Meaning of SUNDIAL

Instrument that consists of a surface divided by lines that represent the hours. The shadow of a rod is projected on them, following the movement of the sun in its daily course.

The sundial of Ahaz (2 Kings 20:11; Is. 38:8) was possibly an analogous instrument, with a flat or concave surface, and with graduated lines (called degrees or steps).

It is possible that Ahaz copied this instrument from Babylon, a country where it was already used before the time of Herodotus (Herodotus 2:109), since at least the 8th century BC.

It is possible, however, that it was a staircase (Ant. 10:2, 1) of Ahaz's palace, built and arranged so that the shadow of an obelisk fell on the steps, indicating the time of day.

The Hebrew term. "ma'aloth" is the term translated "degrees" six times in 2 Kings 20:9-11 and three times in Is. 38:7-8. The retreat of the shadow on Ahaz's sundial is considered a miracle (cf. Delitzsch: "Commentary on Isaiah" in Is. 38:7-8).

Many explanations have been attempted for this phenomenon. One of those offered is the refraction of solar rays or other mechanisms.

However, Velikovsky documents in his work "Worlds in Collision" the universality of this phenomenon, attested by memories and legends of diverse and remote nations and tribes throughout the circumference of the Globe (PP. 233-241, etc.).

Furthermore, he gives evidence that the sundials and water clocks of Egypt were programmed for days of different lengths for the latitude in which they were located, which denounces a movement of the earth's axis due to a cosmic catastrophe (op. cit, PP. 317-324).