MOON aR late)Moon-o-theism Religion of a War and Moon God Prophet Volume II of I By Yoel Natan Allah (Arabic: aUI) in the crescent of a finial in front of windows with a star-field motif. Al-Aksa Mosque, Temple Mount, Jerusalem. | Yoel Natan is the author of: The Jewish Trinity, The Jewish Trinity Sourcebook, Baptism & Eschatology Web site: www. Yoel. Info Edition 1.0 Copyright © 2006 by Yoel Natan. All Rights Reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book. ' Figure 00-01 (doubles as Figure 12-18). Allah (Arabic: aU/2) in crescent in front of Mosque windows with a star field motif. Caption for the source picture is: “The “alam (finial [sic}) of the small dome above the entrance to the Agsa Mosque [at the temple mount]” (Nuseibeh & Grabar. Dome, pp. 175-176). For more information on the association of the name Allah with crescent finials, see the Lahut and Turkish Blessing entries in the Index.Table of Contents Table of Contents (ToC) VOLUME II OF IT HUBALAS BAAL.... THE RAKAH CRESCENT-ORB ORANT POSITION (THE RAISING OF THE HANDS)........799 ‘WHETHER THE ORANT POSITION IS BIBLICAL OR NOT. 80 CHAPTER 11: MOON-O-THEISTIC MOSQUES... THE KORAN’S 164 WAR VERSES (DETAILED) ABBREVIATIONS. 1094 Other References (Also see the Selective Bibliography) . 1095 3S. 109: English-Arabic Who's Who... 1098Moon-o-theism by Yoel Natan English-Arabic Glossary Index English-Arabic Glossary The Five Stages of the Dreaded PC SELECTIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY THUMBNAIL GALLERY STNotable moon-god worship centers in the Mideast faran/MTarran © Sin 36.88 19.0 E; 24 Miles’39 KM SE of Sanli(Urfa), SE Turkey, 1, 064) | files/1,712 KM from Mekka (Christian Edessa NNE of Haran TIGRIS RIVER] © Sin Ur to Mecca 30:87:22 N | ¥ Dura-Europos +<__ [34.75 N 40.72 8) [Damascus to Mecea lss8 Miles/1,381 KM [50-day, 687 Mile! 105 KM pilgrimage| lo Medina 46:7:40 E 762 Miles! 1,227 KM at [Hebron [Kufa/Nadjat les/1.276 KM s yfatan th Yerah ©)|32:01:00N 44:23:00E,| 38. (eSuer Petra Jon a Jordan |127-day, 780 Miles ldays| i Mu'tah River ford Se RM pilork ay Rey No iver ford on [111,255 KM pilgrimage] DESERT OF }| ne south tip |leo Mecea [Mek] ZIN@Sin_|} oF the Sea of [EUPHRATES aes Galilee (kineret), RIVER (Gull AQABA _|**—Taima(h)/Tayma/Tema Sin] *Safa of 127:37:60N, 38:28:60 E © [Suez] \Hijaz—Fadak [434 Miles/698 KM to Mekkal aha ' Kus/Coptos/Qift \ Region _<_[Mhaybar Oasis, 25:42N 39:31E lao Milee/794. Fafa | “*1}83 Milev133KM from Medina | [P\rto stekkal tae an fe [293 Miles/472 KM from Mekka comombo) hud aaah ade LE {.<—[Madina (Vathriby . REE |S tncans, Qua 24:5 N 39:58 E3 to = al-Yamama full moon Badr | |Mekka: 210 Miles/339KM| [SAUDI ARABIA] TROPIC OF CANCER) . ~~ R Ep S¥fayna® Fedak 2:28:60 N 39:12:0 H eo HudaybiyaX 8 EA [40 Miles/64 KM to Mekka . discovered). Maka @ Allah 7 (Rakhi APCzra|____ Latitutude 21:45 N, Sg — nf 1 The Power" (Venus) Kuraish, oe ~ Longitude 39:26. - ae 7 if Allat sun goddess Port Sudan ¢{Bani Kinana(h) /21:15:00N 40:21:00! ee 19:37:0N 37:13:60E| 4 R ED tribe, devotees of [137 1 210 Miles/337 KM SEA Hubal C*The Baal") Riot ofse Thegif tribes to Mekka e 7 © Si 5: SOD NieATy Hesidoh Sin Sanna 43 [KINGDOM OF MAIN aay 15:36 N 48212 E | KM pilgrimage to Mecea 637 yes/1,106KM | al-Basr PERSIAN GULF UPPER] NUBIA, OE ~\ # Najran. | to Mekka # 508 Miles818 KM —Qarnaw]/Marib © “Tumquh] ° ©) Mahi 2 \ sada | Waag |]1525 N45:21E to Mees 2 Matra 560 Mites/901 KM Ss Jewish ¢ [RINGDON : x BA (Sheba)| vee exe Tim © & @ Moon-god 3 Sun goddess Q Venus goddess = 100 Miles t|[ABYSSINIA] Aden to Mekka: === 100 Kilometers NJ] THIOPIA |(686 Miles/1.105 KM ARABIAN SEAMoon-o-theism, Ch. 7, P. 609 5 Chapter 07; Moon-o-theistic Jewish Connection Introduction Muhammad copycatted what he knew of Judaism. Jews had dissected the Old Testament Trinity and then denied that the Son and Spirit were divine persons.” Muhammad took paganism and followed a track parallel to Judaism’s theological development. Muhammad disassociated Allah from his goddess daughters and said that