Biblical Astronomy of the Star of David

Biblical Astronomy of the Star of David

The Star of David is an ancient sign and symbol that predates even ancient Israel. This symbol has a wide-ranging and multi-level history, reaching into numerous cultures across the globe. Early renditions of this important symbol are found on several Cylinder Seals dating as far back as circa 2500BC, exhibited in the Vorderasiatisches Museum in Berlin, Germany. This ancient Akkadian Cylinder Seal shows a six-pointed Star with a centered Sun/star. There is a resemblance to the Star of David in this Seal, in that it is a six-pointed star, however it does not appear to conform to overlaid equilateral triangles as is the Magen David. There exists added archaeological evidence of zodiacs from the same general time suggesting feasible Sumerian roots. As we can see in the Cylinder Seal below, The Star figure is central to the six-pointed star, encircled by 12 other planets, or stars/constellations. If this sign is not our Sun, then perhaps it could represent a shadow, or twin star of our Sun, as other bright stars are known to have like Sirius and Sirius B, for example. This could also fit with David residing in the royal throne and genealogy of Jesus Christ, as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Figure 1. Akkadian Cylinder Seal with the six-pointed star and the Sun at the center.1

The Sun figure-a 6-pointed star, surrounded by 12 other celestial bodies generally fits numerous Jewish sources that depict the 12 Tribes of Israel encamped around the Tabernacle in their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness. Similar images are also depicted on the Breastplate of the High Priest, conforming to a cosmic order including 12 hours of the day, 12 months of the year, and 12 zodiacal signs. Judean tradition even depicts the 12 tribes camped around the Tabernacle in the form of a hexagram. In Figure 2 below, each point of the hexagram links to the center of six circles, around a center circle of the Tabernacle where God presented Himself to His people, encircled by the planets and the Moon, as seen below and in Figure 3.

Figure 2. Hexagram with central Sun surrounded by 5 naked-eye planets and the Moon.2

The Star of David in Figure 3 shows the hexagram interlaced with these 2 equilateral triangles, and a hexagonal center, with the Light of the world. This Star of David provides an example of a God-centered Hebrew Solar System, including also a potential systematic map of planetary conjunctions, as they occur in the 12 celestial houses of the Mazzaroth. The history books relate that a heliocentric concept of the solar system was popularized by the ancient Greeks, specifically Aristarchus of Samos in the 2nd Century BC. But this did not catch on till Copernicus in the Middle Ages. Yet we find here further evidence of a heliocentric view going back to the Star of David at least as far as 1600-1400 BC, in excavations at Gezer painted on a ceramic bowl. 3
It’s good that modern science is finally catching up to the ancient Biblical Patriarchs in certain categories of advanced thought! Of course, you won’t hear anything but scoffs and chortle’s from today’s scientific community with suggestions like this, yet it is hard to ignore the evidence of the source for these ideas. [https://star-of-david.blogspot.com/search/label/archaeology]

The Star of David (Magen David) predates Yah’shua Ha Mossiach (Jesus Christ the Messiah), by at least six centuries. The six-pointed star was used in Jewish architecture as a religious symbol of victory and protection for over 2600 years. We find Magen David‘s also prominent on synagogues, like Capernaum where Jesus taught! [Mark 1:21, Luke 4:31, John 6:59), dating from the Second Temple period, during the Messiah’s ministry.

Figure 3. Seal of Solomon with Sun-center and 5 visible planets with the Moon. 4

There is much evidence that the six-pointed star was called the Shield of David because David’s name in Hebrew was spelled Daled, Vav, Daled. If you take the first and last triangles, the alpha & omega (Daleds) of “David” and interlace them, you have the Magen David. Encircling the triangles in the Mazzaroth joined in the first and last signs of Virgo/Leo-forming the Sphinx, as the unifying symbol in the context of the planetary unions in our solar system, including the Jupiter-Saturn series. The Star of David has also been used to diagram the seven days of the Creation week, and the Sabbath as a foundation in Hebrew and world timekeeping. In the graphic below, we find an example of how the hexagram has been used to diagram Bible truths, for example in Genesis 1:1, among many others. 5

Here are some other Bible verses where the Star of David pattern fits the verse as above…
[Gen. 14:19, 22, 27:39, Ex. 20:4, 11 Deut. 4:39, 5:8, 10:14, 30:19, Josh. 2:11, 2 Sam. 2:10, 22:8, 1 Kgs. 8:23, 27, 1 Chron. 21:16, 29:11, Ezra 5:11, Ps. 50:4, Ps. 57:5-11, 85:11, 102:19, 103:11, Ps. 113:4 to 115:16, Ps. 121:2 to 124:8, Prov. 25:3. Isa. 24:21, 44:23, 51:6, 55:9-10, 65:17.] Note the Bookends of the verses in Blue.

