Old Testament prophet crossword puzzle 4 letters. Sakura under the snow

Old Testament prophet from Thesvah

II (Irakli Georgievich Gugushauri-Shiolashvili) (born 1933) Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia since 1977

Egyptian (died 308) Christian martyr who suffered persecution by Emperor Maximinus

Zedazniysky (6th century) hierodeacon, disciple of St. John of Zedazniysky

Sinai (5th century) Christian monk, labored in the Sinai desert; venerable martyr

Tire (died about 310) one of the 156 Christian martyrs who suffered in the persecution of Emperor Maximian Galerius

Tomsk (Kyustendzhiysky) (died 320) Christian martyr, suffered in the persecution of Emperor Licinius

Old Testament prophet, denouncer of idolatry and wickedness during the reign of the Israeli king Ahab and his wife Jezebel (mythical)

Biblical prophet

In the Bible - the head of the society of the sons of the prophets in the kingdom of Israel, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets

Daughter of Alba Longa Numitora, priestess in the Temple of Vesta in Roman mythology

Female name

Character from W. Mozart's opera “Idomeneo”

Biblical pronunciation of the name of the hero Muromets

Bulgarian analogue of our Ilya

Biblical pronunciation named after Muromets

Biblical pronunciation of the name Muromets

Ilya in Bulgaria

One of the biblical prophets

What would the name of Muromets be in the Bible?

Mendelssohn's Oratorio

Christian martyr

Mendelssohn's Oratorio

Question of authorship

Theology professor Charles Brigg wrote back in 1811: “One of the most reliable results of the highest biblical criticism is that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch and the book of Job (as medieval tradition tells us. - Author), that Ezra was not the author of the biblical chronicles (Chronicles) and the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, that Jeremiah did not write the book of Kings and Lamentations, that David did not compose the entire Psalter, but only a few psalms, that Solomon was not the author of the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, but wrote only one part of Proverbs, and that Isaiah did not write even half of the book that is named after him. Most of the Old Testament writings were compiled by authors whose names and connection with their writings were lost in ancient times” (see, pp. 119-120).

When you write a diary or literary work exclusively for yourself, you will not put your name on every notebook. In the same way, during the handwritten period of human history, people wrote for themselves and close friends who already knew the name of the author. Therefore, this name was not designated. But then, when a talented work, tens or hundreds of years after the death of the author, became widespread for one reason or another, descendants began to find out who the author was, and they had no choice but to at first presumably, and then with full conviction, attribute it to a work by some ancient name, about which nothing is known except legends, but which, in accordance with these legends, is “worthy” of being its author. Therefore, the authors of most outstanding works of the manuscript period are completely innocent of the appearance of many apocrypha, which is explained by the frivolity and vanity of later collectors, who naturally wanted to give the literary works they had the greatest value, which increased exponentially as the antiquity and fame of the mythical author increased.

We have already discussed all this in detail in the first volume in connection with ancient literature, but here it is appropriate to recall it, since a similar process, as we will see, took place in relation to biblical books.

Take, for example, the book of the biblical prophet Ezekiel, whose name, EZEK-AL, means “God will overcome” (see, p. 226). Its author, Ezekiel, is believed to have lived between 595 and 574. BC. and was killed for exposing him to idolatry. However, attention is drawn to the fact that in the text of the prophecy the word “Ezekiel” is used as the name of an individual only two times: the first time at the beginning in line 1.3, which is an obvious insertion of a late copyist, since it interrupts the author’s clear train of thought, the second once in verse XXIV, 24, in a very vague and clearly corrupted context, the decoding of which is ambiguous, but acquires a clear meaning when substituting “God will prevail” instead of “Ezekiel.” Among the hundreds of references to the author scattered throughout this long book, God always uses the pronoun “you,” never using the author’s own name.

All this makes me think that "Ezekiel" is not the name of the author at all, but just the title of the book, by the way, absolutely exactly corresponding to its content, which consists in predicting the future victory of God.

The situation is similar with other biblical prophecies attributed to a certain Zechariah, whose name, ZECHARIAH, in Hebrew means “God Remembers” (see, p. 252). It is believed that this prophet wrote it in 520-5 18 years. BC, i.e. approximately 70 years after the book of Ezekiel. However, the word “Zechariah” appears only at the beginning of the book and is not repeated anywhere else, and its meaning exactly corresponds to the content of the book, in which the idea is conveyed in every possible way that the “Coming God” has not forgotten his promise to come to those who await him, but has only postponed his coming to punish them for their lack of trust.

Thus, ZACHAR-IA is just a title.

