Jasher
8:1 And it was in the night
that Abram was born, that all the servants of Terah, and all the wise men of
Nimrod, and his conjurors came and ate and drank in the house of Terah, and
they rejoiced with him on that night.2And when all the wise men and conjurors
went out from the house of Terah, they lifted up their eyes toward heaven that
night to look at the stars, and they saw, and behold one very large star came
from the east and ran in the heavens, and he swallowed up the four stars from
the four sides of the heavens.3And all the wise men of the king and his
conjurors were astonished at the sight, and the sages understood this matter,
and they knew its import.4And they said to each other, This only betokens the
child that has been born to Terah this night, who will grow up and be fruitful,
and multiply, and possess all the earth, he and his children for ever, and he
and his seed will slay great kings, and inherit their lands.
We know that Noah and Shem lived in Chaldea and taught
this knowledge after the flood. Further
we know that Abraham also understood the stars and brought that knowledge to
Egypt. Therefore when we look at the
knowledge that existed in Egypt we understand the centrality of the message
that the Greeks eventually expounded on. As Josephus points out, Abraham
brought the science of Astronomy to Egypt.
Josephus 8:2. For whereas the Egyptians were
formerly addicted to different customs, and despised one another's sacred and
accustomed rites, and were very angry one with another on that account, Abram
conferred with each of them, and, confuting the reasonings they made use of,
every one for their own practices, demonstrated that such reasonings were vain
and void of truth: whereupon he was admired by them in those conferences as a
very wise man, and one of great sagacity, when he discoursed on any subject he
undertook; and this not only in understanding it, but in persuading other men
also to assent to him. He communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to
them the science of astronomy; for before Abram came into Egypt they were
unacquainted with those parts of learning; for that science came from the
Chaldeans into Egypt, and from thence to the Greeks also.
It
then is not hard to understand that Abraham’s descendents would have possessed
the knowledge of the stars and planets, and would have been looking ahead to a
coming messiah. Yet the daily role they
each lived would depend on their very obedience to God himself. As from the time of Noah up to the time of
the Israelites leaving Egypt, people lived much like we do today, they had the
freedom to choose how to live and whether to live for God or not. The time of
freedom befuddles people who love legalism because they do not believe we
should all be free to choose to serve Jesus or not to serve him. Yet this is the age Jacob lived in, just as
we do. Joseph was young enough to not
have developed his personal leadership skills at the time he was sold as a
slave and his brothers did not like him much for his prophetic dreams.
Gen
37:9-11 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said,
Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the
eleven stars [3556] made obeisance to me.10 And he told it to his father, and
to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this
dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed
come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?11 And his brethren envied him;
but his father observed the saying.KJV
Star OT:3556 kowkab
(ko-kawb'); probably from the same as OT:3522 (in the sense of rolling) or
OT:3554 (in the sense of blazing); a star (as round or as shining);
figuratively, a prince:KJV - star ([-gazer]).(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive
Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.
Copyright © 1994, 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. and International Bible
Translators, Inc.)
The
reaction his brothers had to his dream did not deter Joseph from keeping the
knowledge of the stars which Jacob taught all his sons. It may very well be that Joseph then taught
the knowledge of the stars to the Egyptians as we can see from the book of
Jasher, Not only did he know how to read the stars, his family must have kept
that knowledge alive. Benjamin knew what the stars said about his long lost
brother when shown the star maps.
From
Jasher we see that Joseph’s brothers first entered the city to buy grain and to
find Joseph, and spent three days looking for him. They went looking for him
among the prostitutes, because they realized he we good looking, they figured
he was sold into prostitution. Human trafficking has existed for a long time. When
Joseph saw that his brothers entered the city through ten different gates he
thought to bring them in for questioning if they were to buy grain. So he
limited the peoples’ access to purchasing grain from only one storehouse and
instructed the guards if they were to see any of their names, to bring them to
Joseph. After questioning them about their family Joseph sent his brothers back
home with some instructions.
Jasher 51:13 And they went to the walls of the
harlots, and they sought Joseph in the walls of the harlots for three days, for
they thought that Joseph would come in the walls of the harlots, for Joseph was
very comely and well favored, and the sons of Jacob sought Joseph for three
days, and they could not find him.