the daughters were in fact male angels. Though islam is a mishmash of various religious beliefs, Muhammad thought of himself more as a reformer and not as a copycatter or innovator. Muhammad felt he had the pure, pristine religion from which all the other religions sprang and then become corrupted. Muhammad believed that Judaism and Christianity were originally strictly monotheistic but over time had developed similar astral triads. Muhammad figured that Christians especially were guilty of polytheism since as Guillaume wrote: the term ‘Mother of God’ [Theotokos] given to the Virgin Mary could mean only one thing to an Arab—the sexual trinity [triad] of the old heathen world, which was never a unity.” When evaluating /slam, one must keep in mind Muhammad's perception of the facts and the “history according to Muhammad.” To phrase it lightly, no one ever accused Muhammad of being a historian or a scholar of comparative religions! Muhammad considered Jews guilty by association with Christians. Muhammad saw that Jews and Christians did not pillage each other, which by the medieval Arabian standards of the day, meant Jews and Christians must be friends and allies (K 005:051). Muhammad also suspected that Jews were polytheistic because of their shared tradition with Christians, whom Muhammad thought were especially polytheistic. The ecumenical-minded Jews, Christians and pagans confused Muhammad into thinking that Jews and Christians and pagans were not too distant from each other in their theology. For instance, Lester Ness wrote: Later magicians, Jewish or pagan, did not hesitate to invoke Jesus’ name. Ecumenical-minded non-Christians were persons like Bar-Jesus (Act 13:06) and the seven sons of Sceva (Act 19:13-15). They were the ones whom Jesus warned against—unbelievers who did miracles in his name yet were not Christians (Mat 07:21-23). Because Muhammad thought Christian claims to be monotheistic were false. he considered Jewish pretensions at monotheism suspect at best (K 002:259-260; 009:030). As was discussed in a previous chapter, Muhammad thought that Moses (Musa) was Jesus’ uncle. Muhammad thought Jews and Christians could not differ much in doctrine, despite Jews and Christians’ protestations to the contrary. Muhammad thought Jews and Christians only parted company because of envy and not doctrine: They [Jews and Christians] did not become divided until after knowledge had come to them out of envy among themselves (K 042:014; also see K 010:093), 8 See Yoel Natan’s books The Jewish Trinity and The Jewish Trinity Sourcebook. °° Guillaume. Islam, pp. 52-53. 4 Ness. Mosaics, p. 149.6 Ch. 07, P. 610: The Moon-o-theistic Jewish Connection So based in part on Muhammad's perception that Christians were polytheistic, he assumed that synagogue zodiac circles meant Jews worshipped this triad: G Allah the moon-god G Allah's son Ezra the sun-god (K 002:259-260: 009:030) G Allah's daughters, as the Four Seasons The Pagan Zodiac Circles Zodiac circles were common among pagans. Muhammad mentioned the sun, moon, stars and constellations often. Muhammad even mentions the “zodiacal signs” “mansions,” “houses,” or “stages”—depending on the translation (K 010:005; 015:016; 025:061; 036:039; 085:001). Muhammad seems to connect the constellations and the succession of day and night to worship: Blessed is He Who made the constellations in the heavens and made therein a lamp and a shining moon, He it is Who made the night and the day to follow each other for him who desires to be mindful or desires to be thankful (K 025:061). It is worth noting one pagan connection between Muhammad and zodiacal constellation worship. Tamara Green wrote that Jbn Hisham (died in 828 or 833 AD/213 or 218 AH) noted that the prophet’s adversaries called him a Sabean.” The reason was, as [bn Hazm (died 1063 AD) relates: ..the Sabeans...honor the seven planets and the twelve constellations and paint them in their temples; they have five prayers similar to the Muslim ceremony, fast in Ramadan, turn to