Was the resurrection of Jesus similar to Lazarus's resurrection ?

[Joseph D. L.]

It's a false distinction because it says that Jews and Christians only looked to the Old Testament, when they were surrounded by other cults and religions with similar traits to theirs. Why bother hunting for obscure passages that don't even apply to Jesus to begin with?

No, that is not my view at all. It runs much deeper than that, and I have posted probably dozens of times on the forum with material relevant to this issue. The obscure, poorly interpreted passages came late and were justifications after that fact; quite true! But the basis for the death and resurrection of the Messiah does not derive from those; it hails from a long history of interpretation ranging from the bare seeds present in the Law, through developments made in the Prophets and the Writings, and then on to the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Qumran scrolls, the Targumim, and even Josephus (in a way). The rabbinical materials which came still later develop these central interpretations even further, and we can situate the Christian notion of a Messiah figure pretty comfortably in that spectrum of exegesis.

This is just an argument of reduction. Where did the Jews get their ideas? Resurrection wasn't apart of Torah, and only seems to come about after the Babylonian exile. So this is further prove that Jews were influenced by other cultures and that Christians didn't need to only look to the Old Testament for ideas.

There is no illusion of a cultural vacuum, and the Jewish writers were definitely influenced by Greek, Egyptian, and other writers. What I argue for is not cultural (which cultures inspired it?), but rather textual (which texts inspired it?). Which culture those texts came from is of little direct relevance.

With all due respect Ben, that is just absurd. The New Testament quotes pagan poets and plays directly, and even has commonalities with popular Greek novels from the time, so there is zero question as to where their influences are coming from. They're taking from everyone, Jews and Gentiles alike.

Hell, I'm even coming around to MacDonald's theory about Homer and Mark, and if that's true then OT priority is no longer necessary. It becomes secondary, if even that.

Honestly, though, I am not currently up for going through all of that; the range of materials to go through is immense, and much of it depends upon strong and perceptive interpretations, not so much of the Christian writings, but of the Jewish ones.

No interpretations are needed. Osiris was resurrected, and Jesus was resurrected. The similarities the two share are too numerous to be coincidence, and can only be explained by a cultural synthesis between Jews and Egyptians.

[nightshadetwine]

So, for example, Osiris being dead for four days.... I am on a web page which purports to be a translation by Faulkner and two others: https://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/translation.html, and I can find nothing (yet?) about Osiris being dead for four days. Lots and lots of instructions to recite something four times (I mean, lots), but nothing about the duration of Osiris' deathly tenure.

The "three days" motif is a little complicated to me and may not be as clear as some of the other parallels(but that could just be me not having all the information).

The moon was associated with death and resurrection/rebirth and in some sources it was said to be "dead" or "not seen" for three nights and resurrect on the day/night of the new moon. In Egyptian texts the deceased is said to be reborn/resurrected during the New Moon festival.

The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts(SBL Press; Second edition, 2015), James P. Allen

Father Osiris Pepi’s cross-over canal has been opened, the Winding
Canal has flooded. So, father Osiris Pepi will call for the helmsman
and for the one who listens (to commands), and they will ferry
father Osiris Pepi to yonder eastern side of the sky. So, father Osiris
Pepi will go to yonder side of the sky, to [yonder] place [where the gods are born], and father Osiris [Pepi] will be truly born [in
yonder eastern side of the sky], in yonder place where the gods are born.

When this time comes tomorrow, and the time of the third day (from
now), and father Osiris Pepi is the sole star in yonder eastern side of
the sky, he will govern as a god and hear cases like Horus of the Akhet...

How permanent [is that which has been done for you! … ]. The king shall appear
and Paths-Parter shall become exalted with the king on the
day of the new moon.

Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, trans. Faulkner

Spell 6 How great is the monthly festival of the height of heaven, even the festival of the New Moon!

This spell deals with the rebirth of the deceased at this festival.

The Search for God in Ancient Egypt(Cornell University Press, 2001),, Jan Assmann

Lift yourself, Osiris,
first-born son of Geb,
before whom the two Enneads tremble!
The guardian rises before you,
the New Moon Festival is celebrated for you.
so that you may appear at the Month Festival

Plutarch, Moralia, 368B

Moreover, at the time of the new moon in the month of Phamenoth they celebrate a festival to which they give the name of "Osiris's coming to the Moon," and this marks the beginning of the spring.

