Dating the Book of Job (PDF) - Ancient Hebrew Research Center

Dating the Book of Job 21
Figure 2: Before & After – Seasonal Precession from Moses to King Solomon
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Before After
Even Years Odd Years
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Even Years Odd Years
In Figure 2, there are two perpendicular lines which have been overlaid such that they intersect
the earth’s orbit at four evenly spaced positions. These intersections are meant to indicate the
place/time where a harvest seasons occurred. Positions 1 and 3 in the before diagram mark what
would have been the Feast of Harvest during Moses’ day. Positions 2 and 4 mark what would
have been the Feast of Ingathering which occurred at the end of the six-month-year of Moses’ day.
The after diagram of Figure 2 shows how the seasons appear to have shifted as demonstrated by the
varied instructions as to when the festivals were to be held. Notice in particular the black line which
is present in the before diagram but which has been overlapped by the line representing the Feast
of Ingathering in the after diagram. The overlapped black line represents the Feast of Unleavened
Bread which was fixed to always occur during the first month. Some of the harvest seasons which
existed in ancient times no longer exist today because more extreme winters and summers have
since taken hold during those times of year.
There are several factors which influence how quickly the seasons drift around the Hebrew
calendar. One factor is the accuracy of the Hebrew calendar itself. Other factors relate to the
physical precession of the earth’s rotational axis and orbit over time. Anomalistic precession alone
causes the seasons to advance by 1 day every 58 years. 13
The Hebrews were no doubt in disarray when the festival seasons commanded by םיהלֹ ִ אֱ began
to overlap. King Solomon or other prophets appear to have resolved the issue by renaming the
festivals and retroactively editing some of the details recorded in the ancient texts. This may well
have been done at םיהלֹ ִ א’s ֱ instruction. The original command appears to have simply been that the
Israelites keep a feast to the LORD at the times of harvest from year to year as recorded in the book
of Exodus.
It is significant to note that there is a mirroring of the meanings of the festivals in addition
to the mirroring of their yearly timming. Passover and Atonement both deal with the issue of
mankind being united with its savior (the sacrificial goat). The Feast of Unleaved Bread and the
Feast of Tabernacles dipict comming out of Egypt/Babylon/sin and going into the promised land/the
Kingdom of God/righteousness respectively which are flip sides of the same coin so to speak.
Because there is evidence that the texts pertaining to the feasts of the LORD were retroactively
edited, they do not present counter evidence to the six-month-year theory. Again, the six-month-
13 Wikipedia: Precession (astronomy) – Anomalistic Precession
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