The next prophet Jeremiah (in Hebrew, JEREM-YAH, which means “God will shoot” or “Arrow of God”; see, p. 267), allegedly wrote his book in 629-588. BC, i.e. somewhat earlier than the book of Ezekiel. Again in the book there is no indication of the real existence of this person, and the content of the book again consists of the anticipation of the coming god, who announces his imminent appearance by means of a certain arrow. We will discuss what kind of arrow this is in its place, but for now it is enough for us to note that “God Will Shoot” best suits this content as a title.

One of the longest prophecies is attributed by tradition to a certain Isaiah, who supposedly lived around 740 BC, but about whose biography nothing is known except fantastic legends (see, p. 92). Since the word "Isaiah" (in Hebrew, ISA-IYAH) means "Freedom to Come" (see, p. 281), which exactly corresponds to the content, we have no reason not to consider this word again as a title. In addition, the book of Isaiah bears obvious features of being composed of several books, the authors of which are conventionally called First Isaiah, Second Isaiah, Third Isaiah, etc.

The last of the “great prophets” is considered to be Daniel, whose name DANI-AL in Hebrew means “Truth of God”, and, if we allow a different vowel DNE-AL, then “Science of God”. The orthodox translation of “The Judgment of God” is, according to Morozov, a spelling stretch (see, p. 288).

For this book, even orthodox criticism does not consider Daniel to be its author: “The best biblical critics have found that the author of this book was a man of unknown name...” (, p. 93). Thus, here too “Daniel” is a simple title.

Note that by recognizing the “names” of the prophets as the titles of “their” books, we can say we are following the mainstream of orthodox biblical criticism, which itself admits that “the titles... in the new testament deserve as little trust as in the old. In the most ancient... manuscripts, the titles are much shorter than in the later ones... Even if we had apostolic autographs, then... these manuscripts, probably like other ancient books, were written... without titles and signatures, even without the name of the author..." (, p. 92), and what has been said is already enough to imagine its general character and try to date it.

In view of the general proximity of all the Old Testament prophets, it is natural to expect that the prophecy “Arrow of the Thunderer” was written at the same time, say, with the prophecy “God Will Master”, i.e. around 453. To confirm this, it is enough to find at this time a comet coming from the northern side of the sky (and, therefore, in the summer). And, in fact, there is such a comet. This is the famous Halley's comet of 451, which, as we already know, caused a lot of fear and was associated with the invasion of Attila.

Chinese chronicles report that this comet appeared in May 451. near the Pleiades, and by June-July it came to the Virgo region. And we read in Jeremiah: “... let tears flow from my eyes night and day, and let them not cease; for the Virgin, the daughter of my people, was struck with a great defeat, with a heavy blow” (Jeremiah, xiv. 17). The descriptions of disasters accompanying this text exactly correspond to the disasters that Attila brought upon the empire.

Thus, we can confidently believe that the prophecy “Arrow of the Thunderer” was written in 451 in connection with the arrival of Halley’s comet.

Prophecy "Coming Freedom"

This prophecy also speaks of a comet: “Come now, peoples, listen and give ear, O nations... For the wrath of the Lord is against all nations, and His wrath is against all their armies. He consigned them to the curse, gave them to slaughter. And their slain will be scattered, and a stench will rise from their corpses, and the mountains will be soaked with their blood. And all the heavenly host [stars] will decay (note of the Synodal translator! - Author), and the heavens will roll up like a book scroll... (direct quote from the Apocalypse. - Author)... For my sword is drunk in heaven: now for judgment it descends to I will eat the people whom I have given over to the curse. The sword of the Lord will be filled with blood, made fat with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams... And the buffaloes will fall with them, and the bulls with the oxen, and the land will be drunk with their blood...” (Isa., XXXIV, 1-7).

It not only talks about a comet, but also describes its path: through the star group of the Little Goats (in the constellation Auriga), through the constellation Aries (“it will become fat with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fatness of the kidneys of rams”) to the constellation Taurus. Moreover, the most remarkable warrior in the sky is Orion, and if the words “the entire heavenly army will decay” refer to some constellation, then most likely to Orion.

It is remarkable that under 442, the already mentioned Chinese chronicles describe a comet that, having emerged from Ophiuchus, “... entered the region of the Goats, Auriga and Taurus, swept away the region of the head of Taurus, passed near the Hyades (i.e. the line of the shield of Orion - Author .) and disappeared in winter” (see, p. 258). Complete agreement with the biblical text!

The book of Isaiah, one of the largest and most compositionally complex biblical prophecies, clearly belongs, as we have already said, to the pen of several authors. It mentions the comet in more than one place, and there is no guarantee that it is the same one. It is very possible, for example, that in other chapters Isaiah is referring to the comet of 451.