The following info comes from Leo Tavares, and his website Mathematical Monotheism. Since the Hebrew Alphabet is alpha-numeric, where every letter has a number value, below Tavares has charted the numerical values of the Hebrew words in Genesis 1:1. 6

Genesis 1:1
In the Beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.

Genesis 1:1 in the original Hebrew:

הארץ ואת השמים את אלהים ברא בראשית

913 + 203 + 86 + 401 + 395 + 407 + 296 = 2701

 

Regarding the number 37, Tavares notes that “for the sum of the Fibonacci numbers indexed to the first 37 decimal digits of Phi, after the decimal point=401. This shows a link between Pi and Phi ratios, previously illustrated in various blog posts. Not only does the center word of value of Genesis 1:1, stand out as its only Prime Word value, it stands out as its shortest word, made up of the first and last letters of their alphabet; the Aleph and Tav. Since the Almighty God-Creator is fittingly set in the center of these seven words in Gen. 1:1, like both the Menorah between the other 6 candles, [Rev. 1:20] and the Star of David with the center hexagon of the six-pointed star, this also reveals an internal code of mirror symmetry in Gen. 1:1, that the sum of the prime factors of the words to the left of 401, yields the same value of the prime factors to the right of 401. 7 This also shows the Almighty God at the center of the Hebrew Scriptures in the Alpha verse of all of God’s written Word, as the Creator of all the material world inside the universe, as well as the spiritual world outside of it.

Building on this, Tavares posits the PHI STAR OF GENESIS 1:1 -based on the numerical value of Gen. 1:1 [2701] is the 37th regular hexagonal number, and hexagons/hexagrams are naturally related, Tavares placed the order of the 37 Fibonacci numbers, derived from the first 37 decimal digits of Phi, after the decimal point, in the form of a hexagram where these numbers total 401, seen below in Figure 4. 8

Figure 4. PHI STAR OF GENESIS 1:1

This shows the link between Genesis 1:1 and the number 37 is active with both Prime and Fibonacci numbers. We can see this also in the sum of numbers at the numbers in the apex triangle points of this Phi Star of Gen. 1:1, totaling 37. [8+13+1+13+2+0] 9

Added examples of sacred Phi geometry are found in the banner below, depicting a Phi relation between the orbital speeds of Earth and Jupiter-Saturn. As the planets move anti-clock wise around the ecliptic viewed from Earth, Jupiter’s orbital speed is in a Phi relation to the slower Saturn, shown in the banner below seen from the Earth. This shows added evidence of the Phi ratio order in our solar system.

We have shown extensively on our website and blog series the impact of the Great Conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in Biblical history, in the astronomical markings of the birth of Abram, the birth of Moses, finally leading up to the birth of Christ. For all intents and purposes, this planetary conjunction cycle could be considered a major aspect of what I have termed the “Celestial Prelude” in describing the celestial signs marking the general and specific periods to mark the birth of Christ. Biblical history shows that the deliverer of Israel and the world, would come from the Seed of Abraham, and deliver Israel as the forerunner Moses did.

With The Star of Bethlehem, we are told that the Jupiter-Saturn unions carry a lot of  weight: In his Commentary on Daniel, Abarbanel {1437-1508} wrote that conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces signified not only the most important events but also events which referred especially to Israel. The Rabbi argued that as the conjunction had taken place three years before the birth of Moses, an event which heralded the first deliverance of Israel, so it would also precede the birth of the Messiah and the final deliverance of Israel… What would Saturn, Jupiter and Pisces signify to the Magi astrologers? As New Testament scholar Raymond Brown points out, we cannot be sure how the Jews in the time of Jesus made their zodiacal calculations. The same scholar, however, goes on to say that ‘Pisces is a constellation sometimes associated with the last days and with the Hebrews, while Jupiter, an object of particular interest among Parthian astrologers, was linked with the world ruler and Saturn was identified as the star of the Amorites of the Syria-Palestine region’. The claim has been made that this conjunction might have led Parthian astrologers to predict that there would appear in Palestine among the Hebrews a world ruler of the last days, an apocalyptic king.10

Below we find depicted the Trigon of the Great Conjunction cycle by Johannes Kepler. He used this diagram to calculate the precession of the equinoxes based on the conjunction cycle of Jupiter-Saturn, as these giants of our solar system marked the opening of a new precessional age nearly every 2160 years, as they approach the vernal equinox. This triangular sequence of conjunctions and oppositions is completed in 60 years, as these 2 gas giants unite every 20 years, in an ongoing planetary union series. As each conjunction appears in a triplicity, that forms the triangular planetary union over 60 years, they transition to the next as seen in Figure 7, where the following Jupiter-Saturn union shifts to the earthly triplicity of Virgo.

