{"id": "card_n_8f7df58b30e4", "kind": "note", "title": "Easton: Dial", "body": "For the measurement of time, only once mentioned in the Bible, erected by Ahaz (2 Kings 20:11; Isa. 38:8). The Hebrew word (ma’aloth) is rendered “steps” in Ex. 20:26, 1 Kings 10:19, and “degrees” in 2 Kings 20:9, 10, 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.”", "source": {"label": "Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)", "url": "/encyclopedia.html?ref=Dial", "ref": "Dial", "authority_tier": "external_aligned"}, "shelf": "dictionary", "box": "easton_concept_a_d", "bands": ["easton", "bible_dictionary", "concept"], "connections": [{"to_card_id": "card_n_90060f4405b0", "relationship": "same_section", "origin": "nesting_2026_06_12"}, {"to_card_id": "card_n_8f3583948493", "relationship": "same_section", "origin": "nesting_2026_06_12"}], "author": "engine", "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:08:59.204522+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-19T19:50:28.185629+00:00", "visibility": "public", "lifecycle_stage": "public", "volatility": "permanent", "metrics": {"paperclips_count": 0, "helpful_count": 0, "not_helpful_count": 0, "cite_count": 0, "walks_through_count": 0, "flagged_count": 0}, "source_hash": "19968096c378acf3644d23dc9c54071e61b843ffe4d64198ad47cde9fda201e7", "witnesses": [{"class": "manuscript_tradition", "label": "Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London", "ref": "Easton-1897"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45696", "ref": "PG-45696"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Internet Archive — multiple scans", "url": "https://archive.org/details/eastonsillustra00east", "ref": "IA-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/", "ref": "CCEL-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's", "url": "https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/easton/", "ref": "BLB-Easton"}], "witness_status": "passed", "witness_status_reason": "5 witnesses across 2 independence classes: ['manuscript_tradition', 'republication']", "surface": "secular"}