We now get a body of seriously useful information as naturally understood through their eyes and assumptions. It is quite readable and largely accurate as well.
The astronomical information is particularly useful. It allows you to use simple day counting to discover the beginning of the growing season and the solstices. Once learned its accuracy may have to be tested and adjusted perhaps every century or so at most. That is certainly good enough for Bronze Age farming.
This system actually lasted until Copernicus at least when the new understanding allowed a drive for greater precision. Even then what this tells us is how practical centuries of simple record keeping allowed even the long cycle to be winkled out and how the drift of the Zodiac was mapped naturally in spite of any original intent.
It is one thing to be told that Copernicus wrought a complete change in our understanding of the universe. Here we actually experience that change.
This also explains why the book of Enoch was so important. It was the only useful source book for this type of knowledge. In a practical world without modernism this book would retain great value. It really begs the question of why we do not actually teach from it to produce useful inquiry. It really frames the history of science in particular.
..
Section I I I. Chapters LXXII-LXXXII
The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries
[Chapter 72]
1 The book of the courses of the luminaries of the heaven, the
relations of each, according to their classes, their dominion and their
seasons, according to their names and places of origin, and according to
their months, which Uriel, the holy angel, who was with me, who is
their guide, showed me; and he showed me all their laws exactly as they
are, and how it is with regard to all the years of the world
2 and unto
eternity, till the new creation is accomplished which dureth till
eternity. And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the
Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven,
3 and its
setting in the western portals of the heaven. And I saw six portals in
which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon
rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those
whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following
each other
4 in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the
right and left of these portals. And first there goes forth the great
luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the
5
circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating
and heating fire. The chariot on which he ascends, the wind drives, and
the sun goes down from the heaven and returns through the north in order
to reach the east, and is so guided that he comes to the appropriate
(lit. ' that ') portal and
6 shines in the face of the heaven. In this
way he rises in the first month in the great portal, which
7 is the
fourth [those six portals in the cast]. And in that fourth portal from
which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from
which proceed a flame when they are opened in
8 their season. When the
sun rises in the heaven, he comes forth through that fourth portal
thirty,
9 mornings in succession, and sets accurately in the fourth
portal in the west of the heaven. And during this period the day becomes
daily longer and the night nightly shorter to the thirtieth
10 morning.
On that day the day is longer than the night by a ninth part, and the
day amounts exactly to ten parts and the night to eight parts. And the
sun rises from that fourth portal, and sets in the fourth and returns to
the fifth portal of the east thirty mornings, and rises from it and
sets in the fifth 12 portal. And then the day becomes longer by two
parts and amounts to eleven parts, and the night 13 becomes shorter and
amounts to seven parts. And it returns to the east and enters into the
sixth
14 portal, and rises and sets in the sixth portal one-and-thirty
mornings on account of its sign. On that day the day becomes longer than
the night, and the day becomes double the night, and the day
15 becomes
twelve parts, and the night is shortened and becomes six parts. And the
sun mounts up to make the day shorter and the night longer, and the sun
returns to the east and enters into the
16 sixth portal, and rises from
it and sets thirty mornings. And when thirty mornings are accomplished,
17 the day decreases by exactly one part, and becomes eleven parts, and
the night seven. And the sun goes forth from that sixth portal in the
west, and goes to the east and rises in the fifth portal for
18 thirty
mornings, and sets in the west again in the fifth western portal. On
that day the day decreases by two parts, and amounts to ten parts and
