ed on a structure erected in
the open air or be they lines on a flat surface on some instrument
standing in a room, or what not, then the problem is solved, for 1/12
(as above) of 120 is ten--the "ten degrees" stated in the history.

As to whether the "dial" of Ahaz was a device built up of masonry in the
open air or was an instrument for indoor use we know absolutely nothing,
and speculation is useless. There is something to be said on both sides.
Bosanquet, on abstract grounds, leans to the latter view; on the other
hand he calls attention to the present existence in India, at Delhi and
Benares, of ruined Hindoo observatories in the form of huge masonry
sun-dials many yards in length and breadth and height.[33]

Finally it may be pointed out that there is some incidental confirmation
to be found for this Hezekiah incident having happened in winter. That
the season of the year was winter seems to be suggested by the word used
in the original Hebrew in connection with the return of the shadow.

"Backward" in Isaiah xxxviii. 8 might also be translated, "From the
end." It would be very natural to hold that this implied that the motion
of the shadow was upwards from the _lower_ end of the group of steps
towards which the shadow had gone down. Now the lower end of the steps
could only have been the place of the shadow in December or January at
or near the time of the winter solstice. Moreover the mention of the
"lump of figs" seems to suggest the winter season. A cake of figs means
dried figs, not newly gathered summer figs.

Putting all the facts together we may fairly conclude that the
astronomical event which happened in connection with Hezekiah's illness
was an eclipse of the Sun, and that its date was January 11, 689 B.C.

A few other Scripture passages need a passing mention. In Isaiah xiii.
10 we read:--

"The Sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the Moon shall not
cause her light to shine." It has been thought by Johnson that this
passage is an allusion to an eclipse of the Sun, and so it might be; but
on the other hand, it may be no more than one of those highly figurative
phrases which abound in holy Scripture, and of which the well-known
passage, "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera" (Judges v.
20), is a familiar example.

In Jeremiah x. 2 we read:--

"Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at
them." This is cited as an eclipse allusion by Johnson, who p