CHAPTER 72
The book of the courses of the luminaries of heaven, how it is with each one of them, as to their classes, their governments, and their times, as to their names and origin, and as to their months, which their leader Uriêl, a holy angel who was with me, showed to me, and their whole description as it is he showed to me, and how it is with respect to all the years of the world and to eternity, till a new creation is made which will continue to eternity.
2. And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary sun has its ascent in the portals of the heavens which are towards the east, and his descent in the western portals of heaven.
3. And I saw six portals, out of which the sun ascends, and six portals into which the sun descends; the moon also rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those led by them; six in the east and six in the west, and all, each after the other, aright; also many windows to the right and to the left of these portals.
4. And first comes forth the great luminary called the sun; and his circuit is like the circuit of the heavens, and he is entirely filled with flaming and heating fire.
5. The wagons on which he ascends are driven by the wind, and the sun descending disappears from the heavens and returns through the north in order to reach the east, and is led that he comes to that portal and shines on the surface of heaven.
6. And thus he comes forth, in the first month, in the great portal, and he comes forth from the fourth of these six portals towards the east.
7. And in that fourth portal, from which the sun comes forth in the first month, there are twelve window openings, from which a flame proceeds when they are opened in their time.
8. When the sun rises from the heavens he comes out of that fourth portal thirty mornings, and descends directly into the fourth western portal of heaven.
9. And in those days the day is daily lengthened, and the nights nightly shortened to the thirtieth morning.
10. And in that day the day is two parts longer than the night, and the day is exactly ten parts and the night eight parts.
11. And the sun comes forth from this fourth portal and sets in the fourth and returns to the fifth portal of the east thirty mornings, and comes forth from it and descends into the fifth portal.
12. From then on the day is lengthened two parts, and the day is eleven parts, and the night is shortened and is seven parts.
13. And the sun returns to the east and goes into the sixth portal, and comes forth and descends into the sixth portal, thirty-one mornings on account of its sign.
14. And on that day the day is longer than the night, and the day will be double the night, and the day is twelve parts, and the night is shorter and is six parts.
15. And the sun is raised so that the day is shortened and the night is lengthened, and the sun returns to the east and enters the sixth portal and rises from it and sets thirty mornings.
16. And when the thirty mornings are completed the day diminishes by exactly ONE part, and the day is eleven parts and the night seven parts.
17. And the sun comes forth from this sixth portal in the west and goes to the east and rises in the fifth portal thirty mornings and sets in the west again in the fifth portal.
18. On that day the day diminishes two parts, and the day will be ten parts and the night eight parts.
19. And the sun comes forth from that fifth portal and descends into the fifth portal of the west and rises in the fourth portal, on account of its sign, thirty-one mornings and descends in the west.
20. On that day the day is equal to the night and becomes equal, and the night is nine parts and the day nine parts.
21. And the sun comes forth from that portal and sets in the west and returns to the east and comes forth from the third portal thirty mornings and sets in the west in the third portal.
22. And on that day the night is longer than the day to the thirtieth morning, and the day becomes shorter daily to the thirtieth morning, and the night is exactly ten parts and the day eight parts.
23. And the sun comes forth from that third portal and sets in the third portal in the west and returns to the east, and the sun goes into the second portal of the east thirty mornings, and in like manner into the second portal in the west of the heavens.
24. And on that day the night is eleven parts and the day seven parts.
25. And the sun comes forth on that day from the second portal and descends in the west into the second portal and returns to the east in the first portal thirty-one mornings and descends into the west into the first portal.
26. And on that day the night will be so long that it will be the double of the day, and the night is exactly twelve parts and the day six parts.
27. And with that the sun has completed his stations, and he again returns to his station and enters in this portal thirty mornings; he rises and sets opposite it in the west.
28. And on that day the night diminishes in length by ONE part, and is eleven parts and the day seven parts.
29. And the sun returns and goes into the second portal of the east and returns to his course thirty mornings, rising and setting.
30. And on that day the night diminishes in length, and the night is ten parts and the day eight parts.
31. And on that day the sun comes forth from the second portal and descends in the west and returns to the east and rises in the third portal thirty-one mornings and sets in the west of the heavens.
32. And on that day the night is shortened and is nine parts, and the day is nine parts, and the night is equal with the day, and the year has exactly three hundred and sixty-four days.
33. And the length of the day and of the night, and the shortness of the day and of the night—by the course of the sun they are made separated.
34. On that account the day-course becomes longer daily and the night-course shorter nightly.
35. And this is the law and the course of the sun and his return when he returns; sixty times he returns and comes out, that is the great, eternal luminary which is called the sun to all eternity.