the night to eight parts. And the sun goes forth from that fifth portal
and sets in the fifth portal of the west, and rises in the fourth portal
for one-
20 and-thirty mornings on account of its sign, and sets in the
west. On that day the day is equalized with the night, [and becomes of
equal length], and the night amounts to nine parts and the day to
21
nine parts. And the sun rises from that portal and sets in the west, and
returns to the east and rises 22 thirty mornings in the third portal
and sets in the west in the third portal. And on that day the night
becomes longer than the day, and night becomes longer than night, and
day shorter than day till the thirtieth morning, and the night amounts
exactly to ten parts and the day to eight
23 parts. And the sun rises
from that third portal and sets in the third portal in the west and
returns to the east, and for thirty mornings rises
24 in the second
portal in the east, and in like manner sets in the second portal in the
west of the heaven. And on that day the night amounts to eleven
25 parts
and the day to seven parts. And the sun rises on that day from that
second portal and sets in the west in the second portal, and returns to
the east into the first portal for one-and-thirty
26 mornings, and sets
in the first portal in the west of the heaven. And on that day the night
becomes longer and amounts to the double of the day: and the night
amounts exactly to twelve parts and
27 the day to six. And the sun has
(therewith) traversed the divisions of his orbit and turns again on
those divisions of his orbit, and enters that portal thirty mornings and
sets also in the west
28 opposite to it. And on that night has the
night decreased in length by a ninth part, and the night
29 has become
eleven parts and the day seven parts. And the sun has returned and
entered into the second portal in the east, and returns on those his
divisions of his orbit for thirty mornings, rising
30 and setting. And
on that day the night decreases in length, and the night amounts to ten
parts
31 and the day to eight. And on that day the sun rises from that
portal, and sets in the west, and returns to the east, and rises in the
third portal for one-and-thirty mornings, and sets in the west of the
heaven.
32 On that day the night decreases and amounts to nine parts,
and the day to nine parts, and the night 33 is equal to the day and the
year is exactly as to its days three hundred and sixty-four. And the
length of the day and of the night, and the shortness of the day and of
the night arise-through the course
34 of the sun these distinctions are
made (lit. ' they are separated '). So it comes that its course becomes
35 daily longer, and its course nightly shorter. And this is the law and
the course of the sun, and his return as often as he returns sixty
times and rises, i.e. the great luminary which is named the sun, for
ever and ever. And that which (thus) rises is the great luminary, and is
so named according to
37 its appearance, according as the Lord
commanded. As he rises, so he sets and decreases not, and rests not, but
runs day and night, and his light is sevenfold brighter than that of
the moon; but as regards size they are both equal.
[Chapter 73]
1 And after this law I saw another law dealing with the smaller
luminary, which is named the Moon. And her circumference is like the
circumference of the heaven, and her chariot in which she rides is
driven by the wind, and light is given to her in (definite) measure. And
her rising and setting change every month: and her days are like the
days of the sun, and when her light is uniform (i.e. full) it amounts to
the seventh part of the light of the sun. And thus she rises. And her
first phase in the east comes forth on the thirtieth morning: and on
that day she becomes visible, and constitutes for you the first phase of
the moon on the thirtieth day together with the sun in the portal where
the sun rises.
5 And the one half of her goes forth by a seventh part,
and her whole circumference is empty, without light, with the exception
of one-seventh part of it, (and) the
6 fourteenth part of her light. And
when she receives one-seventh part of the half of her light, her light
7
amounts to one-seventh part and the half thereof. And she sets with the
sun, and when the sun rises the moon rises with him and receives the
half of one part of light, and in that night in the beginning of her
morning [in the commencement of the lunar day] the moon sets with the
sun, and
8 is invisible that night with the fourteen parts and the half
of one of them. And she rises on that day with exactly a seventh part,
and comes forth and recedes from the rising of the sun, and in her
remaining days she becomes bright in the (remaining) thirteen parts.