the Kaaba in prayer and regard the same meats as unlawful as do the Muslims." Zodiac Circles Formed Part of the Basis for Pagan Doctrine and Syncretism As one might expect, the pagans did not display zodiacal circles just for art’s sake or as a perpetual, cyclical calendar. Zodiac circles were threaded into pagan belief systems. Also, Zodiac circles came into play during the syncretism process between two religions. For instance, Tamara Green wrote that zodiac astrology was used to syncretize Haran and Iranian religion during late antiquity.” Jewish Zodiac Circles Were the Moon-o-theists’ Ten Commandments Various threads of information confirmed, in Muhammad's mind at least, that Yahveh, the God of the Bible, was a moon-god. Lester Ness wrote: The motif of Abraham the astrologer is found in many places in Jewish literature of both the Second Temple and the Talmudic periods....Artapanus, an Egyptian Jew (late third or early second century BCE)...claimed that Abraham taught astrology to the Egyptian priests of Heliopolis. He also believed that Hermes Trismegistus [Egyptian priest, father of Hermeticism] was really Moses....Similarly, Eupolemus (late third or early second century BCE) claimed that Enoch had learned astrology from the angels, and that Abraham later taught the technique to Phoenicians and Egyptians.”* ros Green. Moon, p. 106. 24 Green. Moon, p. 107. 2°57 Green. Moon, pp. 198-199. 8 Ness, Mosaics, pp. 140-141Moon-o-theism, Ch. 7, P. 611 7 That Muhammad had plenty of contact with Jews is beyond doubt. The Koran is full of Muhammad’s rendition of Jewish material. Many articles have been written on the subject, including a book by Charles Cutler Torrey.” Jewish Sources of the Koran Not as much however has been written about the Jewish artwork that Muhammad might have seen during his caravan travels in Arabia, Syria and even Persia. The reason Jewish artwork has not been discussed much is that not much Jewish art had been excavated until the last century. The art historian Goodenough had this to say about art in classical Judaism: When the painted walls of the synagogue at Dura-Europos emerged into the light in November 1932, the modern perspective on the character of Judaism in Greco-Roman time had to be radically refocused. Until that time it was possible to ignore the growing evidence, turned up for decades by archeologists, of a kind of Judaism substantially different from that described in Jewish literary remains of the period. Those remains specifically contained in the Talmud and Midrash were understood to describe an aniconic [literally “without icons,” meaning without figural art}, ethically and socially oriented religion..." Also, not as much has been written about the Jewish side of Muhammad's genealogy. Before exploring what Jewish artwork Muhammad seems to have seen, exploring Muhammad's Jewish genealogy is in order. Muhammad's part-Jewish background would gain him more exposure to Jewish art. Also, having a Jewish extended family would mean Jewish art would carry more religious meaning for Muhammad. Muhammad's Jewish Familial Connections Emanuel Deutsch wrote: It seems as if he [Muhammad] had breathed from his childhood almost the air of contemporary Judaism, such Judaism as is found by us crystallized in the Talmud, the Targum and the Midrash.””' It is possible that Muhammad’ s source of information on contemporary Judaism was from Judaized Arabs who either professed Judaism, or Arabs who associated with Jews but followed the laxer Noahide Covenant or Religion of ibrahim. Ibn Ishaq gave a long list of names of Jews living at Madina, and Guillaume comments: It is noteworthy how few Hebrew names are to be found among Jews of Madina. F, E. Peters wrote that though Muslim scholars traced back the descent of Madinan Jews to Levi or to Abraham through Isaac rather than Ishmael, most European scholars “thought that they were far more likely Judaized Arabs, converts made by active Jewish missionaries elsewhere.”””