Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Harold Holmyard <hholmyard3 AT earthlink.net>]

Stephen,
> It should be noted that the only accurate way people had of measuring  
> time of day in biblical times was using the position of the sun.  
> Therefore, even if Joshua did tell the sun and moon to stand in place,  
> there would be no way for people then to know whether it acutally  
> happened. People fighting the battle may have felt that it was  
> dragging on indefinitely and wondered when it would end. If afterwards  
> they heard that Joshua had told the sun and moon to stay in place,  
> they may have believed it happened with no way of determining if it  
> were true.
> Stephen Segall
>   
HH: This seems like contradiction of the text. The text says something, 
and somebody three thousand years later comes along and denies what it 
says. The Egyptians used a waterclock at night. Sand clocks could be 
made (the hourglass), though their known origins don't go back to the 
time of Joshua:

http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Ancient+ways+of+telling+time
http://ezinearticles.com/?Watches---So-How-Did-They-Tell-Time-In-Ancient-Egypt-Anyway?&id=471281

Another historical instrument is the clepsydra or water clock. The 
principles behind its use were very simple. In the beginning, it was a 
vessel of water that had a small hole at its base that allowed water to 
drip out drop by drop. As the level within the container was lowered it 
showed the time upon a scale. There were issues with the rate of 
dripping, the size of the hole and the regular refilling of the vessel 
but once these were resolved one had a very practical means of telling 
time. The sundial could not be used indoors, at night or in stormy 
weather but the clepsydra worked equally well anywhere regardless of the 
weather.

The hourglass in principle was similar to the clepsydra. It simply 
permitted a flow of fine sand through an opening at a uniform velocity 
from one funnel shaped compartment to another until one of the 
compartments had emptied itself. All that needed to be done after that 
was to turn the hourglass upside down to start the cycle again. The 
hourglass possessed solid advantages over the clepsydra. It would not 
freeze or spill and it did not need refilling. It was also run at a 
steady rate whether the reservoir was full or near empty and it was 
cheap to make. The origins of the hourglass date back to the third 
century BCE.

HH: And there were various biological clocks that could record the 
passage of time. If babies require breastfeeding a certain number of 
times a day, mothers who gave suck more than the normal amount of times 
could sense that a longer period than a normal day was in view. Cows and 
goats need regular milking, so if they required more milking than in a 
normal day, one could sense that something odd was happening. Sleep 
cycles would be another possible giveaway to passage of time, if 
children went to sleep more than the normal times in a day.

HH: According to sources, stars could be used to measure the passage of 
time.
http://books.google.com/books?id=KwTzo4GMlewC&pg=PA34&lpg=PA34&dq=telling+time+by+star+movement&source=web&ots=gayePxZnJn&sig=VVfLWMPf3s2u6C-2HNog3MLPpfA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=9&ct=result
"Before the advent of modern timekeeping devices, people used the 
position of stars to estimate the time of night." Here is an explanation 
of a way to do this:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/14166/how_to_tell_time_without_a_clock.html?singlepage=true

One way to tell the time at night, however, is by using the stars. The 
Big Dipper constellation, one of the more easily found and recognizable 
of the constellations, can serve as a fairly accurate measure of time, 
and even of the seasons.

If you look at the two end points of the dipper, and follow the line 
created by these two points of light, you will be directed at Polaris, 
also known as the Pole Star. We call this the Pole Star because it is 
the one star in the sky that never moves, no matter the time of night or 
the season. It is a fixed constant. Ancient mariners would use the Pole 
Star to get their bearings (following it always points to the north).

We, however, can also use it to help us tell the time. The Big Dipper is 
not fixed in the night sky, and moves in rotation around the Big Dipper. 
By following its movement and its position in relation to Polaris, we 
can tell the season and also use it as a way to us of the exact time on 
any given night.

In order to do this, you must first know where the Big Dipper is in 
relation to Polaris at the beginning of the night, then how it moves 
during the night. It rotates around Polaris, almost like the way a clock 
moves. Firstly, find the Big Dipper, then watch where it is at different 
times of the night. Check your watch to see where it is at different 
times. Then you will be able to tell what time it is by its position!

More than anything, telling time without a clock takes practice. The 
more you watch the Sun and the stars, and pay attention to what time it 
is, the better you will be. You might even get to the point where you 
don't need a watch at all!

HH: The ancients were careful observers of the sky. Anyway, we should 
not assume that the document cannot be telling the truth, or that people 
had no ways of determining the passage of time besides the sun.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard