God in Gen 1:14 Proclaims His Original "Seasons" of Worship
Genesis 1:14:
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for *seasons*, and for days. and years.”
The word "seasons" in the KJV Genesis 1:14 means just what the Strong’s Concordance says it means:
MOW’ED [4150]
1. appointed place, appointed time, meeting
a. appointed time
1. appointed time (general)
2. sacred season, set feast, appointed season
b. appointed meeting
c. appointed place
d. appointed sign or signal
e. tent of meeting
The 35 references presented below all go to prove the same thing. The proofs and evidences presented herein represent the consensus of a universal scholarship transcending denominational barriers and dispensations whether Jew, Gentile, Sabbath-keeper or Sunday-keeper, ancient or contemporary. These facts therefore recommend themselves to ones intelligent faith that God first proclaimed His plan for FESTIVALS wherein we would worship Him in Gen. 1:14:
Bible Translations
[1] “Then God commanded, let lights appear in the sky to separate day and night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin.” Good News Bible
[2] “God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days, and years.” Jerusalem Bible
[3] “God said, let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years.” The New English Bible
[4] “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years.” God’s Word
[5] “God said, “Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for
festivals, and for days and years.” Artscroll TaNaKh, Stone Edition
[6] “God said, ‘There shall be lights in the heavenly sky to divide between day and night. They shall serve as omens [and define] festivals, days and years.’ The Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
[7] “God spake: Let there be a system of light bearers in the vault of the heaven to distinguish between the day and the night, and they shall also serve for signs and for festival times and for cycles of days and years.” The Pentateuch—Samson R. Hirsch New York: Bloch (1963)
[8] “God said, ‘Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for festivals, and for days and years.’” Bereishis [Genesis] — Meir Zlotowitz Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah (1977)
[9] “God said, let there be lights in the vault of the heavens to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years.” The Revised English Bible, Oxford University Press, 1989
[10] “Then God said, Let there be lights in the Vault of heaven to separate day from night, to mark out the sacred seasons, the days and the years.” The Bible, A New Translation by James Moffatt
An important rule of Bible interpretation is that one must take into account the meaning of the words, in the languages of the authors at the time when they were written, and not necessarily the English translation of them today. Even though the KJV translators translated the word “mo’ed” as “seasons” it has no reference to how the word “seasons” is used today (summer, winter, spring and fall.) This is why Bible concordances and lexicons are invaluable Bible study tools. You don’t need to read Hebrew or be a “scholar” to use them. Moses, the author of Leviticus 23:2 was also the author of Genesis 1:14.
Bible Commentaries
We begin this section to show the testimony of various Bible commentaries beginning with the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC). The SDABC is presented here first as leading a consensus of commentators showing that “moed” translated “seasons” in the KJV in Genesis 1:14 refers to the holy days.
[11] “Yearly returning festival periods and other definite times were to be regulated by the movement of the celestial bodies.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol.1, p. 213 under “seasons”
[12] “And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them serve as signs for the festivals, the days and the years. And they shall serve as signs. Contrary to the usual conception, the Torah teaches that the sun and the moon were created to serve as signs; for example, to set terrestrial time and the calendar…” Call Of The Torah Commentaries, Rabbi Elie Munk, Bereishis, p. 11
[13] “And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for, signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;’”
“For seasons. a. “Seasons” was an anticipation of the future: the festivals (also called “seasons”) were fixed by lunar calculation. (Idem) b. To regulate the calendar. The “seasons” are spring, summer, autumn, and winter; also seed-time and harvest. The Heb. word for “seasons” later acquired the meaning of “festivals,” since these were fixed by the year’s seasons. (Hertz, J. H.) c. “Signs” means minutes and “seasons” hours. (Ibn Ezra)” Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation. Menahem M. Kasher. vol. 1, p. 47
[14] “Meaning and related words OO’LE MOAADIM means and for festivals… The root is MOED — noun meaning — ‘appointed time, festival’ as well as ‘appointed place, place of meeting, appointed sign, signal’…(p. 84-85)” Mila Yomit; The Torah, Word by Word OO’LE MOAADIM “and for Fest-ivals” Bereishit 1:14 by Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein (from milayomit@shamash.org)
[15] “The Targum of Jonathan is, and let them be for signs and the times of the feasts, and to reckon with them the number of days, and, sanctify the beginnings of the months, and the beginnings of the years, and the intercalations of months and years, the revolutions of the sun, and the new moons, and cycles.