[Chapter 74]
1 And I saw another course, a law for her, (and) how according to
that law she performs her monthly 2 revolution. And all these Uriel, the
holy angel who is the leader of them all, showed to me, and their
positions, and I wrote down their positions as he showed them to me, and
I wrote down their months 3 as they were, and the appearance of their
lights till fifteen days were accomplished. In single seventh parts she
accomplishes all her light in the east, and in single seventh parts
accomplishes all her
4 darkness in the west. And in certain months she
alters her settings, and in certain months she pursues
5 her own
peculiar course. In two months the moon sets with the sun: in those two
middle portals the 6 third and the fourth. She goes forth for seven
days, and turns about and returns again through the portal where the sun
rises, and accomplishes all her light: and she recedes from the sun,
and in eight 7 days enters the sixth portal from which the sun goes
forth. And when the sun goes forth from the fourth portal she goes forth
seven days, until she goes forth from the fifth and turns back again in
seven days into the fourth portal and accomplishes all her light: and
she recedes and enters into the
8 first portal in eight days. And she
returns again in seven days into the fourth portal from which the
9,
10
sun goes forth. Thus I saw their position -how the moons rose and the
sun set in those days. And if five years are added together the sun has
an overplus of thirty days, and all the days which accrue
11 to it for
one of those five years, when they are full, amount to 364 days. And the
overplus of the sun and of the stars amounts to six days: in 5 years 6
days every year come to 30 days: and the
12 moon falls behind the sun
and stars to the number of 30 days. 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. In 3 years there are 1,092 days, and in 5
years 1,820 days, so that in 8 years there are 2,912 days. For the moon
alone the days amount in 3 years to 1,062 days, and in 5 years she falls
50 days behind: [i.e. to the sum (of 1,770) there is 5 to be added
(1,000 and) 62 days.] And in 5 years there are 1,770 days, so that for
the moon the days 6 in 8 years amount to 21,832 days. [For in 8 years
she falls behind to the amount of 80 days], all the 17 days she falls
behind in 8 years are 80. And the year is accurately completed in
conformity with their world-stations and the stations of the sun, which
rise from the portals through which it (the sun) rises and sets 30 days.
[Chapter 75]
1 And the leaders of the heads of the thousands, who are placed
over the whole creation and over all the stars, have also to do with the
four intercalary days, being inseparable from their office, according
to the reckoning of the year, and these render service on the four days
which are not
2 reckoned in the reckoning of the year. And owing to them
men go wrong therein, for those luminaries truly render service on the
world-stations, one in the first portal, one in the third portal of the
heaven, one in the fourth portal, and one in the sixth portal, and the
exactness of the year is
3 accomplished through its separate three
hundred and sixty-four stations. For the signs and the times and the
years and the days the angel Uriel showed to me, whom the Lord of glory
hath set for ever over all the luminaries of the heaven, in the heaven
and in the world, that they should rule on the face of the heaven and be
seen on the earth, and be leaders for the day and the night, i.e. the
sun, moon, and stars, and all the ministering creatures which make their
revolution in all the chariots
4 of the heaven. In like manner twelve
doors Uriel showed me, open in the circumference of the sun's chariot in
the heaven, through which the rays of the sun break forth: and from
them is warmth
5 diffused over the earth, when they are opened at their
appointed seasons. [And for the winds and
6 the spirit of the dew when
they are opened, standing open in the heavens at the ends.] As for the
twelve portals in the heaven, at the ends of the earth, out of which go
forth the sun, moon, and stars, 7 and all the works of heaven in the
east and in the west, There are many windows open to the left and right
of them, and one window at its (appointed) season produces warmth,
corresponding (as these do) to those doors from which the stars come
forth according as He has commanded them,
8 and wherein they set
corresponding to their number. And I saw chariots in the heaven, running
9 in the world, above those portals in which revolve the stars that
never set. And one is larger than all the rest, and it is that that
makes its course through the entire world.
[Chapter 76]
1 And at the ends of the earth I saw twelve portals open to all the
quarters (of the heaven), from
2 which the winds go forth and blow over
the earth. Three of them are open on the face (i.e. the east) of the
heavens, and three in the west, and three on the right (i.e. the south)
of the heaven, and
3 three on the left (i.e. the north). And the three
first are those of the east, and three are of the
4 north, and three
[after those on the left] of the south, and three of the west. Through
four of these come winds of blessing and prosperity, and from those
eight come hurtful winds: when they are sent, they bring destruction on
all the earth and on the water upon it, and on all who dwell thereon,
and on everything which is in the water and on the land.
5 And the first
wind from those portals, called the east wind, comes forth through the
first portal which is in the east, inclining towards the south: from it
come forth desolation, drought, heat,
6 and destruction. And through the
second portal in the middle comes what is fitting, and from it there
come rain and fruitfulness and prosperity and dew; and through the third
portal which lies toward the north come cold and drought.
