Dayspring (Hastings' Dictionary)
Job 38« ' Hast thou . . caused the ilay.spring to know his pl.tce ? ' C-V) ; Wis 10-" 674 DAY-STAE DEACON ' at the dayspiring pray unto thee ' {rpdt iyaroXiir (fxjrrbi, RV ' at the dawning of the day ') ; and Lk V* ' the d. from on high hath visited us ' (avaroX^ i^ v\)io\n). The word is of freq. occurrence for the dawn of day, as Eden, Decades (1555), p. 264, ' The day aprynge or dawnynge of the daye gyveth a certeyne lyght before the rysinge of the soonne.' Davies (Bible Eng. p.
249) points out that virtually the same expression occurs in Jg 19*" ' when the day began to spring, they let her go, and 18 9-"' it came to pass about the spring of the day.' In Gn 32" the marg. has 'ascending of the morning' for 'breakinj^ of the day ' ; and in Ps 65' east and west are called ' the outgoings of the morning and evening.' J. Hastings.
This topic also has an entry in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Both articles offer independent scholarly perspectives.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia on Dayspring
Dayspring da'-spring: This beautiful English word, in current use in the time of the King James Version, is found in the Old Testament as the translation of shachar, "Hast thou .... caused the dayspring to know his place?" (Job 38:12 the King James Version). This is no doubt intended literally for the dawn. The "place" of the dayspring is the particular point of the horizon at which the sun comes up on any given day. This slowly changes day by day through the year, moving northward from midwinter till midsummer, and back again southward from midsummer to midwinter. See ASTRONOMY, sec. I, 2. Also once in the New Testament for anatole, "a rising." "The dayspring from on high hath visited us" (the King James Version; the Revised Version (British and American) "shall visit us," Lu 1:78). Also in Apocrypha, "At the dayspring pray unto thee" (AV; the Revised Version (British and American) "plead with thee at the dawning of the light," The Wisdom of Solomon 16:28). Both the Hebrew and Greek words, however, are of frequent occurrence, but variously rendered "dawn," "break of day," "morning,"…
References
- Orr, J. (ed.) (1915) The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Chicago: Howard-Severance Company. [Public Domain]
- Easton, M.G. (1893) Easton's Bible Dictionary. 3rd edn. Thomas Nelson. [Public Domain]
- Nave, O.J. (1897) Nave's Topical Bible. Topical Bible Publishing Co.. [Public Domain]
- Hastings, J. (ed.) (1909) A Dictionary of the Bible. Edinburgh: T&T Clark. [Public Domain]
- Smith, W. (ed.) (1884) Smith's Bible Dictionary. London: John Murray. [Public Domain]
- Fausset, A.R. (1878) Fausset's Bible Dictionary. [Public Domain]A Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopaedia