Sermon Tone Analysis

The Elephantine Letters

 

The twenty-one double dated Elephantine letters provide a unique opportunity to precisely establish absolute dates for events occurring during the reigns of some of the kings of Babylon and Persia, including the return of Ezra’s priests to Jerusalem’s Temple.

These letters, most written in Aramaic, were written between individuals in Jerusalem, Babylon, and the Nile island of Elephantine in Egypt.

The letters include dates using both the observed calendar and the Egyptian calendar during the period between 485 BC to 351 BC.

These years are important because they coincide with the rebuilding of the second Temple in Jerusalem.

Because the Egyptian calendar cited by the writers of these letters is a well known fixed-length calendar, each year has exactly 365 days, it is easy to use the Egyptian calendar date to compute the equivalent Julian calendar date for each letter.

The challenge is in matching the known date for each letter to the observed lunar calendar date also specified in each letter.

Modern scholars have failed to reconcile all of the Elephantine letters.

This is because they are using the wrong rules to compute the observed calendar dates.

Thus they fail to match the Egyptian date that is also specified in each document.

At this writing, this author is the only researcher who has succeeded in matching all of the double dated Elephantine letters.

All letters indeed match when using the same observed calendar rules throughout the 134 year period.

This is significant.

By matching all letters, firm evidence is established that the ancient observed calendar was based upon a defined and unwavering set of simple rules, and that the same observed calendar was used by the governing officials of Persia, including Jerusalem's Temple priests, throughout the entire Asia Minor region.

Some may not be aware that Elephantine is historically extremely significant.

The significance of the Elephantine Island in the Nile river is that Israel had a huge and fully functioning Temple of YHWH built on this island.

In this Temple they kept the Mowadahs of YHWH and the sacrificial ceremonies for hundreds of years.

In this Temple the Levitical priests of Israel proclaimed and presided over the Mowadahs during the time when Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, and later they held the Mowadahs in parallel with the Second Temple, until the time Elephantine was destroyed.

As a matter of historical record, *the demonstration herein that both Temples of YHWH used the exact same calendar is monumental in its significance*.

Following is a list of the Elephantine letters, with the corresponding Julian Dates.

All computations were performed by the software product: "Interactive Astronomy and Historical Calendars Reconstruction", offered by this author through Z2 Computer Solutions, 2254 NE Tucson Way, Bend, OR 97701 (www.z2cs.com).

Some Background Information:

The Egyptian fixed-length calendar always has 365 day years, each month has 30 days, with a 13th "month" having only five days (each day was a holy day).

The correlation between this Egyptian calendar and the Julian Day Numbering system has been verified by thousands of artifacts, and is not in dispute.

*The Julian Day = 1448242 + 365Y + 30M + D*

*where Egyptian date (Y,M,D) = (1,1,1) is Julian date 2~/26~/-746 00h:00m:00s GMT.*

 

Names of Months Used In Letters:

            Egyptian                             Babylon            Jewish ~/ Syrian

1                            Thoth               Nisanu              Nisan                     1

2                            Phaophi            Aiaru                Iyyar                      2

3                            Athyr                Simanu             Sivan                      3

4                            Choiak             Duzu                Tammus                 4

5                            Tybi                 Abu                  Ab                         5

6          II PRT        Mechir             Ululu                Elul             6

7          III PRT      Phamenoth       Tashritu            Tishri                      7

8                            Pharmuthi         Arahsamnu       Marcheshvan          8

9          I SMW      Pachons           Kislimu             Kislev                     9

10                          Payni                Tebetu              Tebeth                    10

11                          Epiphi               Shabatu            Shebat                    11

12                          Mesore            Addaru             Adar                      12

13                          Epagomense(5 days long)         Adar II                   13

 

 

Reigns of Kings:

It is very important to understand how the ancients determined the year of a king's reign.

The Egyptians incremented a king's reign on Thoth 1, which was around the first two weeks of December in the time-frame of these letters.

Another counting used the Egyptian Sothic Calendar, which incremented around July 20 in the time-frame of these letters.

The Persians incremented a king's reign on Nisan 1, which was in March or April.

\\ The Elephantine Letters:

 

Papyrus     Egyptian            Jewish                    Reign                                                      Matching Julian

No.              Date                    Date                        Of king                                                   Date

 

C  10       THOT   4                KISL     7                Yr  9 (Egyptian) Artaxerxes III

                01~/04~/398               9~/7                                                           1593545.75

(w=5) 11~/22~/-350

Written after sunset.

Letter Ya`uhan to Meshullam b.

Zaccur.

Kr 10       CHOI   8 ADAR    20            Yr  3 (Egyptian) Artaxerxes II

                04~/08~/346               12~/20                                                       1574659.75

(w=5) 03~/09~/-401

                Evidence that they waited for the spring new crescent,

                and did not use the alleged "Spring Passover Rule".

Letter references Anani b.

Azariah.

Kr  9        MESO  29              MARC    24           Yr  1 (Persian) Artaxerxes II

                12~/29~/344               8~/24                                                         1574190.75

(w=5) 11~/25~/-403

Intercalated Adar II, not allowing a Nisan having its first 15 days in the winter.

Written after sunset.

Letter references Anani b.

Azariah.

AP 28     ATHY   9               SHEB    24              Yr 14 Egyptian, 13 Persian Darius II

                03~/09~/338               11~/24                                                       1571710.75

(w=3) 02~/10~/-409

                Written after sunset.

Letter references Yedoniah and Mehseiah, sons of Nathan, in Egypt.

AP 25     THOT  12               KISL     3                Yr  9 Egyptian, 8 Persian Darius II

                01~/12~/333               9~/03                                                         1569828.75

(w=4) 12~/16~/-415

A Babylonian Tablet shows 3~/25~/-415 was an Adar II.

This year was a very close call.

They could have determined the observed spring equinox to be either on the 2nd or the 3rd day of the month in question.

They did intercalate, waiting a full month for Nisan.

Also, notice that the whole region was unified by a single determination.

Written after sunset.

Letter Yedoniah b.

Uriah to Yedoniah and Mehseiah, sons of Nathan (whoes mother was Mibtahiah).

Kr  6        PHAR   8                TAMU     8            Yr  3 (Sothic) Darius II

                08~/08~/328               4~/08                                                         1568209.75

(w=2) 07~/11~/-419

Nothing special about calendar computations.

Letter references Anani b.

Azariah.

Kr  5        PHAM   7              SIVA    20              Yr 38 (Persian) Artaxerxes I

                07~/07~/321               3~/20                                                         1565623.75

(w=6) 06~/12~/-426

Did not intercalate, but allowed observed spring to fall on Nisan 2.

Letter references Meshullam b.

Zakkur, Haggai, and Micaiah b.

Ahio.

Kr  4        EPIP  25                  TISH    25               Yr 31 (Persian) Artaxerxes I               

                11~/25~/314               7~/25                                                         1563206.75

(w=4) 10~/30~/-433

Intercalated the crescent seen 14 days in winter, not allowing the alleged "Spring Passover Rule".

Letter references Ananiah b.

Azariah and Bagazust.

AP  10    THOTH 4               KISLEV 7               Yr [29] (Egyptian) Artaxerxes I

                01~/04~/312               09~/07                                                       1562155.75

(w=3) 12~/13~/-436

Intercalated the crescent seen 11 days in winter, not allowing the alleged "Spring Passover Rule".

A proposed alternative reading         Yr [ 9]     has no match.