101 Myths of the Bible: how ancient scribes - Conscious Evolution TV

284 101 Myths of the Bible
lunisolar calendar of twenty-five years, the conflict between forces associated with
nineteen on one side and 360 on the other implies an underlying conflict between partisans
of the Egyptian solar calendar and the Babylonian lunar calendar.
According to the biblical account, two groups of twelve fought in the first battle
and all of them died in mutual combat. The theme of “twelve versus twelve” signifies
the battle between the forces of day (the sun cult) and the forces of night (the moon
cult). Since it was fought in neither the day (i.e., the sun) nor the night (i.e., the moon),
the battle was a draw. But a second conflict followed. In that one, David’s forces lost
nineteen men, associating them with a lunar cult, and Eshbaal’s army lost three hundred
and sixty men, connecting them to a solar cult. Since David’s side won the battle,
the story, in mythological terms, shows a defeat of the solar cult at Gibeon by the lunar
cult.
This myth probably came from the Book of Jasher and was incorporated into the
biblical history by later editors. Whether the subsequent redactors knew the meaning
of the underlying myth we cannot know. Its association with David and Saul could
suggest that Israel, in accord with its Egyptian roots, continued to follow the Egyptian
calendar for a while, and that when David became king over Israel, he substituted the
local lunar calendar, provoking clashes between rival priesthoods that celebrated particular
religious holidays in accord with one or the other of the rival calendars.
Or, it may simply be that the myth, although about conflict at Gibeon between two
rival cults, originally had nothing to do with David and Saul and that biblical redactors,
unaware of the underlying meaning, took the battle story out of the myth and
attached it to the story of David, continuing to enhance his reputation as a great
leader.