The well-known constellation of the Great Bear, dv 'ash (,)ob 9-') or s>;yi 'atjish (fern. Job 3M"),* is said to be connected with na'.ih ' a bier,' the name of that constellation in Arabic. The ' sons ' of 'Aijith (c*-i') arc spoken of in Job 38", and are regariled as the three stars in the tail of the bear, a parallel to the Arab, expression bandt na'sh ' the daughters of the bier,' which means the • For ' the Iwar* of the RV Uie AV bos ' Aroturus '
192 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY
ASTRONOMY AND ASTROLOGY
same tiling. The Arab, legend connected with the constellation of the Great Bear is as follows : —
Na'sh having been killed by Gedi (the pole star), the cliildren of Na'sh (the sons in front with the body of their father, the daughter behind with the nurse, who carries a child in her arms) go round nightly seeking the murderer, with the hope of avenging their father's death. Canopus (Arab. Suhel), how- ever, wishes to go to the help of Gedi, but, having set out too late, finds himself always foiled, not being able to reach his point in time to prevent the approaching catastrophe. Whether some legend similar to this was attached to the constellation by the ancient Hebrews is uncertain, and, whilst admitting a likeness in the Heb. and Arab, names, the diflerences in their forms must, nevertheless, not be forgotten. Fried. Delitzsch points out that the Heb. b>v elsewhere (Job 4" etc.) means 'a moth,' and that a star bearing that name (sAsu ' moth ') seems to have been kno^vn to the Assyro- Babvlonians ( WAI ii. 49, 64). M. A. Stem (in the Jiia. Zeitschr. 1866) regards this constellation as the Pleiades.
Another constellation mentioned is Orion, in Heb. ^•C? (Job 99 38»i, Am 5»), pi. □•'?-Q? (Is 13">).* The word means, literally, ' the fool,' or ' impious one,' corresponding with Arab, jabbar, Syr. gabbard,i Chald. niphla ' the giant,' the name given to this constellation by the Semites of old because regarded as the figure of a man — probably one of the larger male figures seen on those Bab. boundary-stones which show fagures of the constellations. Gesenius suggests that they (the Hebrews, etc.) seem to have looked on this constellation as the figure of an impious giant bound in the sky, whence Job 38" ' Canst thou loose the bands of Orion ? ' The plural in Is 13"* ' constellations,' means, literally, ' the Orions ' — the giant constellations of the sky, prominent by their brightness. A very ingenious suggestion is that quoted in the Chronicon Pas- chale, Cedrenus, John of Antioch, and others, from Pers. sources, that Chesil or Orion is the impious giant Nimrod chained to the heavens. This, however, is late, and probably has no solid basis as its origin.
The well-known passage in Job (9°) supplies us also with the word for the Pleiades, .i?'3 kimah, Syr. kima, Arab, thurayya, words meaning ' heap,' ' cluster,' ' plenty,' ' multitude,' from the seven larger stars and the smaller ones closely grouped there\vith. The Arabs also call the Pleiades an-najm ' the star,' or ' cluster ' par excellence, said to be so named on account of their monthly conjunction with the moon, by which they served to measure time, and thus rule the calendar. In Job 38", n?'3 Ti\iyj_p, ' the cluster (AV ' sweet influences') of the Pleiades' is mentioned, corre- sponding with the Arab, 'nkd ath-thurnyya. The Rabbis (see R. David Kimchi in his Lexicon) thought that the ' bands of the Pleiades ' referred to their influence upon vegetation, klmah liaving
freat cold, and binding up the fruit, tliough R. Baac described the influence of the Pleiades as being the reverse of this, ripening the fruits. In the Pers. poets (Sadi, Hafiz, etc.) these stars are regarded as a brilliant rosette with a central star, etc.
The popiilar name used by Luther, ' die Glucke,' i.e. ' the clucking hen,' reminds one of the Engli.sh name ' hen and chickens,' and the French poussi- niire, O.F. pulsiniire. The appearance of the constellation of the Pleiades being conventionally that of a large star surrounded by several smaller
• The LXX hM "Etti^k In Job 99 ; 'aplm. In Job 383'. The LXX of Amos 68 differs entirely from the received text of the Hi:li.
t Also called in Syr. 'iydtha, a word which ia uid aUo to mean Mdebaran, Capella, and the Pleiades.
ones, was likened to a brood-hen with her chickens under her wings, hence this name ; and for this reason the Pleiades were also supposed to be the same as Succoth-benoth, which is rendered by R. David Kimchi ' hen (with) chickens.' This name for the Pleiades, which occurs in the Targ. to Job, is said also to be usual with the Arabs. vVhether the Hebrews of ancient times had also this idea, is uncertain, and seems to be improbable. It is to be noted that Fried. Delitzsch denies the meaning ' star-cluster ' for this constellation, and connects a^'j kimah with the Assyr. kimtu ' family,' ex- plaining it as the ' family of stars,' — an etymology which does not invalidate, as ■«'ill be seen, the popular legends concerning it.
n-i; an) ' the fleeing serpent,' or ' swift serpent ' (Job 26'*), has been regarded as the sign of the dragon, between the Great and the Little Bear; but this identification is very uncertain. It would seem, however, to be something connected with the sky, as is indicated by the first part of the verse : ' By his spirit are the heavens garnished ' (RV), or, ' beauty ' (m).