The Babylonian royal astrologers taught that the mere fact of the passage of a meteor across the heavens, whether its course were from east to west, or from north to south, was a good omen, portending victory and the successful issue of the royal projects. Especially favorable was the augury when the meteor was very brilliant and left behind it a trail that might be likened to the tail of a scorpion. This not only foretold joy for the ruler and his house, but for the entire country; evil would be overcome, righteousness would reign supreme, and prosperity would prevail. A meteor of this type is recorded as having appeared at the time Nebuchadnezzar laid waste Elam about 1150 B.C. This refers to the elder Nebuchadnezzar.[140] A curious series of cuneiform texts treats of the prognostics to be drawn from the transformations of stars into various animals, metals, stones, etc. This is explained as referring to the apparent form or hue of the meteor itself, or of the trail it left behind. The transformations into stones concern the dushu-stone, porphyry (or some other dark red or purple stone) and lapis lazuli. This omen is invariably a favorable one.[141] The Old Testament offers abundant testimony of the ancient belief that certain stones were animated by a divine spirit. In regard to this, Benzinger writes:[142] “It was not Yahweh who found Jacob at Bethel but rather Jacob who found Yahweh there. He anoints the stone; that is, he sacrifices to it, for the divinity residing in the stone has caused his dream.” According to Benzinger’s opinion the Ark of the Covenant originally served as receptacle for a stone of this type, and was hence regarded as sheltering a divinity. One of the very earliest references to meteorites appears in the Book of Joshua (chap, x, verse 11), where we read, in the account of the battle fought by the Israelites against the Amorites and their allies, that “the Lord cast down great stones from heaven” upon the Amorites, so that more of the latter were killed by these stones than by the weapons of the Israelites. Admitting the historical character of the account, this fall of meteorites probably took place in the twelfth century B.C. In an Assyrian cuneiform inscription, there is mention of the seven black stones of the city of Urka in Chaldea. These were _bætyli_ and were regarded as representations of the seven planets.[143]