The Dendera zodiacs as narratives of the myth of Osiris, Isis, and the child Horus(ENiM 8, 2015), Gyula Priskin

In the Graeco-Roman lists of lunar day names the fourth day was also called “the going forth of the sem-priest”, no doubt reflecting the fact that the invisibility of the moon could sometimes last for three days (i.e. the new crescent appears on the evening of the third day)...

...the two most important passages relating to the timeline of the lunar month are the description of the eye of Tebi about the maximum length of the period (three days) during which the moon cannot be seen...

Heraclitus of Ephesus, Commentary on Odyssey XX, Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 3710 col. iii, 7-11

When the moon first appears on the third day, it becomes visible as full moon on the sixteenth.

Jonathan Ben-Dov, Head of All Years: Astronomy and Calendars at Qumran in Their Ancient Context

Numerous reports trace the day on which the moon disappears. According to SAA VII 346, the moon ideally vanishes on day 27 and remains covered for a maximum period of three days.

Theophilus of Antioch, Ad Autolycum 1.13

If you wish to behold a still more marvelous sight, taking place to provide proof of resurrection not only from matters on earth but also from those in heaven, consider the monthly resurrection of the moon, how it wanes, dies, and rises again.

The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries(Routledge, 2001), Manfred Clauss

Creation arises from the death of the bull, who, as a symbol of the Moon, embodies death and rebirth. … The bull's body has been made to allude to the Moon...

Mithras, as the Sun, overcomes the bull, and thereby also the Moon, from earliest times a symbol of death and restoration to life.

Ancient Egyptian Literature Volume III: The Late Period, Miriam Lichteim

May I renew my youth like the moon.

Bojana Mojsov, Osiris: Death and Afterlife of a God

After the chest was buried the death of the god was mourned for three days and nights. During this time it was customary to bury figurines of Osiris, made of earth, corn, and vegetable paste, in the ground. Three images were made, symbolizing his dead, re-membered, and risen body... The festival culminated with the celebration of the resurrection. The pillar of Osiris–-the ancient symbol of the harvesters–-was erected in the temple court to the jubilant rejoicing of the assembled crowds and the living image of the resurrected one brought out on a portable boat and displayed. The Egyptian phrase for a religious festival was “god’s appearance.” Merriment and dancing concluded the weeklong gathering. Ikernofret, an official at the court of Senusret III, wrote the earliest account of the festival.

I'm not sure what source Bojana Mojsov is using for the "three days/nights" motif in the above quote, I'm assuming the Ikernofret stela and maybe Plutarch?

I know that's a lot of quotes from a bunch of different sources but as you can see, there seems to be a tradition of the moon dying and resurrecting and being "dead" for three days/nights. So I think it's possible that there may be some kind of connection between the moon and these myths about deities being dead or hidden/missing for three days/nights(Jonah, Inanna, possibly Osiris, Jesus). I know it seems kind of speculative but I may also not have or be aware of all the information/sources that Joseph D.L. has.

[Joseph D. L.]

No, I'm going off the same sources as well.

I fully admit that the texts themselves note a three day period, but how this is calculated is a matter of dispute. Example all the festival calendars that I am aware of (Abydos and Denderah, yeah all two of them!) have a four day period when Osiris goes missing and when he is found. If I remember correctly Antiochus of Athens likewise posits another discrepancy when calculating the winter solstice, he says it lasts for three days, yet technically he only has a two day period.

The Lazarus episode is in all probability based on the festival performances, in which case the four day discrepancy would be readily observable.

[nightshadetwine]

No, I'm going off the same sources as well.

I fully admit that the texts themselves note a three day period, but how this is calculated is a matter of dispute. Example all the festival calendars that I am aware of (Abydos and Denderah, yeah all two of them!) have a four day period when Osiris goes missing and when he is found. If I remember correctly Antiochus of Athens likewise posits another discrepancy when calculating the winter solstice, he says it lasts for three days, yet technically he only has a two day period.

The Lazarus episode is in all probability based on the festival performances, in which case the four day discrepancy would be readily observable.

Yeah, the "three days/nights" and "on the fourth day" can get kind of confusing. I think it's pretty much the same thing though.

[Charles Wilson]

I fully admit that the texts themselves note a three day period, but how this is calculated is a matter of dispute.

