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



sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them for fear and 

 for looking after those things which are coming on the earth," and 

 I suppose the astronomers and others of those times will be very 

 naturally looking out for other and consequent troubles to be 

 apprehended. 



Professor A. H. Sayce, D.D., LL.D., writes from Cairo to 

 Colonel Mackinlay : — 



I have received the proof of your paper, in which I have been much 

 interested. You have put all the facts into a lucid and complete 

 form, and I do not think that they will have admitted of much 

 discussion. Perhaps, if you are revising the paper, a few more words 

 about the precession of the quinoxes might be desirable for the 

 information of the uninitiated — explaining what is meant by " the 

 first point of Aries," the length of time occupied in the precession 

 from one point to the other, etc. 



The Eev. Canon E. B. Girdlestone, M.A., writes to Lieut.- 

 Colonel Mackinlay : — 



There is a great deal of work in your paper, and the subject is 

 one of deep interest. 



1. I observe that you refer to the sun and moon and stars in 

 connection with Gen. i, but it is noticeable that neither the sun nor 

 moon are named in the chapter, whilst the stars are referred to 

 very slightly. There is undoubtedly a theological reason for this, 

 and it is easily understood in the light of Chaldsean worship, which 

 deified sun, moon and stars, regarding them as gods and goddesses." 



2. I am not sure whether you have referred to " the Queen 

 of Heaven" in Jer. xliv, 17-25: it seems to me an important 

 passage. 



3. The word " sabbath " in Hebrew simply means " rest " or 

 u cessation," and is an ancient Semitic root. 



4. Your remarks on the calendar are very instructive. It might 

 be well to note, in addition, that the whole Old Testament contains 

 no reference to "hours" until we reach the Book of Daniel. When 

 did the Babylonians divide the day into hours 1 



5. With regard to points of the compass, some words were used 

 rather vaguely, e.g., the ordinary word for north, which you do not 

 refer to, and which means the hidden or dark region The 

 word semol is never translated " north " in the A.Y. When you 

 enter the Red Sea from the south you have Yemen to the right 