Comets 442 and 451 were the most spectacular and formidable comets of the fifth century and it is not surprising that they generated an explosion of prophecies, especially when we remember that they were accompanied by an ominous convergence of the planets in Scorpio. The anticipation of the Messiah gradually increased from comet to comet until it reached its climax in 453, when at last the planets took their death positions. This year was marked not by “comet”, but by “planetary” prophecies “God will overcome” and “The Thunderer will remember.”

Of course, the disappointment after 453 was terrible. Astrology lost its authority and less than a century later Justinian equated astrologers with poisoners.

We will not analyze the book “The Coming Freedom” in detail here: that is not our task. Let us only recall (see Chapter 7, § 1) that it is unusually close to the Gospels and in fact contains all the main points of the biography of Jesus Christ. No wonder medieval Christian theologians called it the “fifth gospel” (see also, p. 286).

Thus, it seems that by the middle of the 5th century. The image of Christ in Christian doctrine has in fact already been fully formed. However, this conclusion turns out to be too hasty. In fact, as we will see in due course, this image finally crystallized only by the 7th century AD.

Prophecy "God's Truth"

This work is very different from the previous ones in its literary character. His style is incomparably better; one can see the great experience of the author, who is accustomed to writing in cursive. He quotes the Apocalypse very abundantly, but often distorted; it is felt that for him the Apocalypse is already to a large extent a dead book, from which he mechanically rewrites entire pieces, not being inspired by their deep meaning, already unknown to him.

The book of Daniel was one of the last to be accepted into the canon of the Old Testament and after lengthy debate; in particular, it is not recognized as prophetic by Judaists.

As we have already said in § 2, the prevailing opinion among modern scholars is that it was written approximately 320 years after other prophetic books; but as already indicated in §2, the older view, which chronologically unites the book of Daniel with the rest of the prophecies, seems to be closer to the truth.

Among the general public, the book of Daniel is known for the popular legend about the appearance at a feast of King Belshazzar of a fiery inscription on the wall “mani torch fares”, deciphered by the youth Daniel as a warning of the imminent death of Belshazzar.

Before analyzing the biblical text of this legend, we must, as always, clarify the translation of the untranslated words appearing in it.

First of all, it should be noted that the word Belshasar in Hebrew is read BEL-AUTSR and means “Lord of Earthly Goods” (see, p. 213), although the variant BELAU-TSR is also possible, meaning “Possessing King” (see, p. 290). It cannot be considered an ordinary everyday name. Therefore, we will translate it everywhere (for clarity, as “Possessing King”).

It is very important, of course, to understand the exact meaning of the mysterious inscription. In Hebrew it has the form MNA-MNA, TKL, UPRSIN, which literally means “The Meter measured: Libra and to Perseus” (see, p. 215). The “translation” of these words given in the Bible by Daniel (see below) is a very free interpretation, playing on the words “measure”, “scales” and “Perseus” - in the “Persians” version.

The story in the Bible begins with the message that the “Possessing King” decided to throw a great feast. And during this feast, “the fingers of a human hand came out and wrote against the lamp on the limestone wall of the royal palace, and the king saw the hand that was writing. Then the king changed his countenance; his thoughts troubled him..." (Dan. V, 5-6). It must be said frankly that in this passage the Synodal translators outdid themselves; almost everything here is distorted.

First of all, in the Hebrew original it is not ATS BEUT-fingers, but ATSBEN - finger (see, p. 213), so that only one finger writes on the wall. Next, this finger diverges “in the hand of a powerful man,” in Hebrew DI-ID-ANSH. What is important here is that the particle is ID. means accessory, but not an integral part (see, p. 213), so that the “writing finger” is not a finger of the hand at all; this hand only holds, squeezes the finger. Thus, the correct translation of the beginning of this fragment is: “the hand of a powerful man came out, clutching the finger with which she wrote ...”

To understand what we are talking about here, just look at Fig. 106 of the book, page 208, which is a reproduction of a drawing from the medieval “Cometography” by Lubenetsky. A smoky cloud rushes across the starry sky, from which a hand reaches out, clutching a branch ending with a handle like a finger, which draws a trace in the sky, leaving some kind of inscription. This hand itself depicts a comet in the form of a huge star with a tail, shrouded in flame. In another drawing from the same book, also reproduced in (Fig. 24 on p. 61), a comet-like hand draws across the sky with a broom-handle finger; The fingerprint looks like complex zigzags of lightning. Despite the fact that Lyubenetsky’s book and Daniel’s prophecy are separated from each other by about a thousand years, one cannot help but recognize the complete unity of Daniil’s description and Lyubenetsky’s drawings. One can only be surprised at the stability of this kind of ideas about comets.

