Dial. It was on the "dial of Ahaz" that the miraculous sign given to Hezekiah for bis recovery from sickness showed itself. 2 Kings 20:8-11; Isaiah 38:7-8. It is uncertain what the "dial" of Ahaz was. The word so translated is elsewhere rendered "degrees," "steps," e.g., Exodus 20:26. Some have imagined it a hemispherical cavity in a horizontal square stone, provided with a gnomon or index In the middle, the shadow of which fell on different lines cut in the hollow surface; some think that it was a vertical index surrounded by twelve concentric circles; while some, with perhaps greater probability, believe it an obelisk-like pillar, set up in an open elevated place, with encircling steps, on which the shadow fell. Ahaz appears to have had a taste for curious things, 2 Kings 16:10, and might have borrowed this dial from Assyria. The inquiry from Babylon in regard to it would seem to imply that the miracle was heard of, but not witnessed there. 2 Chronicles 32:31.