As background to further exploration of this “Signs, Seasons, Days, and Years” series, below is a table gleaned from The Book of the Courses of the Heavenly Luminaries (LXXII-LXXXII)1 that purports to be a record of Enoch, father of Methuselah, and a prime character in Pearl of Great Price | Moses, chapters 6-8. Could there be truths in these descriptions to help us sort out the signs, seasons, days, years, and calendar despite the changes, corruptions, and disruptions over time and catastrophe? Over a period of study, will these descriptions by Enoch match observation? (All bold emphasis in paragraphs is added.)
1. The book of the courses of the luminaries of the heaven, the relations of each, according to their classes, their dominion and their seasons, according to their names and places of origin, and according to their months, which Uriel, the holy angel, who was with me, who is their guide, showed me; and he showed me all their laws exactly as they are, and how it is with regard to all the years of the world and unto eternity, till the new creation is accomplished which dureth till eternity.Summary of the Laws of “CHAPTER LXXII. The Sun.3
2. And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven, and its setting in the western portals of the heaven.
3. And I saw six portals in which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following each other in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the right and left of these portals.
4. And first there goes forth the great luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating and heating fire. ...
7. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in their season.2
CHAPTER LXXIII. [The Moon]---------------------------------/
1. And after this law I saw another law dealing with the smaller luminary, which is named the Moon.
2. And her circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and her chariot in which she rides is driven by the wind, and light is given to her in (definite) measure.
3. And her rising and setting change every month: and her days are like the days of the sun, and when her light is uniform (i.e. full) it amounts to the seventh part of the light of the sun.
4. And thus she rises. And her first phase in the east comes forth on the thirtieth morning: and on that day she becomes visible, and constitutes for you the first phase of the moon on the thirtieth day together with the sun in the portal where the sun rises.
5. And the one half of her goes forth by a seventh part, and her whole circumference is empty, without light, with the exception of one-seventh part of it, (and) the fourteenth part of her light.
6. And when she receives one-seventh part of the half of her light, her light amounts to one-seventh part and the half thereof.
7. And she sets with the sun, and when the sun rises the moon rises with him and receives the half of one part of light, and in that night in the beginning of her morning [in the commencement of the lunar day] the moon sets with the sun, and is invisible that night with the fourteen parts and the half of one of them.
8. And she rises on that day with exactly a seventh part, and comes forth and recedes from the rising of the sun, and in her remaining days she becomes bright in the (remaining) thirteen parts.4
CHAPTER LXXIV.
1. And I saw another course, a law for her, (and) how according to that law she performs her monthly revolution.
2. And all these Uriel, the holy angel who is the leader of them all, showed to me, and their positions, and I wrote down their positions as he showed them to me, and I wrote down their months as they were, and the appearance of their lights till fifteen days were accomplished.
3. In single seventh parts she accomplishes all her light in the east, and in single seventh parts accomplishes all her darkness in the west.
4. And in certain months she alters her settings, and in certain months she pursues her own peculiar course.
5. In two months the moon sets with the sun: in those two middle portals the third and the fourth.5
CHAPTER LXXV.
1. And the leaders of the heads of the thousands, who are placed over the whole creation and over all the stars, have also to do with the four intercalary days, being inseparable from their office, according to the reckoning of the year, and these render service on the four days which are not reckoned in the reckoning of the year.
2. And owing to them men go wrong therein, for those luminaries truly render service on the world-stations, one in the first portal, one in the third portal of the heaven, one in the fourth portal, and one in the sixth portal, and the exactness of the year is accomplished through its separate three hundred and sixty-four stations.
3. For the signs and the times and the years and the days the angel Uriel showed to me, whom the Lord of glory hath set for ever over all the luminaries of the heaven, in the heaven and in the world, that they should rule on the face of the heaven and be seen on the earth, and be leaders for the day and the night, i.e. the sun, moon, and stars, and all the ministering creatures which make their revolution in all the chariots of the heaven.
4. In like manner twelve doors Uriel showed me, open in the circumference of the sun's chariot in the heaven, through which the rays of the sun break forth: and from them is warmth diffused over the earth, when they are opened at their appointed seasons.
5. [And for the winds and the spirit of the dew† when they are opened, standing open in the heavens at the ends.]
6. As for the twelve portals [east and west] in the heaven, at the ends of the earth, out of which go forth the sun, moon, and stars, and all the works of heaven in the east and in the west.
7. There are many windows open to the left and right of them, and one window at its (appointed) season produces warmth, corresponding (as these do) to those doors from which the stars come forth according as He has commanded them, and wherein they set corresponding to their number.
8. And I saw chariots in the heaven, running in the world, above those portals in which revolve the stars that never set.
