Mazzaroth, Message in the Stars

Created Date: 3-Mar-2019

It has nothing to do with Astrology

Last updated: 2-Aug-2020

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Sections

1 What is the Mazzaroth? 2 One Example in the Mazzaroth
3 Should Christians study the Mazzaroth? 4 Scriptural References?
5 What is the Purpose of the Stars? 6 Warning not to Worship the Stars
7 Spheres in the Heavens 8 Signs of the Zodiac with the Deacons
9 Ensign in Relation to the Tribes of Israel 10 Is There a Message?

The Scriptures point out that it is God who calls us and invites us to make a decision in Faith to accept Him.  No one is capable to seek God unless God first revealed Himself through 

which leads us to Faith and acceptance of God in past dispensations, and then through Jesus Christ as a Personal Savior, in our current-time.  God had a plan for us before the foundation of the world.

Ephesians 1:4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

What is the Mazzaroth?

Mazzaroth is the Hebrew word for "Constellations".  Many websites and books, on the Mazzaroth, describe it as:

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

There is a belief and traditions that the Mazzaroth:

  1. Was used by Adam and others that lived before the Great Flood and after, to tell the plan of God by the names of the Constellations and their Decans. 
  2. At night, the Constellations and their Decans were for everyone to admire for beauty and majesty, along with learning and to speak about.
  3. For navigation when traveling long distances.  Even today, without using a GPS system, there is the process of using the North Star and others for determining directions.
According to secular sources and Biblical Scholars who study the Zodiac, they state:
  1. That the names that we have today are derived from ancient Egyptian and Babylonian names, where they inherited the names from earlier unknown civilizations.
    (a) Secular sources insist it was from the Babylonian period and a little before.
    (b) Biblical Scholars who researched the Mazzaroth, point to the period of time originated in the times of the Book of Genesis.
  2. The names and the meanings, that we have today, have only had a few very minor variations/changes from the original names and meanings because the naming of Constellations and Decans were part of the method for memorizing and learning for both religious and navigation purposes.

Therefore, the following can be speculated:

From the scriptures, we know that God spoke to Adam and Eve and others prior to Great Flood and also after which is recorded in the scriptures.  When God spoke to individuals and the prophets, these individuals then let others know what God told them, which is a what we call evangelism.  Today, we hear the Word of God in our Church Services and are reading the scriptures, where we share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. 

The names and meanings of the star Constellations and Decans may have been the means for many people to have Faith in God during the earliest of times in the history of the world after the Garden of Eden and before the scriptures were written.

One Example in the Mazzaroth

As one example in the Mazzaroth, we know from Genesis 3:15, that Adam and Eve were promised that through the seed of Eve there would be a reconciliation and justice done for the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden because of Lucifer.  Verse 15 follows the penalty described against the serpent, which was possessed by Lucifer, and also the future penalty of Lucifer.  The scriptures often will start speaking about a person then go past the person to the entity behind the actions of the person, an example is Ezekiel 28:11-19, which is Lucifer when speaking about his seed.

The paradoxical point is the seed of the woman, which is anatomically impossible, points to the future Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ, that was also required because of the Curse of Jeconiah that God knew in advance.  The Virgin Birth is encapsulated in the Zodiac ensign of Virgo, the virgin, which is part of the Mazzaroth and today's Zodiac.  There is much more to the Mazzaroth message discussed further in this topic that point to Jesus Christ the Messiah.

Genesis 3:15 14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:23 Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us.

Should Christians study the Mazzaroth?

The question is often asked whether or not to study the Mazzaroth?  The answer is there is no absolute agreement in this area.  It is this author's opinion that the Mazzaroth is worthy for Christians to have some fundamental understanding because parts of it are most likely true. 

Obviously, it must be said that even if everything that many well-meaning scholars, who love Jesus Christ, are saying is true about the Mazzaroth, the main focus in this author's opinion is to take the time to know the Word of God in the Bible. 

