Sun

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

SUN . The first mention of the sun in the Bible is in   Genesis 1:16 , as ‘the greater light to rule the day.’ It was looked upon as the greatest and most important of the heavenly bodies, and motion was attributed to it, as is still done in ordinary parlance. We read of the going down of the sun, and of its rising; of the increasing force of its heat as the day went on (  Exodus 16:21 ), of its influence in the production of the crops of the ground (‘the precious things of the fruits of the sun,’   Deuteronomy 33:14 ). The sun ‘goeth forth in his might’ (  Judges 5:31 ). The situation of a place is spoken of as ‘toward the sunrising,’ i.e. to the east ( e.g.   Numbers 34:15 ). Things that were notorious and done openly were said to be ‘before or in the sight of the sun.’ But while the sun is strong, the power of God is greater still. This is expressed in Job’s assertion (  Job 9:7 ) that God ‘commandeth the sun and it riseth not.’ The power of the sun affects the complexion (‘I go blackened, but not by the sun,’   Job 30:28 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.]; cf.   Song of Solomon 1:6 ), and even causes death. A case of death by sunstroke occurs in   2 Kings 4:18-19 , and this power is alluded to in   Psalms 121:6 ‘The sun shall not smite thee by day.’ The light of the sun is cheering: ‘a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun’ (  Ecclesiastes 11:7 ). Contrivances for measuring the length of the day by the shadow cast by the sun were invented: we have some kind of dial , of which steps formed a part, indicated in   2 Kings 20:9;   2 Kings 20:11 ,   Isaiah 38:8 . Though there is no actual mention of an eclipse in the Bible, part of the language used in describing the terrors of the day of the Lord both in OT and NT is derived from such an event: ‘the sun shall be turned into darkness’ (  Joel 2:31 ), ‘the sun became black as sackcloth of hair’ (  Revelation 6:12 ). On the other hand, the brilliance and glory of the future life is portrayed by comparison with the sun. ‘Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun’ (  Matthew 13:43 ); ‘The light of the sun shall be sevenfold’ (  Isaiah 30:26 ); and even the sun will not be required, for, as in   Psalms 84:11 ‘the Lord God is a sun,’ so in   Revelation 21:23 (cf.   Revelation 22:5 ) ‘the city hath no need of the sun … for the glory of God did lighten it.’ The wonders of the day of Joshua’s victory over the Amorites, when at his command the sun and moon are said to have stood still (  Joshua 10:12-14 ), were long remembered by the Israelites (  Habakkuk 3:11 , Sir 46:4 ).

The power and influence of the sun over the natural world would soon lead to its being personified and worshipped, inasmuch as what was done upon earth was done ‘under the sun.’ In one of Joseph’s dreams there is a personification of the sun ( Genesis 37:9 ). In the Book of Deuteronomy (  Deuteronomy 4:19 ) there is a caution against sun-worship , and the punishment of death by stoning is assigned to the convicted worshipper of the sun (  Deuteronomy 17:3 ), whilst in Job (  Job 31:26 ) there is an allusion to a superstitious salutation of the sun by the kissing of the hand. Sun-pillars, or obelisks used in the worship of the sun, are mentioned frequently in the OT, e.g.   Exodus 23:24 , Lev 26:30 ,   2 Chronicles 14:3 ,   Isaiah 17:8 ,   Ezekiel 6:4; and in PhÅ“nicia, a solar Baal, Baal-Hammon, was worshipped. Sun-worship itself was, in the later days of the kingdom of Judah at any rate, one of the permitted forms of worship in Jerusalem. Sun-images are mentioned in 2 Ch. (  2 Chronicles 14:5 ) as existing in all the cities of Judah as early as the reign of Asa. In Josiah’s reformation those who burnt incense to the sun were put down (  2 Kings 23:5 ), while the chariots of the sun were burned with fire (after being hewn down according to   2 Chronicles 34:4;   2 Chronicles 34:7 ), and ‘the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun’ were taken away (  2 Kings 23:11 ). There was a great chariot of the sun at Sippar in Babylonia. We gather from   Ezekiel 8:16 that this sun-worship actually took place in the inner court at the door of the Temple, between the porch and the altar; the worshippers turned their backs upon the Temple itself, and worshipped the sun towards the east. Certain places where this worship appears to have been most popular took the name Beth-shemesh (wh. see), ‘house of the sun,’ from the fact.