Figure 5. the Trigon of Great Conjunctions. [Kepler 1606] 11

Johannes Kepler, made a detailed study of the moving geometry of the sky, represented the periods of the planets by geometric figures with values based on the fundamental divisions of the circle into four, six and twelve sections measuring 90º, 60º and 30º. He made a model that related the five Platonic solids to the planetary orbits, where the cube occupied the space between the orbits of Saturn and Jupiter, and the tetrahedron between Jupiter and Mars. Since then many mind-boggling mathematical relationships have been discovered between the planets’ cycles, sizes and distances from each other, as well as their speed and axis inclinations, and even their rates of spin. These findings point to the presence of an Intelligent designer of the universe. They prove that, rather than evolving randomly, the Sun together with the planets and their moons form a unified, living system of the first order and elegance. 12

Figure 6. The Elements of the Star of David. 13

The graphic above depicts the Green triangle as earth, the Yellow triangle as air, the Blue Triangle as water, and the Orange Triangle as Fire, all unified in the Jupiter-Saturn series of conjunctions, in the central Star of David, as they make their way through the Mazzaroth, navigating these elemental celestial signs corresponding to earth, air, fire, water and ether.
The graphic in figure 7 below shows accurate values: in a tropical system, there will be 10 or 11 conjunctions, and in a sidereal system 11 or 12. Figure 7 below shows this visually, in a tropical system.

Figure 7. Eleven tropical mean conjunctions in the fiery triplicity. 14

Every mean conjunction advances by 242° 58′ 32″ of the circle, or 2° 58′ 32″ in the actual degrees of the signs. If conjunction #1 is at 0° of a sign (here, Aries), then #2 will be at about 2° 58′ 32″ of Sagittarius, #3 at 5° 57′ 04″ Leo, and so on, always moving in a clockwise motion. But then #11 will be at 29° 45′ 20″, the last of the triplicity: the next conjunction will be a triplicity shift into the earthy triplicity, at 2° 43′ 52″ Virgo.

For Plato the five geometric solids called the Platonic Solids corresponded to the elements earth, water, air, fire and ether. The numbers and shapes have a qualitative as well as a quantitative dimension, which have been neglected in modern times.

Kepler viewed the planetary order along the lines of the “Music of the Sphere’s,” unifying the basis for the outer and inner planets. We see this in a geometric harmony of the solar system, with the orbits of the gas giants; Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Figure 8 below depicts the outer, mean and inner orbits of Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter using an equilateral triangle and an octagram.

This is also a way of illustrating the structure of the musical Octave, with an eight-pointed star that halves or doubles the wavelengths or frequencies of the musical scale, with an equilateral triangle inscribed inside a circle, with 1/2 the diameter of its outer circle, seen in Fig. 8.

Figure 8. Geometric orbits of Uranus, Saturn and Jupiter. 15

The geometry of this diagram not only depicts the musical order of these outer solar system planets, but since Jupiter and Saturn’s orbits are in the proportion of 6:11 to 99.99% accuracy, this is the octave or double of the 3:11 Moon to Earth ratio, to 99.9% accuracy, revealing a geometric harmony and mirror symmetry between the outer and inner planets. This 3:11 earth-moon proportion is also shared by two of our planetary neighbors, Mars and Venus, to 99.9% accuracy. Upon closer inspection 3:11 is 27.3%, and the Moon orbits the earth every 27.3 days, showing the harmonious pairing of the Earth and Moon. 16

So when the size of the Moon is compared to the Earth, in the figure below, the circle through the center of the Moon is equal to a circumference of the perimeter of the Square enclosing the Earth. This Square also embodies the base of the dimensions of the Great Pyramid, whose apex touches the circle in the center of the Moon. 17

The geometric order of the outer planets is further uncovered in the conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn. The basis of the geometry of the six-sided star of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions is uniquely found in the hexagon construct at the north pole of the planet Saturn, [Fig. 9]. In this graphic we are beholding the amazing basis of the geometric pattern of the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction cycle.

Figure 9. The Hexagram shaped North Pole of Saturn.

