LT.-COL. G. MACKINLAY ON BIBLICAL ASTRONOMY. 135 



East, the rising sun would be almost directly in front at two 

 of the feasts, but not at the other. 



The daily sacrifices were at sunrise (n Kings iii, 20, 22) and 

 sunset. Noon was also a stated time of praver for some 

 (Ps. lv, 17). 



An Ancient Calendar. — A year containing twelve months of 

 thirty days each is alluded to in Gen. vii, 11, 24; viii, 3, 4, 13, 

 as it was 150 days from the seventeenth day of the second 

 month to the seventeenth day of the seventh month. There 

 must have been twelve of these months, because a period of at 

 least 40 + 7 + 7 = 54 days elapsed between the first day of the 

 tenth month of the first year, and the first day of the first 

 month of the following one (see Gen. viii, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12). 

 It is believed that there were not any additional intercalary 

 days. 



If the word " time " is taken to represent a year, and 

 " times " two years ; the periods " time, times and a half " 

 (Dan. xii, 7), " forty and two months " (Eev. xi, 2), and 

 " 1260 days " (Eev. xi, 3, xii, 6) are identical, each representing 

 three and a half of such years. 



The so-called Egyptian " vague year " of 360 days was of 

 the same construction ; it is believed to have been in use till 

 about 2,000 B.C., when the five epact days were added to each 

 year. A similar year was probably known to the ancient 

 Babylonians. 



When the sun and moon are both used, as in the Hebrew 

 Calendar, it becomes necessary to have some means of fore- 

 telling the vernal lunation which is to contain the passover, 

 or what comes to the same thing, to determine beforehand 

 which years shall contain an extra lunation : this led to a 

 search for astronomical cycles, i.e., periods when different 

 celestial revolutions are performed in almost the same time. 

 Meton, about B.C. 432, found, from the result of careful 

 observations, that 235 lunations only exceed 19 years by 

 about 2 hours 10 minutes; in other words, after a cycle of 

 19 years the new and full moons recurred on the same days of 

 the year, and this happens again and again. This is a 

 convenient cycle, the Jewish reckoning for the passover and 

 our golden numbers in the Book of Common Prayer for finding 

 Easter being founded upon it. It must be noted, however, 

 that after eleven such cycles (209 years) have elapsed, that 

 the 21 hour differences add together, and amount to 24 hours ; 

 consequently after every 209 years a correction of one day 

 must be made. 



