For Just How Long Has the Periodicity of Halley's Comet Been Known?

BadBrain

I was just reading up about Halley's Comet in Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halley's_Comet ), and I came across the following two items:


"The possibility has been raised that 1st-century Jewish astronomers had already recognized Halley's Comet as periodic.[26] This theory notes a passage in the Talmud[27] which refers to "a star which appears once in seventy years that makes the captains of the ships err."[28]"

and

"This appearance of the comet is also noted in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Eilmer of Malmesbury may have seen Halley previously in 989, as he wrote of it in 1066: "You've come, have you? ... You've come, you source of tears to many mothers, you evil. I hate you! It is long since I saw you; but as I see you now you are much more terrible, for I see you brandishing the downfall of my country. I hate you!"[64]"

tiny-tim

from http://halakhah.com/horayoth/horayot...ml#chapter_iii (nezikin, tractate horayoth, chapter 3 (הוריות פרק ג), gemara (גמרא), at folio 10b (י,ב)) …

The latter answered him, 'A certain star rises once in seventy years and leads the sailors astray, and I suspected it might rise and lead us astray.'

the original babylonian aramaic of the words in bold (from http://www.mechon-mamre.org/b/l/l4803.htm … or is this a hebrew translation? ) is …

כוכב אחד לשבעים שנה עולה ומתעה את <הספינות> [הספנים

which google-translate renders (from hebrew) as

One star rises and seventy years misleading the <ships> [sailors]

BadBrain

Thanks!