Proctor, Richard A.: The Great Pyramid: observatory, tomb, and temple (New York, 1883)

28o ASTRONOMY AND

of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy en-
deavoured to train the Jewish people. In Le-
viticus xxiii. they were simply told that the
day is an holy convocation, the Sabbath of the
Lord ; just as in chap. xxv. they were told that
the seventh year was a Sabbath for the Lord, and
that the jubilee was to be holy unto them. In
Exodus xxii. ii they were told that the day
was to be kept holy because the All-powerful God
rested on the seventh day. In Deuteronomy v.
14 they were told that God commanded them to
keep the Sabbath day because He had brought
them out of the land of Egypt ' through a mighty
hand, and by a stretched-out arm.'

In passing, it may be noticed that the Assyrian
tablets indicate a weekly resting-day, called the
Sabbat, but it was of much earlier date than the
Jewish, belonging to the time before the week and
the month had been separated. Thus, the 7th,
14th, 2ist, and 28th days of each month were days
of Sabbat, or rest, and also the 19th day, or the
49th day from the beginning of the previous month,
so that this 19th, or mid-month rest, corresponded
to the Jewish ' week of weeks.'

In the third place, sacrifices were offered in the
beginning of the months, that is, at the time of new
moon.