The Lazarus episode is in all probability based on the festival performances, in which case the four day discrepancy would be readily observable.

Tuesday night to Wednesday
Wednesday Night to Thursday
Thursday Night to Friday

Weekly Sabbath

Three days and three nights. NOTE!: The problem only arises if the author is not certain if Passover is the first day of the Feast or if there is Passover and then the First Day of the Feast :

John 19: 31 (RSV):

[31] Since it was the day of Preparation, in order to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the sabbath (for that sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

"...for that sabbath was a high day"

Mark 14:

[12] And on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where will you have us go and prepare for you to eat the passover?"

UH-OHH!!!

[Joseph D. L.]

No, I'm going off the same sources as well.

I fully admit that the texts themselves note a three day period, but how this is calculated is a matter of dispute. Example all the festival calendars that I am aware of (Abydos and Denderah, yeah all two of them!) have a four day period when Osiris goes missing and when he is found. If I remember correctly Antiochus of Athens likewise posits another discrepancy when calculating the winter solstice, he says it lasts for three days, yet technically he only has a two day period.

The Lazarus episode is in all probability based on the festival performances, in which case the four day discrepancy would be readily observable.

Yeah, the "three days/nights" and "on the fourth day" can get kind of confusing. I think it's pretty much the same thing though.

I wonder if there could be a deeper connection between Judaism's and Egypt's use of the lunar calendar? After all, both Osiris and Elohim are by and large lunar gods, or gods represented by the moon, and both are vital for the marking of seasons and agriculture. And we already have evidence of a history of Osiris worship in Palestine during the Hellenistic period. Did anyone ever double check Price's claim that YHWH was a dying and rising god? Jews even had a Temple right next to a temple of the god Khnum in Egypt, who like YHWH crafted man from clay, imbuing in them the Ka. Iah was also the moon god and Egypt and is phonetically similar to YHWH, Jah. Jews even had a temple in Heliopolis that survived up to 73 ad. So Jews, especially in Egypt, are keenly aware of the worship of strange gods.

[Joseph D. L.]

Charles, that's not what the problem here is. The problem is whether you want to count the day of the death together with the following three days.

Jesus dies on Good Friday and then is resurrected Easter Sunday morning. Not only is that not three days, it's not even two days. It's just over forty hours. Yet Good Friday is counted as its own day, then Saturday, then Easter Sunday. Presto! Three days!

And that just adds another layer. The Jewish calendar marks days from sunset to sunset, yet Jesus dies at noon on Good Friday, then Saturday begins that evening, and then Easter Sunday/Passover begins Saturday evening. It's such a mess, and I don't get paid to keep up with this. >:S

[Charles Wilson]

It's such a mess, and I don't get paid to keep up with this. >:S

1. I agree. We should all get paid for all the Good Work we do here, like a Small Bidness Grant or a Bailout like with Wells Fargo, Division of Satan's Bank.

2. "Ah feeel yer PAYNE." Actually, it's worse than that, in that there are 2 Crucifixions, one in the Synoptics and one in GJohn. 'N no, they cannot be reconciled. 'N the one in GJohn reinstates Human Sacrifice with "Jesus" being Transvalued as the "Paschal Lamb".

3. I ain't being argumentative with you. "For Inspection Purposes Only".

Your points are well taken. There IS a problem with the whole Enterprise.
The Lazarus Problem is critical as well. "Jesus" does the Lazarus thing six days before Passover. He is Ritually Unclean. And so on...

I ain't argyin'. The question is, can a non-contradictory Story be constructed that doesn't go off the rails, as Giuseppe's stuff does. If you are trying to construct such a Story with the events being something like ding-an-sich as given, you are doomed to fail.

The Jewish Thinkers would modify to fit the situation such as modifying the Day of Atonement to not fall on either side of the Sabbath so as not to have two adjacent Fast Days. Christianity, once the Holy Descriptions are given, must rely on Tortuous Apologetix ^R.

Keep moving forward.

[nightshadetwine]

I wonder if there could be a deeper connection between Judaism's and Egypt's use of the lunar calendar? After all, both Osiris and Elohim are by and large lunar gods, or gods represented by the moon, and both are vital for the marking of seasons and agriculture. And we already have evidence of a history of Osiris worship in Palestine during the Hellenistic period. Did anyone ever double check Price's claim that YHWH was a dying and rising god? Jews even had a Temple right next to a temple of the god Khnum in Egypt, who like YHWH crafted man from clay, imbuing in them the Ka. Iah was also the moon god and Egypt and is phonetically similar to YHWH, Jah. Jews even had a temple in Heliopolis that survived up to 73 ad. So Jews, especially in Egypt, are keenly aware of the worship of strange gods.