Now it is clear that the “lamp” is some kind of celestial body, most likely the Moon, and the “wall of the royal palace” is the vault of heaven. Where did the “lime” in the sky come from? Apparently, this refers to a thin, whitish cloud, through which the bright comet is still visible.

Thus, we are talking about a comet, most likely moving towards the Moon.

Where did this comet come from? Here pointing to the hand of a “powerful man” can help us. One of the most “powerful people” in the sky is, of course, the Serpent Holder, who holds the Serpent. Therefore, we can think that the comet came from the constellation Ophiuchus. This is confirmed by the text-inscription “The Meter measured...”, since in medieval astrology the Ophiuchus was considered as a Sky Measurer and was depicted with a measuring instrument in his right hand (see, Fig. 57 on p. 105).

Naturally, the comet greatly excited and frightened the “Possessing Tsar”. He calls for the interpretation "charms, Chaldeans and fortune-tellers" (Dan., v, 7). Here again the translators tendentiously lie: the original says KSHDIA, which means “astrologers”! It is quite natural that astrologers should be called upon first to interpret the comet.

But not a single sage could explain anything. Then, on the recommendation of the queen, Daniel was brought in, who gave the necessary explanations:

“And you... The ruling king did not humble his heart... but you exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of His House were brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines drank wine from them, and you praised the gods of silver and gold and copper and iron, wood and stone, which do not see, do not hear, do not understand: but God (i.e., the Lord of heaven. - Author), in whose hand is your breath and in whom are all your ways, you have not glorified. For this, a hand was sent from Him (a comet - Author) and this scripture was inscribed. And this is what is written: mene, mene, tekel, uparsil. This is the meaning of the words: me - God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; tekel - you are weighed on the scales and found very light; peres (as in the text - Author) - your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians" (Dan., V, 22-28).

A typical prophecy of an astrologer and kabbalist. It may very well be that by “Possessing King” we mean some real ruler, whose troops plundered Christian churches (“and the vessels of His House were brought to you”), as, for example, during the Nika uprising, Justinian’s mercenaries, the Heruli (former Arians), destroyed churches and killed priests (see, p. 291).

The expression “Libra and to Perseus” shows that the comet went from Libra to Perseus, or, more precisely, in the sense of the Hebrew preposition y, which indicates only the direction - towards Perseus (see, p. 215). So, we need to find a fairly spectacular comet moving across the sky from the constellation Libra to the constellation Perseus, passing through the constellation Ophiuchus. It turns out that during the entire period of written recording of comets (produced in Europe and China) there were only two such comets, very close in time, the comet of 568 AD. and comet 837 AD.

Here is what the Chinese chronicles She-ke and Ma Tuan-lin say about the first comet:

“In August, in 568, a comet was seen in the area of ​​Scorpio’s head (that is, it had just passed into it through Libra. - Author), then it was seen in Scorpio’s chest, white as flour, like silk combs. It was as big as a rope and went east. In September, she entered the space limited by the Serpent (i.e., into the region of the constellation Ophiuchus, who holds the Serpent entwined around him in his hands. - Author), increasing in length to 40 cubits. She looked like a melon here and passed through the regions of Aquarius and Pegasus. In October, she entered the region of Andromeda and Pisces, from where she came to the region of Aries (i.e., directly under Perseus - Author) and disappeared here” (see, p. 289).

The second comet emerged from behind the Sun in Pisces on March 22, 837, passed through Aquarius and on April 10, 50 cubits long, entered Sagittarius, with its tail divided into two fingers: one pointed to Libra, the other to the claw of Scorpio. The next day, both fingers-tail joined, and the head of the comet pointed to the north, which, with a certain amount of imagination, could be considered an indication of Perseus located near the northern horizon. However, this second solution does not fit the biblical description as well as the first, which fits perfectly. In addition, 837 is too far from the post-apocalyptic era and belongs to another time, the time of evangelical Christianity. That's why with great confidence we can assume that the “Truth of God” prophecy describes the comet of 568 AD, attributable, we note, to the reign of Justinian’s successor, Justin II.

Thus, we see that the book of Daniel is chronologically somewhat separated from the rest of the prophetic books (Biblical philologists cannot be denied an instinct!), but not as much as they thought, but only by a hundred years.