** Trimingham wrote: This may be contrasted with the Arab attitude towards Judaized Arabs in Yathrib, whom they regarded as true Jews since they were distinguished by a *” Torrey. Foundations, p. 2. *5 Goodenough. Symbols, p. xxi. 25! Warrag. Why, p. 54. 2 Ishaq. Sirat, p. 240, fn. 2. °° Peters. Origins, p. 192.8 Ch. 07, P. 612: The Moon-o-theistic Jewish Connection distinct change in their attitude towards pagan Arabs, whence came their determined opposition to the mission of the Prophet Muhammad.?* This demographic explains why Muhammad was disappointed he did not gain more converts from Jews since Muhammad was an Arab and these particular Jews were mostly of Arab decent. The Judaized Arabs would probably have incorporated even more pagan astral art than those Jews who were more or less homogeneously Hebrew. The Judaized Arabs” culture would have more pagan roots, and the Judaized Arabs would have had more pagan relations. Ibn Ishaq wrote in his biography on Muhammad that envoys from the tribe of Kinda spoke to Muhammad at Madina: Then Al Ash’ath [a Kinda envoy] said ‘We are the son of the eater of bitter herbs and so are you [Muhammad].’ The apostle smiled and said that to Al “Abbas b. [b. is short for Bin meaning “son of] ‘Abdu’ Muttalib and Rabi'a b Al Harith of that ancestry was attribute Jbn Ishaq felt that compromising references to Muhammad's Jewishness had to be explained away, so he inserted the following note in Muhammad’s biography: Ya’qub b. ‘Utba told me that he was informed that that year [the “Year of the Elephant” when Muhammad was born] was the first time that measles and smallpox had been seen in Arabia; also that it was the first time that, bitter herbs like rue, colocynth and Asclepias Gigantea [Willdenow] were seen.” Ibn Hisham annotated [bn Ishaq’s biography on Muhammad and he gives an unlikely explanation for the phrase “son of the eater of bitter herbs.” Jbn Hisham wrote that Muhammad had an ancestor who ate bitter herbs that stained and swelled the lips. Muhammad's ancestor was told by one viewing him, “Methinks I see @ Black man with blubber lips like those of a camel eating bitter herbs...” Bitter herbs are not mentioned in the Koran. It seems safer to assume that the phrase “son of the eater of bitter herbs” means one either has Jewish ancestry or Judaized Arabs for relatives. The bitters herbs would then refer to Passover meal seasonings (Exo 12:08; Num 09:11). One bitter herb eater, Al ‘Abbas b. ‘Abdu’l-Muttalib, was Muhammad’s uncle. The other bitter herb eater mentioned above was Rabi’a b. Al Harith that was the brother of Muhammad’s first wife, Khadija.°* Jon Ishaq shed more light on the subject by quoting Muhammad at a later date: The first claim on blood I abolish is that of b. Rabi’a b. Al Harith b. ‘Abdu’ l- Muttalib (who was fostered among the B. Layth and whom Hudhayl killed). It is, the first bloodshed in the pagan period which I deal with.” Abdul Muttalib is Muhammad's grandfather and Al Harith is an uncle of Muhammad's. So Rabi'a seems to be Muhammad's cousin. In the above quote, the “b. Rabi’a” means “son of Rabi’a,” so Muhammad must have cancelled the blood vengeance claim of his second cousin(s). Also interesting is the tradition related by Muhammad's wife Aisha, She said recalled that Waraga, the cousin of Muhammad's first wife Khadija on her father’s *® Trimingham. Arabs, p. 122. ** Ishaq. Sirat, p. 641. °° Ishaq. Sirat, p. 27. 51 Ishaq. Sirat, p. 787, note 896. 8 Darnell. Quraish. * Ishaq. Sirat, p. 651Moon-o-theism, Ch. 7, P. 613 9 side, translated the Gospels into Arabic.?% This however is conwadicted by a very similar tradition that says the language was Hebrew (not Arabic).’