The Greek noun anatolē means the rising of the sun, the east, or dawn. Occurring 11 times in the NT, it comes from anatellō (to rise, cause to spring up). It is used both geographically (the East, the Orient) and symbolically — the 'rising dawn from on high' in Luke 1:78 describes the Messiah.
Zechariah's prophecy in Luke 1:78 calls the Messiah the Anatolē ex hupsou — the Rising Sun from on high, or the Dayspring. This merges Malachi 4:2 ('the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays') with Isaiah 9:2 ('on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned'). Christ is the cosmic dawn — the Sunrise who ends the long night of sin and death. The Magi (wise men) followed a star in the East (anatolē) to find the Sunrise Himself. All of history moves from darkness toward this eternal morning.