Belshazzar is characterized in the Bible as the son of Nebuchadnezzar. If our supposed identification of Belshazzar with Justin II is correct, then Nebuchadnezzar, whose name, as we know (see § 4, ch. 8), means “Great Sacred Lord,” will turn out to be Justinian. This also agrees well with the biblical indication that Nebuchadnezzar was the “king of Babylon,” for, as we already know (see § 4), the word Babylon - BBL - “Gate of the Lord” refers to the dominant church, whose official patron and protector was Justinian.

It’s amazing how considerations of the most varied nature suddenly begin to form into a single picture, like pieces of a complex puzzle!

The comet of 568 was apparently very spectacular, since it was reflected not only in the Bible, but also on the ceiling of the Dendera Temple (see § 2, chapter 5).

In conclusion, one more funny observation. In Slavic translations, the word tekel (scales) is usually transcribed as torch.

In the Orthodox calendar on September 24, page art. commemoration of St. Thekla, a Christian virgin, thrown to be torn to pieces by the lions, who did not touch her (just as in a similar situation, Daniel was not touched by the lions). Finally, just around September 24th, the Sun appears in Virgo close to Leo, coming from Libra. We leave the conclusions from all this to the reader who remembers the examples of false biographies from § 2, ch. 1.

Minor Bible Prophecies

In addition to the considered “major” prophets, the Bible also contains a number of books by “minor” prophets, so called because of the insignificant volume of their books. Orthodox science (see, pp. 94-97) places them at approximately the same era as the books of the “great” prophets (i.e., according to our dating to the 5th century AD) and we see no reason to dispute this conclusion. The analysis of these books by Morozov (see, pp. 353-365) did not find in them reliable astronomical indications at the time of their compilation, and their unclear traces found by Morozov point to the same 5th century.

However, among these prophecies there is one, somewhat larger in volume than the others, which turns out to be possible to date quite reliably astronomically, even more reliably than previous prophecies, since its dating does not belong to the third category according to Nikolsky, but to the second.

We mean the book of the prophet Amos, whose name translated means “Strong” (see, p. 337). We will move on to the analysis of this book.

Prophecy of the "Strong One"

This prophecy says: “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Thunderer, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and darken the earth in the midst of the bright day” (Amos, VIII, 9). This text has long been perceived as a description of a solar eclipse. According to the traditional attribution of the prophet Amos to the 8th century BC. it was sought in this century and (without any particular reason) was identified with an eclipse, vaguely mentioned in one cuneiform text, also supposedly belonging to the 8th century BC. Discussions regarding these eclipses are summarized in the already familiar book by Ginzel, where the interested reader can find all the details.

The book of Amos indicates the time of the eclipse “at noon” and emphasizes the panic it caused (Amos, VIII, 10 and 13). This indicates that the eclipse was quite spectacular and therefore complete.

Ginzel gives the date June 15, 763 BC. and believes that, thereby, the prophecy of Amos, as well as the events of biblical history mentioned in it, are astronomically reliably dated. But, we already understand (see Chapter 2) that there can be no talk of any astronomical confirmation here, since there were plenty of total midday solar eclipses visible in the Mediterranean region over the historical period. The only thing that can be said is that the astronomy here does not contradict traditional dates.

But upon closer examination, even this turns out to be not entirely true! As shown on map #11 in the book, the solar eclipse of June 15, 763 B.C. a narrow strip passed through the Mediterranean Sea in the direction of the Caucasus and was not complete either in Rome, or in Greece, or in Constantinople, or in Palestine, or in Mesopotamia. Ginzel's map shows all the cultural centers that traditional history places in the 8th century BC, and the streak of total eclipse passed them all by.

This could have ended there if the book of “Strong” had not contained one more, additional astronomical clue found by Morozov.

In the synodal translation we read: “The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa” (Amos, 1, 1). Here again we find an undertranslation. According to Morozov (see, p. 337), one should read “... from the shepherds of the Trumpet...”. This Trumpet announces, according to the text of the book, death and destruction, destruction, famine and pestilence: “... and Moab will perish in the midst of destruction with a noise, at the sound of the Trumpet” (Amos, II, 2). “Would a trumpet blow in a city and the people would not be afraid? Is there a disaster in a city that the Lord would not allow? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos, III, 6-7).

We already know the medieval identification of comets with trumpets. But the “Strong One” also uses other, equally standard identifications: “I saw the Lord standing over the altar (constellation Altar. - Author) and He said:... I will strike with the sword (the usual image of a comet. - Author): he will not escape from none of them runs, and none of them who desires to be saved will be saved. Even if they burrow into the underworld, and from there My hand (the same comet. - Author) will take them, even if they ascend to heaven, and from there I will overthrow them...” (Amos, IX, 1-2). “Behold, they are the Eyes of the Lord God (this is also a comet. - Author) on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth... All the sinners of My people will die by the sword...” (Amos, IX, 8,10).

