CHAPTERXVTheBandsofOrion'^y^^ANSTthoubindthesweetinfluencesofPle-
B iades, orloose the bands of Orion?" Job
^^^ 38:31. Some have sought to explain this
expressionfromtheBiblebythefactthatthePleiades
areseenintheeveninginthespring,andthatthishas
somereferencetotheoldideathatthePleiadesush-
ered inthe sweet influences ofthe spring. To the
studentoftheBible,whounderstandshow free from
allsuchinferencestheBibleis,suchexplanationisfar
fromsatisfactory. Thisveryfreedomfromthechild-
ishnotionsofheathenism,isthebestevidencethatthe
Biblewasinspiredbya knowledgegreaterthanthat
ofthemenofitstimes.
In this scripture,thedifficulties resolvethemselves
intotheoneprinciple:Ifweknowpositivelythemean-
ingoftheoriginalwordfromwhich"sweetinfluences"
is translated, it is possibleto understand clearly the
whole scripture. Lookingup this wordcarefully in
theHebrew,wefindittobemaadannoth,whichmeans,
"abond;thatis,agroup."
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