Easton's Bible Dictionary: M. G. Easton, M.A., D.D.
Bear-keeper, the name given by the ancients to the brightest star in the constellation Bootes. In the Authorized Version (
Job 9:9, 38:32) it is the rendering of the Hebrew word
'ash, which probably designates the constellation the Great Bear. This word ('ash) is supposed to be derived from an Arabic word meaning night-watcher, because the Great Bear always revolves about the pole, and to our nothern hemisphere never sets.