From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved "Volume III - The Twelfth Month - Constellation Names for Cetus"
In the Twelfth Month - Pisces.

Cetus, the Whale, Sea Monster (Creature), or Leviathan.
The constellation name for Cetus:

• Latin cetus, whale, from Greek ketos, "huge fish," noted in Matthew 12:40, "For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
  
  
• Cetus is seen on the Meridian on November 30, and is among the earliest constellations identified, where it occupies a huge region in the "watery" part of the southern sky that contains Eridanus, Pisces, and Aquarius.    It is the fourth-largest constellation (The biggest are Ursa Major, Virgo, and Hydra).
  
  
• The head of Cetus starts at Taurus and its body winds southwest toward Aquarius.
  
  
• Cetus, Ketos, its origin: Babylonian Mummu-Tiamata, and Hebrew Mehumah-Tehom, "The-Chaos-of-the-Deep."
  • Deep.
    • Hebrew tehuwm, teh-home' or tehom, (usually feminine) from Heb. huwm, hoom, a primary root to make an uproar, or agitate greatly - destroy, move, make a noise, put, ring again, thus an abyss (as a surging mass of water), especially the deep (the main sea or the subterranean water-supply): - deep (place), depth.
  • The ancient Mesopotamians identified these stars with Tiamat, the cosmic dragon slain by the hero Marduk, which has connections to another constellation.
    • Sumerian serpents Lakhmu and Lakhamu:
      • Anshar (Sumerian god of the celestial world who was born of the serpents Lakhmu and Lakhamu), as the sky and male principle.    Since Anshar mated with his sister Kishar (Anu's mother, she became the earth and female principle), thus they produced the great gods.    Anshar organized the gods in their fight against Tiamat but did no fighting himself.    Anshar was also the father and Tiamat was mother of Ea or Enki (god of the waters called Apsu, the Babylonian Abyss or the waters, which surround and hold up the earth, like the Greek's idea of "Ocean," as in Space).
    • Marduk with his bow and net later defeated Tiamat, the dragon goddess, and became supreme authority and a great god of Babylon (Esagil was his temple), as a condition agreed upon by the Igigi.
      • The Igigi were the opposite sky gods of Mesopotamia that lived in the sky, whereas the Annunaki inhabited the earth and underworld.
    • Kingu was a Mesopotamian god who helped Tiamat fight against Marduk.    A fragment of a clay tablet from Nineveh contains an Assyrian epic of Creation called enuma elish ("when the gods"), which tells of how Marduk slew the monster Tiamat and created the world out of her body.
    • Tiamat, is Akkadian for "sea," the female half of the primordial couple, a reptile that is symbolic of the primal generative waters that surround the universe, support it from beneath, and rain down upon it from on high.    She gave birth to lizards, Dragons, sphinxes, hurricanes, mad dogs, scorpion-men, fish-men, lion-demons and centaurs.
  
  
• Sea Monsters: (Leviathan, Behemoth, Serpent and Dragon) from Holy Bible, etc.
  • Behemoth.
    • Hebrew behemowth, be-hay-mohth', in form a plural of Heb. behemah, be-hay-maw', type of beast, but really a singular of Egyptian derivation, thus water-ox, i.e. the hippopotamus or Nile-horse: - Behemoth.
  • Leviathan.
    • Hebrew livyathan, liv-yaw-thawn', from Heb. lavah, law-vaw', to twine, thus a wreathed animal, i.e. a serpent (especially the crocodile or some other large sea-monster); fig. the constellation of the dragon (i.e. Draco); also as a symbol of Bab; leviathan, mourning.    Of interest here is when Draco reaches the constellation of Virgo it ends it cycle through the procession of the zodiac.
    • Leviathan is linked to Tiamat of Mesopotamia and the Ophis serpent of the Egyptians.
    • Cetus is Satan, the Leviathan of Scripture, the great serpent, the devil, who takes up a great portion of the sky.    He threatened Andromeda when she was chained and a Sea Monster is the natural enemy of the fishes, a picture of the Church.
    • Sumerian si-šuš-nu: a sea creature ('antennae' + 'to sit down' + 'do not').    [See Hydra, the Sea Serpent for more information.].
  • Serpent.
    • Hebrew nachash, naw-khawsh', to hiss, thus a snake (from its hiss): serpent.
      • Also see Hebrew saraph, saw-rawf', to be on fire, thus burning, fiery serpent.
    • Sumerian mer₍₂₎, mir₍₂₎: n., storm wind; violent storm; north(wind); anger; belt, waistband; an encircling snake. adj., angry.    [Note under Cetus we find the star name Mira.].
  • Dragon.
    • Hebrew tanniyn, tan-neen', or (Ezek. 29:3) tanniym, tan-neem', from Heb. tan, to elongate, a monster, thus a marine or land monster, i.e. sea-serpent or jackal:- dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.    Seen originally in Gen. 1:21 as "whales."    This is the connection between Leviathan and Cetus.
    • Sumerian ušumgal: lord of all, sovereign; solitary; monster of composite powers, dragon (ušum, 'dragon', + gal, 'great').
    • Sumerian ušum, ušu: n., dragon, composite creature (uš₁₁, 'snake venom', + am, 'wild ox'). adj., solitary, alone.
  • Whale and Jonah from the Bible, etc.:
    • In modern times Cetus is depicted as a whale, older versions portray it as a wide variety of monsters, one with a head of a greyhound and a trident-shaped tail.
    • In the OT KJV translates it as "whale," NIV as "great creatures" (Gen. 1:21); "monster of the deep" (Job 7:12); and "monster in the seas" (Ezek. 32:2).
    • In the KJV, RSV, and NIV the "great fish" describes the animal that swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17; 2:1,10).
    • The N.T. Greek word for whale is ('Ketos') a huge fish, a sea monster, (KJV and RSV "whale" Matt. 12:40, where NIV keeps to "huge fish").
    • The whale is a large marine fishlike mammal (order Cetacea).
    • Hebrew tanniyn, tan-neen', or (Ezek. 29:3) tanniym, tan-neem', from Heb. tan, to elongate, a monster, thus a marine or land monster, i.e. sea-serpent or jackal:- dragon, sea-monster, serpent, whale.    Seen originally in Gen. 1:21 as "whales."   
    • Sumerian ŠIM×KÚŠU: ambergris ('aromatic substance' + 'turtle; whale ?').
    • Sumerian kúšu: turtle (cf., ŠIM×Uacute; ŠU, where 'whale' must be meant) (ku₆, 'fish', + šú, 'to cover').
    • Jonah [Heb. Yonah, yo-naw', dove] an OT prophet of Israel who was swallowed by a great fish and disgorged unharmed three days later, before the conquest of Jeroboam, who ruled for a period of 40 years (790-750 B.C.).
  
  
• Egyptian/Coptic:
  • On the Denderah Zodiac beneath Aries' hind feet and at the end of the band of Pisces there are two figures.
    • Of interest here is neither Joseph Seiss or E.W. Bullinger includes this constellation as part of Pisces, because both have replaced it with their created Bands of Pisces.    They have placed Cetus in Aries, and then moved Eridanus to Taurus, where both ignored the constellation of Monoceros also.
    • The Egyptian slant.
      • The first figure is Cetus and is seen as a female figure with a cat-like face/head, and in a long robe holding the Egyptian waas-scepter in front of her with both hands.    This cat-like face leads us to surmise that this is (Adept and Bastet), where Bastet was known as a cat goddess.
        • Bast (Bastet) on the Denderah one of the two figures at the end of the band of Pisces is seen as Cetus and Eridanus (i.e. Adept and Bastet).
          • Bastet was a cat-goddess, worshipped in the Delta city Bubastis.    She was the protector of cats, who were seen in papyri as killing the serpents, which attacked the sun god.
          • Also Bastet was seen as a consort of Ptah-Seker-ausar, and is joined with Sekhmet and Ra to form Sekhmet-bast-ra.
        • One source states this about Cetus; "The adept holds the scepter with both hands close to his bosom. The adept does not pass the sensual Bastet, but follows her into eternity."    "Bastet symbolizes nine lives for any sensation ... including the seven spirits of being."    Thoth is the ruler of nine.    "The ninth life of Bastet is certainty of wisdom."
        • It would seem logical that the two figures at the end of the cord (or bands) would represent the constellations Cetus and Eridanus.    There is not much information of the Egyptian connection to the two.
      • The second figure at the end of the band of Pisces is Eridanus, possibly a male figure, which would mean it is known as Adept, but other sources claim that Eridanus is to be known as Peh-ta-t, the mouth of the river.
    • The Babylonian slant.
      • In his work “BABYLONIAN STAR-LORE: An Illustrated Guide to the Star-lore and Constellations of Ancient Babylonia,” by Gavin White in his exerts claims, "Finally, set below the figure of Aries, we have a pair of staff-wielding gods who could well be a representation of the lion-headed Babylonian constellations known as Lulal and Latarak.    Like the Wolf and Plough, they have proved difficult to locate on the celestial sphere.    Their placement on the Circular Zodiac suggests that they are located among the stars of Cetus."
            White's image of the Lulal and Latarak is seen on page 40 shown here compared to the Round Denderah image , which White claims, "A similar set of meanings could be ascribed to the lion-headed figures known as Lulal and Latarak.    In the main body of the book I suggest that they may act as guardians of the year - banishing any lingering influence of the closing year and purifying the start of the new calendrical cycle."
    • Some sources state that Cetus may be known as Knem, meaning subdued.
      • In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, page 113 "Its (Cetus) name in the Denderah Zodiac is Knem, which means subdued.    It is pictured as a monstrous head, trodden underfoot by the swine, the natural enemy of the serpent.    The hawk also (another enemy of the serpent) is over this figure, crowned with a mortar, denoting bruising."
        • I cannot see the connection for the above reference.    Either it is a mistake or we are not looking at the same Denderah Zodiac.    I believe Mr. Bullinger is describing the figures in Triangulum.
  
  
• The constellation of Cetus is seen under Pisces normally.    One source claims "Cetus is shown as the back half of Capricornus.    The joining of the whale and the goat are a metaphor for the union of the body and mind."
  
  
• Other names for Cetus: Al Ke'tus, Elkai'tos, Elkai'tus, Al Kaff al Jidh'mah (Judh'mah).
  • Allen claims: The Arabian astronomers of course knew the Greek constellation and called it Al Ketus, from which have come Elketos, Elkaitos, and Elkaitus; but their predecessors, who had not heard of the Royal Family and its foe, separated these stars into three very different asterisms.    Those in the head, alpha (Menkar), gamma (Kaffaljidhma), delta, lamda, mu, xi1 and xi2, were Al Kaff al Jidhmah, the Part of a Hand, from a fancied resemblance to their Stained Hand, our Cassiopeia; eta, theta, tau, and upsilon, in the body of our Cetus, were Al Na’amat, the Hen Ostriches; and the four in a straight line of 3 degree length across the tail, all lettered phi, were Al Nitham, the Necklace.
  • Seen as the French Baleine, the Italian Balaena, and the German Wallfisch.

See Star Names of Cetus.

---

    This file was updated on July 15, 2008, and March 30, 2010.

Return to the Table of Contents or the Zodiac of Denderah