It is believed that a high-temperature incinerator or crematory for the ancient city of Jerusalem was developed by adding sulfur to the constantly burning fires in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) just outside the walls.

Ever since the fiery judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah in 1919 B.C.E., the highly flammable nature of sulfur has been referred to in the Scriptures. (Isa. 30:33; 34:9; Rev. 9:17, 18) It is a symbol of total desolation. (Deut. 29:22, 23; Job 18:15) “Fire and sulphur” are associated together when utter destruction is depicted. (Ps. 11:6; Ezek. 38:22; Rev. 14:9-11) We are told that the Devil will be “hurled into the lake of fire and sulphur,” a fitting description of complete annihilation, “the second death.”—Rev. 19:20; 20:10; 21:8.

SUN

[Heb., sheʹmesh; Gr., heʹli·os].

The greater of earth’s two heavenly luminaries; the earth’s principal source of energy, without which life on earth would be impossible. The sun, together with the moon, also serves man as a timepiece for measuring the seasons, days and years. (Gen. 1:14-18) The sun is a gift from “the Father of the celestial lights,” who makes it shine upon all alike, the wicked and the good. (Jas. 1:17; Jer. 31:35; Matt. 5:45) Certainly the sun can be said to praise its magnificent Creator.—Ps. 148:3.

The sun is a star about 865,000 miles (1,392,000 kilometers) in diameter, more than a hundred times the diameter of the earth, and more than a million times the volume of the earth. Its average distance from the earth is nearly 93,000,000 miles (149,637,000 kilometers). The surface temperature of the sun is said to be about 11,000° F. (6,000° C.). But because of its great distance from the earth only about one two-billionth (one two-thousand-millionth) of its radiant energy reaches the earth, an amount, however, fully sufficient to provide ideal climatic conditions that make vegetable and animal life on earth possible.—Deut. 33:14; 2 Sam. 23:4.

JEHOVAH AND CHRIST MORE BRILLIANT

The surpassing brilliance and glory of Jehovah, the sun’s Creator, is indicated by the fact that his resurrected Son, in a partial revelation to Saul, presented a light “beyond the brilliance of the sun.” (Acts 26:13) In the holy city, New Jerusalem, there will be no need for the sun as light, for the “glory of God” will light it up and “its lamp” will be the Lamb.—Rev. 21:2, 23; 22:5.

GOD’S POWER OVER THE SUNLIGHT

The day Jesus was fastened to a torture stake, from the sixth hour (11 a.m. to 12 noon) until the ninth hour (2 to 3 p.m.) a darkness fell over all the land. (Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33) Luke’s account adds that the darkness fell “because the sunlight failed.” (Luke 23:44, 45) This could not have been due to an eclipse of the sun by the moon, as some think, for the darkness occurred at Passover time, which was always the time of full moon. It is about two weeks later that the moon is new, that is, in the same direction as the sun from the earth (the time when solar eclipses occur).

Long before this occasion, Jehovah had demonstrated his ability to shut out the sunlight. This was when the Israelites were down in Egypt. During the ninth plague thick darkness enveloped the Egyptians with darkness that could “be felt.” It lasted for three days, longer than any eclipse of the sun by the moon. Also, in the nearby land of Goshen, the Israelites at the same time enjoyed light.—Ex. 10:21-23; see POWER, POWERFUL WORKS (Sun and moon stand still); SUNDIAL.

In answering his disciples’ question as to his presence and the conclusion of the system of things, Jesus predicted unusual darkening of the sun.—Matt. 24:3, 29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; compare Isaiah 13:10; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15; Acts 2:20; see HEAVEN (Darkening of the Heavens).

TIME AND DIRECTION

Time was often designated by references to the sun’s position. (Gen. 15:12, 17; 32:31; Deut. 16:6; Josh. 8:29; Judg. 9:33; 1 Sam. 11:9; Ps. 113:3) Direction was similarly indicated. (Deut. 11:30; Josh. 12:1) “Under the sun” was used to mean ‘anywhere (or everywhere) on earth.’ (Eccl. 5:18; 9:11) “Under the eyes” of the sun or “in front of the sun” meant in the open, for all to see.—2 Sam. 12:11, 12.

FIGURATIVE USE

Jehovah God is called “a sun and a shield,” not that he is a nature god, but that he is the Source of light, life and energy. (Ps. 84:11) He is also spoken of as a shade to his people, so that “the sun itself will not strike” them. Here that which brings calamity is likened to the sun’s heat. (Ps. 121:6, 7) Persecution (Matt. 13:5, 6, 20, 21), also the divine anger, are sometimes represented by the scorching heat of the sun.—Rev. 7:16.

