The reason why people say the sun retrograded specifically 10 degrees is that Isaiah 38:8 describes this sign given to King Hezekiah (in KJV): "Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down."
The reign of King Hezekiah is generally dated to 715 BC to 686 BC, so 713 BC falls within his reign.
The word that was translated as "degrees" in KJV was translated as "steps" In NIV: "I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.' So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down."
ChatGPT said: "In Isaiah 38:8, the word translated as 'degrees' comes from the Hebrew term maʿalôt, which most accurately means 'steps' or 'stairs.' The verse describes a miraculous sign given to King Hezekiah, where the shadow on the 'sundial of Ahaz' moves backward ten steps. This should not be understood as referring to angular degrees, as the ancient Hebrew language did not use geometric or astronomical degrees in the modern sense. Instead, the imagery likely involves a stepped sundial - a structure with physical steps that indicated time based on the sun's shadow. As the sun moved across the sky, its shadow would fall on successive steps of the sundial. Moving the shadow backward ten steps would have meant reversing time by a tangible interval, perhaps several hours."
The theory that the year used to be 360 days long was first popularized by Velikovsky in the book Worlds in Collision from 1950. He said the change in the length of the day was because Venus passed close to the earth during the 7th century BC.
But ChatGPT said that Velikovsky came up with the claim that various calendar systems changed around the 7th century BC to support his cataclysmic theory, and it said:
> In ancient cultures, the adjustment from a 360-day year to a 365.25-day year was done in various ways, but not as a sudden global change in the 7th century BCE.
> The Egyptian calendar, for example, had a 360-day year with an additional five intercalary days at the end, known as the epagomenal days. This was to adjust for the discrepancy with the solar year, but this calendar reform took place much earlier, around 2700 BCE, not in the 7th century BCE.
> In Babylonian astronomy, the need for adding days was understood, and they adjusted their calendar periodically through the addition of months, but this practice also predates the 7th century BCE.
Velikosky wrote that according to the Talmudic tradition the change in the length of a day referred to a change in the duration of a single day: "But the Talmudic tradition explains that the day was shortened by ten degrees on the day when Ahaz was buried, and the day was prolonged by ten degrees when Hezekiah was ill and recovered, and this is the meaning of the 'shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz.'" [https://archive.org/details/vlkvsky/Worlds+in+Collision+by+Immanuel+Velikovsky+%281950%29/page/n241/mode/2up] Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
The event of the sun retrograding ten degrees is also mentioned in 2 Kings 20:8-11: "And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz."
When I asked ChatGPT about evidence that the length of the year did not change in 713 BC, it pointed out that the Assyrian Eponym Canon says: "In the eponym of Bur-Sagale of Guzana, revolt in the city of Assur. In the month Simanu, an eclipse of the sun took place." The month of Simanu corresponds to June to July.
If the length of the year would have increased by 5.2422 days in 713 BC, (763-713)*5.2422 is about 262 days, so the eclipse would have been observed in a different month.
Wow thanks for all the info and homework. I just wanted to make Jason a cool interactive timeline with the sliders and slicers. I thought maybe it wouldn't be a big deal to get 2M to 3M points on a timeline and sync things up to Jason's interpretations. So it sounds like the sun has shifted it's position somehow? Do you follow Jason?
Yeah. One time I told Jessica Rose and OpenVAERS to watch his videos because they were talking about how great Graham Hancock was.
Sacred Geometry Decoded has also done a great job showing why people like Graham Hancock and Brian Foerster are BS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0BBp0t3zKE. I found his channel because it was recommended by Larry Pahl from the American Institute for Pyramid Research, who is a fan of Archaix.
The reason why people say the sun retrograded specifically 10 degrees is that Isaiah 38:8 describes this sign given to King Hezekiah (in KJV): "Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down."
The reign of King Hezekiah is generally dated to 715 BC to 686 BC, so 713 BC falls within his reign.
The word that was translated as "degrees" in KJV was translated as "steps" In NIV: "I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.' So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down."