We must not forget, in conclusion, that, in one Messianic passage ( Malachi 4:2 ), the coming deliverer is spoken of as ‘the sun of righteousness.’

H. A. Redpath.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 1:14 translated "let there be luminaries," literally, "light bearers". Genesis only tells what the sun, moon, and stars are in relation to the earth. When the mists were dispelled, and the seas confined within bounds, the heavenly bodies assumed their natural functions, marking days and nights, seasons and years, and God appoints the sun to rule the day and the moon the night. "Let them be for signs," as eclipses, portents of extraordinary events ( Matthew 2:2;  Luke 21:25) and divine judgments ( Joel 2:30;  Jeremiah 10:2;  Matthew 24:29), and indicating the four quarters of the heavens ( Psalms 50:1) and also the changes in the weather; "and for seasons, days, and years." The sun regulated the length of the Israelite year by the recurrence of Pentecost at a fixed agricultural season, namely, when the grain was ripe.

The person facing the rising sun faced the E.; so "before," "forward," meant the E.; "behind," "backward," meant the W.; "on the left hand" meant the N."; "on the right" the S. ( Job 23:8-9). Shemesh , "sun," expresses the stupor produced on the beholder by his overwhelming brilliancy; Chammah and Cherec are poetical names implying his "heat". Sun worship was the earliest idolatry ( Job 31:26-27); Ra was "the sun god in Egypt"; Οn was "the city of the sun worship" ( Jeremiah 43:13; Hebrew), Βethshemesh "house of the sun," Greek Ηeliopolis . Joshua's causing the sun to stand still phenomenally virtually proclaimed his God Jehovah to be Lord of the sun and all creation, in the face of pagandom. The valley of Ajalon is still called Wady El Μikteleh , "the valley of slaughter." The Phoenician Baal; the Ammonite Moloch and Milcom; the Syrian Hadad; latterly the Persian Mithras (Zoroaster Previously Had Reformed The Worship) .

The "sun images" were called in Hebrew Chammanim ( Leviticus 26:30; margin  2 Chronicles 14:5;  2 Chronicles 34:4), stone statues to "solar Baal" or Βaal Ηaman in Carthaginian inscriptions. The temple at Baalbek was dedicated to the worship of the sun. Manasseh introduced direct sun worship ( 2 Kings 21:3;  2 Kings 21:5). Josiah destroyed by fire (The Very Element Which Was Worshipped) the chariots, and removed the horses consecrated to the sun ( 2 Kings 23:5;  2 Kings 23:11-12). The housetop was the place of sun altars and incense burning ( Zephaniah 1:5).

Worship was directed to the rising sun ( Ezekiel 8:16-17); they used to hold a bunch of "tamarisk branches" ( Barsom ) to their nose at daybreak, while singing hymns to the rising sun (Strabo, 1:15, section 733). The horses sacred to the sun, and used in processions to meet the rising sun, were kept at the entering in of the house of Jehovah in the portico (As Gesenius Explains Parwarim In  2 Kings 23:11 , Not "Suburbs") at the western side of the outer temple court. An insult to the only true God, in His own house! Spiritually, God's law is the sun ( Psalms 19:7). He is a Sun to cheer; and "the Sun of righteousness," from whom we receive all righteousness, by imputation for justification, and by impartation for sanctification ( Malachi 4:2;  Revelation 1:16).