Jehovah likened rebellious Jerusalem to a woman who had borne seven sons, describing the judgment coming upon her by the figurative expression, “Her sun has set while it is yet day,” that is, before the evening of her life was reached she would experience calamity. This was fulfilled when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem. (Jer. 15:9) In similar vein, Micah prophesied against the prophets misleading Israel: “The sun will certainly set upon the prophets, and the day must get dark upon them.” (Mic. 3:6; compare Amos 8:9.) Jehovah’s Kingdom rule is pictured as so bright that it can be said, in comparison: “The full moon has become abashed, and the glowing sun has become ashamed.” (Isa. 24:23) Jesus said that, at the conclusion of the system of things, “the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”—Matt. 13:39, 43; compare Daniel 12:3; see LIGHT.

SUN WORSHIP

During King Josiah’s cleansing work, “he put out of business the foreign-god priests, whom the kings of Judah had put in that they might make sacrificial smoke . . . to the sun and to the moon.” “Further, he caused the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun to cease from entering the house of Jehovah . . . and the chariots of the sun he burned in the fire.” (2 Ki. 23:5, 11) Later, the prophet Ezekiel, down in Babylon, was given a vision of Jehovah’s temple at Jerusalem. There he saw twenty-five men between the porch and the altar, “bowing down to the east, to the sun.” (Ezek. 8:16) Such disgusting practices brought Jerusalem to ruin in 607 B.C.E., when Jehovah’s instrument Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city and the temple.—Jer. 52:12-14.

SUNDIAL

An instrument for indicating the time of the day by means of the sun’s rays striking an object and casting a shadow on a graduated surface or dial, the shadow gradually becoming longer or shorter according to the sun’s distance from its zenith. The object used to produce the shadow was usually a style or gnomon, that is, a thin triangular plate of metal placed over the face of the dial, although a string or other object might also be used. The dial face could be a plane surface, a concave one, or even a cylinder.

The use of sundials extends back beyond the eighth century B.C.E. in both Babylon and Egypt. The Greeks and Romans developed advanced types of sundials, and even portable sundials became quite common.

In the Scriptures there is no direct reference to sundials. The Hebrew word ma·ʽalahʹ, translated “dial” at 2 Kings 20:11 and Isaiah 38:8, in the Authorized Version, literally means “steps” (NW) or “degrees,” as is indicated in the Authorized Version marginal readings on these verses. This word is also used in the superscriptions of the fifteen ‘Songs of the Ascents,’ Psalms 120-134.

In the scriptures mentioned, at 2 Kings 20:8-11 and Isaiah 38:4-8, the account is related of the portent God gave sick King Hezekiah in answer to Isaiah’s prayer. It consisted of causing a shadow that had gradually fallen to reverse its direction and go back up ten steps. This could refer to the steps or degrees of a dial for measuring time, and it is not impossible that Hezekiah’s father possessed such a sundial, even obtaining it from Babylon. However, the Jewish historian Josephus in discussing the account speaks of these steps of Ahaz as being “in his house,” apparently indicating that they formed part of a stairway. There may have been a column placed alongside the stairs to receive the sun’s rays and cause a shadow to extend gradually along the steps and serve as a measurement of time.

The miracle performed evidently involved the relationship between earth and sun, and, if so, it was therefore similar to the miracle recorded at Joshua 10:12-14. It appears that this portent had far-reaching effects, inasmuch as 2 Chronicles 32:24, 31 shows that messengers were sent from Babylon to Jerusalem to inquire about it.

SUNRISING, SUNSET

These times were pivotal points in the daily life of people in the Biblical period. For most persons, the dawn opened the curtain on the day’s activity and the dusk drew it closed again. As the psalmist wrote: “The sun . . . sets. You cause darkness, that it may become night; in it all the wild animals of the forest move forth. The maned young lions are roaring for the prey and for seeking their food from God himself. The sun begins to shine—they withdraw and they lie down in their own hiding places. Man goes forth to his activity and to his service until evening. How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made. The earth is full of your productions.”—Ps. 104:19-24.

The rising of the sun marked the start of the natural daylight period and, when Jesus Christ was on earth, the start of the counting of the “twelve hours of daylight.” (Mark 16:2; John 11:9) Many, of course, were up before dawn, like the diligent woman of Proverbs 31:15. Jesus, too, is mentioned as rising before the sun was up, to spend time in prayer. (Mark 1:35) When sunrise came the large city gates swung open, men went out to their fields or to the vineyards, women lined up at the wells for water, the marketplace filled, while fishermen pulled for shore with the night’s catch for selling, and then to the cleaning and mending of their nets.