“And so Jarchi interprets ‘seasons’ of the solemn festivals, that would hereafter be commanded the children of Israel; but those uses were not for a certain people, and for a certain time, but for all mankind, as long as the world should stand.” Gill’s Commentary
[16] “[For seasons] moadim; For the determination of the times on which the sacred festivals should be held. In this sense the word frequently occurs; and it was right that at the very opening of his revelation God should inform man that there were certain festivals which should be annually celebrated to his glory. Some think we should understand the original word as signifying months, for which purpose we know the moon essentially serves through all the revolutions of time.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary
[17] “The word ‘moadim’ which they translate ‘certain times’, is variously understood among the Hebrews: for it signifies both time and place, and also assemblies of persons. The Rabbis commonly explain the passage as referring to their festivals.” John Calvin’s Commentary
[18] “Seasons — not merely time naturally marked, or days and years would also not be also specified, but Festal Times.” The Book of Genesis, Henry Alford, D.D.
[19] “And for seasons. Heb. Moed-set or appointed times…signifying to fix by previous appointment. The phrase points not only to the seasons of the year, which are regulated by the course of the sun, and to the computation of months and years, but also to fasts, feasts, and other religious solemnities, such as were appointed to be observed by the people of Israel.” Notes on Genesis Vol.1, George Bush
[20] “And for festivals. This translation follows Rashi who interprets moed here as a reference to the ‘Festivals’: ‘This is in anticipation of the future when Israel would be commanded to regulate the festivals by calculation.’
“[The translation also agrees with Targum Yonasan and with the Midrash which specifically renders]: ‘This refers to the three pilgrimage festivals.’” Bereishis-Genesis/A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
[21] “The heavenly lights are created to divide day and night, to give (additional) light, and to serve as signs (i.e. time markers) for days, years, and fixed seasons (the word for ‘seasons’ is also the word for religious festival).” The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol.1 (paren. Belongs).
[22] “…their (the luminaries) influence here (creation) is restricted to that which obviously depends on them, viz. The alternation of day and night, the festivals, etc… It is noteworthy that this is the only work of creation of which the purposes is elaborately specified.
“for signs and for seasons, etc. Mo’ed (seasons) appears never to be used of the natural seasons of the year…but always of a time conventionally agreed upon… or fixed by some circumstance. The commonest application is to the sacred seasons if the ecclesiastical year, which are fixed by the moon (cf. Ps 104:19).” The International Critical Commentary, John Skinner, 1976 (3rd Edition) pp 25 & 26.
[23] “God is described as calling into existence the heavenly bodies for three distinct purposes: (1) to divide between day and night; (2) to determine periods of time, days, months, years, seasons, festivals, &c.; (3) to give light upon earth…
“for signs, and for seasons — Literally, ‘for signs and for fixed times.’…The ‘fixed times’ probably denote the periods of the year for agricultural and rural occupations, together with their festivals. Days of festivals were determined by particular moons, or by the rising of particular stars.” Herbert E. Ryle, D.D., The Book of Genesis, 1921
[24] “There are several Hebrew words which refer to a long period of time. These include qedem which is the main one-word term for ‘ancient’ and is sometimes translated ‘of old’; olam means ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternity’ and is translated ‘perpetual’, ‘of old’ or ‘for ever’; dor means ‘a revolution of time’ or ‘an age’ and is sometimes translated ‘generations’; tamid means ‘continually’ or ‘for ever’; ad means ‘unlimited time’ or ‘for ever’; orek when used with yom is translated ‘length of days’; shanah means ‘a year’ or ‘a revolution of time’ (from the change of seasons); netsach means ‘for ever’. Words for a shorter time span include eth (a general term for time); and moed, meaning ‘seasons’ or ‘festivals’.”
