A LATER DATE FOR THE PHAETHON EVENT?
                                       
   by

B. O'GHEOGHAN

   Michael Reade has suggested that the Phaethon incident marks the most
   recent inversion of the Earth (1 ), and times it shortly after sunrise
   on a day close to the mid-summer solstice. Patten et al., suggest that
   the Phaethon event may have similarities with the long day of Joshua,
   and they time this as happening in the autumn (October in fact),
   making it a "case two" event like that of the Tower of Babel (2) .
   According to Velikovsky, the Phaethon incident was caused by Venus, an
   identification which I shall accept without demur. However, Venus
   seems to have caused most of its havoc at the Spring Equinox (in
   Nisan) rather than the Summer Solstice (in Tammuz).

   However, Patten et al. seem to have overlooked two vital pieces of
   information in formulating their argument. The first is that the
   Exodus contact and its sequelae were prolonged and repeated - there
   were four further contacts between Earth and Venus after the crossing
   of the Red Sea, as evidenced by four standing-stills of the sun and
   moon (3). The Venus orbit should have been somewhat disturbed by these
   contacts, and an autumn contact is not necessarily to be expected as
   per the Patten model for the next contact between Earth and her
   assailant. In fact, Jewish legend has it that the long day of Joshua
   took place in Tammuz - the month of the Summer Solstice (4).

   Moreover, most authorities would agree that Joshua's standstill was an
   early morning one, "the description of the position of the luminaries
   implies that the sun was in the forenoon position" (5). This makes a
   nonsense of all the rationalisation in the Biblical text and
   commentaries that Joshua should have prayed for the sun to stand still
   long enough for him to complete a victory - but it is in accordance
   with the description, both Biblical and Egyptological, of an early
   morning near solstice event. The date, 52 years after the Exodus!

   REFERENCES

   (1). SISR 2:2, p.41. (2). L. D. of J, ch.7, p.173-86. (3). Ginzberg
   III 109 & VI 45-6. (4). ibid VI 178 & 464. (5) WiC part I chap 1, "On
   the other side of ocean".
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