ἐκείνου γενεάν ὡς παραπλησίως αὐτῇ τοῖς ἄστροις ἔσεσθαι τὸν ἀριθμόν JOE Antiquities of the Jews 1:183 And God commended his virtue, and said, ``You shall not, however, lose the rewards you have deserved to receive by such your glorious actions.'' He answered, ``And what advantage will it be to me to have such rewards, when I have none to enjoy them after me?'' for he was hereto childless. And God promised that he should have a son, and that his posterity should be very numerous, insomuch that their number should be like the stars.
JOS Wars of the Jews 6:47 τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν ὅτι τὰς μὲν ἐν παρατάξει ψυχὰς σιδήρῳ τῶν σαρκῶν ἀπολυθείσας τὸ καθαρώτατον στοιχεῖον αἰθὴρ ξενοδοχῶν ἄστροις ἐγκαθιδρύει δαίμονες δ᾽ ἀγαθοὶ καὶ ἥρωες εὐμενεῖς ἰδίοις ἐγγόνοις ἐμφανίζονται τὰς δὲ ἐν νοσοῦσι τοῖς σώμασι συντακείσας JOE Wars of the Jews 6:47 for what man of virtue is there who does not know, that those souls which are severed from their fleshly bodies in battles by the sword, are received by the ether, that purest of elements, and joined to that company which are placed among the stars; that they become good genies, and propitious heroes, and show themselves as such to their posterity afterward?
JOS Wars of the Jews 6:289 τοῦτο μὲν ὅτε ὑπὲρ τὴν πόλιν ἄστρον ἔστη ῥομφαίᾳ παραπλήσιον καὶ παρατείνας ἐπ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν κομήτης JOE Wars of the Jews 6:289 Thus there was a star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued a whole year.
JOS Against Apion 2:117 τί δ᾽ ἡμῶν ἔτι κατηγορεῖ τὸ μὴ κοινοὺς ἔχειν τοῖς ἄλλοις θεούς εἰ ῥᾳδίως οὕτως ἐπείσθησαν οἱ πατέρες ἡμῶν ἥξειν τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα πρὸς αὐτοὺς καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἄστρων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ᾠήθησαν ὁρᾶν αὐτὸν περιπατοῦντα JOE Against Apion 2:117 Now, then, why does this man accuse us because we have not gods in common with other nations?--if our fathers were so easily prevailed upon to have Apollo come to them, and thought they saw him walking upon the earth, and the stars with him;
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 3:248 Τῷ δὲ μηνὶ τῷ Ξανθικῷ ὃς Νισὰν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν καλεῖται καὶ τοῦ ἔτους ἐστὶν ἀρχή τεσσαρεσκαιδεκάτῃ κατὰ σελήνην ἐν κριῷ τοῦ ἡλίου καθεστῶτος τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ μηνὶ τῆς ὑπ᾽ Αἰγυπτίους δουλείας ἠλευθερώθημεν καὶ τὴν θυσίαν ἣν τότ᾽ ἐξιόντας ἀπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου θῦσαι προεῖπον ἡμᾶς πάσχα λεγομένην δι᾽ ἔτους ἑκάστου θύειν ἐνόμισεν καὶ δὴ τελοῦμεν αὐτὴν κατὰ φατρίας μηδενὸς τῶν τεθυμένων εἰς τὴν ἐπιοῦσαν τηρουμένου JOE Antiquities of the Jews 3:248 In the month of Xanthikos, which is by us called Nisan, and is the beginning of our year, on the fourteenth day of the lunar month, when the sun is in Aries, (for in this month it was that we were delivered from bondage under the Egyptians,) the law ordained that we should every year slay that sacrifice which I before told you we slew when we came out of Egypt, and which was called the Passover; and so we do celebrate this passover in companies, leaving nothing of what we sacrifice till the day following.
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 5:212 πρὸ δὲ τούτων ἰσόμηκες καταπέτασμα πέπλος ἦν Βαβυλώνιος ποικιλτὸς ἐξ ὑακίνθου καὶ βύσσου κόκκου τε καὶ πορφύρας θαυμαστῶς μὲν εἰργασμένος οὐκ ἀθεώρητον δὲ τῆς ὕλης τὴν κρᾶσιν ἔχων ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ εἰκόνα τῶν ὅλων JOS Wars of the Jews 5:212 but before these doors there was a veil of equal size with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet, and purple, and of a texture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this mixture of colours without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind of image of the universe;
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 5:213 ἐδόκει γὰρ αἰνίττεσθαι τῇ κόκκῳ μὲν τὸ πῦρ τῇ βύσσῳ δὲ τὴν γῆν τῇ δ᾽ ὑακίνθῳ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τῇ πορφύρᾳ τὴν θάλασσαν τῶν μὲν ἐκ τῆς χροίας ὁμοιουμένων τῆς δὲ βύσσου καὶ τῆς πορφύρας διὰ τὴν γένεσιν ἐπειδὴ τὴν μὲν ἀναδίδωσιν ἡ γῆ τὴν δ᾽ ἡ θάλασσα JOS Antiquities of the Jews 5:213 for by the scarlet there seemed to be enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue the air, and by the purple the sea; two of them having their colours the foundation of this resemblance; but the fine flax and the purple have their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and the sea the other.
JOS Antiquities of the Jews 5:214 κατεγέγραπτο δ᾽ ὁ πέπλος ἅπασαν τὴν οὐράνιον θεωρίαν πλὴν ζῳδίων JOS Antiquities of the Jews 5:214 This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, excepting for the [twelve] signs, representing living creatures.

DCH
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