Jasher
51:26And they said unto
Joseph, Far be it from our lord to speak thus, for we are twelve brothers, the
sons of our father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, the son of Isaac, the son of
Abraham, the Hebrew, and behold the youngest is with our father this day in the
land of Canaan, and one is not, for he was lost from us, and we thought perhaps
he might be in this land, so we are seeking him throughout the land, and have
come even to the houses of harlots to seek him there.27And Joseph said unto
them, And have you then sought him throughout the earth, that there only
remained Egypt for you to seek him in? And what also should your brother do in
the houses of harlots, although he were in Egypt? have you not said, That you
are from the sons of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and what shall the sons of
Jacob do then in the houses of harlots?28And they said unto him, Because we
heard that Ishmaelites stole him from us, and it was told unto us that they
sold him in Egypt, and thy servant, our brother, is very comely and well
favored, so we thought he would surely be in the houses of harlots, therefore
thy servants went there to seek him and give ransom for him.
When
his brothers came back to buy grain they had to bring Benjamin with them. Joseph wanted to test his brothers, and after
showing Benjamin the star maps he told Benjamin to keep what he saw secret and
that Joseph would force them to come back. Let’s see what Benjamin saw.
Jasher
53:9 And he lifted up his
eyes and beheld his brother Benjamin, and he said, Is this your brother of whom
you spoke unto me? And Benjamin approached Joseph, and Joseph placed his hand
upon his head and he said unto him, May God be gracious unto thee my son.10And
when Joseph saw his brother, the son of his mother, he again wished to weep,
and he entered the chamber, and he wept there, and he washed his face, and went
out and refrained from weeping, and he said, Prepare food.11And Joseph had a
cup from which he drank, and it was of silver beautifully inlaid with onyx
stones and bdellium, and Joseph struck the cup in the sight of his brethren
whilst they were sitting to eat with him.12And Joseph said unto the men, I know
by this cup that Reuben the first born, Simeon and Levi and Judah, Issachar and
Zebulun are children from one mother, seat yourselves to eat according to your
births.13And he also placed the others according to their births, and he said,
I know that this your youngest brother has no brother, and I, like him, have no
brother, he shall therefore sit down to eat with me.14And Benjamin went up
before Joseph and sat upon the throne, and the men beheld the acts of Joseph,
and they were astonished at them; and the men ate and drank at that time with
Joseph, and he then gave presents unto them, and Joseph gave one gift unto
Benjamin, and Manasseh and Ephraim saw the acts of their father, and they also
gave presents unto him, and Osnath gave him one present, and they were five
presents in the hand of Benjamin.15And Joseph brought them out wine to drink,
and they would not drink, and they said, From the day on which Joseph was lost
we have not drunk wine, nor eaten any delicacies.16And Joseph swore unto them,
and he pressed them hard, and they drank plentifully with him on that day, and
Joseph afterward turned to his brother Benjamin to speak with him, and Benjamin
was still sitting upon the throne before Joseph. 17And Joseph said unto him,
Hast thou begotten any children? and he said, Thy servant has ten sons, and these
are their names, Bela, Becher, Ashbal, Gera, Naaman, Achi, Rosh, Mupim, Chupim,
and Ord, and I called their names after my brother whom I have not seen.
Joseph gets his brothers
to drink so that they would not pay attention to what happens next.
Jasher 53:18And he
ordered them to bring before him his map of the stars, whereby Joseph knew all
the times, and Joseph said unto Benjamin, I have heard that the Hebrews are
acquainted with all wisdom, dost thou know anything of this?19And Benjamin
said, Thy servant is knowing also in all the wisdom which my father taught me,
and Joseph said unto Benjamin, Look now at this instrument and understand where
thy brother Joseph is in Egypt, who you said went down to Egypt.20And Benjamin
beheld that instrument with the map of the stars of heaven, and he was wise and
looked therein to know where his brother was, and Benjamin divided the whole
land of Egypt into four divisions, and he found that he who was sitting upon
the throne before him was his brother Joseph, and Benjamin wondered greatly,
and when Joseph saw that his brother Benjamin was so much astonished, he said
unto Benjamin, What hast thou seen, and why art thou astonished?21And Benjamin
said unto Joseph, I can see by this that Joseph my brother sitteth here with me
upon the throne, and Joseph said unto him, I am Joseph thy brother, reveal not
this thing unto thy brethren; behold I will send thee with them when they go
away, and I will command them to be brought back again into the city, and I
will take thee away from them.22And if they dare their lives and fight for
thee, then shall I know that they have repented of what they did unto me, and I
will make myself known to them, and if they forsake thee when I take thee, then
shalt thou remain with me, and I will wrangle with them, and they shall go
away, and I will not become known to them.
