Bible Dictionary · D
Dial
For the measurement of time, only once mentioned in the Bible, erected by Ahaz (2 Kgs 20:11; Isa 38:8). The Hebrew word (ma’aloth) is rendered “steps” in Ex 20:26, Ex 20:1 Kings 10:19, and “degrees” in 2 Kgs 20:9, 2 Kgs 20:10, 2 Kgs 20:11. The ma’aloth was probably stairs on which the shadow of a column or obelisk placed on the top fell. The shadow would cover a greater or smaller number of steps, according as the sun was low or high.
Probably the sun-dial was a Babylonian invention. Daniel at Babylon (Dan 3:6) is the first to make mention of the “hour.”
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897), by Matthew George Easton.
