Is the Zodiac pagan ?

[Hoshiyya]

Are the traditional symbols of the Zodiac pagan?
This has been my presumption since ... forever.
But I'm told there's evidence the Jews of the past used the Zodiac - QUOTE:
​

Chronology and the zodiac

Chronology was a chief consideration in the study of astronomy among the Jews; sacred time was based upon the cycles of the Sun and the Moon. The Talmud identified the twelve constellations of the zodiac with the twelve months of the Hebrew calendar. The correspondence of the constellations with their names in Hebrew and the months is as follows:

1. Aries - Ṭaleh - Nisan
2. Taurus - Shor - Iyar
3. Gemini - Teomim - Sivan
4. Cancer - Sarṭon - Tammuz
5. Leo - Ari - Av
6. Virgo - Betulah - Elul
7. Libra - Moznayim - Tishrei
8. Scorpio - 'Aḳrab - Cheshvan
9. Sagittarius - Kashat - Kislev
10. Capricorn - Gedi - Tevet
11. Aquarius - D'li - Shevat
12. Pisces - Dagim - Adar

The first three are in the east, the second three in the south, the third three in the west, and the last three in the north; and all are attendant on the sun. According to one account, in the first three months (spring) the Sun travels in the south, in order to melt the snow; in the fourth through sixth months (summer) it travels directly above the earth, in order to ripen the fruit; in the seventh through ninth months (autumn) it travels above the sea, in order to absorb the waters; and in the last three months (winter) it travels over the desert, in order that the grain may not dry up and wither.
According to one conception, Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius face northward; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricornus westward; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius southward; and Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces eastward. Some scholars identified the twelve signs of the zodiac with the twelve tribes of Israel.
The four solstices (the Teḳufot of Nisan, Tammuz, Tishrei, and Tevet) are often mentioned as determining the seasons of the year and there are occasional references to the rising-place of the sun ('Er. 56a). Sometimes six seasons of the year are mentioned (Gen. R. xxxiv. 11), and reference is often made to the receptacle of the sun (ναρθήκιο&#957, by means of which the heat of the orb is mitigated (Gen. R. vi. 6, and elsewhere). The Moon was also a part of the calendar: "The moon begins to shine on the 1st of the month; its light increases until the 15th, when the disk [(δίσκο&#963] is full; from the 15th to the 30th it wanes; and on the 30th it is invisible" (Ex. R. xv. 26).

Hebrew astronomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[GuardianShua]

Abraham gave prophecy using astrological signs, and because of that astrology is called Abraham's sin; although astrology had nothing to do with Abraham's prophecies. The stories were passed on to Jacob and to his son Joseph. Joseph may have been the one to record these stories in one of the pyramids. Using astrological signs to tell a story is not a sin. Astronomy is not a sin, Astrology is a sin.

 

[Hoshiyya]

Abraham gave prophecy using astrological signs, and because of that astrology is called Abraham's sin; although astrology had nothing to do with Abraham's prophecies. The stories were passed on to Jacob and to his son Joseph. Joseph may have been the one to record these stories in one of the pyramids. Using astrological signs to tell a story is not a sin. Astronomy is not a sin, Astrology is a sin.

Which prophecy are you referring to ?
And are you saying Abraham originated the twelve Zodiacal symbols ?

 

[GuardianShua]

Which prophecy are you referring to ?
And are you saying Abraham originated the twelve Zodiacal symbols ?

The tribal signs are Israel originally. Since the days of Joseph Pagans have changed the stories. Such things are for prophets of God.

Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

 

[MessianicMommy]

You might like this: Wisdom in the Hebrew Months (Artscroll)


If you search this area of the forum for Mazzaroth or other permutations of that word spelled phonetically, I believe you will find what you're looking for.

 

[pat34lee]

Genesis 1:14 says that the stars are there for signs. Like the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem, they can signal important times and events. The problem is trying to use them to foretell the future, especially one's personal future, as in the horoscope. That is divining, which is forbidden.

 

[RisingSpirit]

... Astronomy is not a sin, Astrology is a sin.

Why is Astrology is a sin?

 

[yonah_mishael]

Abraham gave prophecy using astrological signs, and because of that astrology is called Abraham's sin; although astrology had nothing to do with Abraham's prophecies. The stories were passed on to Jacob and to his son Joseph. Joseph may have been the one to record these stories in one of the pyramids. Using astrological signs to tell a story is not a sin. Astronomy is not a sin, Astrology is a sin.

I just don't get where you come up with your claims.

 

[Hoshiyya]

The tribal signs are Israel originally. Since the days of Joseph Pagans have changed the stories. Such things are for prophets of God.

Isaiah 8:18
Here am I, and the children the Lord has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the Lord Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.

So are you saying their Zodiac originally consisted of twelve symbols associated with the tribes (from Jacob's prophecy) as opposed to Virgo, Gemini, Pisces, etc?

 

[Hoshiyya]

Genesis 1:14 says that the stars are there for signs. Like the star that led the wise men to Bethlehem, they can signal important times and events. The problem is trying to use them to foretell the future, especially one's personal future, as in the horoscope. That is divining, which is forbidden.

I agree.
However, I found that some old synagogues and Jewish art contains pictures of the traditional Zodiac.

"Mosaic pavement of a 6th century synagogue at Beth Alpha, Jezreel Valley, northern Israel. It was discovered in 1928. Signs of the zodiac surround the central chariot of the Sun (a Greek motif), while the corners depict the 4 "turning points" ("tekufot") of the year, solstices and equinoxes, each named for the month in which it occurs--tequfah of Tishrei, (tequfah of Tevet), tequfah of Ni(san), tequfah of Tamuz."

File:Beit Alpha.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Steve Petersen]

If you read Genesis 49, I think you will find MANY references to various constellations.