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sun. In the history of "greater light," of the creation, the sun is described as "greater light," in contradistinction to the moon, the "lesser light," in conjunction with which it was to serve "for signs and for seasons, and for days, and for years," while its special office was "to rule the day."  Genesis 1:14-16. The "signs" referred to were, probably, such extraordinary phenomena as eclipses, which were regarded as conveying premonitions of coming events.  Jeremiah 10:2;  Matthew 24:29;  Luke 21:25.

The joint influence assigned to the sun and moon in deciding the "seasons," both for agricultural operations and for religious festivals, and also in regulating the length and subdivisions of the years "correctly describes the combination of the lunar and solar year, which prevailed at all events subsequent to the Mosaic period.

Sunrise and sunset are the only defined points of time in the absence of artificial contrivances for telling the hour of the day. Between these two points the Jews recognized three periods, namely, when the sun became hot, about 9 A.M.,  1 Samuel 11:9;  Nehemiah 7:3, the double light, or noon,  Genesis 43:16;  2 Samuel 4:5, and "the cool of the day," shortly before sunset.  Genesis 3:8.

The sun also served to fix the quarters of the hemisphere, east, west, north and south, which were represented respectively by the rising sun, the setting sun,  Isaiah 45:6;  Psalms 50:1, the dark quarter,  Genesis 13:14;  Joel 2:20, and the brilliant quarter,  Deuteronomy 33:23;  Job 37:17;  Ezekiel 40:24, or otherwise, by their position relative to a person facing the rising sun - before, behind, on the left hand, and on the right hand.  Job 23:8-9.

The worship of the sun, as the most prominent and powerful agent in the kingdom of nature, was widely diffused throughout the countries adjacent to Palestine. The Arabians appear to have paid direct worship to it, without the intervention of any statue or symbol,  Job 31:26-27, and this simple style of worship was probably familiar to the ancestors of the Jews in Chaldaea and Mesopotamia.

The Hebrews must have been well acquainted with the idolatrous worship of the sun during the captivity in Egypt, both from the contiguity of On , the chief seat of the worship of the sun, as implied in the name itself, (On being the equivalent of the Hebrew, Bethshemesh , "House Of The Sun" ),  Jeremiah 43:13, and also from the connection between Joseph and Potipherah, ("he who belongs to Ela"), the priest of On,  Genesis 41:45.

After their removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came in contact with various forms of idolatry which originated in the worship of the sun; such as the Baal of the Phoenicians, the Molech or Milcom of the Ammonites, and the Hadad of the Syrians. The importance attached to the worship of the sun by the Jewish kings may be inferred from the fact that, the horses sacred to the sun were stalled within the precincts of the Temple.  2 Kings 23:11.

In the metaphorical language of Scripture, the sun is emblematic of the law of God,  Psalms 19:7, of the cheering presence of God,  Psalms 84:11, of the person of the Saviour,  John 1:9;  Malachi 4:2, and of the glory and purity of heavenly beings.  Revelation 1:16;  Revelation 10:1.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The Hebrew called the Sun Shemesh from being the great luminary of the heavens. And from its beneficial use and influence, as appointed by the great Creator, it is no wonder that men in the darkened state of a fallen nature, made it the idol of worship. It is only from Revelation, that we learn that the Sun in all his brightness, is but the creature of God. And hence, under diving teaching, Job could and did say, that he dared to kiss his hand in token of adoration when he saw the Sun shining, in his strength, or the Moon walking in her brightness. ( Job 31:26-28)

The Holy Ghost hath been pleased to teach the church to consider the Sun as the servant of the Lord Jesus, and as becoming a faint emblem of his glorious shining. The prophet Malachi to this purpose was "commissioned to say, that to them that feared the name of the Lord, the sun of righteousness should arise with healing in his wings." ( Malachi 4:2) And indeed when we consider that the Sun, as the creature of God, becomes the source and fountain of light and life to the whole world, of animal and vegetable life; there is certainly a great beauty in the allusion to him, the Sun of righteousness, from whom the whole of the spiritual as well as the natural world, derive their very being, their upholding, and prosperity. Who shall describe the wonderful, unbounded, and endless influence of the Lord Jesus, in calling into life, continuing and carrying, on that life, and warning, referring, healing, and in short imparting all the properties of the sun of righteousness in his blessed and everlasting influence on the souls of his people. But the emblem of the Sun of this lower world, considered as referring to Christ the Sun of righteousness, falls far short in a thousand instances where Jesus becomes most precious to his people. The planet of the day reacheth but to the day, and leaves a long wintry night wholly destitute of his power. Not so with Jesus, his is a Sun that goes not down, but frequently in the darkest shades of sorrow, makes his rays most bright and glorious. %Very blessedly therefore the Holy Ghost caused it to be recorded by one of the prophets, that when the Lord Jesus shall come to be glorified by his saints, and admired in all that believe that his superoior lustre shall make his creature the sun to blush and not shine before him. "Then shall the moon be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his antients gloriously." ( Isaiah 24:23)

Vine's Expository Dictionary of OT Words

Shemesh ( שֶׁמֶשׁ , Strong'S #8121), “sun; Shamshu (?); sunshield; battlement.” Cognates of this word occur in Ugaritic ( sh-p-sh ), Akkadian, Aramaic, Phoenician, and Arabic. It appears 134 times in biblical Hebrew and in all periods.

This word means “sun”: “And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram …” (Gen. 15:12—the first occurrence of the word). The “wings of the sun” are probably its rays (Mal. 4:2). The “sun” and especially its regularity supported by divine sovereignty (Gen. 8:22) figures the security of God’s allies: “So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might” (Judg. 5:31). God can also make the “sun” stand still when He wishes (Josh. 10:12-13) or darken as an indication of His judgment upon His enemies and salvation for His people (Joel 2:31-32). The “sun” and all the heavenly bodies were created by God (Gen. 1:16) and are summoned to praise Him (Ps. 148:3). The Canaanites and other people worshiped the “sun” as a god, and this paganism appeared among Israelites in times of spiritual decline (Deut. 4:19). In 2 Kings 23:5 perhaps one could translate: “Those who burned incense to Shamshu” (cf. v. 11). Perhaps passages like Ps. 148:3 are allusions to the sun god (although this is questionable).

Shemesh is used in phrases indicating direction. The east is “the rising of the sun”: “And they journeyed from Oboth, … toward the sunrising” (Num. 21:11). The west is “the setting of the sun”: “Are they not on the other side of Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down …?” (Deut. 11:30). In Ps. 84:11 the word represents a sunshaped shield: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield.…”

Shemesh may be a structural term: “And I will make thy windows [NASB, “battlements”] of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles …” (Isa. 54:12).

There are a few noteworthy phrases related to shemesh. To be “before the sun” or “before the eyes of the sun” is to be openly exposed: “Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun [NASB, “in broad daylight”] …” (Num. 25:4). To “see the sun” is “to live”: “… Like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun” (Ps. 58:8). Something “under the sun” is life lived on the earth apart from God in contrast to life lived on earth with a proper relationship with God (Eccl. 1:3).

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Ἥλιος (Strong'S #2246 — Noun Masculine — helios — hay'-lee-os )

whence Eng. prefix "helio," is used (a) as a means of the natural benefits of light and heat, e.g.,  Matthew 5:45 , and power,  Revelation 1:16; (b) of its qualities of brightness and glory, e.g.,  Matthew 13:43;  17:2;  Acts 26:13;  1—Corinthians 15:41;  Revelation 10:1;  12:1; (c) as a means of destruction, e.g.,  Matthew 13:6;  James 1:11; of physical misery,  Revelation 7:16; (d) as a means of judgment, e.g.,  Matthew 24:29;  Mark 13:24;  Luke 21:25;  23:45;  Acts 2:20;  Revelation 6:12;  8:12;  9:2;  16:8 .

 Revelation 7:2 16:12

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

SUN. —The rising of the sun marks the morning ( Mark 16:2), and its setting the evening ( Mark 1:32,  Luke 4:40). Its light is one of the gifts which the Creator bestows on all men without distinction ( Matthew 5:45). By ‘signs in the sun’ ( Luke 21:25) we are to understand the phenomena of eclipse, as described more clearly in the parallel passages,  Matthew 24:29,  Mark 13:24. The statement in  Luke 23:45 as to ‘the sun being darkened’ (Authorized Version) or ‘the sun’s light failing’ (Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885) at the time of the Crucifixion, cannot be explained in this way, since an eclipse of the sun can happen only at new moon, whereas the Crucifixion took place at a Passover, when the moon was full. The sun’s scorching heat, so destructive to vegetation, is an emblem of tribulation or persecution ( Matthew 13:6;  Matthew 13:21,  Mark 4:6;  Mark 4:17). The appearance of the face of Christ at the Transfiguration ( Matthew 17:2) and in the opening vision of the Apocalypse ( Revelation 1:16) is compared to the brightness of the sun. The same thing is said of the glory in which the righteous shall appear after the final judgment ( Matthew 13:43).

James Patrick.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

The sun was the greater light given to rule the day. The Israelites particularly observed this by beginning their day-time at sunrise (in distinction from 12 o'clock at night), and closing it at sunset, which necessarily made their days and their hours in summer much longer than in winter.  Psalm 19:1-6;  Psalm 113:3;  Psalm 136:8 .

SUN WORSHIP.The Israelites were cautioned against worshipping the sun, nevertheless they fell into that idolatry, and set up high places for the sun in Jerusalem.  Deuteronomy 4:19;  2 Kings 23:5,11 .

SUN Standing Still  Joshua 10:12-27 . No legitimate objection can be made to the statement that the sun 'stood still;' for though it is now known that it is the earth that moves, yet astronomers still speak of the sun rising and setting, and use the word 'solstice,' which signifies 'sun standing still.' They would doubtless say the same as Joshua said if they were placed in similar circumstances.

The shadow of the gnomon going back ten degrees on the sun-dial in the days of Hezekiah,  2 Kings 20:10 , may, as well as the above, have been produced by the light of the sun passing through a more dense medium; but in whatever way God may have chosen to accomplish these miracles, they are wonderful and divinely-given signs.

Signs In The Sun These are probably symbolical of the eclipse and change of those in supreme authority over the earth in the latter days.  Luke 21:25;  Acts 2:20;  Revelation 6:12 .

Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types

 Psalm 19:4 (c) By this illustration we see the gorgeous beauty and the sovereign power of Christ Jesus As the sun is chief in nature, so Christ is chief in all humanity and in all human affairs.

 Psalm 84:11 (a) This is typical of GOD as the One who gives light and life, warmth and strength to His people, even as the sun gives to vegetation.

 Psalm 121:6 (b) This is a promise that the natural forces of earth will be restrained from injuring the children of GOD who walk in intimate trust with Him.

 Jeremiah 15:9 (b) We may understand from this type that the end of life and of opportunity had come before its time. Punishment came because of disobedience.

 Malachi 4:2 (a) This beautiful type represents the Lord Jesus when He shall return to this earth in power to heal all human woes, and to remove all curses from the earth.

 Matthew 13:6 (b) Probably this type represents trials, difficulties and opposition which keep the Word of GOD from being effective in the heart and mind. Sometimes it represents earth's light from human minds, mental arguments and reasonings which destroy the effective power of the Word of GOD in the soul. (See  Mark 4:6).

 Revelation 12:1 (b) No doubt this represents Israel, which nation had the light of GOD, the Word of GOD, and produced the Son of GOD who is the Light of the world.

King James Dictionary

SUN, n.