7 And after
these come forth the south winds through three portals: through the
first portal of
8 them inclining to the east comes forth a hot wind. And
through the middle portal next to it there
9 come forth fragrant
smells, and dew and rain, and prosperity and health. And through the
third portal lying to the west come forth dew and rain, locusts and
desolation.
10 And after these the north winds: from the seventh portal
in the east come dew and rain, locusts and desolation. And from the
middle portal come in a direct direction health and rain and dew and
prosperity; and through the third portal in the west come cloud and
hoar-frost, and snow and rain, and dew and locusts.
12 And after these
[four] are the west winds: through the first portal adjoining the north
come forth dew and hoar-frost, and cold and snow and frost. And from the
middle portal come forth dew and rain, and prosperity and blessing; and
through the last portal which adjoins the south come forth drought and
desolation, and burning and destruction. And the twelve portals of the
four quarters of the heaven are therewith completed, and all their laws
and all their plagues and all their benefactions have I shown to thee,
my son Methuselah.
[Chapter 77]
1 And the first quarter is called the east, because it is the
first: and the second, the south, because the Most High will descend
there, yea, there in quite a special sense will He who is blessed for
ever
2 descend. And the west quarter is named the diminished, because
there all the luminaries of the
3 heaven wane and go down. And the
fourth quarter, named the north, is divided into three parts: the first
of them is for the dwelling of men: and the second contains seas of
water, and the abysses and forests and rivers, and darkness and clouds;
and the third part contains the garden of righteousness. 4 I saw seven
high mountains, higher than all the mountains which are on the earth:
and thence
5 comes forth hoar-frost, and days, seasons, and years pass
away. I saw seven rivers on the earth larger than all the rivers: one of
them coming from the west pours its waters into the Great Sea.
6 And
these two come from the north to the sea and pour their waters into the
Erythraean Sea in the
7 east. And the remaining, four come forth on the
side of the north to their own sea, two of them to the Erythraean Sea,
and two into the Great Sea and discharge themselves there [and some say:
8 into the desert]. Seven great islands I saw in the sea and in the
mainland: two in the mainland and five in the Great Sea.
[Chapter 78] The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
1, And the names of the sun are the following: the first Orjares,
and the second Tomas.
2 And the moon has four names: the first name is
Asonja, the second Ebla, the third Benase, and the fourth Erae.
3 These
are the two great luminaries: their circumference is like the
circumference of the heaven, and the size of the circumference of both
is alike.
4 In the circumference of the sun there are seven portions of
light which are added to it more than to the moon, and in definite
measures it is transferred till the seventh portion of the sun is
exhausted.
5 And they set and enter the portals of the west, and make
their revolution by the north, and come forth through the eastern
portals on the face of the heaven.
6 And when the moon rises
one-fourteenth part appears in the heaven: [the light becomes full in
her]: on the fourteenth day she accomplishes her light.
7 And fifteen
parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her
light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she
becomes fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of)
fourteenth parts.
8 And in her waning (the moon) decreases on the first
day to fourteen parts of her light, on the second to thirteen parts of
light, on the third to twelve, on the fourth to eleven, on the fifth to
ten, on the sixth to nine, on the seventh to eight, on the eighth to
seven, on the ninth to six, on the tenth to five, on the eleventh to
four, on the twelfth to three, on the thirteenth to two, on the
fourteenth to the half of a seventh, and all her remaining light
disappears wholly on the fifteenth.
9 And in certain months the month
has twenty-nine days and once twenty-eight.
10 And Uriel showed me
another law: when light is transferred to the moon, and on which side it
is transferred to her by the sun.
11 During all the period during which
the moon is growing in her light, she is transferring it to herself
when opposite to the sun during fourteen days [her light is accomplished
in the heaven, and when she is illumined throughout, her light is
accomplished full in the heaven.
12 And on the first day she is called
the new moon, for on that day the light rises upon her.
13 She becomes
full moon exactly on the day when the sun sets in the west, and from the
east she rises at night, and the moon shines the whole night through
till the sun rises over against her and the moon is seen over against
the sun.
