Kronos/Saturn and Jacob/Israel in Phoenician Tradition
The connection of Kronos to biblical Jacob (Israel) as suggested by Phoenician tradition is an intriguing aspect of comparative mythology that hints at the syncretism and reinterpretation of ancient deities across different cultures.
In Phoenician mythology, Kronos was a significant deity.
The Greeks equated Kronos with their Titan who ruled before Zeus, while the Romans later called him Saturn.
Kronos in Phoenician tradition, as described by Philo of Byblos (a 1st-century AD Phoenician historian whose works largely come from Sanchuniathon’s now-lost writings), was a father figure akin to the ruling deity over the world during a primordial time, just as he was in Greek tradition.
In certain Phoenician texts, the deity Kronos was referred to as “El” or "Israel." This association likely comes from an ancient reinterpretation of figures and their roles in myth.
It suggests that the Phoenicians saw a parallel between their god Kronos and the biblical patriarch Jacob/Israel, particularly in terms of authority and the foundational role they played for their respective people.
Kronos was the ruler of a bygone era, much like how Jacob/Israel was the patriarch of the Israelites.
This conceptual similarity—being a progenitor or "father figure" of an era or people—may have led to the Phoenician association of Kronos with Israel.
Kronos, as a figure of authority before the Olympians, mirrors Jacob's role as a central patriarch before the establishment of the Israelite nation in Canaan.
Both figures embody the theme of transition—Kronos being overthrown by Zeus, and Jacob fathering the 12 tribes who would form the Israelite identity.
According to his accounts, Kronos (whom he called “El” or occasionally “Israel”) was seen as having established foundational principles, similar to Jacob/Israel’s role in the Hebrew Bible as the father of the tribes.
Philo's writings indicate that Kronos was also associated with a form of sacrifice.
The willingness of patriarchs in the Bible to make sacrifices to establish a covenant with God could have resonated with the Phoenician understanding of Kronos’ sacrificial elements, thus facilitating this equation.
The equation of Kronos with Israel could be seen as an attempt to reconcile and reinterpret myths as Mediterranean cultures came into contact with each other.
Shared Archetypes: Jacob as the patriarch of the tribes of Israel and Kronos as a deity overseeing an earlier age of gods may share archetypal qualities—both represent origins, fatherhood, and transitions in the divine order or familial lineage.
Sanchuniathon and Philo of Byblos: The idea that Kronos was called "Israel" comes primarily from Philo of Byblos, who is one of our main sources for Phoenician mythology.
This blending is part of why Kronos (Greek) and El or Israel (Canaanite/Phoenician) might have been equated in Philo’s writings.
The claim that "in certain Phoenician texts, the deity Kronos was referred to as 'El' or 'Israel'" largely stems from the writings of Philo of Byblos, who, in the 1st-2nd century CE, translated and interpreted the earlier works of the Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon.
In Philo's accounts, Kronos is mentioned as one of the primary gods of the Phoenicians.
Kronos is sometimes equated with "El," who was one of the primary gods of the Canaanite pantheon.
El was the chief deity, the creator god, and a figure of great authority, similar in some ways to the Greek Kronos.
Philo’s writings suggest that Kronos held a name or title associated with "Israel," possibly pointing to an understanding of this figure as the patriarch or foundational entity of a group or people—akin to Jacob, who was renamed Israel and was the father of the 12 tribes of Israel.
The association of Kronos with "Israel" could imply that the Phoenicians viewed Kronos as having a role analogous to that of Jacob (Israel) in the Hebrew tradition—a patriarch or significant founder figure.
Kronos being called "El" suggests that he embodied similar characteristics to the Canaanite supreme deity—a god of creation, authority, and fatherhood.
By attributing the name "Israel" to Kronos, the Phoenicians or Philo might have been emphasizing his role as a ruling patriarch—a position analogous to that of Jacob in the Israelite tradition.
The Greeks equated Kronos with the Roman Saturn, and Philo, in turn, equated Kronos with the Phoenician El, adding the association with "Israel." This reflects the syncretic practices of identifying different cultural myths with similar archetypes to create cohesion in the ancient Mediterranean world.
It's also possible that the connection between Kronos and Israel is a result of later interpretation or conflation.
The claim that Kronos was referred to as "El" or "Israel" comes primarily from the writings of Philo of Byblos, who translated and interpreted earlier Phoenician sources.
Kronos was likely equated with "El," the supreme god of the Canaanite pantheon, and possibly associated with "Israel" to symbolize a patriarchal or foundational role similar to that of Jacob (renamed Israel) in Hebrew tradition.
Pt 23 – History or Myth: Kronos or As the Phoenicians Call Him Israel / Myth Based on Real People
The speaker delves into texts and sources to explore the idea that many mythological figures are based on real people and places, with a particular focus on Kronos, Judah, and the connections to Israel and the Phoenicians.
Kronos, also known as Saturn in Roman mythology, is equated with Jacob (Israel) in Phoenician tradition.
The Phoenicians referred to Kronos as "Israel," connecting him to biblical Jacob.
Kronos had a son named Judah (spelled differently in various sources as Jud, Yud, or Yood).
Kronos is noted for circumcising himself and compelling others to do the same, linking him to Israelite practices.
The video references "Cory's Ancient Fragments," which quotes historians like Sanchuniathon, supporting the identification of Kronos with Israel.
The Phoenicians called Kronos "El," which aligns with Israel's connection to Jacob.
The Indentity of the Civilizations of the Old World and the New
Schott sees in the orbicular wheel-like plates of this statue the wheel symbol of Kronos
and Saturn; and, in turn, it may be supposed that the wheel of Kronos was simply the cross of Atlantis, surrounded by its encircling ring.