I've done a little bit of research into YHWH being a dying and rising god. The closest thing I've been able to find is his association with the Egyptian sun god. A verse in Psalm 19 mentions YHWH rising like the sun god but doesn't say anything about him dying like the sun god.

The Invention of God(Harvard University Press, 2015), Thomas Römer

SOLAR TRAITS OF YHWH AT JERUSALEM

As Yhwh grew in importance, he took over traits and functions of the sun god with whom up to that time he had shared the Temple of Jerusalem. Probably the influence of Egyptian religious conceptions, among other factors, explains the importance of the cult of a sun god at Jerusalem. The transfer of solar traits to Yhwh is visible in theophoric proper names in use during this period, in the iconography, and in the descriptions of manifestations of Yhwh.

A certain number of proper names are constructed from the root '- w- r (“shine, gleam, light”)— for instance, Ûriyyah (“Yhwh is my light”), the name of one of David’s generals, but also of a priest in the Persian era, or Neriyyahû (“Yhwh is my lamp”), the name of the father of the scribe Baruch, or finally Yizrayah (“Yhwh gleams”), a musician in the Persian era. Some seals of the eighth century show a sun god in the form of a winged scarab. We also find the name Yw’r (“Yhwh is [my] light”) on a seal with unknown provenance (Hebron?). This seal shows a scarab carrying the solar disk (an image of Yhwh?). The link between the name of the owner and the iconographic motif is clear. Of particular interest is a seal without any iconographic motif and with unknown provenance, but which is inscribed “Of Yizrayah [‘Yhwh gleams’] son of Hilqiyahu, minister of Hezekiah.” These examples show that the characteristics of a sun god are beginning to be attributed to Yhwh.

This evolution can also be found in stamped storage jars inscribed l-mlk (“for the king”) together with the name of a locality (particularly Socho, Hebron, Lachish, Sif, Mmšt— a place that can perhaps be identified as Ramat Rahel). The seals “l- mlk” originating from Lachish at the time of Hezekiah have an image of the sun. This shows that the tutelary god of Jerusalem and Judah could be presented as a sun god with the aid of an Egyptian-style iconography.

Psalm 19 also attests that images of a sun god who watches over respect for the law and for justice are beginning to be used of Yhwh:

(6) He is a young husband coming out of the bed chamber,
a champion joyous to run the race. (7) At one end of heaven
he arises, he sweeps around to the other and nothing escapes his warmth.
(8) The law of Yhwh is perfect, it gives life; the charter of Yhwh is sure; it
makes the simple man wise

Verse 12 of Psalm 84 calls Yhwh a sun: “For Yhwh Elohim is a sun and a shield. Yhwh gives grace and glory, he does not refuse any good thing to those who follow the path of integrity.” In verse 14 of Psalm 85 (“Justice shall walk in front of Yhwh and mark out his steps on the path”), Sedeq (Justice) walks in front of Yhwh as the Egyptian goddess Ma’at walked in front of the Egyptian sun god. The book bearing the name of the prophet Zephaniah also illustrates this same transfer to Yhwh of the function of a sun god who guarantees justice: “In the midst of [the city] Yhwh is just, he does not act unjustly, morning aft er morning he causes his judgment to appear in the light, without ever failing” (3:5)

This isn't really related to YHWH but are you familiar with the book of Enoch? There's some references to the twelve gates of the sun just like the Egyptian Book of Gates where the sun god travels through the twelve gates/hours of the night.

Cosmology & Eschatology in Jewish & Christian Apocalypticism(Brill, 1996), Adela Yarbro Collins

The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (1 Enoch 72-82) focuses on astronomical "laws" such as the movement of the sun during the twelve months of the year and the resulting changes in the lengths of days and nights (72:2 37). The importance of these laws is that they provide the necessary information for establishing the correct calendar (tK4 9). The perception of a fixed order in the macrocosmos is very clearly implied in the enunciation of these "laws."