How Long Were The Days Of Genesis 1? Some Hebrew ‘Time’ Words from Answers in Genesis Ministries Intl http://www.answersingenesis.org
Hebrew / English Lexicons
[25] MOED (time of) feast pl. Gen 1:14. “A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament” based on the lexical work of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner by William L. Holladay Lowry Professor of Old Testament Andover Newton Theological School — William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids Michigan. p. 186
[26] MOED — Notes. It is most probable that in Gen 1:14… the reference is to the sacred seasons as fixed by the moon’s appearance; and so also he made the moon for sacred seasons Ps 104:19.” A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, D.D. D. Litt—Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1907, p 418
Reference Works of Biblical Scholarship
This category helps to establish how various scholarly reference works make references to Gen.1:14, although their primary emphasis is not to exegete the text. The casual “matter of fact” reference to the text shows how widespread the common understanding of the text and the word in question was.
[27] “The word ‘seasons’ does not denote the four seasons of the year that resulted from Noachan flood, but to the ‘set times’ or the ‘appointed times’ of the sacred calendar.
“When God created them and set them in the firmament of heaven, He said, in Gen. 1:14, ‘Let them be for signs and for seasons.’… The word ‘seasons’ does not denote merely what we call the four seasons of the year, but cycles of time. It is (mo’ed) appointed time (from the verb to point out, appoint). It occurs three more times in Genesis, each time in connection with the promised Seed — Gen. xvii. 21, ‘At this set time in the next year’; and for cycles (appointed times).”
“Here, then, we have a distinct declaration from God, that the heavens contain not only a Revelation concerning things to come in the “Signs,” but also concerning appointed times in the wondrous movements of the sun, and moon, and stars. Gen. xviii. 14, “At the time appointed I will return”; and Gen. xxi. 2, “At the set time of which God had spoken.” Gen. 1:14 is therefore, ‘They (the sun, moon, and stars) shall be for signs (things to come).’” E. W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars, Kregel Publications.
[28] “The Lord appointed the sun as a great sign above the earth for days, sabbaths, months, festivals, years, sabbaths of years, jubilees, and all times of the years.” 4Qjuba 6:7 quoted by James C. Vanderkam, Dead Sea Discoveries Vol.1 No.3, November 1994
Vanderkam notes that this particular section of the Dead Sea scrolls is thought to be addressing certain renegade Hellenists priests who had asserted it was the distinctiveness of the Mosaic law that resulted in separatism between Jew and Gentile that had not been a part of God’s original purpose. The article elaborating on this says:
[29] “This may be the theological or philosophical background toward which the author of Jubilees directs his book, including the creation material. Whereas some of his contemporaries thought (or hoped) that Mosaic legislation (or surviving corruptions of it) spoiled an earlier, purer form of religion, he asserted forthrightly and with sufficient exegetical warrant that the distinctive practices of Judaism, other than those which were necessarily tied to a later historical event (e.g., Passover), had not begun with Moses nor had the forefathers practiced a freer, more cosmopolitan religion. Rituals such as Sabbath celebration, circumcision, sacrifices, and festivals (at their correct, solarly determined times) had been practiced from the beginning… from the time of creation.” Ibid.
Whether or not the author of Jubilees from the Qumran Scrolls dated “circumcision and sacrifices” from the beginning along with the “Sabbath and festivals” is circumstantial to the understanding that was held by the Jewish people in the second temple period concerning the meaning of “seasons” in Gen 1:14. This evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls show that the Jewish people have always understood Gen 1:14 as a reference to the origin of the festivals and the creational mandate of their observance.
[30] “In Christianity and the Calendar, James B. Jordan takes the argument a step further by arguing on the basis of Genesis 1:14 that the annual festivals, like the Sabbath, are a creation ordinance. He interprets the term “season” (mo’ed) in Hebrew in Genesis 1:14 as referring to the special appointed times of the annual festivals and concludes that the “annual festivals regulated by the sun and the moon are a creation ordinance, every bit as much as the weekly Sabbath day.” God’s Festivals in Scripture and History” Part 1, Samuele Bacchiocchi 1996, p 46.
Samuel Bacchiocchi supplies in his footnotes of “God’s Festivals in Scripture and History — Part 1” supporting documentation to the conclusion that the word “mo’ed” translated as festivals indicates a creation origin for these ordinances just as for the Sabbath.