9. And one is larger than all the rest, and it is that that makes its course through the entire world. 6
CHAPTER LXXVI.
The Twelve Windows and their Portals
1 And at the ends of the earth I saw twelve portals open to all the quarters (of the heaven), from which the winds go forth and blow over the earth.
2. Three of them are open on the face (i.e. the east) of the heavens, and three in the west, and three on the right (i.e. the south) of the heaven, and three on the left (i.e. the north).
3. And the three first are those of the east, and three are of †the north, and three [after those on the left] of the south†, and three of the west.
4. Through four of these come winds of blessing and prosperity, and from those eight come hurtful winds: when they are sent, they bring destruction on all the earth and on the water upon it, and on all who dwell thereon, and on everything which is in the water and on the land.
5. And the first wind from those portals, called the east wind, comes forth through the first portal which is in the east, inclining towards the south: from it come forth desolation, drought, heat, and destruction.
6. And through the second portal in the middle comes what is fitting, and from it there come rain and fruitfulness and prosperity and dew; and through the third portal which lies toward the north come cold and drought.
7. And after these come forth the south winds through three portals: through the first portal of them inclining to the east comes forth a hot wind.
8. And through the middle portal next to it there come forth fragrant smells, and dew and rain, and prosperity and health.
9. And through the third portal lying to the west come forth dew and rain, locusts and desolation.
10. And after these the north winds: from the seventh portal in the east come dew and rain, locusts and desolation.
11. And from the middle portal come in a direct direction health and rain and dew and prosperity; and through the third portal in the west come cloud and hoar-frost, and snow and rain, and dew and locusts.
12. And after these [four] are the west winds: through the first portal adjoining the north come forth dew and hoar-frost, and cold and snow and frost. And from the middle portal come forth dew and rain, and prosperity and blessing; and through the last portal which adjoins the south come forth drought and desolation, and burning and destruction.
14. And the twelve portals of the four quarters of the heaven are therewith completed, and and all their laws and all their plagues and all their benefactions have I shown to thee, my son Methuselah.7
CHAPTER LXXVIII.
The Sun and Moon: the Waxing and Waning of the Moon.
1. And the names of the sun are the following: the first Orjârês, and the second Tômâs.
2. And the moon has four names: the first name is Asônjâ, the second Eblâ, the third Benâsê, and the fourth Erâe.
3. These are the two great luminaries: their circumference is like the circumference of the heaven, and the size of the circumference of both is alike.
4. In the circumference of the sun there are seven portions of light which are added to it more than to the moon, and in definite measures it is s transferred till the seventh portion of the sun is exhausted.
5. And they set and enter the portals of the west, and make their revolution by the north, and come forth through the eastern portals on the face of the heaven.
6. And when the moon rises one-fourteenth part appears in the heaven: ⌈ the light becomes full in her ⌉: on the fourteenth day she accomplishes her light.
7. And fifteen parts of light are transferred to her till the fifteenth day (when) her light is accomplished, according to the sign of the year, and she becomes fifteen parts, and the moon grows by (the addition of) fourteenth parts.
8. And in her waning (the moon) decreases on the first day to fourteen parts of her light, on the second to thirteen parts of light, on the third to twelve, on the fourth to eleven, on the fifth to ten, on the sixth to nine, on the seventh to eight, on the eighth to seven, on the ninth to six, on the tenth to five, on the eleventh to four, on the twelfth to three, on the thirteenth to two, on the fourteenth to the half of a seventh, and all her remaining light disappears wholly on the fifteenth.
9. And in certain months the month has twenty-nine days and once twenty-eight.
10. And Uriel showed me another law: when light is transferred to the moon, and on which side it is transferred to her by the sun.
11. During all the period during which the moon is growing in her light, she is transferring it to herself when opposite to the sun during fourteen days [her light is accomplished in the heaven], and when she is illumined throughout, her light is accomplished full in the heaven.
12. And on the first day she is called the new moon, for on that day the light rises upon her.
13. She becomes full moon exactly on the day when the sun sets in the west, and from the east she rises at night, and the moon shines the whole night through till the sun rises over against her and the moon is seen over against the sun.
14. On the side whence the light of the moon comes forth, there again she wanes till all the light vanishes and all the days of the month are at an end, and her circumference is empty, void of light.
15. And three months she makes of thirty days, and at her time she makes three months of twenty-nine days each, in which she accomplishes her waning in the first period of time, and in the first portal for one hundred and seventy-seven days.
16. And in the time of her going out she appears for three months (of) thirty days each, and for three months she appears (of) twenty-nine each.
17. At night she appears like a man for twenty days each time, and by day she appears like the heaven, and there is nothing else in her save her light.8
CHAPTER LXXXII.
Charge given to Enoch: the four Intercalary Days: the Stars which lead the Seasons and the Months.