Joseph knew all the times by the star maps. As I said, we hardly understand anything we
see in the stars but Joseph knew all the times. Joseph tells Benjamin that the Hebrews are
acquainted with all wisdom therefore Joseph regarded the knowledge of the stars
as wisdom. Benjamin says Jacob taught him these things. We may then assume that Jacob also taught
Joseph as well and all his brothers. If
we read the prior verses in Jasher as I have summarized, Joseph’s brothers knew
he was in Egypt, but thought he was a slave to a master. They spent three days looking for Joseph
among the prostitutes. They may have missed something as Benjamin picked up on
Joseph’s whereabouts from a star map.
What was this
instrument Joseph had? Obviously Jacob taught his sons how to use this
instrument as Benjamin didn’t need lessons in using it. Benjamin took it, and a star map and he
“looked therein”, so it is not as simple as a compass or a square, it was
something one could look into. Could it possibly have had gears to set the
positions of the stars, or a magnifying glass to look into? Maybe a slide rule of some sort with
Babylonian mathematics? He used this
instrument, and map, and divided Egypt into four sections, this alludes to
mathematics again. So whatever this
instrument was it was used here to pinpoint a person. That means there must be something exclusive
to Joseph in the stars that Benjamin knew about. Somehow a star map of Joseph’s
birth might have been something Benjamin knew, identifying where each planet
was at the time of Joseph’s birth. Maybe
this knowledge was important to the ancients as we saw with Abraham. So the question to ask ourselves is what is
exclusive to an individual that could be combined with something to look into,
and a star map, that would show a person’s location? If we could understand this today, we could
duplicate it with computers. This
instrument was probably not a nautical device as the sons of Abraham did not
sail on the seas but lived inland. Yet it must have been something that some
people had, such as Jacob. Joseph may
have duplicated this instrument once in Egypt, which combined with the star
maps told Joseph “all the times”. Therefore there may have been other people
that had this instrument. To sum up, dividing Egypt up into fours, Benjamin was
able to look into something along with a star map and find where Joseph was.
Joseph says to Benjamin “Look now at this
instrument and understand where thy brother Joseph is in Egypt”. I’m not sure
how one can identify the whereabouts of an individual in a country using a star
map alone, therefore the need for the instrument combined with the star map
seems to bring Benjamin an answer. That would be some great wisdom to have.
To further understand what one’s birth could
have to do with the stars, Joseph Seiss expounds on the constellations
attributed to each of Jacob’s son’s in his book The Gospel in the Stars.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel.
Likewise in the names of Jacob's sons in his
prophetic blessings on them (Gen. 49), in the corresponding song of Moses on
the several tribes of Israel (Deut. n), on the banners borne by these tribes in
their march through the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan, and in the jewels of
the breastplate of their officiating high priest, do we again find distinct
correspondence to the celestial signs, just as I have been identifying and
describing them. I may not enter now upon the full showing in these instances.
I state only a few elements of the presentation.
Zebulon
means dwelling, the choosing and entering upon a home. Jacob blessed Zebulon as
to dwell at the seas as a haven for the ships. Moses sung of his joyful going
forth. His jewel representative was Bareketh, glittering, bright. So Christ is
the brightness of the Father's glory, who, when He entered upon His ministry of
light and salvation, selected Zebulon as its home-centre, and on those shores
opened out His brightness, so that the land of Zebulon beheld a great light
come to dwell there as Lord and Saviour. But all this is in thorough
correspondence with what hung prophetic in the sky in the sign of Virgo.
The next succeeding sign did not appear on any
of the standards of Israel, for Levi
had no separate banner. The sanctuary itself was Levi's ensign. His business
was to take care of that, and there to offer sacrifices for the people's sins.
But all the more expressively did he thus bear aloft the showing of
redemption's price, just as we found it signalized in Libra. He kept the
balances of the sanctuary.