[31] “The term ‘season’ (mo’ed) is interpreted as referring to religious festivals by Solomon Gandz, ‘The Calendar of Ancient Israel’, in Homenaje a Millas-Valligrosa (Barecelona 1954), I:645; Paul Beauchamp, Creation et separation: Etude exegetique du chapitre premier de la Genese, Bibliotheque de Sciences religieuses (Aubier Montaigne 1969), p. 114; Robert Davidson, Genesis 1-11 (Cambridge, 1973), p.21; and Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas, 1987), vol. I, p.23.” Ibid, p. 52 fn
Can the Hebrew word mo’ed (sing.) or mo’edim (pl.) translated seasons in Genesis 1:14 be translated “appointed times” or ‘festivals”? We have presented overwhelming evidence in support of the concept that mo’edim here does in fact refer to the appointed times or festivals.
“And God said… Let them be for signs, and for seasons”. As stated before even though the Hebrew word mo’edim is translated “seasons”, one cannot apply the term to mean “the four seasons” of the year, i.e. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In the beginning after the creation week there were no “four seasons”. It was due to the condition of the earth after the flood that God said;
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” Genesis 8:22, KJV.
[32] “‘Let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.’ A little reflection on these words will help us to understand some remarkable truths… ‘Days and years’ clearly denotes the use of astronomical bodies for measuring time. God ordained that years, months, and days should be determined by astronomical means.
“But of more interest to us is the other use of the stellar heavens: ‘for signs and for seasons’. According to Keil and Delitzsch the Hebrew root for ‘signs’ is avah (a mark)… The sign was a mark of something other than itself. In the same way the signs in the sky are marks of God’s message to man.
“The word seasons (Hebrew moed) means something fixed or appointed. This word is never used in Scripture of a season of the year such as summer (a different word is always used). Moed indicates an appointed or fixed time, such as the time God had appeared for Abraham and Sara to have a son (Genesis 17:21; 18:14). The feasts of Jehovah in Leviticus are moedim, the plural of moed, and were appointed times when Israel would honor God in specific ways.
“‘Signs and seasons’ were therefore ordained by God to indicate happenings and the periods of time pertaining to them. God designed the stars with the purpose of using them to prophetically signify historical incidents at chosen times which would come to pass as the plan of salvation was unfolded.” God’s Voice In The Stars, K. C. Fleming, p. 14 & 15
The Hebrew word mo’ed [4150] and its derivatives are most often translated into terms connected with appointed times of worship and the holy feast days. In fact it is difficult to find an example of its translation in connection with the climactical seasons of the year.
[33] “He appointed the moon for seasons [moed — 4150]: the sun knoweth his going down.” (Psalm 104:19 KJV)
The Apocrypha
[34] “He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection”. Sirach 43:6&7
And one may well ask what part the moon (the lesser light Gen 1:17) plays in determining the four climactical seasons. It is clear then that “seasons” here refers to something other than the four seasons of the year.
In Gen 1:14 the phrase, “for seasons, and for days and years” omits reference to months. This is not surprising as it is clear from even a basic study of language that “months” are “moons” and thus cannot be determined by any other method except by the cycle of the moon.
If it is accepted that the Hebrew calendar is determined in part by the moon (the new moon marking the first day of the first and subsequent months) then, by association, the determination of holy days — God’s seasons or appointed times (Lev 23) are included in the purpose of the creation of the lesser light.
The Book of Jubilees
[35] Jubilees 2:8-10: “And on the fourth day He created the sun and the moon and the stars, and set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon all the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and divide the light from the darkness. And God appointed the sun to be a great sign on the earth for days and for sabbaths and for months and for feasts and for years and for sabbaths of years and for jubilees and for all seasons of the years. And it divideth the light from the darkness [and] for prosperity, that all things may prosper which shoot and grow on the earth. These three kinds He made on the fourth day.”
~~~~~~~~~
Since God Himself established these seasons of worship, and Jesus and the Apostles all kept them, and we are to "walk in HIS steps".
Paul in Col.2, tells that these days are a "blueprint" of good things to come, I submit to you all that you return to the faith that was once delivered to the saints, that included worshipping God on the days He has ordained from the foundation of the world...
“And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for *seasons*, and for days. and years.”