1. And now, my son Methuselah, all these things I am recounting to thee and writing down for thee, and I have revealed to thee everything, and given thee books concerning all these: so preserve, my son Methuselah, the books from thy father's hand, and (see) that thou deliver them to the generations of the world.
2. I have given Wisdom to thee and to thy children, [And thy children that shall be to thee], That they may give it to their children for generations, This wisdom (namely) that passeth their thought.
3. And those who understand it shall not sleep,
4. Blessed are all the righteous, blessed are all those who walk in the way of righteousness and sin not as the sinners, in the reckoning of all their days in which the sun traverses the heaven, entering into and departing from the portals for thirty days with the heads of thousands of the order of the stars, together with the four which are intercalated which divide the four portions of the year, which lead them and enter with them four days.
5. Owing to them men shall be at fault and not reckon them in the whole reckoning of the year: yea, men shall be at fault, and not recognize them accurately.
6. For they belong to the reckoning of the year and are truly recorded (thereon) for ever, one in the first portal and one in the third, and one in the fourth and one in the sixth, and the year is completed in three hundred and sixty-four days.
7. And the account thereof is accurate and the recorded reckoning thereof exact; for the luminaries, and months and festivals, and years and days, has Uriel shown and revealed to me, to whom the Lord of the whole creation of the world hath subjected the host of heaven.
8. And he has power over night and day in the heaven to cause the light to give light to men--sun, moon, and stars, and all the powers of the heaven which revolve in their circular chariots.
9. And these are the orders of the stars, which set in their places, and in their seasons and festivals and months.
10. And these are the names of those who lead them, who watch that they enter at their times, in their orders, in their seasons, in their months, in their periods of dominion, and in their positions.
11. Their four leaders who divide the four parts of the year enter first; and after them the twelve leaders of the orders who divide the months; and for the three hundred and sixty (days) there are heads over thousands who divide the days; and for the four intercalary days there are the leaders which sunder the four parts of the year.
12. And these heads over thousands are intercalated between leader and leader, each behind a station, but their leaders make the division. And these are the names of the leaders who divide the four parts of the year which are ordained: Mîlkî’êl, Hel’emmêlêk, and Mêl’êjal, and Nârêl.
13. And the names of those who lead them: Adnâr’êl, and Îjâsûsa’êl, and ’Elômê’êl--these three follow the leaders of the orders, and there is one that follows the three leaders of the orders which follow those leaders of stations that divide the four parts of the year.
14. [missing or mis-numbered]
15. In the beginning of the year Melkejâl rises first and rules, who is named †Tam’âinî† and sun, and all the days of his dominion whilst he bears rule are ninety-one days.
16. And these are the signs of the days which are to be seen on earth in the days of his dominion: sweat, and heat, and calms; and all the trees bear fruit, and leaves are produced on all the trees, and the harvest of wheat, and the rose-flowers, and all the flowers which come forth in the field, but the trees of the winter season become withered.
17. And these are the names of the leaders which are under them: Berka’êl, Zêlebs’êl, and another who is added a head of a thousand, called Hîlûjâsĕph: and the days of the dominion of this (leader) are at an end.
18. The next leader after him is Hêl’emmêlêk, whom one names the shining sun, and all the days of his light are ninety-one days.
19. And these are the signs of (his) days on the earth: glowing heat and dryness, and the trees ripen their fruits and produce all their fruits ripe and ready, and the sheep pair and become pregnant, and all the fruits of the earth are gathered in, and everything that is in the fields, and the winepress: these things take place in the days of his dominion.
20. These are the names, and the orders, and the leaders of those heads of thousands: Gîdâ’îjal, Kê’êl, and Hê’êl, and the name of the head of a thousand which is added to them, Asfâ’êl’: and the days of his dominion are at an end.9
1. Anonymous, Enoch. The Book of Enoch: The Complete Collection (Translation and commentary by R.H. Charles) (Alpha Centauri Religion 9201) (Kindle Locations 2500-2502). Alpha Centauri Publishers. Kindle Edition.(
Also accessible at https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Enoch_%28Charles%29
Other info at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch#The_Astronomical_Book
2. Anonymous, Enoch. The Book of Enoch: The Complete Collection (Translation and commentary by R.H. Charles) (Alpha Centauri Religion 9201) (Kindle Locations 2504-2522). Alpha Centauri Publishers. Kindle Edition.
3. Ibid. (Kindle Location 2503). (Table was prepared September 11-12, 2022 by SMS from data under this heading LXXII. Any miscalculation errors are hers.)
4. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2580-2597).
5. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2598-2606).
6. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2635-2650).
7. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2651-2681).
8. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2717-2737).
9. Ibid. (Kindle Locations 2815-2867).