Dan means judge,
administering as a judge. Jacob describes him as judging and punishing, and as
a serpent and adder by the way that biteth the horses' heels. Moses refers to
him as a lion's whelp, leaping from Bashan. His emblem was the serpent, and the
whole description concerning him answers to Scorpio, which was the place
assigned him in the Jewish Zodiac.
In the same way Asher answers to Sagittarius. His jewel representative is
called Shoham, the lively, the strong, and his name means the blessed, the
happy, the triumphant going forth. Moses speaks of him as approved and
prospered, dipping his foot in oil, wearing shoes of iron and brass, and riding
forth in the strength of the God of Jeshurun, precisely as the picture is in
Sagittarius.
Naphtali is
" a hind," a wrestler with death, let go to drop and die, but filled
with favor and blessing nevertheless ; falling, yet joy- fully bringing forth
abundant new life and gladness by his " goodly words ;" which is the
showing in Capricornus.
Reuben in
like manner corresponds to Aquarius. His name means Behold a son, new being.
Jacob speaks of him as the beginning of strength and excellence, going on to
excel as water flows. His jewel was Nophek, the pouring forth, as water and
light.
Simeon
means hearing and obeying. Jacob associates Levi with him, signifying the
united, joined together, bound ; and Moses assigns them the blessing of the
prophetic lights and perfections ; all of which answers to the Church as
pictured in the sign of Pisces.
So Gad
is Aries. The name means the seer, as the Lamb has "seven eyes." He
is pierced, but overcomes at the last. He is blessed, seated as a lawgiver,
dwelling as a lion. His jewel was the diamond, cutting and breaking, as well as
shining. With the heads of the people he executes the justice and judgments of
the Lord with Israel — that is, with the Church. All of which is precisely the
showing in the sign of Aries.
Joseph is
Taurus, the reem. Ephraim and Manasseh are his two great horns, pushing the
people to the ends of the earth. The arms of his hands are made strong by the
mighty God of Jacob. His glory is like the firstlings of the herd. His
jewel-sign signifies tongues of fire. The two pictures are exactly identical.
Benjamin is
Gemini. He had two names, as Gemini has two figures — Benjamin, son of the
right hand, and Benoni, son of my sorrow, which together describe Christ and
the Church He has " begotten by His sorrows." Both are the beloved of
the Lord, the latter dwelling between the shoulders of the other, sheltered and
blessed by Jehovah all the daylong, in the morning devouring the prey like a
ravening wolf, and in the evening dividing the spoils.
Issachar
means recompense. His jewel representative is Pitdah, reward. Jacob speaks of
him as a strong ass resting between the burdens of treasure. He sees his
resting- place that it is good. Moses describes him as rejoicing in his tents,
to whose mountains the people come with sacrifices of righteousness, and to
suck the abundance of the seas and the yet hidden treasures on the shore. All
these presentations answer throughout to Cancer.
And in all the given particulars, Judah is Leo. His name means the
praise and glory and majesty of God. His banner bore the sign of the rampant
lion. His jewel representative was the ruby, the symbol of blood- shedding unto
victory. And Jacob describes him as the lion, the tearer in pieces, the
glorious victor, the same as exhibited in the sign of Leo.
Here
are the meanings of the names of the sons of Jacob from Hitchcock’s Bible Names
Dictionary.
Zebulun dwelling; habitation
Levi associated with him
Dan judgment; he that
judges
Ashur who is happy; or
walks; or looks
Naphtali that struggles or
fights
Reuben who sees the son; the
vision of the son
Simeon that hears or obeys;
that is heard
Gad a band; a troop
Joseph increase; addition
Benjamin son of the right
hand
Issachar reward; recompense
Judah the praise of the
Lord; confession
(from
Hitchcock's Bible Names Dictionary, PC Study Bible formatted electronic
database Copyright © 2003, 2006 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Jacob
prophesy’s over his sons before his death.
What we know and can see about Jacob’s sons is that living in the time
of freedom they didn’t always live according to the ways God would have
preferred. Understanding our freedom we see
that the stars may give us clues about ourselves as they did about Jacob’s
sons, but we have the express freedom to not walk according to the Lord. God, the maker of the mazzaroth uses the
mazzaroth to tell those who believe on Him about Himself as well as
themselves. This is where the world gets
mixed up with astrology; it is not about man’s P.T. Barnum charade of daily
advice to live by, but rather the revealing of the Creator and his sons. The constellations, stars, planets, and the
mazzaroth, are made by the Creator for those who believe on Him. Freedom dictates that we can choose to live
for Him or not, but His creation really speaks to His people. Let’s look at Jacob’s last words to his sons.
