Arcturus

The proper comprehension of ancient Sem. astrology and astronomical terminology is far from certain. There is the added problem that Job frequently refers to ancient cosmological stories which are only in a few instances recoverable from the great antiquity when the book was written. From the general information given in the text, it is highly probable that the Great Bear is in fact the constellation meant, and if not, then prob. the constellation Aldebaran.

The medieval commentators, thoroughly imbued with Hel. post-Platinian astrology, were particularly interested in such Biblical references to astral phenomena. From such writings have come a vast lit. based on folklore and folk etymology. There is no doubt that the ancients had a highly developed sense of the cosmos, but the necessary quantitative data is rarely available for definite identification. Ibn Ezra and other rabbinical writers of the Judeo-Arab. tradition define these terms in the sense in which they were understood at their time. In effect, either Arcturus or Great Bear is a permissible tr.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)

ark-tu’-rus: The "Plough" or "Charles’s Wain" is intended. See Astronomy, sec. II, 13.