As early as the time of the composition of per haps the oldest book in the Bible, namely, that of Job, the constellations were distinguished one front another, and designated by peculiar and ap propriate names ( Job ix :9; xxxviii:3t ). In the Bible are found, ( ) ileyer, the morning star, the planet N'ehus Ifs xiv :12; Rev. ii :28). (2) Kimait' ( Job ix :o; xxxviii:35; Amos v :8), the Pleiades.
(3) kes11', Orion. a large and brilliant constella tion, which stands in a line with the Pleiades. The Oriental. seem to have conceived of Orion as a huge giant who had warred against God, and as hound in chains to the firmament of heaven (Job xxxv..1:311. and it has been conjectured that this notion is the foundation of the history of Nimrod (Gesen Continent, cu (4) Ash (Job ix :01, the Great Bear, which has still the same name among the Arabians (Niebuhr, b. t3) In the comfit n version No. 4 is dered 'Arcturus.' No. 3 'Orion,' and No. 2 'Pleiades.' See Job xxxviii:,;t, where the cons of Arcturus are the three stars in the tail of the Bear, which stand in a curved line to the left.
(5) Nadu:sit' ( Job xxvi:13. 'the crooked ser pent'), Draco, between the Great and the I.ittle Bear: a constellation which spreads itself in windings ,icro.: the heavens. toi .1i6okoipoi, tit-of kon-rot, the sons of Zeus. that is, the tzeots of Leda (Acts xxviii:t t), Gemini, c.r the Twins. on the belt of the iodine, which is mentioned in 2 Kings xxiii :5, under •':e general name of 'the planets.' Mazzaloth', a word which sig nifies dwellings, stations in which the sun tarries in his apparent course through the heavens (Comp. Gen. xxxvii :9). The entire body of the
stars was called the host of heaven', tsaba ha sha»zayea (Is. x1:26; Jer. xxxiii :22).
No trace is found in the Old Testament of a division of the heavenly bodies into planets, fixed stars and comets; but in Jude 13, the phrase wan dering stars is employed figuratively.
(3) After the Exile. After the Babylonish ex ile the Jews were compelled, even for the sake of their calendar, to attend at least to the course of the moon, which became an object of study, and delineations were made of the shapes that she assumes (111ischna rosch hassh. ii:8.) We find among the Babylonians Jupiter (Belus, Heb. Gad, Is. lxv :1 x), Venus (Heb. Moil, Is. lxv :II, where the first is rendered in the common version 'that troop,' the second 'that number'). Both these were considered good principles. Mer cury, honored as the secretary of heaven, is also found in Is. xlvi :1, 'Nebo stoopeth;' Saturn, (Heb. Kizun, Amos v:26) ; Mars, (Nergal, 2 Kings xviii :30). The last two were worshiped as principles of evil. Astrology concerned itself also with the determination of lucky and unlucky days; so in Job iii :3, 'Let the day perish wherein I was born ; and Gal. iv no, 'Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.' The Chal dmans, who studied the stars at a very early period, were much given to astrology, and were cele brated for their skill in that pretended science (Is. xlvii :13). In Daniel ii :27 ; v :II, astrologers, calculators of nativities, are named.