Gen
49:1-28 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together,
that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.2 Gather
yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your
father.
3
Reuben, thou art my
firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity,
and the excellency of power:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because
thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my
couch.
5
Simeon and Levi are brethren;
instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.6 O my soul, come not thou into
their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in
their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.7
Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I
will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8
Judah, thou art he whom thy
brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy
father's children shall bow down before thee.9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from
the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and
as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?10 The sceptre shall not depart from
Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him
shall the gathering of the people be.11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his
ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes
in the blood of grapes:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white
with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the
haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall
be unto Zidon.
14
Issachar is a strong ass
couching down between two burdens:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the
land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant
unto tribute.
16
Dan shall judge his people,
as one of the tribes of Israel.17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder
in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall
backward.18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.
19
Gad, a troop shall overcome
him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20
Out of Asher his bread shall
be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21
Naphtali is a hind let loose:
he giveth goodly words.
22
Joseph is a fruitful
bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:23 The
archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:24 But his bow
abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of
the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)25
Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who
shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that
lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:26 The blessings of thy
father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost
bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the
crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27
Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf:
in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the
spoil.28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their
father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing
he blessed them.KJV
We should look at some of Frances Rolleston’s ideas regarding the
mazzaroth. The antediluvians established
this knowledge and now we see it in the time of Jacob used prophetically.
Frances Rolleston, Mazzaroth:
Allusions to the Signs of the
Zodiac have often been pointed out in the blessing of Jacob (Gen 49); those in
the blessing of Moses (Deut 33) have been less remarked. Unless these emblems
had some signification familiar and important to the hearers, it is not to be
supposed that the dying patriarch or the departing lawgiver would have adopted
their imagery. If, however, they had been framed by the forefathers of mankind
to transmit the primaeval revelation, it is consistent that they should again
be so employed.
If, as has been shown (Table 15),
their import is to be traced in the names of the antediluvian patriarchs, it is
the more probable that they should afterwards be used in prophecy. It does not
clearly appear whether Jacob and his wives had at first any intention of
connecting the names of their children with the signs; but when Jacob changed
the name Ben-oni, son of sorrow, to Ben-jamin, son of the right hand, it is
probable he had in view the sign of the heavenly twins, which the tribe of
Benjamin is known to have borne on its banners, under the accompanying figure
of the wolf, whose name means, He cometh.
These names are subsequently
consecrated to the purpose of prophecy by the command to engrave them on the
stones of the oracular breastplate, and by their place on the gates of the city
of Ezekiel and the New Jerusalem of the Apocalypse. While in the names of the
earlier patriarchs is found the Redeemer alone, in those of the sons of Jacob
there is more of the peculiar people, the Church, then beginning to be set
apart, but still, as in the emblems of the signs, in union with the Redeemer.
The order in which their father addressed them begins with Reuben. "Behold
the Son!" calling on us to look to Him, of whom Isaiah afterwards said,
"Unto us a Son is given," and "Look unto Him, and be ye saved,
all the ends of the earth." In Simeon and Levi, those that have heard and
are joined together, is shown the need they have of union between themselves,
and support from Him who sustains them. In Judah, the theme of our praise and
the delight in offering it. In Zebulon is set forth that He shall dwell with
them, and they with Him. In Issachar, the purchased possession, the reward of
Messiah's sufferings. In Dan the salvation of his people is secured by his
judging or ruling for them. In Gad, conformed to Him in affliction, they are
with Him pierced with many sorrows. In Asher is their blessedness, in feeding
on the bread from heaven. In Naphtali they are set free by his wrestling. In
Joseph is shown the continual addition to the Church of such as shall be saved.
In Benjamin, He who is the man of sorrows, and of God's right hand, closes, as
He began, the enumeration. Ephraim, fruitfulness, and Manasseh, forgetfulness
of all worldly troubles, equally suit with the place they afterwards occupied
in subordination to their father Joseph.
It is not said that the gift of
prophecy had been imparted to Jacob before his last illness. Perhaps from the
widely diffused tradition of this prophetic effusion an idea as widely
received, that dying persons speak prophetically, may have originated.