Most Likely True

This author believes that the portion of the Mazzaroth, which describes the original purposes of the names dealing with the Constellations names and some of the Decans, is most likely true.  The names had meanings that did and do point to the Gospel Message.  The reason for believing this is true:

  1. The current names match to closely to idioms in the scriptures.
  2. Adam and Eve's descendants would have used the Constellations for navigation (on land and sea) and the seasons of Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer.
  3. Adam most likely named the Constellations and Decans while in the Garden of Eden because he also named the animals in Genesis 2:20.  God would have been intimately involved with Adam in naming all things because God loved Adam and enjoyed what Adam was accomplishing.
  4. The current names with their meanings do carry a story, which could not have changed that much from the original because the names, and stories behind the names, were most likely part of mnemonic ways of recognizing and remembering the names.
  5. Most importantly, God would most likely have the Mazzaroth as a way for humankind to have Faith in God after exiting the Garden of Eden and also after the Great Flood.

Most Likely NOT True

This author does NOT believe that much of the other areas of the Mazzaroth are necessarily true.

  1. The names of the Tribes of Israel are not necessarily part of the Mazzaroth.  This area contains too much conjectures.
  2. The symbols and gemstones of Israel, listed later in this topic, were obtained from those who collected these from traditions.  These traditions cannot be proven to be true and cannot necessarily correctly be identified with each Tribe of Israel.  Therefore, the symbols and gemstones of the Tribes cannot be necessarily associated with a Constellation or Decans name.  This author believes this is highly speculative area that some Mazzaroth researchers have suggested as correct.

The main problem found in the areas that this author does not feel are true, is the use of 12 Tribes of Israel.  This has to be conjecture when trying to connect the Mazzaroth with 12 Tribes of Israel because there is actually 14 Tribes.  This is explained in the topic on the 12 Tribes of Israel.  Yes, the scriptures uses the idiom of the 12 which is also discussed in the 12 Tribes of Israel topic, but when using explicit references to a Tribe, the scriptures are always precise.  This author explains this more later in this topic.

Scriptural References?

The most well-known scripture that mentions the Mazzaroth by name, but is sometimes translated as constellations in modern English is:

Job 38:32 Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?

The second and the last scripture reference that uses Mazzaroth is in a negative connotation where the King of Israel was having the Priests of Baal killed and their vessels destroyed that were located around Jerusalem and in the groves.  The Groves is where sexual and deviant worship was held that involved sacrificing of children on burning bronze alters.  The Mazzaroth was used in the English translation of sun, moon and planets in the Constellations which is shown below as host of heaven.
 
2 Kings 23:3-5 3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel. 5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.   

What is the Purpose of the Stars?

The scriptures should always be kept in context and notice that in verse 14, that God is stating the stars are for signs amongst other purposes.  They are not for divination.

Genesis 1:14-19 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Read in Psalms 19:1-6; 50:1-6; 97:-16; and 136:1-9 that mention the purposes of the Sun, Moon and Stars.

Warning not to Worship the Stars

Deuteronomy 4:14-19 14 And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. 15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of form on the day that Jehovah spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; 16 lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flieth in the heavens, 18 the likeness of anything that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth; 19 and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, thou be drawn away and worship them, and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath allotted unto all the peoples under the whole heaven.

Spheres in the Heavens

The visible heavens are made up of 9 spheres according to rabbinical scholar information regarding the Zodiac.

Sphere Description
1 Moon
2 Mercury
3 Venus
4 Sun
5 Mars
6 Jupiter
7 Saturn
8 Stars we see in the sky
9 What we see east to west

The ninth sphere contains all the previous spheres and these were divided up into 12 sections.  As Christians, we understand that God exists outside of all of Creation, all time domains and also separate from the entire Kingdom Of God, because God existed before He created everything.  

