Texts in Conversation
Psalm 136 shares language with Genesis by calling the sun and moon great lights that rule day and night. It reflects ancient cosmology where the moon shines with its own light, and how they “rule” reflects how they were once thought to be divine beings.
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Genesis 1:16
Hebrew Bible
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so. 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. 19 There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Psalm 136:7
Hebrew Bible
5 To the one who used wisdom to make the heavens, for his loyal love endures. 6 To the one who spread out the earth over the water, for his loyal love endures. 7 To the one who made the great lights, for his loyal love endures, 8 the sun to rule by day, for his loyal love endures, 9 the moon and stars to rule by night, for his loyal love endures. 10 To the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, for his loyal love endures,
Date: 6th-3rd Centuries B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... The narrator, however, consciously places the creation of the heavenly bodies between that of plants and animals. He claims that the heavenly bodies, which in the ancient Near East were gods of supreme importance, are creatures like plants and animals. Like them, they function within the created order, as the account stresses. They are called lamps or lights. That is not to be degrading or derisive, but they are shown to be subject to the limitations of createdness. That the heavenly bodies are signs to determine holiday seasons, as well as days and years, is understood worldwide. In this way the regularity of the calendar (days and years) can be distinguished from particular dates. In the statement that their purpose was to "rule" (verses 16-18), the fact that the heavenly bodies were once seen as gods shines through. Here the word has only a weak sense of "ruling," as in Psalm 136:7-9 ... the sun to rule over the day ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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