The Star Lore of Babylon
Hall referenced a statue of Kronos in Greece, which depicted two kinds of time: the ever-passing time and the eternal "now."
The Catalogue of Ships
This was the work of Hephaistos, who gave it to Zeus, the son of Kronos.
"My friends," he said, "heroes, squires of Ares, Zeus, the son of Kronos, has tied me down with atê.
The Phoenician history
The story centers on Kronos' rebellion against his tyrannical father, Ouranos.
After Ouranos attempts to kill his children, Kronos, with Hermes' help, overthrows him, establishing his rule and founding the city of Byblos.
C) History of Kronos (PE 1.10.
“Ouranos inherited his father’s dominion and married his sister Ge, and from her produced four children: Elos, who is also Kronos, Baetylos, Dagon, who is Grain, and Atlas.
“When Kronos reached manhood, he punished his father Ouranos and thus avenged his mother, utilizing Hermes Trismegistos—for he was his secretary—as counselor and helper.
The children of Kronos were Persephone and Athena.
The former died in early maidenhood; with the advice of the latter, Athena, as well as of Hermes, Kronos made a sickle and spear of iron.
Then Hermes used magic spells on the allies of Kronos and instilled in them a desire to fight against Ouranos on behalf of Ge.
Thus, Kronos waged war against Ouranos expelled him from his dominion, and took up his kingdom.
Ouranos' favorite mistress, who was pregnant, was also captured in the battle and Kronos gave her in marriage to Dagon.
“Furthermore, Kronos surrounded his own dwelling with a wall, and founded the first city, Byblos in Phoenicia.
Afterwards, Kronos began to suspect his own brother Atlas, and on the advice of Hermes, he cast him down and buried him in the depths of the earth.
Now the allies of Elos, i.e., Kronos, were called ‘Eloim,’ as the ones named after Kronos would be ‘Kronians.’
“Kronos had a son Sadidos whom he destroyed with his own weapon because he was suspicious of him.
Similarly, he beheaded his own daughter, so that all the gods were astounded at the disposition of Kronos.
“Some time later, while Ouranos was in exile, he secretly sent his maiden daughter Astarte together with two other sisters of hers, Rhea and Dione, to kill Kronos by stealth.
Kronos, however, caught the lasses and made the sisters his wives.
When Ouranos found out, he sent Destiny, Hour, and other allies into battle against Kronos.
These too Kronos won over and kept at his side.
"Kronos had seven daughters, Titanids or Artemids, by Astarte, and again by Rhea he had seven sons, the youngest of whom was made an object of worship at the time of his birth.
"Three more children were born to Kronos in (or ‘by’) Peraea, Kronos, named after his father, Zeus Belos, and Apollo.
"In the thirty-second year of his own assumption of royal authority Elos, i.e., Kronos, trapped his father Ouranos in a certain inland place.
Such are the things told about Kronos; and such are the solemn tales about the life of the contemporaries of Kronos as that is celebrated by the Greeks.
"Greatest Astarte and Zeus, called both Demarous and Adodos, king of gods, were ruling over the land with the consent of Kronos.
"Also when Kronos was traveling around the world, he gave the kingdom of Attica to his own daughter Athena.
At the occurrence of a fatal plague, Kronos immolated his only son to his father Ouranos, and circumcised himself, forcing the allies who were with him to do the same.
In addition, Kronos gave the city Byblos to the goddess Baaltis who is also Dione, and the city Beirut to Poseidon and to the Kabeiri, the Hunters and the Fishers, who made the relics of Pontos an object of worship in Beirut.
"Before this, the god Taautos, imitating the visages of his fellow gods, Kronos, Dagon and the rest, engraved the sacred forms of the letters.
He also invented as royal emblems for Kronos four eyes, on the front and in the rear, two awake, and two closed restfully; and upon the shoulders, four wings, two as if fluttering, and two as if relaxed.
This a symbol, since Kronos was watchful even when in repose, and was in repose even when awake; similarly the wings were symbolic because he flew while at rest, and was at rest while flying.
Each of the other gods had two feathers upon his shoulders, since they in fact flew with Kronos.
When he went to the southern land, Kronos transferred all of Egypt to the god Taautos, so that it might become his kingdom.
Now Kronos, whom the Phoenicians call El, who was in their land and who was later divinized after his death as the star of Kronos, had an only son by a local bride named Anobret, and therefore they called him Ieoud.—Even now among the Phoenicians the only son is given this name.—When war’s gravest dangers gripped the land, Kronos dressed his son in royal attire, prepared an altar and sacrificed him.”
The Phoenicians understand Kronos according to the interpretation of a similar name or according to some allegory, as one may gather from the second book of the work on Phoenicia by Herennius Philo.
The Olympian Gods
Cronus (Kronos): The youngest of the Titans, leader of the first generation of Titans, and father of the first generation of Olympians (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, and Hades).
The first man Hephestus
From him proceeded Helius (Ra, another god) ; afterwards Agathodemon ; then, Kronos, (Seb, another god) ; then Osiris ; then came Typhon, the brother of Osiris ; then came Horus, the son of Osiris by Isis, his wife.
The semi-mythical aspect of Manetho’s king list
Geb (Kronos): The earth god, Geb, ruled for 500 years.
The Identity of the Civilizations of the Old World and the New
The orbicular wheel-like plates of these statues may be linked to the wheel symbol of Kronos and Saturn, or the cross of Atlantis surrounded by a ring.
Moloch
Kronos/SaturnIn ancient Greek and Roman mythology, the story of Kronos (Greek) or Saturn (Roman), who devoured his own children to prevent them from overthrowing him, has been interpreted by some as a mythologized representation of child sacrifice practices, though this is a subject of debate among scholars.