Genesis 1:17

Hebrew Bible

16 God made two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. 17 God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.

Psalm 93:1

Hebrew Bible

1 The Lord reigns. He is robed in majesty. The Lord is robed; he wears strength around his waist. Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved. 2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times; you have always been king. 3 The waves roar, O Lord, the waves roar, the waves roar and crash.

 Notes and References

"... Another reason for understanding that môʿăḏîm in Genesis 1:14 does not refer to seasons of the year is because this interpretation conflicts with the biblical cosmology presented in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:17 says “God set (nātan) them (the sun, moon and stars) in the rāqîaʿ haš-šāmāyim. Here the verb nātan has the sense of ‘put, place, set’ in a physical location. Elsewhere the scriptures describe the earth as being fixed and immovable, as in 1 Chronicles 16:30, Psalm 93:1, Psalm 96:10 and Psalm 104:5, while the heavenly bodies, such as the sun, moon and stars, move with respect to the earth. Compare Psalm 19:5–6 where the sun runs its course from one end of the heavens to the other; also Joshua 10:12–14 where Joshua commands both the sun and the moon to stand still in the sky, and Job 38:.31–33 where God challenges Job to control the movement of the constellations of stars ..."

Roberts, John R. The Anachronism of Môʿăḏîm ‘Appointed Times’ in Gen 1.14 (pp. 1-8) SIL International, 2016

 User Comments

Do you have questions or comments about these texts? Please submit them here.