If the six points of the hexagram or star tetrahedron are encircled in a sphere and if we add the planetary oppositions to the geometry of Jupiter-Saturn unions, the six-pointed star is formed, on a basis of the hexagram, as seen below in the upper and lower left corners of Figure 10. This graphic depicts the downward-pointing triangle of the hexagram with Jupiter at the upper right and Saturn at the low point of the triangle. The hexagon forms the corner-stone of the six-pointed “Star of David” mapping the unions of Jupiter-Saturn below. In May 2010 the last opposition stage in the current sixty-year cycle was reached, with Jupiter in Pisces opposing Saturn in Virgo. 18

Figure 10. Jupiter-Saturn Star of David with the Creation Week examples. 19

When mapped, the progress of these grand conjunctions through the zodiac describes a series of equilateral triangles (Fig. 5). Every 60 years a triangle is completed, and
the planetary union returns to start, shifting however nine degrees anticlockwise in respect to its predecessors, thus forming a cycle of 800 years. Each 200 years the triangles shift to the next elements. From 1226-1425 they occurred in air signs, 1425-1603 in water, 1603-1802 in fire, and from 1802 to 2000 in earth. 20 

A Biblical Astronomy perspective, provides view of planetary cycles of Jupiter-Saturn appearing in various zodiacal constellations around the ecliptic, noting the Biblical symbolism of each sign, combined with the planetary symbolism and Bible numerics to ascertain the meaning of these movements, in the context of Precessional and Biblical ages with sacred Geometry principles like the Phi, Pi and Lucas ratios, as found in the solar system and Great Pyramid. This includes categories of  Heavenly Signs, Hebrew Feast and holy days, and Jubilee cycles, among other considerations.

Another application of the Star of David pattern of overlapping triangles is found in the dual ministries of the Messiah as the Priest/King. This is a powerful symbol for Jesus as the Son
of David, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root and offspring of David. [2Pet.1:19, Rev.22:16]. One example of these unified ministries of the King and High Priest is found
in the Gospel of John record [John 10:22-30];

Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews gathered about him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, but you do not believe because you do not belong to my flock. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:22-30)

Two separate hints are given in this passage: 1) Jesus was in the temple area of Solomon’s Colonnade; and 2) he referred to his flock which means he was reminding his listeners that he is a Shepherd, in the same occupation as his forefather, King David. The image of the star of David is implied, that on another level symbolizes the joining together of the dual roles of king and high priest.

In the graphic below we have a geometric version of a six-petalled flower, called the Seed of Life in sacred geometry. Like the Pomegranate, these flowers are said to be the natural version of the Star of David in the Flower kingdom. The geometric pattern below is obtained by drawing 6 same-sized circles, that partially overlap each other, similar to the Vesica Pisces. If we look closely we can see the pattern of the Star of David within these circles also, that form the flower. In the overlapping circles on the top and bottom of this image, their common lozenge is divided in half by the inner circle surrounding the flower. These embody the upper and lower apex’s of the interlocking triangles, while the adjacent triangles provide the base angles of each triangle.

The pomegranate flower provides the ideal natural six-pointed star which may be one of the reasons it is found on the Ephod of the High Priest. They were found on the Hem of the Priest’s Ephod; his ceremonial robe that was worn while he ministered in the Tabernacle and Temple of Israel, [Exod. 28:31-35]. The pomegranates were alternated between small golden bells on the lower hem of the Ephod, which also held the High Priest’s Breastplate. This displayed fruitful works of the High Priest in his ministry. King Solomon was also said to have designed his crown based on a six-pointed star pattern of this sacred flower of the pomegranate. Here is a wonderful example of the dual ministries of our King and High Priest Jesus Christ who is the only perfect minister and our perfect redeemer, that we follow and obey as the head of our Spiritual body in his Church.

An added intriguing element is found as we consider how the 12 gems on the Breastplate link both to the 12 star-signs of the Mazzaroth, and the 12 tribes of Israel; this link takes you to an accurate account of how the tribes match their proper constellations. As the Star of David geometric structure also has 12 sides, as seen in the mid-lower row of Figure 10 above, we find a specific means whereby the conjunction series of Jupiter-Saturn, that marked the births of key Patriarchs leading to Christ, may have also provided an astronomical check and balance to the Urim and Thummim, also held in a pouch in the High Priest’s Breastplate.

As we walk in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, rejoicing more and more as His Day approaches, in the resounding and reverberating truths of the Hope of Christ’s Return, we will stand together as super-conquerors in the Lord into eternity.

Agape’

Rene’