Ancient calendars in the Holy Bible had lunar/solar calendar origins. The work at Time Emits develops tools from the three oldest known lunar/solar calendars: Jewish, Mayan and Egyptian. My goal here is to provide an overview that connects the Mayan calendar with the earliest Bible calendar — the Antediluvian Patriarchs. Chapter 5 in Genesis lists the ages of the Antediluvian Patriarchs. The “begat” family of Adam measured time with a lunar/solar calendar similar to the Mayan calendar.
The traditional Jewish lunar/solar calendar measures differences between the moon and sun to intercalate about 209-days over 19-years. Some 7-months add to catch up the lunar-side with the solar-side of the Jewish calendar. The Mayans adapted the same reasoning for a 20-year lunar/solar cycle and embedded the extra 210-days using a different method. I hope to dispel some of the mystery and confusion surrounding the Mayan calendar. Hyphens help to improve phrase clarity.
The Mayan 52-year Calendar Round accomplishes needed intercalary time with a dual year system. The Mayan 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year was part of a 365-day-solar-year. Alongside the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year, a 360-day-Tun-year kept track of civil functions. The 360-day-Tun-year marked the approximate middle point between 12-lunar-months or 354-days, and the 365-day-Haab-solar-year. Following the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year, 105-days more were included to finish the 365-day-Haab-solar-year. Sister cultures such as the Inca and Aztec used an identical system of counting. Inclusively, I call them the Sun Kingdoms’ Calendars, a name typically used to describe the Mesoamerican calendar style.
Mayan astronomer-priests were very good at calculating multiples of days and years. Mayans purposely addressed a 360-day-Tun-civil-year with prefixes in order to lengthen the calendar. Prefixes are the “Katun” that describes 20-Tun-years and the “Baktun”, meaning 400-Tun-years. They multiplied the 20-year lunar/solar cycle by 20-years again, thus squaring time. Multiples of lunar/solar 20-year cycles occur in the form of 20-year Katun cycles and 400-year Baktun cycles. Mesoamerican chronologists accept the 400-year Baktun cycle was an integral part of the Mayan calendar system.
The 365-day-Haab-year and 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year combine to form the Sun Kingdoms’ 52-year cycle, or Calendar Round. The 52-year chronological summit was the cornerstone of the dual calendar system. A complete Calendar Round repeated after 18,980-days. The Calendar Round 52-Tun-civil-years multiply by 360-days to produce 18,720-days. Working like meshed gears, 72-Tzolken-sacred-years of 260-days each multiply to equal the same 18,720-days. The last five special holidays are the Wayeb. The Wayeb separately accrues every year to add the final 260-days in the Calendar Round. One extra 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year adds to 72-sacred-years for 73-Tzolken-sacred-years. Multiplying 73-Tzolken-sacred-years by 260-days per sacred-year gives the equivalent 18,980-days for a Calendar Round. The 52-year Calendar Round equals 73-Tzolken-sacred-years and both equal 18,980-days. The total 52-year Calendar Round is 18,980-days. By this calendar system, only once in 52-years would any day of the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year coincide with any day of the 360-day-Tun-civil-year. A complete Calendar Round would restart again the next dual sequence. Names for gods and their particular meanings often varied across the cultures. Calendar math remained the same.
We insert a fact from the Book of Enoch. Some ancient Jewish sects were using a 364-day calendar year. Information gained from the Dead Sea Scrolls and the three Book(s) of Enoch support the idea of numerical matching. This concept says X-number of days numerically match the same X number of years. A bridge forms between X-days and X-years, where X describes any number of days and years. The Mayan 260-year-Tzolken-sacred-cycle and the 105-year portion develop what I call “cascaded time”.
All lunar/solar calendars are the product of prevailing culture. On the other side of the world, Mesopotamian scribes were recording the Mayan calendar math in what we now call the Holy Bible. They were doubling and dividing calendar time with astonishing accuracy. The 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year numerically matches a 260-year-Tzolken-sacred-cycle. A 365-day-Haab-solar-year numerically matches with 365-years in a Haab-solar-cycle. The 360-day-Tun-year likewise matches a 360-year-Tun-cycle.
Genesis 5:3
“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness,
after his image; and called his name Seth:” (KJV)
Early Bible writers simply divided the 260-year-sacred-cycle in half to get the 130-year age of Adam. A few verses later, we have the principle calendar instrument of the Mayans, the 105-year age of Seth. Lunar/solar calendars distinguish between lunar-side times and solar-side times. The lunar/solar calendar effectively “time-split” 210-years into equal halves, a 105-year lunar-side time split and the opposite 105-year solar-side time split. These lunar/solar calendar tools enable us to comprehend mentioned ages for the Antediluvian Patriarchs.
Genesis 5:6
“And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:” (KJV)
The 260-day-sacred-year divides for two halves, each with 130-days. The 260-year-sacred-cycle also divides for two identical 130-year portions. Regarding the 365-day-solar-year, 105-days remain and for the 365-year-solar-cycle, 105-years remain.