14 On the side whence the light of the moon comes forth, there
again she wanes till all the light vanishes and all the days of the
month are at an end, and her circumference is empty, void of light.
15
And three months she makes of thirty days, and at her time she makes
three months of twenty- nine days each, in which she accomplishes her
waning in the first period of time, and in the first portal for one
hundred and seventy-seven days.
16 And in the time of her going out she
appears for three months (of) thirty days each, and for three months she
appears (of) twenty-nine each.
17 At night she appears like a man for
twenty days each time, and by day she appears like the heaven, and there
is nothing else in her save her light.
[Chapter 79]
1 And now, my son, I have shown thee everything, and the law of all
the stars of the heaven is
2 completed. And he showed me all the laws
of these for every day, and for every season of bearing rule, and for
every year, and for its going forth, and for the order prescribed to it
every month
3 and every week: And the waning of the moon which takes
place in the sixth portal: for in this
4 sixth portal her light is
accomplished, and after that there is the beginning of the waning: (And
the waning) which takes place in the first portal in its season, till
one hundred and seventy-seven
5 days are accomplished: reckoned
according to weeks, twenty-five (weeks) and two days. She falls behind
the sun and the order of the stars exactly five days in the course of
one period, and when
6 this place which thou seest has been traversed.
Such is the picture and sketch of every luminary which Uriel the
archangel, who is their leader, showed unto me.
[Chapter 80]
1 And in those days the angel Uriel answered and said to me: '
Behold, I have shown thee everything, Enoch, and I have revealed
everything to thee that thou shouldst see this sun and this moon, and
the leaders of the stars of the heaven and all those who turn them,
their tasks and times and departures.
2 And in the days of the sinners the years shall be shortened,
And their seed shall be tardy on their lands and fields,
And all things on the earth shall alter,
And shall not appear in their time:
And the rain shall be kept back
And the heaven shall withhold (it).
3 And in those times the fruits of the earth shall be backward,
And shall not grow in their time,
And the fruits of the trees shall be withheld in their time.
4 And the moon shall alter her order,
And not appear at her time.
5 [And in those days the sun shall be seen and he shall journey in
the evening on the extremity of the great chariot in the west]
And shall shine more brightly than accords with the order of light.
6 And many chiefs of the stars shall transgress the order (prescribed).
And these shall alter their orbits and tasks,
And not appear at the seasons prescribed to them.
7 And the whole order of the stars shall be concealed from the sinners,
And the thoughts of those on the earth shall err concerning them,
[And they shall be altered from all their ways],
Yea, they shall err and take them to be gods.
8 And evil shall be multiplied upon them,
And punishment shall come upon them So as to destroy all.'
[Chapter 81]
1 And he said unto me:
' Observe, Enoch, these heavenly tablets,
And read what is written thereon,
And mark every individual fact.'
2 And I observed the heavenly tablets, and read everything which
was written (thereon) and understood everything, and read the book of
all the deeds of mankind, and of all the children of flesh 3 that shall
be upon the earth to the remotest generations. And forthwith I blessed
the great Lord the King of glory for ever, in that He has made all the
works of the world,
And I extolled the Lord because of His patience,
And blessed Him because of the children of men.
4 And after that I said:
' Blessed is the man who dies in righteousness and goodness,
Concerning whom there is no book of unrighteousness written,
And against whom no day of judgement shall be found.'
5 And those seven holy ones brought me and placed me on the earth
before the door of my house, and said to me: ' Declare everything to thy
son Methuselah, and show to all thy children that no
6 flesh is
righteous in the sight of the Lord, for He is their Creator. One year we
will leave thee with thy son, till thou givest thy (last) commands,
that thou mayest teach thy children and record (it) for them, and
testify to all thy children; and in the second year they shall take thee
from their midst.
7 Let thy heart be strong,
For the good shall announce righteousness to the good;
The righteous with the righteous shall rejoice,
And shall offer congratulation to one another.
8 But the sinners shall die with the sinners,
And the apostate go down with the apostate.