1. The splendid orb or luminary which, being in or near the center of our system of worlds, gives light and heat to all the planets. The light of the sun constitutes the day, and the darkness which proceeds form its absence, or the shade of the earth, constitutes the night.  Psalms 136 2. In popular usage, a sunny place a place where the beams of the sun fall as, to stand in the sun, that is, to stand where the direct rays of the sun fall. 3. Any thing eminently splendid or luminous that which is the chief source of light or honor. The natives of America complain that the sun of their glory is set.

I will never consent to put out the sun of sovereignty to posterity.

4. In Scripture, Christ is called the sun of righteousness, as the source of light, animation and comfort to his disciples. 5. The luminary or orb which constitutes the center of any system of worlds. The fixed stars are supposed to be suns in their respective systems.

Under the sun, in the world on earth a proverbial expression.

There is no new thing under the sun.  Ecclesiastes 1

SUN, To expose to the sun's rays to warm or dry in the light of the sun to insolate as, to sun cloth to sun grain.

--Then to sun thyself in open air.

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

The Bible recognizes that the sun exercises control over certain processes of life in the world, and it sees this as a sign that God created the world and continues to care for it ( Genesis 1:14-18;  Deuteronomy 33:13-14;  Matthew 5:45). The sun is a symbol of permanency and endurance ( Psalms 72:5;  Psalms 72:17;  Psalms 89:36), but it is not eternal. It is something God has created, and therefore it must not become an object of worship ( Deuteronomy 4:19;  Psalms 136:7-9;  Ezekiel 8:16-18;  Romans 1:18-23). The sun was darkened at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, and will be darkened again at the time of his return to judge the world ( Matthew 27:45;  Mark 13:24-27).

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) The luminous orb, the light of which constitutes day, and its absence night; the central body round which the earth and planets revolve, by which they are held in their orbits, and from which they receive light and heat. Its mean distance from the earth is about 92,500,000 miles, and its diameter about 860,000.

(2): ( n.) Any heavenly body which forms the center of a system of orbs.

(3): ( n.) The direct light or warmth of the sun; sunshine.

(4): ( n.) That which resembles the sun, as in splendor or importance; any source of light, warmth, or animation.

(5): ( v. t.) To expose to the sun's rays; to warm or dry in the sun; as, to sun cloth; to sun grain.

(6): ( n.) See Sunn.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

The great luminary of day, which furnishes so many similitudes to the Hebrew poets, as well as those of all nations,  Judges 5:31   Psalm 84:11   Proverbs 4:18   Luke 1:78,79   John 8:12 . For the idolatrous worship of the sun, see Baal .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 1:14-18 Job 31:26,27 Deuteronomy 4:19 17:3 2 Kings 23:11 Jeremiah 19:13

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 1:16 Psalm 84:11 Luke 1:78Pagan Gods

David Maltsberger

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(prop. שֶׁמֶשׁ , Shemesh; Ἣλιος ) . In the history of the creation the sun is described as the "greater light," in contradistinction to the moon, or "lesser light," in conjunction with which it was to serve "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years," while its special office was "to rule the day" ( Genesis 1:14-16). The "signs" referred to were probably such extraordinary phenomena as eclipses, which were regarded as conveying premonitions of coming events ( Jeremiah 10:2;  Matthew 24:29, with  Luke 21:25). The joint influence assigned to the sun and moon in deciding the "seasons," both for agricultural operations and for religious festivals, and also in regulating the length' and subdivisions of the "years," correctly describes the combination of the lunar and solar year, which prevailed, at all events, subsequently to the Mosaic period-the moon being the Measurer ( Κατ᾿ Ἐξοχήν ) of the lapse of time by the subdivisions of months and weeks, while the sun was the ultimate Regulator of the length of the year by means of the recurrence of the feast of. Pentecost at a fixed agricultural season, viz. when the corn became ripe.