°°! So this Waraqa may have been Jewish or part Jewish. The specifics on Muhammad's genealogy are not terribly important given the fact that pre-/slamic genealogy in Arabia involved small tribes. Moreover, there were many orphans adopted into different families and serial divorcing may have been common. Even Muhammad swiped the wite of his adoptive son Zayd, meaning that for murky reasons, Zayd transferred his wife Zaynab to Muhammad.” Zayd had to replace his wife on his own but this was no big concern since /bn Ishaq records Ali as saying “Women are plentiful and you can easily change one for another.” Of course with the slave trade and all the murders going on in Arabia, it is not surprising there was an abundance of women. Arabia during pre-Islamic times was similar to before the flood when violence tuled the earth and polygyny was practiced (Gen 04:23; Gen 06:11-13). Genealogies did not matter too much before the Flood, or in Arabia during Muhammad's day. After several generations of such mixing, everyone ended up being related to everyone else either directly or indirectly. We just saw how Muhammad admitted that Jewesses had married into his extended family. Assuming however that marriage patterns were consistent going back several generations, Muhammad himself may have had some Jewish ancestry. There are in fact traditions that say Muhammad was part Jewish. Summary of Muhammad's Genealogy and Jewish Extraction Muhammad's relatives include: G Qusayy (or Quasi) (Arab great, great, great grandfather) (ruled 400 AD) + an Arabess = Zuhra G Zuhra (Arab great, great grandfather) (born 378 AD) + Nabatean Jewish woman named Qami (Jewish great, great grandmother”) = Hashim G Hashim (half Jewish great grandfather) + Salma (Jewish woman from Madina from the Jewish Nadhir (Najjar) tribe?””’) = Abd Al Muttalib G@ Abd Al Muttalib (three-quarters Jewish grandfather) (died 578 AD) + Halah (Arab woman) = AbdAllah G AbdAllah (one-quarter Jewish father) (died 570 AD) + Amina (Arab woman) = Muhammad (one-eighth Jewish) (died 576 AD). Notably, the fourth Muslim Caliph Ali (lived 602-661 AD) was at least one- eighth Jewish. Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and adoptive son and Abd Al Muttalib (three-quarters Jewish) was the grandfather of both Muhammad and Ali. Ali’s father was Abu Talib (died 540 AD) (one-quarter Jewish) and Abu Talib was the brother of Muhammad's father Abd Allah (one-quarter Jewish). Ali married Fatima, who was one-sixteenth Jewish on account of her being Muhammad's daughter. °° Sahih Bukhari 004,055,605; 006.060.478; 009.087.1 11; Sahih Muslim 001.0301 8! Sahih Bukhari, vol. 1, bk. 1, no. 3. ©? Muhammad s adoptive son is Zayd (or Zaid or Zeid) and Zayd’s wife (later Muhammad’ s wife) is Zaynab (or Zainab or Zeinab). See Muir. Life, vol. 2, ch. 2, and vol. 3, ch. 16. 23 Ishaq. Sirat, p. 496. 6 Lecker. Arabia, 1:27. °° Lecker. Arabia, 1:28.10 Ch. 07, P. 614: The Moon-o-theistic Jewish Connection Details of Muhammad’s Genealogy ‘There are many contradictory traditions regarding Muhammad's genealogy, but Michael Lecker’s comparison of the relevant data shows which traditions are more or less reliable? Tradition says that Qusayy (ruled ~400 AD) was the first ruler of the Kuraishites at Makka. Qusayy was the great grandfather of Muttalib, who was the grandfather of Muhammad. Qusayy fathered Zuhra (born 378 AD). Zuhra was the great, great grandfather of Muhammad. Zuhra married a Nabatean Jewish woman named Qami and they had a son named Hashim b. Abd Manaf (born 430 AD). Notably, the name Hashim seems like a variant of the Jewish word HaShem, which means “The Name.” HaShem refers to Yahveh. The Abd Manaf means “Slave of Manaf,” Manaf being an idol.”°°” Muslim tradition does contain some folk etymology that says “Hashim means one who breaks bread in a cup to make it a kind of porridge.” This attempt at an explanation seems implausible. It is an explanation that one would expect from an Arabic speaker who is not familiar with Hebrew: Hashim fathered Al Muttalib b, Abd Manaf by a woman other than Qami. Hashim is the great grandfather of Muhammad. Hashim was also the founder of the Hashimite clan—Muhammad’s clan. So perhaps the name of Muhammad’s clan is derived from the Hebrew for “The Name” (HaShem), though this fact was lost on both Muhammad and Muslim historians. Hashim (half-Jewish) met and married the divorcee Salma, a Jewish noble woman, while on a business trip to Madina (Yathrib). There were two Arab tribes around Madina—the Aus and Khazraj, and the three Jewish wibes (Banu) in Madina were the Nadir, Kuynuga and the Kurayza.