The word "seasons" in the KJV Genesis 1:14 means just what the Strong’s Concordance says it means:
MOW’ED [4150]
1. appointed place, appointed time, meeting
a. appointed time
1. appointed time (general)
2. sacred season, set feast, appointed season
b. appointed meeting
c. appointed place
d. appointed sign or signal
e. tent of meeting
The 35 references presented below all go to prove the same thing. The proofs and evidences presented herein represent the consensus of a universal scholarship transcending denominational barriers and dispensations whether Jew, Gentile, Sabbath-keeper or Sunday-keeper, ancient or contemporary. These facts therefore recommend themselves to ones intelligent faith that God first proclaimed His plan for FESTIVALS wherein we would worship Him in Gen. 1:14:
Bible Translations
[1] “Then God commanded, let lights appear in the sky to separate day and night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin.” Good News Bible
[2] “God said, ‘Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days, and years.” Jerusalem Bible
[3] “God said, let there be lights in the vault of heaven to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years.” The New English Bible
[4] “Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. They will be signs and will mark religious festivals, days, and years.” God’s Word
[5] “God said, “Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for
festivals, and for days and years.” Artscroll TaNaKh, Stone Edition
[6] “God said, ‘There shall be lights in the heavenly sky to divide between day and night. They shall serve as omens [and define] festivals, days and years.’ The Living Torah by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan
[7] “God spake: Let there be a system of light bearers in the vault of the heaven to distinguish between the day and the night, and they shall also serve for signs and for festival times and for cycles of days and years.” The Pentateuch—Samson R. Hirsch New York: Bloch (1963)
[8] “God said, ‘Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to separate between the day and the night; and they shall serve as signs, and for festivals, and for days and years.’” Bereishis [Genesis] — Meir Zlotowitz Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah (1977)
[9] “God said, let there be lights in the vault of the heavens to separate day from night, and let them serve as signs both for festivals and for seasons and years.” The Revised English Bible, Oxford University Press, 1989
[10] “Then God said, Let there be lights in the Vault of heaven to separate day from night, to mark out the sacred seasons, the days and the years.” The Bible, A New Translation by James Moffatt
An important rule of Bible interpretation is that one must take into account the meaning of the words, in the languages of the authors at the time when they were written, and not necessarily the English translation of them today. Even though the KJV translators translated the word “mo’ed” as “seasons” it has no reference to how the word “seasons” is used today (summer, winter, spring and fall.) This is why Bible concordances and lexicons are invaluable Bible study tools. You don’t need to read Hebrew or be a “scholar” to use them. Moses, the author of Leviticus 23:2 was also the author of Genesis 1:14.
Bible Commentaries
We begin this section to show the testimony of various Bible commentaries beginning with the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC). The SDABC is presented here first as leading a consensus of commentators showing that “moed” translated “seasons” in the KJV in Genesis 1:14 refers to the holy days.
[11] “Yearly returning festival periods and other definite times were to be regulated by the movement of the celestial bodies.” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary Vol.1, p. 213 under “seasons”
[12] “And God said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them serve as signs for the festivals, the days and the years. And they shall serve as signs. Contrary to the usual conception, the Torah teaches that the sun and the moon were created to serve as signs; for example, to set terrestrial time and the calendar…” Call Of The Torah Commentaries, Rabbi Elie Munk, Bereishis, p. 11
[13] “And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for, signs, and for seasons, and for days and years;’”
“For seasons. a. “Seasons” was an anticipation of the future: the festivals (also called “seasons”) were fixed by lunar calculation. (Idem) b. To regulate the calendar. The “seasons” are spring, summer, autumn, and winter; also seed-time and harvest. The Heb. word for “seasons” later acquired the meaning of “festivals,” since these were fixed by the year’s seasons. (Hertz, J. H.) c. “Signs” means minutes and “seasons” hours. (Ibn Ezra)” Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation. Menahem M. Kasher. vol. 1, p. 47
[14] “Meaning and related words OO’LE MOAADIM means and for festivals… The root is MOED — noun meaning — ‘appointed time, festival’ as well as ‘appointed place, place of meeting, appointed sign, signal’…(p. 84-85)” Mila Yomit; The Torah, Word by Word OO’LE MOAADIM “and for Fest-ivals” Bereishit 1:14 by Rabbi Itzchak Marmorstein (from milayomit@shamash.org)
[15] “The Targum of Jonathan is, and let them be for signs and the times of the feasts, and to reckon with them the number of days, and, sanctify the beginnings of the months, and the beginnings of the years, and the intercalations of months and years, the revolutions of the sun, and the new moons, and cycles.