9 And those who practice righteousness shall die on account of the deeds of men,
And be taken away on account of the doings of the godless.'
10 And in those days they ceased to speak to me, and I came to my people, blessing the Lord of the world.
[Chapter 82]
1 And now, my son Methuselah, all these things I am recounting to
thee and writing down for thee! and I have revealed to thee everything,
and given thee books concerning all these: so preserve, my son
Methuselah, the books from thy father's hand, and (see) that thou
deliver them to the generations of the world.
2 I have given Wisdom to thee and to thy children,
[And thy children that shall be to thee],
That they may give it to their children for generations,
This wisdom (namely) that passeth their thought.
3 And those who understand it shall not sleep,
But shall listen with the ear that they may learn this wisdom,
And it shall please those that eat thereof better than good food.
4 Blessed are all the righteous, blessed are all those who walk In
the way of righteousness and sin not as the sinners, in the reckoning of
all their days in which the sun traverses the heaven, entering into and
departing from the portals for thirty days with the heads of thousands
of the order of the stars, together with the four which are intercalated
which divide the four portions of the year, which
5 lead them and enter
with them four days. Owing to them men shall be at fault and not reckon
them in the whole reckoning of the year: yea, men shall be at fault,
and not recognize them
6 accurately. For they belong to the reckoning of
the year and are truly recorded (thereon) for ever, one in the first
portal and one in the third, and one in the fourth and one in the sixth,
and the year is completed in three hundred and sixty-four days.
7 And
the account thereof is accurate and the recorded reckoning thereof
exact; for the luminaries, and months and festivals, and years and days,
has Uriel shown and revealed to me, to whom the
8 Lord of the whole
creation of the world hath subjected the host of heaven. And he has
power over night and day in the heaven to cause the light to give light
to men -sun, moon, and stars,
9 and all the powers of the heaven which
revolve in their circular chariots. And these are the orders of the
stars, which set in their places, and in their seasons and festivals and
months.
10 And these are the names of those who lead them, who watch
that they enter at their times, in their orders, in their seasons, in
their months, in their periods of dominion, and in their positions.
Their four leaders who divide the four parts of the year enter first;
and after them the twelve leaders of the orders who divide the months;
and for the three hundred and sixty (days) there are heads over
thousands who divide the days; and for the four intercalary days there
are the leaders which sunder
12 the four parts of the year. And these
heads over thousands are intercalated between
13 leader and leader, each
behind a station, but their leaders make the division. And these are
the names of the leaders who divide the four parts of the year which are
ordained: Milki'el, Hel'emmelek, and Mel'ejal,
14 and Narel. And the
names of those who lead them: Adnar'el, and Ijasusa'el, and 'Elome'el-
these three follow the leaders of the orders, and there is one that
follows the three leaders of the orders which follow those leaders of
stations that divide the four parts of the year. In the beginning of the
year Melkejal rises first and rules, who is named Tam'aini and sun, and
16 all the days of his dominion whilst he bears rule are ninety-one
days. And these are the signs of the days which are to be seen on earth
in the days of his dominion: sweat, and heat, and calms; and all the
trees bear fruit, and leaves are produced on all the trees, and the
harvest of wheat, and the rose-flowers, and all the flowers which come
forth in the field, but the trees of the winter season become withered.
And these are the names of the leaders which are under them: Berka'el,
Zelebs'el, and another who is added a head of a thousand, called
Hilujaseph: and the days of the dominion of this (leader) are at an end.
18 The next leader after him is Hel'emmelek, whom one names the shining
sun, and all the days
19 of his light are ninety-one days. And these
are the signs of (his) days on the earth: glowing heat and dryness, and
the trees ripen their fruits and produce all their fruits ripe and
ready, and the sheep pair and become pregnant, and all the fruits of the
earth are gathered in, and everything that is
20 in the fields, and the
winepress: these things take place in the days of his dominion. These
are the names, and the orders, and the leaders of those heads of
thousands: Gida'ljal, Ke'el, and He'el, and the name of the head of a
thousand which is added to them, Asfa'el: and the days of his dominion
are at an end.
No comments:
Post a Comment