The day’s normal activities and labor went on until sundown. At its approach the men returned from their fields, their masters paid them their wages for the day, women carried their night’s supply of water home, the city gates swung shut and the watchmen began the first of the four night watches, while throughout the city oil lamps began to flicker in the homes. (Judg. 19:14-16; Matt. 20:8-12; Deut. 24:15; Gen. 24:11; Neh. 13:19; Mark 13:35) For many, however, work went on after the evening meal, as industrious men and women did weaving or engaged in other indoor crafts. (Prov. 31:18, 19; 2 Thess. 3:8) At times Jesus and his apostles also continued their ministry and related activity on into the night.—Matt. 14:23-25; Mark 1:32-34; 4:35-39; Luke 6:12; 2 Cor. 6:4, 5.

While sunset marked the close of the daylight period, for the Jews it marked the start of the new calendar day, which officially began at sunset, being counted from evening to evening. (Lev. 23:32; compare Mark 1:21, 32 which shows that the day, in this case a sabbath, ended in the evening.) It was, therefore, at sunset that Nisan 14 began and the time came for slaughtering the lamb and eating the passover.—Ex. 12:6-10; Deut. 16:6; Matt. 26:20; see PASSOVER.

Because the day ended at this time, the Law required certain things to be done by sundown. A garment taken in pledge had to be returned to its owner “at the setting of the sun.” (Ex. 22:26; Deut. 24:13) At that time, too, wages were to be paid to hired laborers (Deut. 24:15), a dead body hanging on a stake had to be removed and buried (Deut. 21:22, 23; Josh. 8:29; 10:26, 27), and a person who had been ceremonially unclean must bathe himself and, following sunset, be considered clean again (Lev. 22:6, 7; Deut. 23:11). The sunset’s closing of one day and initiating a new one gave added meaning to the apostle’s exhortation: “Let the sun not set with you in a provoked state.”—Eph. 4:26.

The rising or shining of the sun is occasionally used in a figurative way. At 2 Samuel 23:3, 4 the reign of a righteous ruler who fears God is described to be as refreshing as the “light of morning, when the sun shines forth, a morning without clouds.” (Compare Malachi 4:2; Matthew 17:2; Revelation 1:16.) On behalf of God’s servants the request is made to Jehovah: “Let your lovers be as when the sun goes forth in its mightiness.”—Judg. 5:31; Matt. 13:43; Ps. 110:3; Dan. 12:3; contrast with Micah 3:5, 6; John 3:19, 20.

The terms “sunrising” and “sunset” are also used in a geographical sense to indicate two of the cardinal points, corresponding to the E and the W. (Ex. 27:13; Josh. 1:4; Ps. 107:3; Rev. 16:12) This is the sense of Psalm 113:3: “From the rising of the sun until its setting Jehovah’s name is to be praised.”—See also Malachi 1:11; Isaiah 45:6.

SUPERIOR AUTHORITIES

An expression evidently designating human governmental authorities. The words of the apostle Paul at Romans 13:1, where the “superior authorities” are mentioned, have been variously rendered: “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities, for there is no authority except by God; the existing authorities stand placed in their relative positions by God.” (NW) “Let every subject be obedient to the ruling authorities, for there is no authority not under God’s control, and under His control the existing authorities have been constituted.” (We, sixth ed.) “Everyone must obey the state authorities; for no authority exists without God’s permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God.”—TEV.

Jehovah God, though not originating them (compare Matthew 4:8, 9; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 13:1, 2), has allowed man’s governmental authorities to come into existence, and they continue to exist by his permission. However, when he chooses to do so, Jehovah can remove, direct or control such authorities to accomplish his will. The prophet Daniel declared regarding Jehovah: “He is changing times and seasons, removing kings and setting up kings.” (Dan. 2:21) And Proverbs 21:1 says: “A king’s heart is as streams of water in the hand of Jehovah. Everywhere that he delights to he turns it.”—Compare Nehemiah 2:3-6; Esther 6:1-11.

REASONS FOR CHRISTIAN SUBJECTION

There being no reason for Christians to set themselves in opposition to an arrangement that God has permitted, they have good reason to be in subjection to the superior authorities. Governmental rulers, though they may be corrupt personally, would not normally punish others for doing good, that is, for adhering to the law of the land. But a person who engages in thievery, murder or other lawless acts could expect an adverse judgment from the ruling authority. One guilty of deliberate murder, for instance, might be executed for his crime. Since Jehovah God authorized capital punishment for murderers after the Flood (Gen. 9:6), the human authority, by executing the lawbreaker, would be acting as “God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath upon the one