“And so Jarchi interprets ‘seasons’ of the solemn festivals, that would hereafter be commanded the children of Israel; but those uses were not for a certain people, and for a certain time, but for all mankind, as long as the world should stand.” Gill’s Commentary
[16] “[For seasons] moadim; For the determination of the times on which the sacred festivals should be held. In this sense the word frequently occurs; and it was right that at the very opening of his revelation God should inform man that there were certain festivals which should be annually celebrated to his glory. Some think we should understand the original word as signifying months, for which purpose we know the moon essentially serves through all the revolutions of time.” Adam Clarke’s Commentary
[17] “The word ‘moadim’ which they translate ‘certain times’, is variously understood among the Hebrews: for it signifies both time and place, and also assemblies of persons. The Rabbis commonly explain the passage as referring to their festivals.” John Calvin’s Commentary
[18] “Seasons — not merely time naturally marked, or days and years would also not be also specified, but Festal Times.” The Book of Genesis, Henry Alford, D.D.
[19] “And for seasons. Heb. Moed-set or appointed times…signifying to fix by previous appointment. The phrase points not only to the seasons of the year, which are regulated by the course of the sun, and to the computation of months and years, but also to fasts, feasts, and other religious solemnities, such as were appointed to be observed by the people of Israel.” Notes on Genesis Vol.1, George Bush
[20] “And for festivals. This translation follows Rashi who interprets moed here as a reference to the ‘Festivals’: ‘This is in anticipation of the future when Israel would be commanded to regulate the festivals by calculation.’
“[The translation also agrees with Targum Yonasan and with the Midrash which specifically renders]: ‘This refers to the three pilgrimage festivals.’” Bereishis-Genesis/A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources, Mesorah Publications, Ltd.
[21] “The heavenly lights are created to divide day and night, to give (additional) light, and to serve as signs (i.e. time markers) for days, years, and fixed seasons (the word for ‘seasons’ is also the word for religious festival).” The New Interpreter’s Bible Vol.1 (paren. Belongs).
[22] “…their (the luminaries) influence here (creation) is restricted to that which obviously depends on them, viz. The alternation of day and night, the festivals, etc… It is noteworthy that this is the only work of creation of which the purposes is elaborately specified.
“for signs and for seasons, etc. Mo’ed (seasons) appears never to be used of the natural seasons of the year…but always of a time conventionally agreed upon… or fixed by some circumstance. The commonest application is to the sacred seasons if the ecclesiastical year, which are fixed by the moon (cf. Ps 104:19).” The International Critical Commentary, John Skinner, 1976 (3rd Edition) pp 25 & 26.
[23] “God is described as calling into existence the heavenly bodies for three distinct purposes: (1) to divide between day and night; (2) to determine periods of time, days, months, years, seasons, festivals, &c.; (3) to give light upon earth…
“for signs, and for seasons — Literally, ‘for signs and for fixed times.’…The ‘fixed times’ probably denote the periods of the year for agricultural and rural occupations, together with their festivals. Days of festivals were determined by particular moons, or by the rising of particular stars.” Herbert E. Ryle, D.D., The Book of Genesis, 1921
[24] “There are several Hebrew words which refer to a long period of time. These include qedem which is the main one-word term for ‘ancient’ and is sometimes translated ‘of old’; olam means ‘everlasting’ or ‘eternity’ and is translated ‘perpetual’, ‘of old’ or ‘for ever’; dor means ‘a revolution of time’ or ‘an age’ and is sometimes translated ‘generations’; tamid means ‘continually’ or ‘for ever’; ad means ‘unlimited time’ or ‘for ever’; orek when used with yom is translated ‘length of days’; shanah means ‘a year’ or ‘a revolution of time’ (from the change of seasons); netsach means ‘for ever’. Words for a shorter time span include eth (a general term for time); and moed, meaning ‘seasons’ or ‘festivals’.”
How Long Were The Days Of Genesis 1? Some Hebrew ‘Time’ Words from Answers in Genesis Ministries Intl http://www.answersingenesis.org
Hebrew / English Lexicons
[25] MOED (time of) feast pl. Gen 1:14. “A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament” based on the lexical work of Ludwig Koehler and Walter Baumgartner by William L. Holladay Lowry Professor of Old Testament Andover Newton Theological School — William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids Michigan. p. 186
[26] MOED — Notes. It is most probable that in Gen 1:14… the reference is to the sacred seasons as fixed by the moon’s appearance; and so also he made the moon for sacred seasons Ps 104:19.” A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, D.D. D. Litt—Oxford at the Clarendon Press 1907, p 418
Reference Works of Biblical Scholarship
This category helps to establish how various scholarly reference works make references to Gen.1:14, although their primary emphasis is not to exegete the text. The casual “matter of fact” reference to the text shows how widespread the common understanding of the text and the word in question was.
[27] “The word ‘seasons’ does not denote the four seasons of the year that resulted from Noachan flood, but to the ‘set times’ or the ‘appointed times’ of the sacred calendar.
“When God created them and set them in the firmament of heaven, He said, in Gen. 1:14, ‘Let them be for signs and for seasons.’… The word ‘seasons’ does not denote merely what we call the four seasons of the year, but cycles of time. It is (mo’ed) appointed time (from the verb to point out, appoint). It occurs three more times in Genesis, each time in connection with the promised Seed — Gen. xvii. 21, ‘At this set time in the next year’; and for cycles (appointed times).”
“Here, then, we have a distinct declaration from God, that the heavens contain not only a Revelation concerning things to come in the “Signs,” but also concerning appointed times in the wondrous movements of the sun, and moon, and stars. Gen. xviii. 14, “At the time appointed I will return”; and Gen. xxi. 2, “At the set time of which God had spoken.” Gen. 1:14 is therefore, ‘They (the sun, moon, and stars) shall be for signs (things to come).’” E. W. Bullinger, The Witness of the Stars, Kregel Publications.
[28] “The Lord appointed the sun as a great sign above the earth for days, sabbaths, months, festivals, years, sabbaths of years, jubilees, and all times of the years.” 4Qjuba 6:7 quoted by James C. Vanderkam, Dead Sea Discoveries Vol.1 No.3, November 1994
Vanderkam notes that this particular section of the Dead Sea scrolls is thought to be addressing certain renegade Hellenists priests who had asserted it was the distinctiveness of the Mosaic law that resulted in separatism between Jew and Gentile that had not been a part of God’s original purpose. The article elaborating on this says:
[29] “This may be the theological or philosophical background toward which the author of Jubilees directs his book, including the creation material. Whereas some of his contemporaries thought (or hoped) that Mosaic legislation (or surviving corruptions of it) spoiled an earlier, purer form of religion, he asserted forthrightly and with sufficient exegetical warrant that the distinctive practices of Judaism, other than those which were necessarily tied to a later historical event (e.g., Passover), had not begun with Moses nor had the forefathers practiced a freer, more cosmopolitan religion. Rituals such as Sabbath celebration, circumcision, sacrifices, and festivals (at their correct, solarly determined times) had been practiced from the beginning… from the time of creation.” Ibid.
Whether or not the author of Jubilees from the Qumran Scrolls dated “circumcision and sacrifices” from the beginning along with the “Sabbath and festivals” is circumstantial to the understanding that was held by the Jewish people in the second temple period concerning the meaning of “seasons” in Gen 1:14. This evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls show that the Jewish people have always understood Gen 1:14 as a reference to the origin of the festivals and the creational mandate of their observance.
[30] “In Christianity and the Calendar, James B. Jordan takes the argument a step further by arguing on the basis of Genesis 1:14 that the annual festivals, like the Sabbath, are a creation ordinance. He interprets the term “season” (mo’ed) in Hebrew in Genesis 1:14 as referring to the special appointed times of the annual festivals and concludes that the “annual festivals regulated by the sun and the moon are a creation ordinance, every bit as much as the weekly Sabbath day.” God’s Festivals in Scripture and History” Part 1, Samuele Bacchiocchi 1996, p 46.
Samuel Bacchiocchi supplies in his footnotes of “God’s Festivals in Scripture and History — Part 1” supporting documentation to the conclusion that the word “mo’ed” translated as festivals indicates a creation origin for these ordinances just as for the Sabbath.
