Omen-reading as the Astrology of the Old Testament
Isaiah 47:10-14; Daniel 2:1-4, 4:7, 5:7-9; Deuteronomy 4; 19, 17:3, 18: 9-12; 2 Kings 21:3-5; Jeremiah 8:2; Zephaniah 1:5
Horoscopic astrology of individual nativities developed during about the 3rd century BCE, with some Babylonian precursors dating from the late 5th century BCE. [2]The Old Testament was finally compiled as early as the 5th century BCE and perhaps as recently as the 3rd century BCE, although most of its books are much older.[3]
The timeline of biblical books is important for understanding the biblical message on astrology. Only one passage in Isaiah and three in Daniel specifically mention astrology (in English translation); although condemnation of star-worship or divination of various sorts was more frequent.[4] Isaiah was written before 700 BCE; and the book of Daniel, probably around 600 BCE, both before the invention of western horoscopic astrology. The astrology condemned in the Hebrew Bible could not have been the sort practiced today or even in late Antiquity when Hellenistic astrology emerged.
The astrology of Old Testament times was a precursor of horoscopic astrology: the reading of omens from planets’ movements and visual appearance. The Sumerians believed that the planets were gods. Their successors in Mesopotamia, the Akkadians and Babylonians, believed that the planets were signs from the gods, indicating the gods’ intentions. Babylonian stellar omen literature predicted how particular planetary manifestations would influence the king and country. For example, a lunar eclipse forecast the destruction of different enemy states of Babylon, depending upon where in the sky the eclipse appeared.[5]
The term astrology also post-dates the Old Testament. Modern English translations of the Bible often translate Hebrew terms for “star-gazer” or "Kasdim" as Chaldeans or astrologers. Chaldea was a district of Babylon, known for its diviners and celestial omen-readers. Given the timelines of the history of astrology and completion of the Bible, however, omen-reading was probably the type of astrology that the prophets knew and condemned.
Omen-reading caused several problems for the Hebrew prophets. •Celestial omen-reading was a form of divination invoking pagan planetary gods.[6] The first of the Ten Commandments of the Bible states that application to gods other than the God of the Jews is unacceptable.[7] A particular concern was the potential for astrology to turn people away from faith in God. Even if astrologers did not worship foreign gods, the people might place their faith in astrologers, rather than in the teachings of the clergy.
- Isaiah argued that the God of the Hebrews, as the creator of the cosmos, could change events on earth at will, without respect for planetary movements or astrologers’ predictions.
•The first five books of the Old Testament set up specific rules of conduct for the Jews and their leaders, with God’s specific rewards for obedience and punishment for disobedience. Celestial omen-reading gives a different model of fate, in which good times or disasters depend upon planetary movements, rather than humans following prescribed and religious practices. Astrologers today would quickly point out that worshipping stars, as apparently happened in ancient times, is not astrology. Star-worship could be called a form of cultural astronomy but it has nothing to do with horoscopes.