Signs of the Zodiac with the Decans

Those who have studied the Mazzaroth have formulated the following summary list, which is partially based on traditions.  This author has obtained this information from many sources including notes on Genesis from Chuck Missler

Notice the list below only includes twelve of the constellations of the Zodiac and excludes the Constellation of Ophiuchus, because Ophiuchus was not considered part of the Mazzaroth in ancient times.  Additionally, there is a concern from this author, that we know that there are actually 14 Tribes of Israel because of the adoption of Joseph's two sons by Jacob, so why would the Mazzaroth exclude Manasseh and Ephraim?  This author could not find an answer.

Additionally, there is another part of those who study the Mazzaroth believe the Tribes of Israel's ensigns are included even in the ensigns of the Mazzaroth even before the Tribes of Israel even existed.  Doing the research on the Tribes associated with the Zodiac signs is very difficult because of the numerous interpretations.  There is more information about this list further in this topic.

  Tribe Western Zodiac Interpretation notes from Chuck Missler's Genesis PDF   Decan and notes from Chuck Missler's Genesis PDF
1 Naphtali Virgo The Seed of the Woman; The Desire of Nations; The Man of Double Nature in humiliation; The Exalted Shepherd and Harvester. 1 Coma the Infant or Desired One
    2 Centaurus, dart piercing a victim
    3 Great Shepherd and Harvester
2 Asher Libra The Price to be paid; The Cross to be endured; The Victim slain; The Crown Purchased. 1 Crux, Pierced, the Cross
      2 Lupos or Victim, pierced to death
      3 Corona, the Crown
3 Dan Scorpio The Conflict; The Serpent s coils; The Struggle with the
Enemy; The toiling Vanquisher of evil.
1 Serpens, the Serpent
      2 Ophiuchus, wrestling with the Serpent
      3 Hercules, the Mighty Man
4 Benjamin Sagittarius The Doubled-natured One triumphing; He gladdens the
Heavens; He builds fires of punishment; He casts down the Dragon.
1 Lyra, an Eagle holding a lyre
      2 Ara, the Alter
      3 Draco, the Dragon, the old Serpent
5 Levi Capricorn Life out of Death; The Arrow of God; Pierced and failing;
Springing up again in abundant life.
1 Sagitta, the Arrow
      2 Aquila, the Eagle
      3 Delphinus, the Dolphin
6 Reuben Aquarius Life-waters from on high; Drinking in the heavenly food;
Carrying the Good News; Bearing aloft the Cross over the Earth
1 Picus Australis, the southern fish
      2 Pegasus, the winged horse
      3 Cygnus, the Swan
7 Gad Pisces Multiplication of Redeemer s People; Upheld and governed by the Lamb; The intended Bride bound and exposed; The Bridegroom exalted. 1 The Band
      2 Andromeda, a woman in chains
      3 Cepheus, a Crowned King
8 Simeon Aries The Lamb found worthy; The Bride released and making ready; Satan bound; The Breaker triumphing. 1 Cassipeia, a woman enthroned
      2 Cetus, the sea monster bound by a lamb
      3 Perseus, armed and mighty man
9 Ephraim and Manasseh Taurus The invincible Ruler come; The sublime Vanquisher; The River of Judgment; The all-ruling Shepherd. 1 Orion, a glorious prince
    2 Eridanus, Orion's river
    3 Auriga, the shepherd
10 Zebulon Gemini The Marriage of the Lamb; The Enemy trodden down; The Prince coming in Glory; His princely following. 1 Lepus, the Hare or Serpent
    2 Canis Major, Sirius, the great dog
      3 Canis Minor, Procyon, the 2nd dog
11 Issachar Cancer The Possession secured; Lesser fold: the Temple (Church) of the first born; Greater fold: Israel; Safe folding into a Everlasting Kingdom. 1 Ursa Minor, the lesser sheepfold
      2 Ursa Major, the greater sheepfold
      3 Argo, the ship
12 Judah Leo The King rending; The Serpent fleeing; The Bowl of Wrath upon him; His carcass devoured. 1 Hydra, the fleeing serpent
      2 Crater, the cup of wrath
      3 Corvus, the raven bird of doom
 

Ensign in Relation to the Tribes of Israel

Relating to the Tribes of Israel, all of the tribes had ensigns based on the prophecy of scriptures from Jacob and Moses.  The prophecies of the tribes are detailed in the topic on the Tribes of Israel part 2.  Note that the scriptures always refer to the Tribes of Israel as 12, but there are actually 14 which is explained in the topic on the 12 Tribes of Israel.