[31] “The term ‘season’ (mo’ed) is interpreted as referring to religious festivals by Solomon Gandz, ‘The Calendar of Ancient Israel’, in Homenaje a Millas-Valligrosa (Barecelona 1954), I:645; Paul Beauchamp, Creation et separation: Etude exegetique du chapitre premier de la Genese, Bibliotheque de Sciences religieuses (Aubier Montaigne 1969), p. 114; Robert Davidson, Genesis 1-11 (Cambridge, 1973), p.21; and Gordon Wenham, Genesis 1-15, Word Biblical Commentary (Waco, Texas, 1987), vol. I, p.23.” Ibid, p. 52 fn
Can the Hebrew word mo’ed (sing.) or mo’edim (pl.) translated seasons in Genesis 1:14 be translated “appointed times” or ‘festivals”? We have presented overwhelming evidence in support of the concept that mo’edim here does in fact refer to the appointed times or festivals.
“And God said… Let them be for signs, and for seasons”. As stated before even though the Hebrew word mo’edim is translated “seasons”, one cannot apply the term to mean “the four seasons” of the year, i.e. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. In the beginning after the creation week there were no “four seasons”. It was due to the condition of the earth after the flood that God said;
“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” Genesis 8:22, KJV.
[32] “‘Let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years.’ A little reflection on these words will help us to understand some remarkable truths… ‘Days and years’ clearly denotes the use of astronomical bodies for measuring time. God ordained that years, months, and days should be determined by astronomical means.
“But of more interest to us is the other use of the stellar heavens: ‘for signs and for seasons’. According to Keil and Delitzsch the Hebrew root for ‘signs’ is avah (a mark)… The sign was a mark of something other than itself. In the same way the signs in the sky are marks of God’s message to man.
“The word seasons (Hebrew moed) means something fixed or appointed. This word is never used in Scripture of a season of the year such as summer (a different word is always used). Moed indicates an appointed or fixed time, such as the time God had appeared for Abraham and Sara to have a son (Genesis 17:21; 18:14). The feasts of Jehovah in Leviticus are moedim, the plural of moed, and were appointed times when Israel would honor God in specific ways.
“‘Signs and seasons’ were therefore ordained by God to indicate happenings and the periods of time pertaining to them. God designed the stars with the purpose of using them to prophetically signify historical incidents at chosen times which would come to pass as the plan of salvation was unfolded.” God’s Voice In The Stars, K. C. Fleming, p. 14 & 15
The Hebrew word mo’ed [4150] and its derivatives are most often translated into terms connected with appointed times of worship and the holy feast days. In fact it is difficult to find an example of its translation in connection with the climactical seasons of the year.
[33] “He appointed the moon for seasons [moed — 4150]: the sun knoweth his going down.” (Psalm 104:19 KJV)
The Apocrypha
[34] “He made the moon also to serve in her season for a declaration of times, and a sign of the world. From the moon is the sign of feasts, a light that decreaseth in her perfection”. Sirach 43:6&7
And one may well ask what part the moon (the lesser light Gen 1:17) plays in determining the four climactical seasons. It is clear then that “seasons” here refers to something other than the four seasons of the year.
In Gen 1:14 the phrase, “for seasons, and for days and years” omits reference to months. This is not surprising as it is clear from even a basic study of language that “months” are “moons” and thus cannot be determined by any other method except by the cycle of the moon.
If it is accepted that the Hebrew calendar is determined in part by the moon (the new moon marking the first day of the first and subsequent months) then, by association, the determination of holy days — God’s seasons or appointed times (Lev 23) are included in the purpose of the creation of the lesser light.
The Book of Jubilees
[35] Jubilees 2:8-10: “And on the fourth day He created the sun and the moon and the stars, and set them in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon all the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and divide the light from the darkness. And God appointed the sun to be a great sign on the earth for days and for sabbaths and for months and for feasts and for years and for sabbaths of years and for jubilees and for all seasons of the years. And it divideth the light from the darkness [and] for prosperity, that all things may prosper which shoot and grow on the earth. These three kinds He made on the fourth day.”
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Since God Himself established these seasons of worship, and Jesus and the Apostles all kept them, and we are to "walk in HIS steps".
Paul in Col.2, tells that these days are a "blueprint" of good things to come, I submit to you all that you return to the faith that was once delivered to the saints, that included worshipping God on the days He has ordained from the foundation of the world...
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Just checked the calender ...
Seems we have an appointment -
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