Texts in Conversation
Psalm 19 describes the sun moving from one end of the sky to the other, and Ecclesiastes describes it going back to where it rises. In 1 Esdras, Zerubbabel connects the two images, saying the sun circles the heavens and returns to its place in one day.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Psalms 19:6
Hebrew Bible
4 Yet its voice echoes throughout the earth; its words carry to the distant horizon. In the sky he has pitched a tent for the sun. 5 Like a bridegroom it emerges from its chamber; like a strong man it enjoys running its course. 6 It emerges from the distant horizon, and goes from one end of the sky to the other; nothing can escape its heat.
Ecclesiastes 1:5
Hebrew Bible
4 A generation comes and a generation goes, but the earth remains the same through the ages. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries away to a place from which it rises again. 6 The wind goes to the south and circles around to the north; round and round the wind goes and on its rounds it returns. 7 All the streams flow into the sea, but the sea is not full, and to the place where the streams flow, there they will flow again.
1 Esdras 4:34
Esdras A, 3 Esdras
Deuterocanon
33 Then the king and the nobles looked at one another. So he began to speak concerning truth. 34 “O sirs, aren’t women strong? The earth is great. The sky is high. The sun is swift in its course, for it circles around the sky, and returns on its course again in one day. 35 Isn’t he who makes these things great? Therefore the truth is great, and stronger than all things. 36 All the earth calls upon truth, and the sky blesses truth. All works shake and tremble, but with truth there is no unrighteous thing.
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Notes and References
“... 4:34. O men! The speaker first posits the results of his earlier arguments and restates the power of women. However, in a swift turn of mind and with no interruption, he regains the attention of the crowd by leaving the format of the speeches followed so far and moving to a new and different reasoning. His gaze is turned to the universe: earth, heaven, and sun. The speaker’s words are replete with biblical allusions. The description of the course of the sun seems a combination of two verses: Ps. 19:7 and Eccles. 1:5. The allusion to the height of the skies and the width of the earth echoes Job 11:9, where they are compared to God’s acts. ...”
Japhet, Sara
"1 Esdras" in Feldman, Louis H.; Kugel, James L.; Schiffman, Lawrence H. (ed.) Outside the Bible: Ancient Jewish Writings Related to Scripture
(p. 170) Jewish Publication Society, 2013
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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