19) ; and the Egyptians were the first to ascertain the true length of the solar year (Herod, ii, 4). See Year.
Under the name of stars the Hebrews comprehend- ed all constellations, planets, and heavenly bodies, with the exception of the sun and moon. No part of the visible creation exhibits the glory of the Creator more illustriously than the starry heavens (Psa. viii, 3 ; xix, 1). The Psalmist, to exalt the power and omniscience of Jehovah, represents him as taking a survey of the stars as a king taking a review of his array, and know- ing the name of every one of his soldiers (cxlvii, 4). Among the Hebrews stars were frequently employed as symbols of persons in eminent stations. Thus " the star out of Jacob" designates king David, the founder of the Hebrew dynasty, according to others the Messi- ah (Numb, xxiv, 17; see Georgi, De Stella ex Jacob [Kegiom. 1701]; Cotta, ibid. [Tiib. 1750]); the eleven patriarchs are called " stars" (Gen. xxxvii, 9) ; so also "stars" denote the princes, rulers, and nobles of the earth (Dan. viii, 10; Rev. vi, 13; viii. 10, 11; ix, 1; xii, 4). Christ is called the "Morning Star," as he introduced the light of the Gospel day, and made a fuller manifes- tation of the truths of God than the ancient prophets, whose predictions were now accomplished (xxii, 16). In allusion to the above prophecy in Numbers, the in- famous Jewish impostor Bar-cocab, or, as the Romans called him, Bar-cocheba (q. v.), who appeared in the reign of Hadrian, assumed the pompous title of" Son of a star," as the name implies, as if he were the star out of Jacob ; but this false Messiah was destroyed by the emperor's general, Julius Severus, with an almost in- credible number of his deluded followers. Stars were likewise the symbols of a deity — " The star of j-our god Chiun" (Amos v, 26). Probably the figure of a star was fixed on the head of the image of a false god. See Chil'n.
The study of the stars very early in the East (as eventually in the West likewise, Cassar, Bell. Gall, vi, 21) led to star-worship (Wisd. xiii, 2) ; in fact, the re- ligion of the Egyptians, Chalda;ans, Assyrians, and an- cient Arabians was nothing else than astrolatry (Mish- na, Aboda Sura, iv, 7), although at first this relation is not so apparent (see Wernsdorf, De Cultu Astrorvni [Gedan. 1746]). Hence the Mosaic law sternly warn- ed the Israelites against this idolatry (Dent, iv, 19; xvii, 3); yet they at length (in the Assyrian period) fell into it (1 Kings xxiii, 5, 12; Jer. xiv, 13; Ezek. viii, 16; Zeph, i, 5). The account given of it by Mai- monides is both curious and instructive. "In the days of Enos, the son of Seth, the sons of Adam erred with great error, and their error was this; and the counsel of the wise men became brutish, and Enos himself was of them that erred. They said, 'Forasmuch as God hath created these stars and spheres to govern the world, and hath set them on high, and imparted honor unto them, an<i they are ministers that minister before him, it is meet that men should laud and magnify and give them honor.' . . . So, in process of time, the glorious and fearful Name was forgotten out of the mouth of all living, and out of their knowledge, and they ac- knowledged him not. . . . And the priests, and such like, thought there was no God, save the stars and spheres, for whose sake, and in whose likeness, they made their images; but as for the Kock Everlasting, there was no man that did acknowledge him or know him, save a few persons in the world, as Enoch. ^lethu- selali, Noah, Slum, and Heber; and in this way did the world walk and converse till that ])illar of the world, Al)raliain our failier, was born." See Stak-gazkk.
A brief allusion to a few modern discoveries respect- ing the astral bodies may not be uninteresting here, especially their inconceivable extent. Astronomers tell us that the nearest of the fixed stars is distant from us twenty millions of millions of miles; and to give us some idea of that mighty interval they tell us that a cannon-ball flying ai tlu' rate of five hundred miles an hour would not reach that star in less than four mill-
STAR
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ion five hundred and ninety thousand years; and that if the earth, wliich moves with the velocity of more than a milHon and a half miles a day, were to be hurled from its orbit, and to take the same rapid flight over that immense tract, it would not have arrived at the termination of its journey after taking all the time which has elapsed since the creation of the world. The velocity of light is one hundred and ninety-two thou- sand miles in a second of time; so that in coming from a fixed star of the first magnitude it would take from three to twelve years, but in coming from one of the twelfth magnitude it woidd bo four thousand years be- fore the light reached the earth. They tell us, further, what the reason of every man must dispose him to ad- mit, that every star is probably a sun irradiating its own system of worlds; that the distance between one star and another may be presumed to be as great as the distance between the nearest of them and our earth ; and that their instruments enable them to compute not less than one hundred millions of those radiant orbs. But that number may form but an insignificant fraction of the whole ; and thus our earth and the system to which it belongs may bear no more proportion to the universe at large than a drop of water or a particle of sand to the whole terraqueous globe. (See Nichols, A rchitect. of the /feavens.) See Astronomy.