The sun "ruled the day" alone, sharing the dominion of the skies with the moon, the brilliancy and utility of which for journeys and other purposes enhances its value in Eastern countries. It "ruled the day," not only in reference to its powerful influences, but also as deciding the length of the day and supplying the means of calculating its progress. Sunrise and sunset are the only defined points of time, in the absence of artificial contrivances for telling the hour of the day; and, as these points are less variable in the latitude of Palestine than in many countries, they served the purpose of marking the commencement and conclusion of the working-day. Between these two points the Jews recognized three periods, viz. when the sun became hot, about 9 A.M. ( 1 Samuel 11:9,  Nehemiah 7:3); the double light, or noon ( Genesis 43:16;  2 Samuel 4:5); and "the cool of the day," shortly before sunset ( Genesis 3:8). The sun also served to fix the quarters of the hemisphere-east, west, north, and south-which were represented respectively by the risings sun, the setting sun ( Isaiah 45:6;  Psalms 1:1), the dark quarter ( Genesis 13:14;  Joel 2:20), and the brilliant quarter ( Deuteronomy 33:23;  Job 37:17;  Ezekiel 40:24); or otherwise by their position relative to a person facing the rising sun- before, behind, on the left hand, and on the right hand ( Job 23:8-9). The apparent motion of the sun is frequently referred to in terms that would imply its reality ( Joshua 10:13;  2 Kings 20:11;  Psalms 19:6;  Ecclesiastes 1:5;  Habakkuk 3:11). The ordinary name for the sun, Shemesh, is supposed to refer to the extreme brilliancy of its rays, producing Stupor or Astonishment in the mind of the beholder; the poetical names חִמָּה , Chammah ( Job 30:28;  Song of Solomon 6:10;  Isaiah 30:26), and חֶרֶס , Chires ( Judges 14:18;  Job 9:7) have reference to its heat, the beneficial effects of which are duly commemorated ( Deuteronomy 33:14;  Psalms 19:6) as well as its baneful influence when in excess ( Psalms 121:6;  Isaiah 49:10;  Jonah 4:8;  Sirach 43:3-4). The vigor with which the sun traverses the heavens is compared to that of a "bridegroom coming out of his chamber," and of a "giant rejoicing to run his course" ( Psalms 19:5). The speed with which the beams of the rising sun dart across the sky is expressed in the term "wings" applied to them ( Psalms 139:9;  Malachi 4:2).

The worship of the sun as the most prominent and powerful agent in the kingdom of nature was widely diffused throughout the countries adjacent to Palestine. The Arabians appear to have paid direct worship to it without the intervention of any statue or symbol ( Job 31:26-27; Strabo, 16. 784), and this simple style of worship was probably familiar to the ancestors of the Jews in Chaldea and Mesopotamia. In Egypt the sun was worshipped under the title of Ri or Ra, and not, as was supposed by ancient writers, under the form of Osiris (Diod. Sic. 1, 11; see Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 4:289). The name came conspicuously forward as the title of the kings-Pharaoh, or rather Phra, meaning "the sun" (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 4:287). The Hebrews must have been well acquainted with the idolatrous worship of the sun during the captivity in Egypt both from the contiguity of On, the chief seat of the worship of the sun as implied in the name itself (On= the Hebrew Bethshemesh, "house of the sun,"  Jeremiah 43:13), and also from the connection between Joseph and Poti-pherah ("he who belongs to Ra"), the priest of On ( Genesis 41:45). After their removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came in contact with various forms of idolatry which originated in the worship of the sun-such as the Baal of the Phoenicians (Movers, Phon. 1, 180), the Molech or Milcom of the Ammonites, and the Hadad of the Syrians (Pliny, 37:71). These idols were, with the exception of the last, introduced into the Hebrew commonwealth at various periods ( Judges 2:11;  1 Kings 11:5); but it does not follow that the object symbolized lb them was known to the Jews themselves. If we have any notice at all of conscious sun-worship in the early stages of their history, it exists in the doubtful term חִמָּנַים , Chammanim ( Leviticus 26:30;  Isaiah 17:8, etc.), which was itself significant of the sun, and probably described the stone pillars or statues under which the solar Baal (Baal-Haman of the Punic inscriptions, Gesenius, Thesaur. 1, 489) was worshipped at Baal-Hamon ( Song of Solomon 8:11) and other places.

