4Q318

If it thunders in Scorpio, a sword upon the Arabs and the peoples of the east.

The only thunder oracle in the Dead Sea Scrolls corpus: a text predicting the fate of nations
based on the zodiacal sign occupied by the moon when thunder sounds. Organized by month and
sign, it assigns calamity to named peoples — Arabs, people of the east, Moabites, Egyptians,
Kittim. The text is Aramaic, found in Cave 4 at Qumran. It is the natural companion to the
Physiognomic Horoscope (4Q186): where that text reads the body to assign individual destiny,
this text reads the sky to assign the fate of nations. Both belong to the sect's astrological
theology, which drew on the ancient Near Eastern omen tradition and refracted it through the
lens of dualist belief. Thunder is always a portent of calamity, never of peace — the present
age is under judgment, and the skies declare it.

The Zodiacal Calendar

[Fragment 1, Column i — the opening section associates each month with its zodiacal sign.
The Aramaic names for the twelve signs are preserved in the manuscript, though most contextual
text is lacunose. The calendar runs from Nisan (Month 1) through Adar (Month 12) in the
standard Babylonian-Jewish schema.]

Month 1 (Nisan) — the Ram (טלה, teleh)
Month 2 (Iyyar) — the Bull (תורא, tora)
Month 3 (Sivan) — the Twins (תאומין, te'omin)
Month 4 (Tammuz) — the Crab (סרטנא, sartana)
Month 5 (Av) — the Lion (אריא, arya)
Month 6 (Elul) — the Maiden (בתולתא, betulta)
Month 7 (Tishrei) — the Scales (מאזניא, ma'aznia)
Month 8 (Marcheshvan) — the Scorpion (עקרבא, aqraba)
Month 9 (Kislev) — the Bow (קשתא, qeshta)
Month 10 (Tevet) — the Kid (גדיא, gadya)
Month 11 (Shvat) — the Water-Drawer (דליא, delya)
Month 12 (Adar) — the Fish (נוניא, nunya)

The Thunder Oracle

[Fragment 1, Column ii — the brontological predictions. Each entry follows the formula:
"If it thunders in [sign]" followed by the oracle for named peoples. The manuscript is heavily
lacunose throughout. The Scorpio entry is the best-preserved. Lacunae are marked [...].
No conjectural restorations have been inserted into the body.]

In Aries (Month 1):
If it thunders in Aries —
[evil] for the nations;
the sword [upon the peoples ...]
[...]

In Taurus (Month 2):
If it thunders in Taurus —
[... affliction ...]
[...]

In Gemini (Month 3):
If it thunders in Gemini —
[...] the peoples of the east [...]

In Cancer (Month 4):
If it thunders in Cancer —
[...]
[...]

In Leo (Month 5):
If it thunders in Leo —
[...]
[...]

In Virgo (Month 6):
If it thunders in Virgo —
[...] upon Moab and Egypt
[...]

In Libra (Month 7):
If it thunders in Libra —
[...]
[...]

In Scorpio (Month 8):
If it thunders in Scorpio —
a sword upon the Arabs
and the peoples of the east.

In Sagittarius (Month 9):
If it thunders in Sagittarius —
[...]
[...]

In Capricorn (Month 10):
If it thunders in Capricorn —
[...]
[...]

In Aquarius (Month 11):
If it thunders in Aquarius —
[...] against the Kittim [...]

In Pisces (Month 12):
If it thunders in Pisces —
[...]
[...]

Colophon

Brontologion (4Q318, 4QZodiology and Brontology ar) is a single-manuscript Aramaic text
from Qumran Cave 4, published by J. C. Greenfield and M. Sokoloff in DJD XXXVI (Clarendon,
2000), pp. 259–274.

The text belongs to the genre of Mesopotamian omen literature — the great cuneiform series
Enuma Anu Enlil catalogues thunder and lightning portents across many tablets — but adapted
here into a Jewish sectarian framework. The twelve-sign zodiac derives from Babylonian astronomy,
which entered the Jewish world during the Second Temple period. The Qumran community engaged
this tradition seriously: in addition to this text, astrological material appears in the
Physiognomic Horoscope (4Q186), the Otot text (4Q319), and references to the solar calendar
throughout the sectarian corpus.

The theology is uniformly dark: thunder always portends ill fortune, and every named people
receives it. No nation is exempt; no sign brings good news. The Scorpio entry — a sword upon
the Arabs and the peoples of the east — is the most legible line in the manuscript, and its
directness is characteristic: these are war oracles, not comfort. The Kittim (in the Aquarius
entry) are the same Kittim who march against Jerusalem in the Commentary on Habakkuk — the
Scrolls' standard cipher for a western imperial power. Moab and Egypt (Virgo) are ancient
enemies elevated to theological symbols of the nations in opposition to Israel.

The companion text 4Q186 (Physiognomic Horoscope) applies the same dualist framework —
light-parts and dark-parts — to the individual body. The Brontologion applies it to history.
Together they form a coherent astrological cosmology: the heavens declare the alignment of
forces for individuals and for nations alike, and the Qumran sage could read both.

Lacunae are marked [...]. No conjectural restorations have been inserted.

Good Works Translation — New Tianmu Anglican Church, March 2026.
Translated from Aramaic by the New Tianmu Anglican Church tulku lineage.
Reference: J. C. Greenfield and M. Sokoloff, DJD XXXVI (Clarendon, 2000), pp. 259–274;
García Martínez & Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–98), 2:1216–1221.

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Source Text — בְּרוֹנְטוֹלוֹגִיוֹן (4Q318)

Aramaic transcription — 4Q318 (4QZodiology and Brontology ar)

Note: The manuscript is written in Aramaic square script, Herodian period (first century BCE–
first century CE). The text is organized by fragment and column following standard sigla.
Lacunae are marked [...]. The zodiacal calendar (col. i) and the brontological predictions
(col. ii) form a continuous composition.

Fragment 1, Column i — Zodiacal Calendar

[...] טלה [...]
[...] תורא [...]
[...] תאומין [...]
[...] סרטנא [...]
[...] אריא [...]
[...] בתולתא [...]
[...] מאזניא [...]
[...] עקרבא [...]
[...] קשתא [...]
[...] גדיא [...]
[...] דליא [...]
[...] נוניא [...]

Fragment 1, Column ii — Thunder Oracle

אם ירעם בטלה [רעה לגוים ...]
[...] חרבא [על עממין ...]
[...]
אם ירעם בתורא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בתאומין [...]
[...] עמי מדנחא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בסרטנא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם באריא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בבתולתא [...]
[...] מואב ומצרים [...]
[...]
אם ירעם במאזניא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בעקרבא
חרבא על ערבאין
ועמי מדנחא
אם ירעם בקשתא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בגדיא [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בדליא [...]
[...] כיתאין [...]
[...]
אם ירעם בנוניא [...]
[...]

Source Colophon

4Q318 published by J. C. Greenfield and M. Sokoloff in Discoveries in the Judaean Desert XXXVI
(Clarendon, 2000), pp. 259–274, pl. XV. Standard transcription and translation: García Martínez
& Tigchelaar, Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition (Brill, 1997–98), 2:1216–1221.

The manuscript is a single Aramaic scroll from Qumran Cave 4. Script: Herodian square Aramaic,
first century BCE. The Scorpio entry (אם ירעם בעקרבא — חרבא על ערבאין ועמי מדנחא) is the most
legible passage in the manuscript. Lacunae marked [...].

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