ChatGPT said: "In Isaiah 38:8, the word translated as 'degrees' comes from the Hebrew term maʿalôt, which most accurately means 'steps' or 'stairs.' The verse describes a miraculous sign given to King Hezekiah, where the shadow on the 'sundial of Ahaz' moves backward ten steps. This should not be understood as referring to angular degrees, as the ancient Hebrew language did not use geometric or astronomical degrees in the modern sense. Instead, the imagery likely involves a stepped sundial - a structure with physical steps that indicated time based on the sun's shadow. As the sun moved across the sky, its shadow would fall on successive steps of the sundial. Moving the shadow backward ten steps would have meant reversing time by a tangible interval, perhaps several hours."
The theory that the year used to be 360 days long was first popularized by Velikovsky in the book Worlds in Collision from 1950. He said the change in the length of the day was because Venus passed close to the earth during the 7th century BC.
Velikovsky also wrote: "All over the world we find that there was at some time the same calendar of 360 days, and that at some later date, about the seventh century before the present era, five days were added at the end of the year, as 'days over the year,' or 'days of nothing.'" [https://archive.org/details/vlkvsky/Worlds%20in%20Collision%20by%20Immanuel%20Velikovsky%20%281950%29/]
But ChatGPT said that Velikovsky came up with the claim that various calendar systems changed around the 7th century BC to support his cataclysmic theory, and it said:
> In ancient cultures, the adjustment from a 360-day year to a 365.25-day year was done in various ways, but not as a sudden global change in the 7th century BCE.
> The Egyptian calendar, for example, had a 360-day year with an additional five intercalary days at the end, known as the epagomenal days. This was to adjust for the discrepancy with the solar year, but this calendar reform took place much earlier, around 2700 BCE, not in the 7th century BCE.
> In Babylonian astronomy, the need for adding days was understood, and they adjusted their calendar periodically through the addition of months, but this practice also predates the 7th century BCE.
Velikosky wrote that according to the Talmudic tradition the change in the length of a day referred to a change in the duration of a single day: "But the Talmudic tradition explains that the day was shortened by ten degrees on the day when Ahaz was buried, and the day was prolonged by ten degrees when Hezekiah was ill and recovered, and this is the meaning of the 'shadow of the degrees which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz.'" [https://archive.org/details/vlkvsky/Worlds+in+Collision+by+Immanuel+Velikovsky+%281950%29/page/n241/mode/2up] Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah.
The event of the sun retrograding ten degrees is also mentioned in 2 Kings 20:8-11: "And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz."
When I asked ChatGPT about evidence that the length of the year did not change in 713 BC, it pointed out that the Assyrian Eponym Canon says: "In the eponym of Bur-Sagale of Guzana, revolt in the city of Assur. In the month Simanu, an eclipse of the sun took place." The month of Simanu corresponds to June to July.
Based on astronomical modeling, a complete solar eclipse was visible over Assyria on June 15th 763 BC: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assyrian_eclipse.
If the length of the year would have increased by 5.2422 days in 713 BC, (763-713)*5.2422 is about 262 days, so the eclipse would have been observed in a different month.
Wow thanks for all the info and homework. I just wanted to make Jason a cool interactive timeline with the sliders and slicers. I thought maybe it wouldn't be a big deal to get 2M to 3M points on a timeline and sync things up to Jason's interpretations. So it sounds like the sun has shifted it's position somehow? Do you follow Jason?
Yeah. One time I told Jessica Rose and OpenVAERS to watch his videos because they were talking about how great Graham Hancock was.
Sacred Geometry Decoded has also done a great job showing why people like Graham Hancock and Brian Foerster are BS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0BBp0t3zKE. I found his channel because it was recommended by Larry Pahl from the American Institute for Pyramid Research, who is a fan of Archaix.
Very cool. We are on the same page
I love Jason's work too. Thank you for reminding me to check in and revisit it😁 I think it's more important that even he knows.😉
As is your work WTE.😉
Wow! So cool that you are aware of his work! I met Jason Breshears at one of his meet ups in San Diego a couple years ago.