Shadow on the Steps: Time Measurement in Ancient Israel

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Shadow on the Steps: Time Measurement in Ancient Israel. By David Miano. Resources for Biblical Study 64. Atlanta: SBL, 2010, xx + 267 pp., n.p. paper.

This study takes its title from the reference to the episode in 2 Kings 20/Isaiah 38 in which the Lord offers to turn back the shadow on the steps of the "dial of Ahaz." The author will argue on the basis of the biblical text as well as archaeological evidence that these "steps" most likely corresponded to subdivisions of the day measured by a solar clock at the king's palace. The study is more comprehensive in scope, however, and examines a variety of systems of time measurement in ancient Israel, including daily, monthly, yearly, …