<idle musing>
And why not? Perhaps I'm overly influenced from my current reading in Isaiah, but it seems to me that the presence of a living, holy, communicating God obviated the need...
</idle musing>
Idle musings by a once again bookseller, always bibliophile, current copyeditor and proofreader. Complete with ramblings about biblical studies, the ancient Near East, bicycling, gardening, or anything else I am reading (or experiencing). All more or less live from Red Wing, MN
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
No need...
Despite the range and mass of primary sources in existence from ancient Israel, only scraps of celestial-science terminology are extant. Aside from basic terminology for the sun and moon, only a handful of specific star names and a single veiled reference to a planet remain. This situation can at least partially be explained by (1) preexilic Israel’s lunar calendar, which required very little astral systematization, as will be discussed below; and (2) its lack of celestial divination. Put simply, the writings from Iron Age Israel do not use sophisticated celestial-science concepts or employ complex terminology, probably because there was no need for these sorts of things.—Poetic Astronomy in the Ancient Near East, page 245
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