36. And that which thus ascends is the great luminary, as it is called on account of its appearance, according to the command of the Lord.
37. And thus he ascends and descends, and is not diminished, and does not rest, but runs day and night in his chariot, and his light shines seven times stronger than that of the moon; but as regards size they are both equal.
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CHAP. 72, 1. From here on till chapter 105 we have again the author of chapters 1-37; cf. Introd. The part here introduced with the special title of book of the courses of the luminaries, or the astronomical book, extends to chap. 82, but with the peculiarity of chap. 1-37, that with the discussion of the luminaries is also connected an account of the winds and other physical secrets. It may be regarded as an attempt to systematize the biblical accounts on these topics, but scarcely with any polemical intentions. Classes, literally families or clans. These are sun, moon, and stars, with the subdivisions of the last, 82:4 sqq. Government, cf. 82:4-20; 75:3. Names, cf. 78:1, 2. Origin, literally places of birth, i.e. of their rising. Uriel, cf. 21:5; 33:3; an evidence that we are again having the author of the first part, as this name is not mentioned in the Parables, at least not expressly; cf. note on 40:2. Yet these arrangements are not permanent, but will give way to new and better ones; cf. Isa. lxv. 17; lxvi. 22; 2 Pet. iii. 13; Apoc. xxi. 1; En. 91:15, 16.—2. With a special superscription an account of the sun’s course is opened, and extends to verse 37. Portals; with this the author refers to his own theory, developed in 33-36.—3. Cf. 75:1-3; 80:6; 82:4-20. Windows, explained vs. 7 and 75:7. Right and left, i.e. north and south.—4. Cf. 41:5-7. The composition of the sun is pure fire.—5. The movements of the heavenly bodies are on wagons, cf. 73:2; 75:3, 8, driven by the wind, 18:4; 73:2. Why the plural is used is uncertain. Returns through the north, cf. 41:5. The sun’s punctual return is secured by his being led back to the right portal of the east, possibly by an angel, 43:2.—6. Great portal, in contradistinction from the small windows vs. 7.
He commences his account with the first Hebrew month, Abib, the time of the vernal equinoxes (Josephus, Antiqq. iii. 10, 5), hence about our April. In the olden times it was called Abib, i.e. grain month, Ex. xiii. 4; xxiii. 15; Deut. xvi. 1; but after the exile it is called Nisan; Neh. ii. 1; Esther iii. 7. It was the month of the Paschal festival. He does not begin with the first portal, at the time when the day is shortest and the night longest, but with the fourth, when the day has been already lengthening, in order to accommodate his system to the Jewish almanac. Of this verse probably Anatolius, bishop of Laodicea, made use, as recorded in Euseb. H. E. 7, 32 as GTR.—7. Twelve window-openings; the number determined by his general system of twelve, and presupposed at the other portals; cf. 72:3; 75:7. Flame probably is heat; cf. 75:7.—8. With this verse the course of the sun is commenced. The author’s system is briefly this: There are twelve portals, six in the east, and six in the west. The sun ascends and descends from the time of the shortest day in the year in the first portal to the time of the longest day in the sixth portal, in each one of them one month; all the time the days increase.
Returning, he begins his course in the sixth, and returns by monthly changing his portal, and daily decreasing the length of the day, to the first portal. Thus the sun ascends in one portal, and descends in the corresponding opposite one for two months every year. Therefore, too, each portal in the east and its corresponding one in the west represent two signs of the zodiac. From the first to the sixth they are respectively Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, and Gemini; and returning from the sixth to the first, respectively Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius. The months are nominally thirty days; but in order to at least approach a solar year, the author makes the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth, or the months of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, and of the summer and winter solstices, have thirty-one days “on account of its sign,” vs. 13, 19; but cf. 25:31. The author’s division of the GTR into eighteen parts and their increase and decrease is of course simply a production of this desire to systematize, without any scientific value whatever. Much less could it be cited as proof that the author did not write in Palestine, as Laurence asserted.—9. Mornings, as the chief part of the day for day itself in Job vii. 18; Ps. lxxiii. 14; Lam. iii. 23.—13. Its, referring to portal, being the point of solstice.—15. Is raised,_ i.e. probably removed further from the earth, to explain the decreasing of the days. Dillmann translates, raises himself, i.e. starts on his trip anew, like a traveller.—35. Sixty times, because the sun is two months in the same portal. The author here disregards the extra day in the third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth portals. Eternal, cf. Ps. lxxii. 5, 17; lxxxix. 37.—37. In size sun and moon are equal, but not in light; cf. 78:3 and Isa. xxx. 26.
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