The prediction first
accomplished, that the sovereignty should be vested in the tribe of Judah, is
the preliminary mark giving authority to the yet unfulfilled prophecies, both
of the Messiah and the tribes. As certainly as the families of the twelve
patriarchs divided between them the promised land under Joshua, so certainly
shall they again possess it, under Him of whom Joshua was a type. As surely as
David the son of Jesse reigned upon Mount Zion, so surely unto that Shiloh,
that King Messiah who is also of the line of Judah, shall be the gathering of
the nations.
The blessing of Jacob contains
prophecies of the Messiah, some of which are equally appreciated by Christians
and by Jews. Such is that of Shiloh: but the ancient Hebrews understood far
more of these predictions as relating to Him who was to come, than is in
general pointed out by commentators. According to the early and most learned
Jewish authorities, references to the Messiah are throughout interwoven with
those to the patriarchs and the tribes. Some of these annunciations are yet
unfulfilled, both as to the final triumph of the Messiah and the destiny of the
tribes in their restoration to their own land. Translations, ancient and
modern, vary, as in Genesis 49:26, in which the great majority give Nazir, the
Nazarite, where the English has "separate." Commentators also differ;
some, however, have perceived the allusions to the twelve signs, as borne on
the standards of Israel, but have not consistently explained or adapted them:
not even the Jewish writers who inform us that they were so borne. However,
these ancient authorities unanimously assert that Reuben bore Aquarius; Joseph,
Taurus; Benjamin, Gemini under the emblem of the wolf; and Dan, Scorpio under
that of an eagle, or of a crowned serpent or basilisk.
If these emblems were thus early
employed by the family chosen to preserve the worship of the One true God, the
idea of their origin in Egypt, then fast sinking into idolatry, becomes most
improbable. On the descendants of Abraham was ever impressed abhorrence of that
idolatry from which he had been called. What idolaters had invented they might
not adopt: but what idolaters had corrupted they were not always commanded to
abandon. The cherubic forms, afterwards perverted to the purposes of idolatry
in Egypt and Assyria, are found in the four principal signs where the equinoxes
and solstices of antediluvian astronomy had always occurred. These forms could
not be of Egyptian invention, for they were set at the east of Eden. Jewish
authorities say that "they were from the beginning in the holy tabernacle
called the face of God." Had the eight intermediate signs been added by
the Egyptians, the chosen family must not have intermingled the devices of man
with ordinances of Divine authority. If they knew that all had been arranged to
declare the glory of God and proclaim the coming Redeemer, the use of them by
Jacob, and the recurrence to them by Moses, would be of obvious utility.
Happily would the children of the departed prophet behold them in the peaceful
plains of Goshen. How hopefully in the toilsome valley of the Nile would they
gaze on their own hieroglyphics, of far higher import than those of their
oppressors! With what thankfulness in the weary sands of the wilderness would
they repose, encamping every man under the shadow of his own standard! With
what joy would they unfurl those prophetic ensigns to the welcome breezes of
the promised land! As the written word of God in our own day, to some they
would still be an unsolved enigma, while to others they would declare the great
salvation. The rebellious seer read in them the ruin of his race: the
triumphant Lawgiver traced the future glories of Him who should be "King
in Jeshurun."
It does not appear that the signs
were first appropriated to the sons of Jacob by their father's dying blessing;
it rather seems that the children had been names with a reference to the signs,
as is still done in the East: therefore, when Joseph related his dream of
eleven stars bowing down before him, his brethren applied it to themselves, and
were offended. This dream was fulfilled, his second dream was not: his own
mother was dead, and his step-mother also died before his brethren bowed down
to him. Jacob appears to have seen, that if the first was from above, the
second was merely natural, and reproved him in consequence.