Certain numbers appear in the description of the cosmic order. The sun is associated with six gates in the east in which it rises and six in the west in which it sets (72:2-3). The sun moves through these twelve gates in the course of a year. The reference to twelve "gates" is evidently a circumlocution for the twelve signs of the zodiac. The variation in the strength of the sun's heat at different times of the year is explained by the presence of twelve "gate-openings" (lit. "open gates") in the chariot of the sun, through which the rays proceed (75:4). These doors are opened and closed according to their seasons. There are also twelve winds and each of these has a gate (76)... In all of the contexts where the number twelve appears, heavenly phenomena are being discussed. It is likely that the number twelve was suggested by the twelve signs of the zodiac or the twelve months of the year...

Perhaps the most striking motif is the schema of the seven heavens through which Enoch travels. The sun is said to have sevenfold more light than the moon (11:2). The sun rises and sets through six gates in the east and six gates in the west (13 14). These last two ideas are reflected in the book of the Heavenly Luminaries also...

As in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, the number twelve (the sum of the gates of the sun) probably derives from the twelve signs of the zodiac or the twelve months of the year...

She also goes into Revelation:

The number twelve appears in the vision of the woman and the dragon (Revelation 12), a passage which holds an important position in the structure of the book as a whole: it is the opening vision of the second half of the work. The significance of the woman is grasped only when three levels of meaning are kept in mind. On one level, the woman is Queen of Heaven, described with the characteristics of the Ephesian Artemis, the Syrian Atargatis and the Hellenistic Isis. On another level, the woman is presented as the heavenly Israel, the spouse of God, the mother of the messiah and of his followers. Finally, the narrative depicting the woman's fate seems to typify the conflict of the Jewish and early Christian peoples with Rome in first centuries BCE and CE. Her story is thus a paradigm of the experience of the earliest readers. An element in her depiction as Queen of Heaven is her crown of twelve stars. The word for "star" used in 12:1 was actually supposed to refer to an individual star, but it was often used for a constellation also, especially for those of the zodiac; the zodiac as crown is the only appropriate complement to the sun as garment and the moon as foot-stool. The traditional background of the seven stars gave the vision of Christ in Revelation 1 connotations of a world ruler. Similarly here, the motif of the zodiac suggests that the heavenly patron or counterpart of the Christians is ruler of heaven.

The image of the zodiac is both spatial and temporal. It's spatial aspect is primary: the twelve constellations which, at one time or another, are
visible in the sky at night. Its temporal aspect is based on the movement of the sun through the zodiac and the relationship of each of its constellations to the months of the year. A reference to the twelve months of the year appears in Rev 22:2. In his vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, John saw the tree of life, which bears twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month... The most striking images in the book of Revelation which express cosmic order are the seven stars in chapter one and the twelve stars in Chapter 12. It is likely that these images connoted the seven planets and the zodiac...

All of the works discussed in the first two parts of this chapter share the view that reality is ordered and that this order can be perceived and expressed in various numerical operations. Some of the Jewish texts have been influenced directly by neo-Babylonian, Pythagorean and other non-Jewish, Hellenistic arithmological speculation and traditions...The twelve gates of the sun in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (I Enoch 72) and in the Book of the Secrets of Enoch (2 Emh 13-14) reflect the idea of the zodiac... The book of Revelation also shows signs of such direct influence. The seven stars (1: 16, 20; 2: 1, 3: 1) and the seven spirits (1:4, 3: 1, 4:5, 5:6) reflect the idea of the seven planets. The image of the twelve stars (12: 1) is based on the zodiac. These particular motifs in Revelation show that the author of Revelation was aware of certain Hellenistic astral traditions and was able to view them in a positive light and adapt them for his own purposes. The same is true of the Jewish apocalypses mentioned above.

I guess I've gone a bit off-topic from the OP

[Joseph D. L.]

I wonder if there could be a deeper connection between Judaism's and Egypt's use of the lunar calendar? After all, both Osiris and Elohim are by and large lunar gods, or gods represented by the moon, and both are vital for the marking of seasons and agriculture. And we already have evidence of a history of Osiris worship in Palestine during the Hellenistic period. Did anyone ever double check Price's claim that YHWH was a dying and rising god? Jews even had a Temple right next to a temple of the god Khnum in Egypt, who like YHWH crafted man from clay, imbuing in them the Ka. Iah was also the moon god and Egypt and is phonetically similar to YHWH, Jah. Jews even had a temple in Heliopolis that survived up to 73 ad. So Jews, especially in Egypt, are keenly aware of the worship of strange gods.

