joey jojo
Here are 2 lines of VAT4956:
Line 2: Saturn was in front of the Swallow.
Line 9: Saturn was in front of the Swallow.
If I am reading the tablet right, the time between the observance of Saturn in the first line and the second is about 28 days. So , for weeks, Saturn was roughly in front, or to the east, of the Swallow constellation
This is all the information that anyone that knows anything about astronomy needs. A difference in half a degree here or there is totally inconsequential. In fact, any one of these 2 observations are enough to pinpoint the year.
Saturn takes 29 years to complete its orbit around the Sun and reappear in the same place. The difference between 568 and 588, as argued is only 20 years.
If the location of Saturn in regard to the Swallow matches for 567/8,then it will not match for 588- it won't even be close. 588 is incorrect, everyone, except the WT knows it.
Actually, I'm pretty sure they know it too.
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A little dose of plain common sense that the lunar observations would be more use than that of planetary observations for the fact of its proximity to the Earth and ease of observations over the centuries.
The simple fact is that the planetary observations are open to interpretation and as the WT article notes that in the case of VAT 4956 which contained 15 planetary observations and 13 sets of lunar observations. The latter are are observations considered superior to the former and show a precise match for 588 BCE. Other celestial bodies relating to the moon can also be identified and their positions can be dated with a good measure of certainty.
Thus as the planetary observations are open to some interpretation and although not considered in the WT article were certainly examined by Furuli who found that these are only approximately correct and may have been retro calculations based on the historical assumption that Neb's 37 th year was 568 BCE
scholar JW