An ensign is a flag or "a standard" that identifies a group.  Examples of animal ensigns, or national animal, for countries are: (a) United States has the Eagle, (b) Russia the Bear, and (c) England the Lion.  Interestingly, many of the countries formed out of the British Empire, have incorporated parts of the British Flag's insignia into their flag, which is part of a clue to identifying and understanding the prophecy of Ezekiel 38:13.

Below is a list of the ensigns for the Tribes of Israel with their primary ensigns.  The highlighted green match the Cherubim that surround God's Throne.

Tribal Order Tribe Ensign A Scriptural tie to Ensign besides Rev 4:7 that was identified to the Tribe Surrounding Throne of God
1 Reuben Man Genesis 49:4 - "man of strength" Revelation 4:7
2 Simeon Sword/Ships Genesis 49:5-7; Gen 23:18  
3 Levi Breastplate of Judgment    
4 Judah Lion Genesis 49: 9 - "Like a lion" Revelation 4:7
5 Dan Snake then changed to an Eagle Genesis 4:17 - 1st a Serpent then Eagle Revelation 4:7
6 Naphtali Female Deer Genesis 49:21  
7 Gad Horsemen Genesis 49:19  
8 Asher Royal Dainties Genesis 49:20  
9 Issachar Donkey Genesis 49:14-15  
10 Zebulun Sea/Ships Genesis 49:13  
11 Joseph Horns of Unicorns / Ox Deuteronomy 33:13-17 Revelation 4:7
12 Benjamin Wolf Genesis 49:27  
13 Manasseh Vine by the side of a Wall, Olive Branch or Arrows    
14 Ephraim Horns of Unicorns / Ox Deuteronomy 33:17 - Joseph's sons  Revelation 4:7

Tribes mapped with their Symbols, Gemstone and Constellation are listed next.  A great deal of this is very subjective and speculative, albeit written in sources that were based on inferences, traditions and historic writings, that this author was not always able to verify.  Regardless, there is nothing listed that is contradicting to any scriptures that this author could identify, and this does not diminish the high-level names with the meanings of the Constellations and Decans.

Tribal Order Tribe Symbol Gemstone Constellation Scripture
1 Reuben Water Ruby Deli (Aquarius)  Genesis 49:4
2 Simeon Sword of Persecution Sapphire Dagim (Pisces) Genesis 49:5-7
3 Levi Priesthood - Judgment Sapphire Mozanaiam (Libra) Genesis 49:5-7
4 Judah Lion Sardius Aryeh (Leo) Genesis 49:8-9
5 Dan Defeated Serpent Chrysolite Aqrab (Scorpio) Genesis 49:17
6 Naphtali Deer swiftly carrying Good News Jasper Gedi (Capricornus)  Genesis 49:21
7 Gad Victorious Troop of Horsemen Sardonyx Taleh (Aries) Genesis 49:19
8 Asher Word of God Onyx Qesheth (Sagittarius) Genesis 49:20
9 Issachar Donkey Resting Eternally Topaz Naveh (Cancer)  Genesis 49:14
10 Zebulun The Bride Emerald Bethulah (Virgo) Genesis 49:13
11 Joseph Fruit on a Wall Jacinth Re eym (Taurus) Genesis 49:22
12 Benjamin Two Who are United Amethyst Ta am (Gemini)  Genesis 49:27
13 Manasseh Defeated Serpent Chrysolite Aqrab (Scorpio)  
14 Ephraim Fruit on a Wall Jacinth Re eym (Taurus)  

* The yellow highlighted Tribes are the decedents of Joseph, who Jacob adopts as his own. 
** The ensign of Manasseh and Ephraim is found in research, but this author could not find definitive scriptural references at this time on some of the Symbols, Gemstone and Constellation identification.  According to some sources, they are linked with the Tribe of Dan and Joseph, as shown.

