The Hebrew Astronomical Zodiac
The Zodiac is a series of 12 constellations. It is used to record the positions of the planets, the Sun and the Moon in the sky. Different ancient civilisations have used different Zodiacs. The most common in the West is the Ancient Greek Zodiac, which was likely influenced by the Babylonians.
Academics suggest that the 12 constellation Zodiac was finalised around 500 BC.
The Zodiac and the Hebrews
Over the years, several writers and academics have tried to fit the 12 tribes of Israel into the signs of the Zodiac. But this has been largely unsuccessful.
Instead, the approach I took imagined the blessings given by Jacob to each son in Genesis 49 was a new Zodiac constellation. I tried not to use the modern Zodiac constellations.
Genesis 49 Blessings
In this chapter, Jacob blesses his twelve children. These seem strange last words. For example, he says to Dan that he will be a snake and Zebulun a harbour. Firstly, the blessing for Dan seems more like a curse and then the area occupied by the tribe of Zebulun in Israel was land-locked. How could they be a harbour without a shore?
The strangest blessings refers to Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn:
Genesis 49 v 3-4
Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, the first sign of my strength, excelling in honor, excelling in power. Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel, for you went up onto your father’s bed, onto my couch and defiled it.
How did Reuben defile Jacob’s bed? So weird.
Judah seems the only one which seems to fit perfectly into the modern Western Zodiac.
Genesis 49 v 9
Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
So assuming Judah is connected to the constellation Leo, we get the following Hebrew Zodiac using the order in Genesis 49:
I will go deeper into each one of these in a later series. I will discuss my interpretation of the Hebrew Zodiac, why Jacob did this and why this is essential to understanding the promise God gave to Abraham.