Cosmological Narrative in the Synagogues of Late Roman-Byzantine Palestine
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COSMOLOGICAL NARRATIVE IN THE SYNAGOGUES OF LATE ROMAN-BYZANTINE PALESTINE Bradley Charles Erickson A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Religious Studies. Chapel Hill 2020 Approved by: Jodi Magness Zlatko Plese David Lambert Jennifer Gates-Foster Maurizio Forte © 2020 Bradley Charles Erickson ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Bradley Charles Erickson: Cosmological Narrative in the Synagogues of Late Roman-Byzantine Palestine (Under the Direction of Jodi Magness) The night sky provided ancient peoples with a visible framework through which they could view and experience the divine. Ancient astronomers looked to the night sky for practical reasons, such as the construction of calendars by which time could evenly be divided, and for prognosis, such as the foretelling of future events based on the movements of the planets and stars. While scholars have written much about the Greco-Roman understanding of the night sky, few studies exist that examine Jewish cosmological thought in relation to the appearance of the Late Roman-Byzantine synagogue Helios-zodiac cycle. This dissertation surveys the ways that ancient Jews experienced the night sky, including literature of the Second Temple (sixth century BCE – 70 CE), rabbinic and mystical writings, and Helios-zodiac cycles in synagogues of ancient Palestine. I argue that Judaism joined an evolving Greco-Roman cosmology with ancient Jewish traditions as a means of producing knowledge of the earthly and heavenly realms. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my adviser, Dr. Jodi Magness, and committee members, Drs. Zlatko Pleše, David Lambert, Jennifer Gates-Foster, and Maurizio Forte. Dr. Magness in particular provided critiques, suggestions, and encouragement throughout the writing and editing process. Without Dr. Magness, this project would not have been realized. I am fortunate to have worked with Dr. Magness and such a distinguished committee. The research for this dissertation was made possible through a number of fellowships from the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies, the Digital Innovation Lab, and the Research Laboratories of Archaeology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Apart from these organizations, I would have been unable to travel or afford the equipment needed to perform the digital analysis in this dissertation. I also wish to thank Shua Kisilevitz and the Israel Antiquities Authority for providing me access to a number of archaeological sites where I was given the opportunity to make photogrammetric models. A number of additional professors provided advice and served as sounding boards for my theory and methodology, including Drs. Joseph Lam, Erin and Robert Darby, Lauren Leve, and Bart Ehrman. I am thankful for their aid. Perhaps the greatest thanks go to my parents and wife. My late father, Randy Erickson, and mother, Shannon Erickson, provided unyielding encouragement throughout my academic studies. Though my father passed away during my second year of graduate work at UNC, his iv memory often provided the needed reassurance to keep working. I thank my wife for daily asking, “How was writing today?” and providing the motivation to finish. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... XI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 THE PRESENT STUDY ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 TERMINOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................................................... 2 1.3 HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP .................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 DIGITAL METHODOLOGY..................................................................................................................... 14 1.5 CHAPTER SUMMARIES ......................................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2: LITERARY LANDSCAPE OF ANCIENT JEWISH ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY .............................................................................................................................. 17 2.1 HISTORICAL ......................................................................................................................................... 18 2.1.1 Enochic Tradition ....................................................................................................................... 20 2.1.2 Sethian Tradition ........................................................................................................................ 25 2.1.3 Abrahamic Tradition ................................................................................................................... 28 2.2 CALENDRICAL ..................................................................................................................................... 31 2.2.1 Babylonian Calendar .................................................................................................................. 32 2.2.2 Egyptian Calendars .................................................................................................................... 35 2.2.2 Greek Calendars ......................................................................................................................... 38 2.2.3 Israelite/Jewish Calendars .......................................................................................................... 43 2.3 ASTROLOGICAL ................................................................................................................................... 52 2.3.1 Sibylline Oracles ......................................................................................................................... 53 2.3.2 Testament of Solomon ................................................................................................................. 55 2.3.3 Treatise of Shem.......................................................................................................................... 59 vi 2.3.4 2 Enoch ....................................................................................................................................... 62 2.3.5 Dead Sea Scrolls ......................................................................................................................... 65 2.3.6 Rabbinic Literature ..................................................................................................................... 70 2.3.7 Sepher Ha-Razim ........................................................................................................................ 73 2.4 CULTIC ................................................................................................................................................ 76 2.4.1 Philo: Joseph’s Dream, Negation of Alexandrian Astrology, and the Menorah ........................ 77 2.4.2 Josephus: Omens and the Tabernacle (Jewish War 6 and Antiquities. 3) .................................. 79 2.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 82 CHAPTER 3: THE HELIOS-ZODIAC CYCLE IN THE SYNAGOGUES OF ANCIENT PALESTINE ................................................................................................................................. 84 3.1 NA’ARAN SYNAGOGUE ........................................................................................................................ 88 3.1.1 Basic Information ....................................................................................................................... 88 3.1.2 Excavation and Research ............................................................................................................ 88 3.1.3 Description of the Synagogue ..................................................................................................... 90 3.1.4 Helios-zodiac Cycle .................................................................................................................... 94 3.1.5 Archaeoastronomical Analysis ................................................................................................... 98 3.1.5 Summary and Analysis ................................................................................................................ 99 3.2 BETH ALPHA SYNAGOGUE ................................................................................................................ 100 3.2.1 Basic Information ..................................................................................................................... 100 3.2.2 Excavation and Research .......................................................................................................... 101 3.2.3 Description of the Synagogue ................................................................................................... 102 3.2.3 Helios-Zodiac Cycle ................................................................................................................. 109 3.2.4 Archaeoastronomical Analysis ................................................................................................