“But in Mount Zion there shall be those that escape,
And it shall be holy:
And the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”
(Obad. 17-19, r.v.)
It is a large and important constellation, containing 87 stars, of which one is of the 1st magnitude, four of the 2nd, three of the 3rd, ten of the 4th, etc. It always presents a splendid appearance, and is perhaps, therefore, the best known of all the constellations.
In the Book of Job (ix. 9, and xxxviii. 31, 32) it is mentioned under the name of Ash. “Canst thou guide Ash and her offspring?” which is rendered in the a.v., “Arcturus and his sons,” and in the r.v., “The Bear with her train” (marg., “sons”). [pg 155] The Arabs still call it Al Naish, or Annaish, the assembled together, as sheep in a fold. The ancient Jewish commentators interpreted Ash as the seven stars of this constellation. They are called by others Septentriones, which thus became the Latin word for North.
Plate 37: URSA MAJOR
The brightest star, α (in the back), is named Dubhe, which, as we have seen, means a herd of animals, or a flock, and gives its name to the whole constellation.
The star β (below it) is named Merach (Hebrew), the flock (Arabic, purchased).