Constellations in the Bible

also known as: Zodiac

This is a cluster of stars—or stars which appear to be near each other in the heavens—and which astronomers and astrologers have perceived an outline or pattern in the shape of various figures (such as the “Great Bear,” the “Bull,” etc.).

In Isaiah 13:10, where this word only occurs, it is the rendering of the Hebrew kesil, i.e., “fool.” This was the Hebrew name of the constellation Orion (Job 9:9; 38:31), a constellation which represented Nimrod, the symbol of folly and impiety. The word some interpret by “the giant” in this place, “some heaven-daring rebel who was chained to the sky for his impiety.”

Constellations mentioned in Scripture

• Pleiades
• Orion
• Arcturus in Bootes constellation
• Castor and Pollux in Gemini constellation
• “chambers of the south” (Job 9:9) —probably the constellations of the southern hemisphere
• Mazzaroth

More information

• CONSTELLATIONS—Is the gospel spelled out in the stars? Answer
• stars
• stargazers
• astrologers
• Astrology—What’s wrong with it? Answer
• What is the host of heaven?
• About idolatry and false gods in the Bible