I've done a little bit of research into YHWH being a dying and rising god. The closest thing I've been able to find is his association with the Egyptian sun god. A verse in Psalm 19 mentions YHWH rising like the sun god but doesn't say anything about him dying like the sun god.

The Invention of God(Harvard University Press, 2015), Thomas Römer

SOLAR TRAITS OF YHWH AT JERUSALEM

As Yhwh grew in importance, he took over traits and functions of the sun god with whom up to that time he had shared the Temple of Jerusalem. Probably the influence of Egyptian religious conceptions, among other factors, explains the importance of the cult of a sun god at Jerusalem. The transfer of solar traits to Yhwh is visible in theophoric proper names in use during this period, in the iconography, and in the descriptions of manifestations of Yhwh.

A certain number of proper names are constructed from the root '- w- r (“shine, gleam, light”)— for instance, Ûriyyah (“Yhwh is my light”), the name of one of David’s generals, but also of a priest in the Persian era, or Neriyyahû (“Yhwh is my lamp”), the name of the father of the scribe Baruch, or finally Yizrayah (“Yhwh gleams”), a musician in the Persian era. Some seals of the eighth century show a sun god in the form of a winged scarab. We also find the name Yw’r (“Yhwh is [my] light”) on a seal with unknown provenance (Hebron?). This seal shows a scarab carrying the solar disk (an image of Yhwh?). The link between the name of the owner and the iconographic motif is clear. Of particular interest is a seal without any iconographic motif and with unknown provenance, but which is inscribed “Of Yizrayah [‘Yhwh gleams’] son of Hilqiyahu, minister of Hezekiah.” These examples show that the characteristics of a sun god are beginning to be attributed to Yhwh.

This evolution can also be found in stamped storage jars inscribed l-mlk (“for the king”) together with the name of a locality (particularly Socho, Hebron, Lachish, Sif, Mmšt— a place that can perhaps be identified as Ramat Rahel). The seals “l- mlk” originating from Lachish at the time of Hezekiah have an image of the sun. This shows that the tutelary god of Jerusalem and Judah could be presented as a sun god with the aid of an Egyptian-style iconography.

Psalm 19 also attests that images of a sun god who watches over respect for the law and for justice are beginning to be used of Yhwh:

(6) He is a young husband coming out of the bed chamber,
a champion joyous to run the race. (7) At one end of heaven
he arises, he sweeps around to the other and nothing escapes his warmth.
(8) The law of Yhwh is perfect, it gives life; the charter of Yhwh is sure; it
makes the simple man wise

Verse 12 of Psalm 84 calls Yhwh a sun: “For Yhwh Elohim is a sun and a shield. Yhwh gives grace and glory, he does not refuse any good thing to those who follow the path of integrity.” In verse 14 of Psalm 85 (“Justice shall walk in front of Yhwh and mark out his steps on the path”), Sedeq (Justice) walks in front of Yhwh as the Egyptian goddess Ma’at walked in front of the Egyptian sun god. The book bearing the name of the prophet Zephaniah also illustrates this same transfer to Yhwh of the function of a sun god who guarantees justice: “In the midst of [the city] Yhwh is just, he does not act unjustly, morning aft er morning he causes his judgment to appear in the light, without ever failing” (3:5)

This isn't really related to YHWH but are you familiar with the book of Enoch? There's some references to the twelve gates of the sun just like the Egyptian Book of Gates where the sun god travels through the twelve gates/hours of the night.

Cosmology & Eschatology in Jewish & Christian Apocalypticism(Brill, 1996), Adela Yarbro Collins

The Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (1 Enoch 72-82) focuses on astronomical "laws" such as the movement of the sun during the twelve months of the year and the resulting changes in the lengths of days and nights (72:2 37). The importance of these laws is that they provide the necessary information for establishing the correct calendar (tK4 9). The perception of a fixed order in the macrocosmos is very clearly implied in the enunciation of these "laws."