Revelation 4:7 And the first creature was like a lion, and the second creature like a calf, and the third creature had a face as of a man, and the fourth creature was like a flying eagle.

Is There a Message?

There are several interpretations of the full message of the Constellations and Decans meanings.  If there is a summary message, based on the Constellation names, then what Zodiac Sign is the starting point?  The tradition, according to some sources, is Virgo because of the prophecy concerning Eve in Genesis 3:15. 

The Constellation of Virgo, is considered one the oldest-known star configurations.  In the months of March and April, Virgo begins to become visible throughout the night-time hours.  This is also the time period of the Hebrew Calendar month of Nissan which was declared the starting month for the new calendar because it is the same day that Noah's Ark rests and the next day is Jesus Christ's Resurrection.

  Tribe Zodiac Zodiac Mnemonic Summary Scriptural Reference (one of many)
1 Naphtali Virgo Through the Seed of the Woman. Genesis 3:15
2 Asher Libra The Price to be paid unto death. Daniel 9:26
3 Dan Scorpio The conflict with the Serpent and evil one. Genesis 3:15
4 Benjamin Sagittarius He casts down the Dragon Revelation Chapter 12
5 Levi Capricorn Life abundantly after death John 3
6 Reuben Aquarius Spread the good news Mark 16:15
7 Gad Pisces Government by the Lamb crowned King Revelation 19:16
8 Simeon Aries Lamb found worthy, bride selected Revelation 5:12
9 Joseph and Ephraim Taurus The Ruler will come. Revelation 1:5
10 Zebulon Gemini Marriage of the Lamb Revelation 19:7
11 Issachar Cancer Everlasting Kingdom Revelation 22:1-5
12 Judah Leo Evil one no more Revelation 20:7-10

Knowing the names and positions of the constellations was very important for everyone in the history of the world until the advent of GPS navigation, because uses of the constellation and star positions in the sky was used in navigation.  The names of the Constellations and Decans conveyed meanings that were used to aid in memorization, as a mnemonic in recognizing the stars in the sky.

Many decades ago, there were lectures and shows at planetariums about the constellation's zodiac signs.  These shows would highlight or point to stars and state that when connecting the stars with lines would convey a person or animal which is how the constellations of stars got their names.  The planetarium shows depicting names has been proven to be nonsense, as there is a deeper meaning for the names.

The message that can be pieced together from the Mazzaroth, by taking the meanings of the constellations liberally is shown below.  This is the rendering by the author which is most likely very close to others. 

Through the seed of the woman, Eve, there will be a price paid by God requiring death.  The conflict with the Serpent, who is evil, is the cause.  After the death paid by God, there will be life abundantly. 

The Good News will be told all over the earth and a righteous King will be crowned that is worthy to take a Bride after the evil one is bound.

Spread the Good News, the government of the Lamb who is crowned King is coming, who will have a bride in the people that will usher in an everlasting Kingdom, where evil is eliminated.

Has God used other types of encoding messages that would also deliver His Plans for all of us?  The answer is yes and a quick example of many is the lineage of Adam through Noah which has the liberal interpretation shown below, which is remarkably similar to the message of the Mazzaroth.

Man is appointed mortal sorrow but the Blessed God shall come down teaching His death shall bring the despairing comfort.

What to read next?

See this page on Astronomy links.  Also: (a) Time and Time Travel, (b) Time Domains, (c) Evolution, (d) Singularity and the Big Bang Theories, (e) E=mc ,  (f) Ten Dimensions of the Universe, (g) Age of the Earth, Periods that Developed Life, Heavens