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This essay examines the history of Mesopotamian astrology and explores the possibility of astrological practices in ancient Israel. It also investigates whether astrology in ancient Israel was influenced by Mesopotamian practices, and why the authors of the Hebrew Bible suppressed astral cults as well as astrology. Celestial divination originated in the third millennium BCE, but its systematic development began in the Old Babylonian period, culminating with the compilation of the astrological omen series titled Enuma Anu Enlil in the first millennium BCE. From the time of the Archaemenid period, earlier nativity omens developed into horoscopy in which the position of planets are calculated at the time of a person's birth. Mesopotamian astrology was not a sort of superstition, but the expression of the Mesopotamians' understanding of the principles of the universe, the divine-human relationship, and their world-view. Though not a widespread phenomenon, evidence suggests that astrological divination was not entirely unknown in ancient Israel. While Ann Jeffers argues that astrology was native to Palestine, it appears to me that Israelite practices of astrology were heavily influenced by the strong Assyrian military presence in Palestine in the 8-7th centuries BCE. The astral character of the Israelite pantheon may also have facilitated the proliferation of Mesopotamian astral cults. Only against this backdrop can be understood the Bible's suppression of astrological practices as well as harsh criticism on the worship of the moon, sun, and stars.