Certain numbers appear in the description of the cosmic order. The sun is associated with six gates in the east in which it rises and six in the west in which it sets (72:2-3). The sun moves through these twelve gates in the course of a year. The reference to twelve "gates" is evidently a circumlocution for the twelve signs of the zodiac. The variation in the strength of the sun's heat at different times of the year is explained by the presence of twelve "gate-openings" (lit. "open gates") in the chariot of the sun, through which the rays proceed (75:4). These doors are opened and closed according to their seasons. There are also twelve winds and each of these has a gate (76)... In all of the contexts where the number twelve appears, heavenly phenomena are being discussed. It is likely that the number twelve was suggested by the twelve signs of the zodiac or the twelve months of the year...

Perhaps the most striking motif is the schema of the seven heavens through which Enoch travels. The sun is said to have sevenfold more light than the moon (11:2). The sun rises and sets through six gates in the east and six gates in the west (13 14). These last two ideas are reflected in the book of the Heavenly Luminaries also...

As in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries, the number twelve (the sum of the gates of the sun) probably derives from the twelve signs of the zodiac or the twelve months of the year...

She also goes into Revelation:

The number twelve appears in the vision of the woman and the dragon (Revelation 12), a passage which holds an important position in the structure of the book as a whole: it is the opening vision of the second half of the work. The significance of the woman is grasped only when three levels of meaning are kept in mind. On one level, the woman is Queen of Heaven, described with the characteristics of the Ephesian Artemis, the Syrian Atargatis and the Hellenistic Isis. On another level, the woman is presented as the heavenly Israel, the spouse of God, the mother of the messiah and of his followers. Finally, the narrative depicting the woman's fate seems to typify the conflict of the Jewish and early Christian peoples with Rome in first centuries BCE and CE. Her story is thus a paradigm of the experience of the earliest readers. An element in her depiction as Queen of Heaven is her crown of twelve stars. The word for "star" used in 12:1 was actually supposed to refer to an individual star, but it was often used for a constellation also, especially for those of the zodiac; the zodiac as crown is the only appropriate complement to the sun as garment and the moon as foot-stool. The traditional background of the seven stars gave the vision of Christ in Revelation 1 connotations of a world ruler. Similarly here, the motif of the zodiac suggests that the heavenly patron or counterpart of the Christians is ruler of heaven.

The image of the zodiac is both spatial and temporal. It's spatial aspect is primary: the twelve constellations which, at one time or another, are
visible in the sky at night. Its temporal aspect is based on the movement of the sun through the zodiac and the relationship of each of its constellations to the months of the year. A reference to the twelve months of the year appears in Rev 22:2. In his vision of the heavenly Jerusalem, John saw the tree of life, which bears twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month... The most striking images in the book of Revelation which express cosmic order are the seven stars in chapter one and the twelve stars in Chapter 12. It is likely that these images connoted the seven planets and the zodiac...

All of the works discussed in the first two parts of this chapter share the view that reality is ordered and that this order can be perceived and expressed in various numerical operations. Some of the Jewish texts have been influenced directly by neo-Babylonian, Pythagorean and other non-Jewish, Hellenistic arithmological speculation and traditions...The twelve gates of the sun in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries (I Enoch 72) and in the Book of the Secrets of Enoch (2 Emh 13-14) reflect the idea of the zodiac... The book of Revelation also shows signs of such direct influence. The seven stars (1: 16, 20; 2: 1, 3: 1) and the seven spirits (1:4, 3: 1, 4:5, 5:6) reflect the idea of the seven planets. The image of the twelve stars (12: 1) is based on the zodiac. These particular motifs in Revelation show that the author of Revelation was aware of certain Hellenistic astral traditions and was able to view them in a positive light and adapt them for his own purposes. The same is true of the Jewish apocalypses mentioned above.

This is some good stuff man. Have you read Yahweh and the Sun by J. Glen Taylor?

https://www.amazon.com/Yahweh-Sun-Bibli ... 1850752729

One thing that is peculiar about 1 Enoch is that it refers to the sun and moon in anthropological terms, as male and female, and with their own names; both are carried in chariots like Helios and Selene.

Psalm 19:4 likewise speaks of a Tabernacle for/in the sun; and Revelation 19:17 speaks of an angel who stands in the sun.

And to add to this further, Jesus is even compared to the sun/Helios in Matthew 17:2

καὶ μετεμορφώθη ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἔλαμψεν τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ὡς ὁ ἥλιος, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο λευκὰ ὡς τὸ φῶς.


And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

I guess I've gone a bit off-topic from the OP

Nobody cares what Giuseppe has to say anyway.