The text of the prophecy also describes the path of the comet across the sky: “The maiden of the God-fighters has fallen and rises no more! cast down in her land, and there is no one to raise her up” (Amos, V, 2). “The lion began to roar, who will not tremble? The Lord God said, who will not prophesy? (Amos, III, 8,4). “Who created the constellation and Orion (this is the synodal translation! - Author) and transforms the shadow of death into a clear morning, and makes the day dark as night (a hint of an eclipse. - Author)... The Lord is His name!" (Amos, V, 8).

All these descriptions scattered throughout the text, in the spirit of symbolism already familiar to us from previous prophecies, indicate that we are talking about some very spectacular comet, accompanied by a solar total eclipse in the same year. The combination of these two conditions is already extremely rare. We will not give details of the study of tables of eclipses and lists of comets (see, pp. 336-353), but will present only the final result: such a pair - a total solar eclipse visible at noon in the Mediterranean region and a spectacular comet in the same year, indeed existed and only once (a priori such a couple could not have existed at all). This happened in 418 AD.

One of the most famous and most spectacular total solar eclipses took place on July 19 in 418 in a wide strip across the entire Mediterranean, Spain, Italy, Rome, Greece, Constantinople, and at noon this eclipse occurred in both Italy and Greece (see map No. XTV c). In the same year, a formidable comet appeared in the sky. Here is how it is described in the Chinese chronicles She-ke and Ma Tuan-lin: “In 418, September 15 (when the Sun moved into the constellation Virgo. - Author), a very bright comet appeared in the area between Leo in Virgo. Gradually increasing, it reached 100 cubits in length and on its way swept away the seven stars (Ursa Major - Author) and the Circle of Eternal Visibility" (see, pp. 341-342). This is the same trajectory as Amos.

Thus, we can say quite confidently that The prophecy of the “Strong One” was written in 418. and, in any case, not earlier than this year.

Let us note that (in the synodal translation) Amos speaks of an eclipse in the future tense. This does not mean at all that he predicted it; the text could well have been written by him after the eclipse. However, it is possible that Amos really tried to predict it (say, from Saros, which, one must think, was already known then). Luck delighted him so much that he could well consider himself entitled to write even after the eclipse in the future tense.

Let us emphasize, however, that all these considerations assume that Amos wrote the original text not in Hebrew, but, say, in Greek. The fact is that in the Hebrew language there is no form of the future tense and it is established by meaning. It is quite possible that if Amos wrote in Hebrew, then, without further ado, he had the present tense in mind all the time, and the translators introduced the form of the future tense.

By the way, these features of the Hebrew language could very often lead to the fact that a text written in the present tense (i.e., describing past events) was mistaken by descendants for a text written in the future tense (i.e., being a prophecy).

Is this why there are so many prophecies in Jewish literature?

The Definitive Chronological Table of the Old Testament Prophets

Summarizing all the dates in this chapter, we get the following table:

As the last column of this table shows, the relative arrangement of the books of the prophets (which can only be obtained without reference to tradition by historical and philological analysis of the Bible) among orthodox Bible scholars coincides with Morozov’s. Thus, in this respect, astronomy and exegesis lead to identical results.

Of course, let's say the date 451 does not mean that the entire book was written in that year. This date refers only to the astronomical phenomenon, which, presumably, served as the initial impetus for writing the book. The final design of the canonical text known to us could occur decades or even centuries later.

Comparison of astronomical dating with dynastic parallelisms

In addition to the astronomical method, we have another way of establishing the time of the books of the Old Testament prophets. The fact is that almost each of them reports under which godless or Bogoslav king the author lived and acted. But in ch. 8, by identifying these kings with the Roman emperors, we thereby imposed the chronology of the God-fighting and Bogoslav kingdom on the 5th-6th centuries AD. This gives us the ability to date the prophecies, independent of astronomy. We will now implement this program and compare the result with astronomical dating.

Prophecy of the "Strong One". The Bible says: “The words of Amos... in the days of Uzziah the God-glorifying king and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, the god-fighting king...” (Amos 1:1). Here, first of all, the question arises about the consistency of the two chronological indications, according to the God-fighting and Bogoslav kings. Set out in § 2, ch. 8, the information shows that there is no contradiction: the reigns of Jeroboam II and Uzziah have a common part lasting 14-15 years.

In the parallelism between the godless kingdom and Empire III, Jeroboam II overlaps with Honorius (see Chapter 8, Fig. 1), and in the parallelism between the Bogoslavian kingdom and Byzantium, Uzziah overlaps with Theodosius II (see Chapter 8, Fig. 2). Both reigns also have a common part (from 408 to 423), lasting 15 years, which exactly coincides with the date of the eclipse described by the “Strong One”.

