Sun

(Heb. shemesh), first mentioned along with the moon as the two great luminaries of heaven (Gen. 1:14-18). By their motions and influence they were intended to mark and divide times and seasons. The worship of the sun was one of the oldest forms of false religion (Job 31:26, 27), and was common among the Egyptians and Chaldeans and other pagan nations. The Jews were warned against this form of idolatry (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; comp. 2 Kings 23:11; Jer. 19:13).

In the history of “greater light,” of the creation the sun is described as “greater light,” in contradistinction to the moon, the “lesser light,” in conjunction with which it was to serve “for signs and for seasons, and for days, and for years,” while its special office was “to rule the day.” (Genesis 1:14-16) The “signs” referred to were probably such extraordinary phenomena as eclipses, which were regarded as conveying premonitions of coming events. (Jeremiah 10:2; Matthew 24:29) with Luke 21:25 The joint influence assigned to the sun and moon in deciding the “seasons,” both for agricultural operations and for religious festivals, and also in regulating the length and subdivisions of the years “correctly describes the combination of the lunar and solar year which prevailed at all events subsequent to the Mosaic period. Sunrise and sunset are the only defined points of time in the absence of artificial contrivances for telling the hour of the day. Between these two points the Jews recognized three periods, viz., when the sun became hot, about 9 A.M. (1 Samuel 11:9; Nehemiah 7:3) the double light, or noon. (Genesis 43:16; 2 Samuel 4:5) and “the cool of the day,” shortly before sunset. (Genesis 3:8) The sun also served to fix the quarters of the hemisphere, east, west north and south, which were represented respectively by the rising sun, the setting sun, (Isaiah 45:6; Psalms 50:1) the dark quarter, (Genesis 13:14; Joel 2:20) and the brilliant quarter, (33:23; Job 37:17; Ezekiel 40:24) or otherwise by their position relative to a person facing the rising sun—before, behind, on the left hand and on the right hand. (Job 23:8,9) The worship of the sun, as the most prominent and powerful agent in the kingdom of nature, was widely diffused throughout the countries adjacent to Palestine. The Arabians appear to have paid direct worship to it without the intervention of any statue or symbol, (Job 31:26,27) and this simple style of worship was probably familiar to the ancestors of the Jews in Chaldaea and Mesopotamia. The Hebrews must have been well acquainted with the idolatrous worship of the sun during the captivity in Egypt, both from the contiguity of On, the chief seat of the worship of the sun, as implied in the name itself (On being the equivalent of the Hebrew Bethshemesh, “house of the sun”) (Jeremiah 43:13) and also from the connection between Joseph and Potipherah(“he who belongs to Ela”) the priest of On, (Genesis 41:45) After their removal to Canaan, the Hebrews came in contact with various forms of idolatry which originated in the worship of the sun; such as the Baal of the Phoenicians, the Molech or Milcom of the Ammonites, and the Hadad of the Syrians. The importance attached to the worship of the sun by the Jewish kings may be inferred from the fact that the horses sacred to the sun were stalled within the precincts of the temple. (2 Kings 23:11) In the metaphorical language of Scripture the sun is emblematic of the law of God, (Psalms 19:7) of the cheering presence of God, (Psalms 84:11) of the person of the Saviour, (John 1:9; Malachi 4:2) and of the glory and purity of heavenly beings. (Revelation 1:16; 10:1)

SUN. The Hebrews, according to the latest researches, gave the sun a name whose root means "to run," because it was, as they regarded it, the greatest heavenly wanderer. The Psalmist compares him to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber as a strong man to run a race. Ps 19:5. The worship of this luminary was one of the earliest forms of idolatry, and existed in all the nations around Palestine; it is therefore mentioned in all parts of the O.T. Manasseh introduced it in its purest form - as it existed among the Assyrians - into Judah. 2 Kgs 21:3, 2 Kgs 21:5. He and his successor, Anion, dedicated horses and chariots to the sun. and burned incense to it on the housetops. 2 Kgs 23:5, 2 Kgs 23:11. The worship the Israelites met with in Egypt at On, the Baal and Moloch worship in Palestine, were all derived from the sun-worship.

SUN. The Hebrews, according to the latest researches, gave the sun a name whose root means "to run," because it was, as they regarded it, the greatest heavenly wanderer. The Psalmist compares him to a bridegroom coming out of his chamber as a strong man to run a race. Ps 19:5. The worship of this luminary was one of the earliest forms of idolatry, and existed in all the nations around Palestine; it is therefore mentioned in all parts of the O.T. Manasseh introduced it in its purest form - as it existed among the Assyrians - into Judah. 2 Kgs 21:3, 2 Kgs 21:5. He and his successor, Anion, dedicated horses and chariots to the sun. and burned incense to it on the housetops. 2 Kgs 23:5, 2 Kgs 23:11. The worship the Israelites met with in Egypt at On, the Baal and Moloch worship in Palestine, were all derived from the sun-worship. SUN'DAY is of heathen origin (like our designations of the other days of the week), and means "the day of the sun," or "sacred to the god of the sun." It does not occur in the Bible, but is now in common use for the first day of the week, which has taken the place of the Jewish Sabbath, and should properly be called the Lord's Day, Rev 1:10, as the day of the resurrection of Christ. See Lord's Day and Sabbath.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

See Sunn.

Part of speech: noun (n.)

1. The luminous orb, the light of which constitutes day, and its absence night; the central body round which the earth and planets revolve, by which they are held in their orbits, and from which they receive light and heat. Its mean distance from the earth is about 92,500,000 miles, and its diameter about 860,000.

2. Any heavenly body which forms the center of a system of orbs.

3. The direct light or warmth of the sun; sunshine. Lambs that did frisk in the sun. Shak.

4. That which resembles the sun, as in splendor or importance; any source of light, warmth, or animation. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. Ps. lxxiv. 11. I will never consent to put out the sun of sovereignity to posterity. Eikon Basilike. Sun and planet wheels (Mach.), an ingenious contrivance for converting reciprocating motion, as that of the working beam of a steam engine, into rotatory motion. It consists of a toothed wheel (called the sun wheel), firmly secured to the shaft it is desired to drive, and another wheel (called the planet wheel) secured to the end of a connecting rod. By the motion of the connecting rod, the planet wheel is made to circulate round the central wheel on the shaft, communicating to this latter a velocity of revolution the double of its own. G. Francis. -- Sun angel (Zoöl.), a South American humming bird of the genus Heliangelos, noted for its beautiful colors and the brilliant luster of the feathers of its throat. -- Sun animalcute. (Zoöl.) See Heliozoa. -- Sun bath (Med.), exposure of a patient to the sun's rays; insolation. -- Sun bear (Zoöl.), a species of bear (Helarctos Malayanus) native of Southern Asia and Borneo. It has a small head and short neck, and fine short glossy fur, mostly black, but brownish on the nose. It is easily tamed. Called also bruang, and Malayan bear. -- Sun beetle (Zoöl.), any small lustrous beetle of the genus Amara. -- Sun bittern (Zoöl.), a singular South American bird (Eurypyga helias), in some respects related both to the rails and herons. It is beautifully variegated with white, brown, and black. Called also sunbird, and tiger bittern. -- Sun fever (Med.), the condition of fever produced by sun stroke. -- Sun gem (Zoöl.), a Brazilian humming bird (Heliactin cornutus). Its head is ornamented by two tufts of bright colored feathers, fiery crimson at the base and greenish yellow at the tip. Called also Horned hummer. -- Sun grebe (Zoöl.), the finfoot. -- Sun picture, a picture taken by the agency of the sun's rays; a photograph. -- Sun spots (Astron.), dark spots that appear on the sun's disk, consisting commonly of a black central portion with a surrounding border of lighter shade, and usually seen only by the telescope, but sometimes by the naked eye. They are very changeable in their figure and dimensions, and vary in size from mere apparent points to spaces of 50,000 miles in diameter. The term sun spots is often used to include bright spaces (called faculæ) as well as dark spaces (called maculæ). Called also solar spots. See Illustration in Appendix. -- Sun star (Zoöl.), any one of several species of starfishes belonging to Solaster, Crossaster, and allied genera, having numerous rays. -- Sun trout (Zoöl.), the squeteague. -- Sun wheel. (Mach.) See Sun and planet wheels, above. -- Under the sun, in the world; on earth. "There is no new thing under the sun." Eccl. i. 9.

Part of speech: verb (v.)

To expose to the sun's rays; to warm or dry in the sun; as, to sun cloth; to sun grain. Then to sun thyself in open air. Dryden.