The Gentile Times Reconsidered Chronology Christ

Furuli’s First Book 421
To be able to work out theories about the regular occurrence of planetary
phenomena, the Babylonians needed numerous observations of the planets
over long periods. Such observations were provided by the astronomical
archives available since the middle of the 8th century BCE. When planetary
theories were finally worked out, planetary tables could be used for calculating
planetary positions when direct observations were not possible. Astronomical
observational tablets, therefore, such as diaries and planetary texts, contain
observations as well as occasional calculations. This is pointed out by van der
Waerden in Furuli’s 3rd quotation.
In this quotation, van der Waerden speaks of the difficulty of deciding
“whether text data were observed or calculated.” Furuli does not explain that
van der Waerden is discussing a text that Furuli, on page 128, claims to be “the
tablet which is most important for Persian chronology, Strm Kambys 400.” Van
der Waerden’s statement is particularly applicable to this text, which seems to
contain mainly calculations. Some scholars even question whether it records any
observations.
It is clear that Babylonian astronomers could calculate a number of
astronomical phenomena. At an early stage, they were using the Saros cycle for
calculating and predicting the occurrences of lunar eclipses. As shown by the
later ephemeride tables, they also learned how to calculate and predict the
occurrences of certain periodic planetary phenomena such as first and last
visibilities, stationary points, and retrogradations. But does this mean that they
were able to calculate or predict all the different astronomical phenomena
reported on the observational tablets?
Phenomena the Babylonian astronomers were unable to calculate
Although the Babylonian astronomers were able to calculate and predict
certain astronomical events, the observational texts—diaries, planetary texts,
and eclipse texts—contain reports of several phenomena and circumstances
connected with the observations that could not have been calculated.
That the diaries usually record real observations is shown by their reports of
climatological phenomena. For example, the scribes repeatedly report when bad
weather prevented astronomical observations. We often find reports about
“clouds and rain of various sorts, described in detail by numerous technical
terms, as well as fog, mist, hail, thunder, lightning, winds from all directions,
often cold, and frequent ‘pisan dib’, of unknown meaning but always associated
with rain.” (Professor N. M. Swerdlow, The Babylonian Theory of the Planets,
Princeton University Press, 1998, p. 18) Other recorded phenomena were
rainbows, solar halos and river levels. None of these could have been
retrocalculated much later. What, then, about the astronomical phenomena?
Discussing the various planetary phenomena recorded in the texts,
Swerdlow observes:
“Conjunctions of planets with the moon and other planets, with their
distances, could neither be calculated by the ephemerides nor predicted
by periodicities.” (Swerdlow, op. cit., p. 23)