Thus, astronomical and dynastic definitions fit perfectly here.

Prophecy "Coming Freedom". The Bible says: “The vision of Isaiah in the days of Uzziah, Joatham, Ahaz, Hezekiah - the kings of God” (Isaiah 1:1). These successive kings reigned for 113 years according to the Bible, and their counterparts: Theodosius II, Leo I, Zeno and Anastasius, 110 years. This alone proves that this prophecy was written by many authors who successively succeeded each other in keeping an astrological diary (we are not talking about subsequent copyists-editors who allowed themselves to insert, delete, rearrange, etc.).

In particular, we see that we can talk about the localization in time of the books of the prophets only within 100-200 years, when there was a rapid process of addition, change and editing of the original text (however, this also applies to the vast majority of other ancient books; a striking exception is , perhaps, only the Apocalypse, clearly written “in one breath,” and to which only a minor “Christ” part was subsequently added; see above).

The four named emperors reigned from 408 to 518. The astronomical dates of 442 and 451 fit perfectly into this period.

Prophecy "Arrow of the Thunderer". The Bible says: “The words of Jeremiah... in the days of Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Bogoslav, in the thirteenth year of his reign, and also in the days of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Bogoslav, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Bogoslav...” ( Jeremiah, 1, 2-3). The time boundaries are precisely indicated here: since Josiah ruled for 31 years, and Joachim for 11 years (the author, in fairness, does not count the fleeting Jehoahaz and Jeconiah), then the whole thing turns out

(31 -13) + 11 + 11 = 40 years.

For the Byzantine analogues: Heraclius (who ruled for 31 years), Constans (who ruled for 26 years) and Constantine IV, it turns out

(31 -13) + 26 + 11 = 55 years.

Here we are more inclined to believe the first figure, since it is not entirely clear from whom the Bogoslav kings were copied after Josiah-Heraclius: from the emperors in Constantinople or from their exarchs in Egypt-Syria. However, this is a secondary issue; It is significant that the duration of both variants again indicates consistent collective creativity, and that they begin due to the equal duration of the reigns of Josiah and Heraclius at the same time, namely in 623 AD. This is 172 years away from our astrological date. Therefore, we must recognize that the Arrow prophecy was edited and restructured for over two hundred years, with the last group of editors (who gave it its name) active in the mid-7th century AD. Because of such a long period of time, it remains completely unclear who is meant in this prophecy by the repeatedly used name Nebuchadnezzar, the Emperor Justinian, or one of the Arab conquerors (say, Moab). It is possible that in one place this name has one meaning, and in another another.

Prophecy “God will prevail.” The Bible says: “... it was the fifth year from the captivity of King Jehoiakim” (Ezek. 1:2) and “... son of man, turn your face to the sons of Amun and prophesy against them...” (Ezek. XXV: 2). These very vague indications seem to define a time interval containing 647 (this is the fifth year of the reign of Constans - the analogue of Joachim) and the time of either Amun himself, (the trinity: Tiberius, Mauritius, Phocas; 578-610), or their successor Heraclius. Thus, this prophecy, like the previous one, was finally compiled in the 7th century AD. The “astronomical” date (453) is 125 years distant from the earliest “dynastic” date (578).

Prophecy "The Thunderer Remembers" does not contain any dynastic indications, but one can think from its stylistic features that it was finally edited along with the rest of the prophecies, i.e. somewhere around the 7th century AD.

Prophecy "The Truth of God." The Bible says: “In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of God...” (Dan. 1:1), which gives 645 AD. (the third year of the reign of Constant - an analogue of Joachim). Thus, the editing of this prophecy lasted 70-80 years.

In the main text of this prophecy, Nebuchadnezzar almost certainly meant Justinian (see above); however, Moabiyah may well have appeared in the added fragments.

Noteworthy is the fact that the astrological “cores” of all prophecies are concentrated on a narrow interval, and the moments of their final compilation (determined by dynastic parallelisms) are concentrated on an equally narrow interval. The first is clear: the middle of the 5th century was the heyday of astrological and mystical sentiments of expectation of the Messiah, whose arrival was proclaimed by the Apocalypse. In the next period, disappointment set in, and the books of the prophets were almost forgotten.

It is more difficult to explain the outbreak of interest in them after 200 years, their revision and inclusion in the canon. Apparently, the ideas of these books were in some way consistent with the spirit of that era and met some needs. Was this connected with the Arab conquest, interpreted as a sign of the imminent end of the world and the onset of the Last Judgment? It is easy to ask questions, but difficult to give reasonable answers to them.

