Year-day principle in Assyrian and Babylonian Metrics


koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil, ThD)

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

conjoint researcher for Avondale College

Australia

22 March 2009


Introduction


The book of Daniel has a couple of numbers like 2300 days, time, times and half a time or 490, 1260 days or 1290 days or 1335 days. Daniel lived during the last part of the neo-Babylonian empire.

It is known from the book of Ezechiel and Daniel that there was a principle that operated with one day equals one year. In fact, interpretation of the prophetic parts of Daniel cannot be completely  understood except by this principle.

Assyrian and Babylonian metrics are well known to scholars and a number of articles have appeared on these issues. There is the article by van der Waerden, "Babylonian Astronomy III: The Earliest Astronomical Computations," JNES 10 (1951): 29-34. There is Neugebauer, "Studies in Ancient Astronomy VIII: The Water Clock in Babylonian Astronomy," Isis 37 (1947): 37-43. There is Reiner and Pingree, "A Neo-Babylonian Report on Seasonal Hours," AfO 25 (1947-77): 50-55. S. Smith, "Babylonian Time Reckoning," Iraq 31 (1969): 74-81. Leo Oppenheim also wrote on the night watch in terms of the mana in "A Babylonian Diviner's Manual," JNES 33 (1974): 200: 64 and 205 note 38.  The article important here for our calculations is that of F. Rochberg-Halton, "Stellar Distances in Early Babylonian Astronomy: A New Perspective on the Hilprecht Text (HS 229)" JNES 42 no. 3 (1983): 209-217.


Assyrian and Babylonian Metrics of Time


Rochberg-Halton indicated in his article that the water-clock was in Mesopotamia since Old Babylonian times. That would coincide with the life and death of Joseph of the Bible. He cites Neugebaur 1947: 37-43. They used the sundial or solar hour but also the water-clock or measurements in weight of water for two hours which equal 1 mana.


Assyrian and Babylonian Celestial Time and Terrestial Time


Assyrians and Babylonians distinguished between celestial time and terrestial time. The term bēru ina šamem means "celestial bēru". The standard unit used to measure distance is UŠ which means "degree". It is termed in one text as terrestrial UŠ or ina qaqqari. The other measurement is mana (a certain weight of water that equals two hours).

In one text TCL 6 21:27, a ratio is given that 1800 celestial bēru = 1 terrestrial UŠ (Rochberg-Halton 1983: 211 footnote 11). Six  terrestrial UŠ are equal to one mana. We know that one mana is equal to two hours since B. Meissner in his book Babylonien und Assyrien Vol. 2 (Heidelberg: 1925): 394-395 indicated that the night for the Assyrians and Babylonians were divided into three watches. Each watch had two manas and that equals two hours for each mana.

Since the mana is two hours or 120 minutes long, the 6 terrestrial UŠ have to be divided into 120 minutes leading us to 20 minutes for each terrestrial UŠ.


Celestial year and terrestrial day


If 1 terrestrial UŠ equals 1800 celestial bēru and if 1 terrestrial UŠ equals 20 minutes, then how many celestial bēru will there be in one day? 20 minutes x 3 x 24 = 1 day. Thus, 1800 celestial bēru x 3 x 24 = 129600 celestial bēru.

One terrestrial day equals 129600 celestial bēru.

The year in Assyrian and Babylonian reckoning had either 354 lunar days or 360 days in an economic or civil year (see the Kassite 360 day a year Hemerological Text as clear evidence of this dating to 1154 BCE). A number of later duplicates were made of this text or similar hemerological texts during the neo-Assyrian and neo-Babylonian Empire. All of them have 360 days in one year, 30 days in each of the 12 months.

How many years of 360 days will there be in 129600 celestial bēru?

129600 divided by 360 terrestrial days equals 360 terrestrial days or a celestial year.


In conclusion:


One celestial year of 360 days = one terrestrial day.

This is the Assyrian and Babylonian year-day principle. The divine year or heavenly year is equal to the terrestrial day.


2300 days prophecy


The prophecy is from heaven and thus the celestial time would be used. If terrestrial days are mentioned, like 2300 days then it needs to be converted to celestial time and that would be 360 terrestrial days or 129600 celestial bēru for one terrestrial day. 2300 years would be meant in Daniel 8:14. The same is true of the time, times and half a time prophecy (490 days as 490 years). Also the 1260 days as years and 1290 days as years and further also the 1335 days as years, mentioned in Daniel 12.


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