ng in this case the
other members of the Hyades group of which Aldebaran is the brightest
star; or else identifying it with the Arabic _el-`aiy[=u]q_, the name of
the star which the Greeks call _Aix_, and we call Capella, the "sons" on
this inference being the three small stars near, called by the Greeks
and by ourselves the "Kids." The word _`Ash_ is used several times in
Scripture, but without any astronomical signification, and is there
rendered "moth," as in Isaiah, where it says--

"Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth (_`Ash_)
shall eat them up."

This literal significance of the word does not help, as we know of no
constellation figured as a "moth" or bearing any resemblance to one.

But the word _`ash_, or _`ayish_ does not differ importantly from the
word _na`sh_, in Hebrew "assembly," in Arabic "bier," which has been the
word used by the Arabs from remote antiquity to denote the four bright
stars in the hind-quarters of the Great Bear; those which form the body
of the Plough. Moreover, the three stars which form the "tail" of the
Great Bear, or the "handle" of the Plough have been called by the Arabs
_ben[=a]t na`sh_, "the daughters of na`sh." The Bear is the great
northern constellation, which swings constantly round the pole, always
visible throughout the changing seasons of the year. There should be no
hesitation then in accepting the opinion of the Rabbi, Aben Ezra, who
saw in _`Ash_, or _`Ayish_ the quadrilateral of the great Bear, whose
four points are marked by the bright stars, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and
Delta, and in the "sons" of _`Ayish_, the three stars, Epsilon, Zeta,
and Eta. Our Revised Version therefore renders the word as "Bear."

In both passages of Job, then, we get the four quarters of the sky
marked out as being under the dominion of the Lord. In the ninth chapter
they are given in the order--

The Bear, which is in the North;

Orion, in its acronical rising, with the sun setting in the
West;

The Pleiades, in their heliacal rising, with the sun rising in
the East;

And the Chambers of the South.

In the later passage they are given with fuller illustration, and in the
order--

The Pleiades, whose "sweet influences" are given by their
heliacal rising in spring time, with the sun rising in the
East;

Orion, whose "bands" are those of winter, heralded by his
acronical rising with the sun setting in the W