Beneath the midnight sky of the
land of Goshen, the dying patriarch, animated by prophetic impulse and
surrounded by reverential listeners, from within the lifted curtain of his tent
might gaze enrapt on the starry heaven, whither by Divine command his father
Abraham had been taught to look for a type of the promised seed. With Leo
rising, Aquarius would be seen about to set, thus figuring the transfer of the
birthright from Reuben to Judah. Taurus, the well-known bearing of Joseph,
would be on the meridian; and the place of Scorpio, the ensign of Dan, though
below the horizon, would be pointed out by the head of the Serpent immediately
beneath the Northern Crown. Every intermediate sign would either be visible or
its place indicated by some remarkable star belonging to or above it; as
Sagittarius by Vega, in Lyra, and Capricornus by Cygnus. Reverting from the
brilliant orbs on high, beyond which lay the haven of that salvation for which
he had waited, his failing eyes would rest on the familiar faces around him,
the inheritors of that earthly Canaan typifying the heavenly country which his
spirit sought. Full of the glories of Him at once his Saviour and his son, he
addresses them under the influence of that Divine Spirit which alone enables
man to predict futurity.
NOTE. The annexed translations, varying but little from the English
Version, yet accommodated in some degree to the idiom of the Hebrew in its
inversions and omissions of connecting particles, if harsh to the ear, aim at
conveying some idea of the antique dignity of the original in the blessing of
Jacob, and at shadowing forth the sublimity of that of Moses.
The dying patriarch appears to have addressed
each son by name, and then alluding to his appointed emblem, to have pointed
out its signification as to the promised Redeemer. To Reuben was allotted
Aquarius, the pourer out of blessings, arising as in triumph. He was his might and the "excellency" of
dignity and of power; but the "excellency" of primogeniture, of being
the head of the family, he takes from Reuben, "Thou shalt not excel," and afterwards transfers it to
Judah. The reason is given in the delinquency of Reuben.
Verse 5. To Simeon and Levi he allotted Pisces,
the united fishes, as brethren. They had slain Shechem, a man, a prince of the
land. It has often been pointed out that these two tribes were the enemies
of the Man, the second Adam, and were instrumental by their
"assembly" to the crucifixion, slaying the Prince. The word here
rendered prince, is by the Septuagint rendered bull, and by the Vulgate wall.
The alteration of a single vowel, in the Hebrew expressed by a single point,
allows these variations; and certainly in the time of Jacob the points were not
in use. Whether before or after the event, a prediction of the slaying of the
Messiah by his own people would not find favour with the Jewish mind. A point
would be easily dropt if involving it.
Signs borne on the
banners of the tribes of Israel
|
NAMES OF THE SONS OF
JACOB
ACCORDING TO THEIR BIRTH |
Texts where the word
or its root occurs
|
Hebrew Roots
|
AQUARIUS
|
Reuben, behold a son, the son,
arising, pouring out blessings
|
Gen 29:32
|
|
PISCES
|
Simeon, heard, characteristic of
the Church
Levi, bound, united, characteristic of the Church |
Ib. 33
|
|
LEO
|
Judah, praise to the Lord, for the
coming Messiah
|
Ib. 35
|
|
SCORPIO
|
Dan, judging, ruling, his people
|
Gen 30:6
|
|
CAPRICORNUS
|
Naphtali, wrestling, sufferings at
the first coming
|
Ib. 8
|
|
ARIES
|
Gad, good fortune, blessings at
the second coming, (Arab. use.)
|
Ib. 11
|
|
SAGITTARIUS
|
Asher, happy, the going forth of
the Gospel
|
Ib. 13
|
|
CANCER
|
Issachar, recompense, or reward,
of the Messiah's sufferings
|
Ib. 18
|
|
VIRGO
|
Zebulon, dwelling, as the promised
seed at his first coming
|
Ib. 20
|
|
TAURUS
|
Joseph, adding. Ephraim; fruitful,
Gen 41:52; gathering in the Gentiles
|
Ib. 24
|
|
GEMINI
|
Benjamin, son of the right hand,
called by his mother, Ben-oni, son of sorrow, the suffering and
triumphant Messiah
|
Gen 35:18
|
Let’s
look at Moses’ prophecy of the twelve tribes.