° Muhammad banished or slaughtered these Madinan Jewish tribes. Later, on his deathbed, Muhammad banished all non-Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula. To a great extent Muhammad's dying wish was carried out. Jews in Madina and the Hijaz allegedly fled Palestine when Nebuchadnezzar approached but many of their number were undoubtedly Judaized Arabs. The two Arab tribes derived from a common tribe named Azd that emigrated from Yemen afier Jews were long settled in Madina. Salma was born into the B. Adi clan of the B. an-Najjar (Banu Nadhir) Jewish tribe at Madina. Before Salam married Hashim, Salma had been married to a leader named Uhayha b. Al Julah of the Arab tribe Amr b, Awf at Madina. Al Julah however divorced Salma, because she allegedly forewarned her Jewish tribesmen of an impending attack being planned by her Arab husband. Salma gave birth to Shaybah (bom 497 AD; died 578 AD). Shaybah was later nicknamed Abd Al Muttalib, meaning “Slave of Al Muttalib,” because Shaybah was raised by his uncle Muualib {rom 576-578 AD. Abd Al Muttalib (three-quarters 6 Data on Muhammad's Jewish ancestry was derived from the article “Links between Qurashis and Jewish women” in Lecker. Arabia, U:27-29, and from Darnell. Quraish ©? Darnell. Quraish. *S Warrag. Why, p. 49. °° Muhammad’s expulsion order that only Musiims be left on the Arabian Peninsula: Ishaq. Sirat, p. 689; Kelle. Mohammedanism, section ii:19, p. 231; Sahih Bukhari, vol. 4, bk. 52, no. 288; vol 4, bk. 53, no, 393; vol. 5, bk. 59, no, 716; Sahih Muslim, bk. 019, no, 4366; and Malik’s Muwaita, bk. 45, no. 5.18.Moon-o-theism, Ch. 7, P. 615 11 Jewish) married Halah, presumably an Arabess. Abd Al Mutalib, the grandfather of Muhammad, fathered Abd Allah (AbdAllah) (one-quarter Jewish) by his wife Halah. Abd Allah married Amina (died 576 AD), an Arabess. Amina then gave birth to Muhammad (born 570 AD: died 632 AD). This means Muhammad was one-eighth Jewish, unless of course Muhammad has still more Jewish ancestors unknown to early Islamic genealogists. Muhammad's father, Abd Allah, died the year Muhammad was born. Abd Allah died in the care of his partly Jewish uncles and cousins at Yathrib. Muhammad's mother Amina, died when Muhammad was six years old. Muhammad was raised from age six to age eight by his three-quarters Jewish grandfather, Abd Al Muttalib, When Abd Al Muttalib died, Muhammad's uncle Abu Talib raised Muhammad from age eight to the age of maturity.” Muhammad Mistakenly Thought Jews Worshipped an Astral Triad Muhammad wrongly believed that the Christian and Jewish belief systems imitated the polytheism of ancient pagan religions. Muhammad wrote that Jews believed Ezra to be the Son of Allah (K 002:259-260; 009:030). Muhammad also wrote that both Jews and Christians “imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say” (K 009:029). The question must therefore be asked: What made Muhammad think Jews worshipped Ezra as the Son of Allah in imitation of how the ancients worshipped their triads? Alfred Guillaume wrote similarly: The charge against the Jews of worshipping Ezra has always remained a mystery; monotheism is of course the center of the Jewish creed.””' The answer to this mystery is found in the astrological art of Jews. Muhammad figured that Jews were originally monotheistic based on their Scripture, but the Jewish astral artwork led Muhammad to believe that Jews had since turned polytheistic. Astrology had made inroads into classical Judaism, as Josephus wrote sometime after 70 AD: It was a Babylonian curtain...this [Jewish temple] curtain had also embroidered upon it all that was mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the [twelve] signs, representing living creatures.” Moses indeed calls this [priestly vestment] belt Albaneth; but we have learned from the Babylonians to call it Emia, for so it is by them called... and the girdle that encompassed the high priest round signified the ocean, for that goes round about and includes the universe. Each of the sardonyxes [an onyx with altemating brown and white bands of sard, carnelian and other minerals] declares to us the sun and the moon; those, I mean, that were in the nature of buttons on the high priest’s shoulders. And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by them the months, or whether we understand the like number of the °97 Peters. Makka, p. 46. 