The Old Testament prophets are closely related to the Apocalypse and therefore we will consider them here. We will limit ourselves to only a brief review of the books of the prophets in order to establish the time of their writing. The reader can find details in, as well as in.

Sakura under the snow...

It snowed in Japan! And it didn’t just fall out, it literally fell over,

Trains are late, crowds of people with umbrellas, real chaos!

But thanks to such unusual weather for Japan, it was possible to photograph such a rare phenomenon,

Like cherry blossoms against the backdrop of falling snow.

An incredible sight!

Sakura under the snow Kiyohiko Ozani

While watching shots of cherry blossoms...

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Japanese cherry sakura - The Legend of Sakura

Lush cherry flowers,

In the heyday of which

I loved you my friend

Last spring

That’s right, it’s you who are being welcomed here today!

Yamabe no Akahito

Sakura symbolizes the fragility and transience of life.

According to legend, everything happened due to the fault of the god Ninig.

When he descended from the high Heavens to the islands of Japan, the god of the mountains

He offered him his choice of his daughters as wives.

Niniga chose a younger sister named Blooming,

And he sent the eldest, Vysoka Skala, to his father.

It seemed ugly to him.

The girls' father became angry and

I was disappointed with the decision of my newly made son-in-law.

If Ninigi had chosen Rock as his wife, the life of his descendants

It would be like mountains and stones - eternal and durable.

But Ninigi made the wrong choice, and therefore the lives of his children and grandchildren,

All Japanese, from the emperors themselves to the commoners,

It will be beautiful, but short-lived -

Like spring blossoms.

From Svetlana Malchikova

PROPHET EZEKIEL (VI century BC)

Ezekiel(Hebrew יְחֶזְקֵאל‎, Y'hezkel, "The Lord will strengthen") - one of the four "great prophets" of the Old Testament. He is called a contemporary of the prophets Jeremiah and Daniel.

The holy prophet Ezekiel lived in the 6th century BC. Born around 622 BC. e. in the city of Sarir, came from the tribe of Levi, was a priest and the son of the priest Buzi. He spent his youth in Judea. When he was 25 years old, in 597, 11 years before the destruction of Jerusalem, during the second invasion of Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, he was taken into Babylonian captivity along with King Joachim and many other Jews.

http://days.pravoslavie.ru/Life/life1021.htm

Day of Remembrance: May 9/22

The holy prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Christ and came from a royal family. Isaiah's father, Amos, raised his son in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord. Having reached adulthood, the prophet Isaiah married a pious maiden prophetess (Is. 8:3) and had a son Jasub (Is. 8:18).

Saint Isaiah was called by God to prophetic service in the kingdom of Uzziah, king of Judah, and prophesied for about 60 years under the kings Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah and Manasseh. The beginning of his ministry was marked by the following vision: he saw the Lord God sitting in the majestic heavenly temple on a high throne. He was surrounded by six-winged Seraphim. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their legs, and with two they flew, calling to each other: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts, heaven and earth are filled with His Glory!” The pillars of the heavenly temple shook from their exclamations, and incense was heard in the temple. The Prophet exclaimed in horror: “Oh, wretched man that I am, I was honored to see the Lord of hosts, having unclean lips and living among unclean people!” Then one of the Seraphim was sent to him, having a hot coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the altar of the Lord. He touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah and said: “Behold, I have touched your lips, and the Lord will take away your iniquities and cleanse your sins.” After this, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord addressed to him: “Whom will I send and who will go to the Jews, who will go for Us?” Isaiah answered: “Here I am, send me, Lord, I will go.” And the Lord sent him to the Jews to convince them to turn from the ways of wickedness and idolatry and bring repentance. The Lord promised mercy and forgiveness to those who repent and turn to the True God, but those who are stubborn are destined for punishment and execution from God. Then Isaiah asked the Lord how long the apostasy of the Jewish people from God would continue. The Lord answered: “Until the cities are desolate, there will be no people in the houses and this land will not become a desert. However, when a tree is cut down, new shoots come from its stump, and after the destruction of the people there will remain a holy remnant, from which a new tribe will arise."

Troparion of the Prophet Isaiah

Voice 2

The memory of Thy Prophet Isaiah, O Lord, is celebrated,/

Thus we pray to You: / save our souls.

Kontakion of the Prophet Isaiah

Voice 2

Prophecy granting reception, prophet-martyr, Isaiah the Preacher of God,/

You have explained to everyone the incarnation of the Lord, /

Exclaiming in a loud voice at the end:/ Behold, the Virgin will receive with child.