Deut
33:6-27 Let Reuben live, and
not die; and let not his men be few.7 And this is the blessing of Judah: and he
said, Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah,
and bring him unto his people: let his hands be sufficient for him; and be thou
an help to him from his enemies.8 And of Levi
he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou
didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of
Meribah;9 Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him;
neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they
have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.10 They shall teach Jacob thy
judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole
burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.11 Bless, Lord, his substance, and accept the
work of his hands: smite through the loins of them that rise against him, and
of them that hate him, that they rise not again.12 And of Benjamin he said, The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in
safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall
dwell between his shoulders.13 And of Joseph
he said, Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven,
for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath,14 And for the precious
fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the
moon,15 And for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious
things of the lasting hills,16 And for the precious things of the earth and fulness
thereof, and for the good will of him that dwelt in the bush: let the blessing
come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of him that was
separated from his brethren.17 His glory is like the firstling of his bullock,
and his horns are like the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the
people together to the ends of the earth: and they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the
thousands of Manasseh.18 And
of Zebulun he said, Rejoice,
Zebulun, in thy going out; and, Issachar,
in thy tents.19 They shall call the people unto the mountain; there they shall
offer sacrifices of righteousness: for they shall suck of the abundance of the
seas, and of treasures hid in the sand.20 And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad: he dwelleth
as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.21 And he provided
the first part for himself, because there, in a portion of the lawgiver, was he
seated; and he came with the heads of the people, he executed the justice of
the Lord, and his judgments with Israel.22 And of Dan he said, Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from
Bashan.23 And of Naphtali he
said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the
Lord: possess thou the west and the south.24 And of Asher he said, Let Asher be blessed with children; let him
be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil.25 Thy shoes
shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.26 There is
none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and
in his excellency on the sky.27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath
are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee;
and shall say, Destroy them.KJV
In
Helena Lehman’s Book The Language of God
in the Universe, (Pillar of Enoch Ministry Books, Copyright 2004-2009, p
67-68 Helena Lehman) Helena points out the four cardinal points of the camp of
the Israelites and their connections with the Mazzaroth. These cardinal points also relate to
Ezekiel’s vision of the wheel. North is
Scorpio, as we have also seen signified by an eagle, is the tribe of Dan, the
face of the eagle. South is Aquarius, the tribe of Reuben, the face of a man. East is Leo, the tribe of Judah, the face of
the lion. West is Taurus, the tribe of
Joseph/Manasseh & Ephraim, the bull.
Is it possible that the simplicity of the four cardinal points is what
Benjamin used to split Egypt up into four divisions?
If
we recognize that in later times, coming out of Egypt the twelve tribes were
set up in the formation of a cross, with four quadrants. Could that be significant to the “instrument”
and the star map used to identify Joseph? If we look at a diagram of the camp of Israel
in the wilderness which Moses arranged, we see first the tabernacle in the
center. Picture the holy of holies on
the west and the outer courts on the east in a rectangular shape. At the west cardinal point is Joseph (Manasseh
& Ephraim) and the tribe of Benjamin camped at the western point of the
tabernacle. On the east cardinal point
is camped the tribes of Judah, along with Issacher and Zebulun. At the north cardinal point the tribes of
Dan, Asher and Naphtali’s camp. On the
south cardinal point are the tribes of Rueben, Simeon and Gad. The tribe of Levi camped in front of the
tabernacle entrance.
Eagle
|
||||||||
Scorpio
|
||||||||
Dan
|
||||||||
Sagittarius
|
Aries
|
|||||||
Asher
|
Naphtali
|
|||||||
Gemini
|
Benjamin
|
North
|
Zebulun
|
Virgo
|
||||
Bull
|
Taurus
|
Ephraim
|
West
|
Levi----Libra
|
East
|
Judah
|
Leo
|
Lion
|
Taurus
|
Manasseh
|
South
|
Issachar
|
Cancer
|
||||
Gad
|
Simeon
|
|||||||
Capricorn
|
Pisces
|
|||||||
Reuben
|
||||||||
Aquarius
|
||||||||
Man
|
While
we still have much to learn of the constellations and their significance in the
Word of God, we can see that the ancients regarded the constellations and saw
their hope for the Messiah. Looking
backward instead of forward, we see that Jesus met the qualifications of
Messiah. We have also looked at what the
position of the constellations and planets say about Jesus at his birth. We now see that Joseph and his brothers were
also knowledgeable in the heavenly movements of the constellations. From our vantage point we can see an age of
freedom, where people once were given freedom as we are today, as to whether to
worship the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Creator gave us freedom to worship Him
because if we were forced to do so, it would not mean as much to Him. Because we want to worship Him, He in turn
blesses us, and we then have fellowship with Him, which is an internal knowing
that cannot be seen on the outside. The reality of God to a believer is an
inside knowledge, not one we can look at from the outside and judge, but a
reality that lives on the inside.