27! Guillaume. Islam, p. 52. *?2 Josephus, Flavius. Wars of the Jews, bk. V: “From The Coming Of Titus To Besiege Jerusalem, To The Great Extremity To Which The Jews Were Reduced,” Ch. 5, “A Description Of The Temple.” para. 4. Note: The curtain that Josephus described likely hung in the temple from some time after the crucifixion (circa 30 AD) to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The curtain hanging in the temple during the crucifixion was ripped in two, and would have been replaced or repaired (Mat 27:51; Mar 15:38; Luk 23:45).12 Ch. 07, P. 616: The Moon-o-theistic Jewish Connection signs of that circle which the Greeks call the Zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning.””> Common Maccabean and Herodian coins look suspiciously like a crescent and Venus orb couplet on a pole or finial. The coin of course purported to portray a double cornucopia with a pomegranate orb on a stem between the horns of plenty. Ya’ akov Meshorer wrote: It is logical to assume that the symbol filtered into Judaism as an object related to fertility and then acquired additional Jewish connotations.”””' Figure 07-01. Popular Maccabean and Herodian coin. The double cornucopia with pomegranate orb on a stem is a crescent-and-orb. Bernard Goldman notes that in the Maccabean period “the star of the Maccabees” was placed over the temple fagade.”?°”> Perhaps Stephen was alluding to Maccabees’ star when he said Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings forty years in the desert, O house of Israel’? You have lifted up the shrine of Molech and the star of your god Rephan, the idols you made to worship. Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Babylon (Act 07:42-43). The Astral Menorah Lester Ness wrote: [Flavius] Josephus [37 AD-?7°] and Philo [Judacus (-20 BC to ~AD 40)""|...do not hesitate to identify the twelve signs with the twelve loaves of [show]bread offered each day in the temple or the seven planets with the seven branches of the Menorah.””* Erwin Goodenough wrote: From these independent sources [Philo and Josephus], then, we have evidence that Jews actually made their temple cultus, made Judaism itself, into an astral religion?” Significantly, even after the wear and tear of centuries, the Arch of Titus in Rome still shows the parade of war spoils from the 70 AD conquest of Jerusalem. The damaged relief shows that the Jerusalem temple's Menorah once had seven orbs atop—the five visible planets and the sun and moon. Moreover, the branches of the Menorah looks suspiciously like three crescents on a central stem. Bernard Goldman wrote about similar devices: The crescent on a pole, the symbol of the lunar god, is found in the ancient Orient, and persists in later Nabataean art where it crowns columns.”"* 73 Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews, bk. I “Containing the Interval of Two Years. From the Exodus Out of Egypt, to the Rejection of That Generation,” Ch. 7 “Concerning the Garments of the Priests, and of the High Priest,” Paras, 2 and 7. 28 Meshorer. Coinage, vol. i, pp. 67-68 & plates 08-55 have cornucopia, especially coins Jcl-Je7. 2 Goldman. Portal, p. 68. * Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews, ILvii,7 confer ILvi, Divinarum Heres, XLV:224-225 °°” Philo, De Vita Mosis, II, 12. See Goldman. Portal, p. 111. 278 Ness. Mosaics, p. 141 5 Goodenough. Symbols, p. 167. *® Goldman. Portal, p. 108. V.v,5. Philo Judaeus, Quis Rerum