Signs in the Sun, Moon and Stars in the days of Hittite king Mursilish

 

koot van wyk       Seoul   South Korea 20 January 2009

 

Mursilish II was a Hittite King who reigned between 1345-1315 BCE. This period spans the time of Ehud the Judge of Israel between 1346-1266 BCE (Judges 3:30 and 4:1).

From a source on Mursilish II, by Emil E. Forrer, Die Bohhazkoi-Texte in Umschrift 2er Band Geshichtliche Texte aus dem Alten und E. Neuen cHatti-Reich (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, 1926), VII and also pages 36-37 we learn of events regarding the time of Mursillish II that were "apocalyptic" in nature.

 

Apocalyptic signs during Mursilish's reign

 

Plague

In his book, The Hittites (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books, 1952, reprint 1966) page 60, O. R. Gurney explained that in the beginning of the reign of Mursillish II a plague occurred. He started to reign in 1345 BCE so during that year or near that year the plague occurred. He said that the land of Hatti was suffering from a pestilence. This was a very long pestilence. In fact, it lasted since the reign of Suppiluliumas and when this prayer was offered in the days of Mursillish II, it was already 20 years that passed.

The plague was between 1365 BCE and 1345 BCE. Suppiluliumas took office in 1386 BCE and the plague started in 1365 BCE and lasted throughout the remainder of his reign. He stopped rulership in 1354 BCE. It is the time of Othniel of Israel (1403-1363 BCE) of the book of Judges. The plague started two years before the end of the reign of Othniel the judge of Israel.

According to Gurney, the king searched the archives for a possible reason for the god's anger and came across two tablets which seemed to provide a clue.

The first tablet showed that a certain festival had been neglected.

A second tablet indicated that the Weather-god made a treaty with the Hittites and Egyptians in Egyptian territory but that it was the Hittites who broke the oath to the god and therefore Suppiluliumas invaded Egypt twice at least. The wars of Suppiluliumas were successful but according to Gurney, it was among these prisoners that the pestilence first broke out (Gurney 1952/1966: 61).

Our comment is that for these wars of Suppiluliumas to have taken place during the reign of Ikhnaton is very unlikely. It is rather present in the period of his soldier days before he took office in 1386 BCE. For that we have ample proof from the Amarna Tablets of Hittites invading their territory (see EA 75:35-38 "May he be informed, the king, my lord that has seized, the king of Hatti all the countries that were vassals of the king of Mitanni". Areas that belonged to the Hurrians were taken over by Suppiluliumas as soldier before he became ruler. During the time of the post-conquest of Israel of Canaan (which started according to strict consonantal text of the Masoretic tradition chronology in 1410-1405 BCE), and during the time of Suppiluliumas, Tushratta of Mittanni succeeded (see EA 17:19-30) to gain the upper hand at times over the Hittites. When Suppiluliumas really started his campaigns he was very successful. He made the Lebanon his frontier. This indicates a dawn over Egyptian and Mitannian power. The purse switched from Egypt colonialism in these areas to Hittite, Mitannian, Kassite and Assyrian worlds. The Mittannian powers may have grown weaker and the Kassites and Assyrian powers were stronger. Without the Habiru invasion, without the Exodus Fall of Egypt with Thutmosis III's death that fateful morning in 1450 BCE in the Dead Sea, this New Levant Order would not have been possible. The Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt was the greatest news in the Levant of its time. Suppiluliumas was a great soldier for his father years before he took rule in 1386 BCE.

The immediate citation by Gurney does not say that the pestilence started during those two wars into Egyptian territory.

What we do know is that the pestilence is concurrent with the 18 years of Moabite oppression of Israel 1364-1346 BCE (Judges 3:14).

The prayer of Mursilish is recorded by Gurney as such:

"What is this, O gods, that you have done?. You have let in a plague and the land of Hatti, all of it, is dying, so no one prepares the offerings of food and drink. And you come to us, O gods, and for this matter you hold us guilty ... and there is nothing that we do aright in your eyes" (Gurney 1952-1966: 157).

 

Stars Falling (Meteorite Fall)

In a text called, the Ten Year Annals of Mursilish II (with many duplicates and compliment texts), it is explained that in the 3rd year of Mursillish II, in 1343/1342 BCE, meteors fell from the sky. That was during his march to a campaign to Arzauva. He had a victory of the son of the king of Arzauva.

 

Darkening of the Sun or Sun-Eclipse

In the same text(s), the Ten Year Annals of Mursilish II, in the 10th year 1336/1335 BCE, there was a Sun-Eclipse. Astronomically scholars have placed this eclipse on the 13th of March 1335 BCE. There was a trip to Azzi and a victory of Dukkamma and Arib (Forrer 1926: 35-36).

 

Biblical parallel

What is interesting in the information of Mursilish II on the plague, is that the gods sent a plague to the Hittites for a holding them guilty in the year 1365 BCE until 1345 BCE. At the same time, in the book of Judges 3:12 we are told that the sons of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab ... and the sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years (3:14) between 1364 BCE until 1346 BCE. 

In no way should it be concluded that the Biblical authors have just plagiarized the surrounding cultures expressions for their own descriptions. Apocalyptic phenomena like the sun standing still in the days of Joshua was during 1410-1405 BCE and those cloud columns protecting and lightening the Israelites were in 1450 BCE. One can go on with the Apocalyptic elements in the event of the Flood. The Apocalyptic phenomena of the Bible is selected by God Himself to be programmic signals of the start of periods in his historical plan of salvation and events related to it. Their timing is sometimes more a factor than their quantity of appearance or volume of strength.  


 

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