Pure sun-worship appears to have been introduced by the Assyrians, and to have become formally established by Manasseh ( 2 Kings 21:3;  2 Kings 21:5), in contravention of the prohibitions of Moses ( Deuteronomy 4:19;  Deuteronomy 17:3). Whether the practice was borrowed from the Sepharvites of Samaria ( 2 Kings 17:31), whose gods Adrammelech and Anammelech are supposed to represent the male and female sun, and whose original residence (the Heliopolis of Berosus) ‘ was the chief seat of the worship of the sun in Babylonia (Rawlinson, Herod. 1, 611), or whether the kings of Judah drew their model of worship more immediately from the East, is uncertain. The dedication of chariots and horses to the sun ( 2 Kings 23:11) was perhaps borrowed from the Persians (Herod. 1, 189; Curt. 3, 3, 11; Xenoph. Cyrop. 8:3, 24), who honored the sun under the form of Mithras (Strabo, 15:732). At the same time it should be observed that the horse was connected with the worship of the sun in other countries, as among the Massagetse (Herod. 1, 216) and the Armenians (Xenoph. Anab. 4:5, 35), both of whom used it as a sacrifice. To judge from the few notices we have on the subject in the Bible, we should conclude that the Jews derived their mode of worshipping the sun from several quarters. The practice of burning incense on the house-tops ( 2 Kings 23:5;  2 Kings 23:12;  Jeremiah 19:13;  Zephaniah 1:5) might have been borrowed from the Arabians (Strabo, 16:784), as also the simple act of adoration directed towards the rising sun ( Ezekiel 8:16; comp.  Job 31:27). On the other hand, the use of the chariots and horses in the processions on festival days came, as we have observed, from Persia; and so also the custom of "putting the branch to the nose" ( Ezekiel 8:17) according to the generally received explanation which- identifies it with the Persian practice of holding in the left hand a bundle of twigs called Bersam while worshipping the sun (Strabo, 15:733; Hyde, Rel. Pers. p. 345). This, however, is very doubtful, the expression being otherwise understood of "putting the knife to the nose," i.e. producing self-mutilation (Hitzig, On Ezekiel). An objection lies against the former view from the fact that the Persians are not said to have held the branch to the nose. The importance attached to the worship of the sun by the Jewish, kings may be inferred from the fact that the horses were stalled within the precincts of the temple (the term פִּרְוָר , Parv '''''Â''''' R'' meaning not "suburb," as in the A.V., but either a portico or an outbuilding of the Temple). They were removed thence by Josiah ( 2 Kings 23:11). (See Worship Of Sun). In the metaphorical language of Scripture, the sun is emblematic of the law of God ( Psalms 19:7), of the cheering presence of God ( Psalms 84:2), of the person of the Savior ( John 1:9;  Malachi 4:2), and of' the glory and purity of heavenly beings ( Revelation 1:16;  Revelation 10:1;  Revelation 12:1).

See Meiner, Gesch. der Relig. 1, 387 sq.; Nork, Ueb. d. Sonnencultus d. alt. Volker (Heilbronn, 1840); Pococke, Spec. Hist. Arab. p. 5, 150; Jablonski, Opusc. 1, 187 sq.; Doughtsei Analect. 1, 189; Hyde, Rel. Vett. Persarum, p. 206 sq.; Eichhorn, De Sole Invicto Mithra, in the Comment. Soc. G Ö tting. 3, 153 sq.; Creuzer, Symbol. 1, 738 sq.; 4:409 sq.; Bochart, Hieroz. 1, 141 sq.; Rosenm Ü ller, Morgenl. 3, 249 sq.; Bose, De Josia Quadrigas Solis Removente (Lips. 1741); Pocarus, De Simulacris Solaribus Israelitarum (Jen. 1725).; Gesenius, Monumen. Phonic. 2, 349.