Indy's brother
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Going with the sci-fi angle, and how some fans would like another biblical artifact, how about time travel, by way of this little fella:
Of course it's a bit of an embellishment to say that the power came from the sundial itself, rather than the God of the bible,......but that same argument could be made against the 3 macguffins of the OT.
edit (ok, the Sankara stones were not from the christian bible, but you catch my drift)
So what can this thing do? Well it's a sundial that grants the user the ability to travel back in time 10 degrees, which is 40 minutes according to this source. For creative license this amount of time could be lengthened/shortened. Indiana Jones and the Sands of Time? Hmmm. Not quite, the story also includes some kind of healing power of time-travel.
I'm sure it will be brought up because it's rather obvious, so I'll head you off at the pass: On the negative side, I'll freely admit that the time-travel angle has been used in Prince of Persia, and that the healing properties of the holy grail have also been used before. Also, the darned thing actually looks a bit like the grail:
There is a way around these problems if you prefer:
The Stairway of Ahaz......hmmmmm. Where on earth could I find something visually fitting for 50's sci-fi, and Indiana Jones. O wait, I know, my thread about Indy 5 locations!
Thanks for finding that one, Yure!
The Stairway angle is also problematic:
Not that it's impossible to write around this. The staircase is now underneath Jerusalem in a buried building (think "Cities of the Underworld"), or that it was incorporated into a different building (think library in LC).
Either way, Stairs or Dial, let me know what you think, and lastly, for your consideration, this other interesting looking dial:
Bear in mind that Ahaz was the King of Judah, so if it was an actual sundial, it may have been a little more opulent than the unassuming pics above.
2 Kings 20:8-11"And Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up into the house of the LORD the third day? And Isaiah said, This sign shalt thou have of the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he hath spoken: shall the shadow go forward ten degrees, or go back ten degrees? And Hezekiah answered, It is a light thing for the shadow to go down ten degrees: nay, but let the shadow return backward ten degrees. And Isaiah the prophet cried unto the LORD: and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward, by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz."
"Then came the word of the LORD to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down. The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness"
- Isaiah 38:4-9
Of course it's a bit of an embellishment to say that the power came from the sundial itself, rather than the God of the bible,......but that same argument could be made against the 3 macguffins of the OT.
edit (ok, the Sankara stones were not from the christian bible, but you catch my drift)
So what can this thing do? Well it's a sundial that grants the user the ability to travel back in time 10 degrees, which is 40 minutes according to this source. For creative license this amount of time could be lengthened/shortened. Indiana Jones and the Sands of Time? Hmmm. Not quite, the story also includes some kind of healing power of time-travel.
I'm sure it will be brought up because it's rather obvious, so I'll head you off at the pass: On the negative side, I'll freely admit that the time-travel angle has been used in Prince of Persia, and that the healing properties of the holy grail have also been used before. Also, the darned thing actually looks a bit like the grail:
There is a way around these problems if you prefer:
sourceIt is unfortunate that one important word in the narrative has been rendered in both the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) by a term which describes a recognized astronomical instrument. The word "dial" (ma'aloth) is usually translated "degrees," "steps," or "stairs," and indeed is thus rendered in the same verse. There is no evidence that the structure referred to had been designed to serve as a dial or was anything other than a staircase, "the staircase of Ahaz."
The Stairway of Ahaz......hmmmmm. Where on earth could I find something visually fitting for 50's sci-fi, and Indiana Jones. O wait, I know, my thread about Indy 5 locations!
Thanks for finding that one, Yure!
The Stairway angle is also problematic:
sourceWe are not able to go further into particulars. The first temple, the royal palace, and the staircase of Ahaz were all destroyed in the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, and we have no means of ascertaining the exact position of the staircase with respect to Temple or palace, or the number of the steps that it contained, or the time of the day, or the season of the year when the sign was given. It is possible that if we knew any or all of these, a yet greater significance, both spiritual and astronomical, might attach to the narrative.
Not that it's impossible to write around this. The staircase is now underneath Jerusalem in a buried building (think "Cities of the Underworld"), or that it was incorporated into a different building (think library in LC).
Either way, Stairs or Dial, let me know what you think, and lastly, for your consideration, this other interesting looking dial:
Bear in mind that Ahaz was the King of Judah, so if it was an actual sundial, it may have been a little more opulent than the unassuming pics above.
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