The calendar used to record ages for the Antediluvian Patriarchs includes two patterns of the 400-year Baktun cycle. The next age bracket advances the lunar/solar calendar to the 800-year era. Consider the time mentioned after the birth of Seth, until the death of Adam.
Genesis 5:4
“And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years:
and he begat sons and daughters:” (KJV)
Twice through the 400-year Baktun cycle yields 800-years. In this respect, I develop suitable vocabulary, namely the 800-year Generation Cycle. Twice the 400-year-Baktun-cycle measures one 800-year Generation Cycle. Calendar references for the “begat” genealogy following Adam affix 800-year Generation Cycles in repeating succession to each named character. From Adam through Jared, all Patriarchs include the 800-year Generation Cycle. The Antediluvian Calendar cultivated spirituality of the planetary and star deities found woven into the oldest Mesopotamian cultures.
Lunar/solar calendars use nightly observation and any complete discussion about the Mayan calendar includes the 104-year Venus Round. First accredited to appear in the Dresden Codex, Sun Kingdoms’ Calendars of the Americas exhibit observed practices according to the 104-year Venus Round. Two 52-year Calendar Rounds are equal to one 104-year Venus Round.
The strongest pillar connecting the Mayan Calendar system to the aforementioned Antediluvian Calendar is the transit pathway and surviving mythology surrounding the planet Venus. Repetitive legends and astronomical principles were in place that associate five heliacal risings of Venus every 8-years in the Sun Kingdoms’ religion with the Egyptian god-star, Sirius. The Dresden Codex Venus Table furnishes critical planetary facts regarding Venus. Five pages of the Dresden Codex record heliacal risings for the planet Venus. The famous Aztec mythological figurehead, Quetzalcoatl resurrects to assume his rightful place as the supreme deity. He was the Feathered Serpent that revived the dried bones of the old dead by sprinkling his blood on them. Quetzalcoatl or Venus was the morning star-god of vegetation and fertility. Life, light and visibility oppose death, darkness, and invisibility below the horizon.
Ancients observers noticed the relative positions of Earth, Venus and the Sun recur according to a schedule. Venus orbits the sun 13 times during the period in which the earth orbits the sun 8 times. Venus passes between the earth and the sun every 584-days or 5 times in 8 years. Venus, in astronomical terms, completes five synodic periods in 8 years, or 5 evening and morning star circuits. The synodic interval is the time between two successive conjunctions of a planet (Venus) with the sun. Each synodic period lasts about 1.6 Earth years or 584-days. The Sun Kingdom’s Calendars meticulously track five Venus cycles of 584-days each over 8-Haab-solar-year multiples of 365 days. The true orbit of Venus around the sun is 225-days and should not be confused with Venus’ heliacal rising and observable behavior. The Mayans watched Venus progress in this manner 13 times, which culminated with one 104-year Venus Round.
Observations involving the planet Venus allow deeper inspection of the records seen in chapter 5 of Genesis. Early Israelite history mixes with content drawn from celestial deities. Our Holy Bible draws a natural line connecting astronomy, astrology and calendar systems. The sun, moon, planets and stars are natural timekeepers of the cosmos.
The Mayan version of Seth establishes that a 104-year Venus Round multiplies by a 365-day-Haab-solar-year to attain 37,960-days in the Venus Round. Mesopotamian cultures altered these figures slightly. Seth in Egyptian mythology is a male god similar to the Old Testament Baals. The Biblical Astarte or Astaroth is the female fertility consort to the Babylonian Baal. Standing stones symbolized Baal or Bel, and his alias names: Baalat, Molech or Marduk. A bull frequently represents Baal/Seth.. Ishtar is the proper Babylonian name for the Canaanite goddess Astarte, Asherah or Astaroth. Ishtar was associated with the planet Venus as the bright morning star. Her Sumerian name is Inanna. Later the Greeks would caller her Aphrodite and the Romans by the common name of today, Venus. She equates to the Greek Europa and Isis, the female fertility goddess and consort to Osirius in Egyptian mythology.
Planet Venus was the bright morning star throughout the ancient world. In Mesoamerica, Venus was a powerful male deity. Kukulatin or Quetzalcoatl dominated the Mayan pantheon. Mesopotamian religion, through all stages and phases, usually worshipped planet Venus in the feminine gender. Lunar relationships between 19-year or 20-year lunar/solar cycles likely shifted patronage of the archetypal figure from masculine to feminine. Transference to the female goddess occurs for couples supplanting the godhead or vise versa. Ishtar/Inanna shared the Baal time control over 105-days of solar-side time split for any 20-year lunar/solar cycle. Hence, 105-years of solar-side time split followed suit for any 400-year-Baktun-cycle. The 104-year Venus Cycle naturally substantiates 105-years of solar-side time split when we engage the resurrection story. Ishtar/Baal, Isis/Seth and the other examples are contingent upon the heliacal risings of Venus. The Antediluvian Calendar, an artifact initiated from naked-eye human observation, stretches onward for hundreds and thousands of years.
We must remember those preserving the precious knowledge down through history. Intrepid copyists traversed desert and mountain alongside brethren in the clan. Librarians at Nineveh compiled and saved many cuneiform tablets. Artists at ceremonial centers painstakingly carved the legacy into stone for all to see. Tireless monks working in dimly medieval rooms spent their entire lives translating and revising their interpretations of sacred scripture. Everyone agreed that to permit any errors would profane the sacred message they sought to protect. Modern printing presses and computers are the medium of exchange today.
Most attempts at past world chronology backtrack in order to date the ancient past. Since advances by the Roman Empire, the secular western world and most of Christendom uses a solar calendar. Only in the last 50-years or so, have archeologists in South and Central America been able to decipher relevant calendar inscriptions.
A calendar system that arose in Mesopotamia at least 5000 years ago transfers to the new world by seafaring travelers. The moon, sun, Sirius, Venus and even Jupiter were all key celestial players in this Antediluvian Calendar system. The calendar was lunar/solar based and specific time cycles included 210-days of lunar/solar separation time during every 19-year or 20-year cycle. They graduated lunar/solar reckoning to reach 400-years by squaring 20-years. The Mayan calendar asserts a 400-year Baktun cycle today. Early astronomers found that the planet Venus adhered to a visible 104-year cycle.
Numerical matching of X-days with X-years stems from a 364-day calendar year. A 364-day calendar year was easier to implement, leaving one day every year open for numerically matching X-days with X-years. Lunar/solar separation time became 210-years for every 400-year Baktun cycle. Time splitting divides 210-years in two equal halves and attributes 105-years to the lunar-side and 105-years to the solar-side. The Mayan Venus Round is incremented by matching 1-day and 1-year. The Mayan 104-year Venus Round adapts from 105-years in Mesopotamia. Seth’s 105-year age begets Enos to answer a 105-year solar-side time split and the Venus issue simultaneously. Going further, two 400-year Baktun cycles add together to produce a repeating 800-year Generation Cycle.
The ages of Adam and Seth reveal a discovery that may change how archeologists address traditional chronology. Calendar systems map world chronology according to different beginnings. Some follow Jewish tradition and put the Creation date at 5,766 years ago or about 3,761 years B.C. Others credit Archbishop Ussher with calculating in 1,701 A.D. that Creation took place in 4,004 B.C. The Egyptian Calendar begins between 4,236 B.C. and 4,241 B.C., along with Egyptian mythology explaining the world’s creation. Starting dates depend on star observation in Egypt, since that is the only way primal society had to mark calendar years. Another plan estimates the starting Mayan Calendar date to be 3,113 B.C. Shared calendar characteristics enable deeper inspection of prehistoric time reckoning. Sacred texts and current science provide clues needed to reconstruct the oldest Biblical history. Important traits gathered from past calendar time streams become woven together to obtain hybrid insight. Three ancient calendar systems form the world’s oldest trunk line of calendar science. God used a lunar/solar calendar to write listed ages for the Antediluvian Patriarchs. The family of Adam heralds new chronology from the earliest time.
I feel the need to recognize this material was the ancient religion. Ideas and fixations worshipped eons ago give us broader historical appreciation. Countless people lived to uphold paramount holidays prescribed by their calendar. The Jewish calendar still appoints feasts and festivals in modern times. Mesoamerican celebrations carry heritage that teaches visitors the ancient spirituality. Babylonian astrology and astronomy give us an early view of scientific disciplines. Egyptology continues to amaze everyone with spectacular finds. Finally, the impact of the Holy Bible is far and ranging upon modern society. Scholars and theologians have scoured these scriptures and written volumes. I raise more questions than answers.
I look at the same Antediluvian ages in a different light. The perspective offered by lunar/solar calendars imparts new interpretations. Some help comes from published Sun Kingdoms’ calendar information. Other pieces come from alternative sacred texts such as the Book of Enoch and Book of Jubilees. I strive to maintain accepted terminology where applicable. Keeping geographical lore and religious principles in mind, we are able to employ lunar/solar calendars that penetrate to the past extreme. The Antediluvian Patriarchs provide historians with a calendar sequence lasting literally thousands of years. Our task is to understand the system they once used.
Are you a pastor, educator or a student of the Holy Bible? Timeemits.com seeks anointed people to review and contribute to the Ages of Adam ministry. Ancient lunar/solar calendars like the Jewish and Mayan calendars provide the background to understanding early time. Ancient calendars of the Holy Bible use differences between the moon and sun, numerical matching and a 364-day calendar year to describe X-number of days that match with X-number of years.
Ages of Adam is a free read at http://www.timeemits.com.
Clark Nelson is webmaster for http://www.timeemits.com and author of Ages of Adam. Contact article@timeemits.com for more information.
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