Genesis 1:14

1:14 God said, “Let there be lights ¹  in the expanse ²  of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs ³  to indicate seasons and days and years,

Deuteronomy 4:19

4:19 When you look up ⁴  to the sky ⁵  and see the sun, moon, and stars – the whole heavenly creation ⁶  – you must not be seduced to worship and serve them, ⁷  for the Lord your God has assigned ⁸  them to all the people ⁹  of the world. ¹⁰ 

Job 31:26

31:26 if I looked at the sun ¹¹  when it was shining,

and the moon advancing as a precious thing,

Psalms 8:3

8:3 When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made,

and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, ¹² 

Psalms 19:4-6

19:4 Yet its voice ¹³  echoes ¹⁴  throughout the earth;

its ¹⁵  words carry ¹⁶  to the distant horizon. ¹⁷ 

In the sky ¹⁸  he has pitched a tent for the sun. ¹⁹ 

19:5 Like a bridegroom it emerges ²⁰  from its chamber; ²¹ 

like a strong man it enjoys ²²  running its course. ²³ 

19:6 It emerges from the distant horizon, ²⁴ 

and goes from one end of the sky to the other; ²⁵ 

nothing can escape ²⁶  its heat.

Psalms 148:3-5

148:3 Praise him, O sun and moon!

Praise him, all you shiny stars! ²⁷ 

148:4 Praise him, O highest heaven,

and you waters above the sky! ²⁸ 

148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for he gave the command and they came into existence.

Isaiah 24:23

24:23 The full moon will be covered up, ²⁹ 

the bright sun ³⁰  will be darkened; ³¹ 

for the Lord who commands armies will rule ³² 

on Mount Zion in Jerusalem ³³ 

in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor. ³⁴ 

[1:14]  ¹ sn Let there be lights. Light itself was created before the light-bearers. The order would not seem strange to the ancient Hebrew mind that did not automatically link daylight with the sun (note that dawn and dusk appear to have light without the sun).

[1:14]  ² tn The language describing the cosmos, which reflects a prescientific view of the world, must be interpreted as phenomenal, describing what appears to be the case. The sun and the moon are not in the sky (below the clouds), but from the viewpoint of a person standing on the earth, they appear that way. Even today we use similar phenomenological expressions, such as “the sun is rising” or “the stars in the sky.”

[1:14]  ³ tn The text has “for signs and for seasons and for days and years.” It seems likely from the meanings of the words involved that “signs” is the main idea, followed by two categories, “seasons” and “days and years.” This is the simplest explanation, and one that matches vv. 11-13. It could even be rendered “signs for the fixed seasons, that is [explicative vav (ו)] days and years.”

[4:19]  ⁴ tn Heb “lest you lift up your eyes.” In the Hebrew text vv. 16-19 are subordinated to “Be careful” in v. 15, but this makes for an unduly long sentence in English.

[4:19]  ⁵ tn Or “heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “all the host of heaven.”

[4:19]  ⁷ tn In the Hebrew text the verbal sequence in v. 19 is “lest you look up…and see…and be seduced…and worship them…and serve them.” However, the first two actions are not prohibited in and of themselves. The prohibition pertains to the final three actions. The first two verbs describe actions that are logically subordinate to the following actions and can be treated as temporal or circumstantial: “lest, looking up…and seeing…, you are seduced.” See Joüon 2:635 §168.h.

[4:19]  ⁸ tn Or “allotted.”

[4:19]  ⁹ tn Or “nations.”

[4:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “under all the heaven.”

[31:26]  ¹¹ tn Heb “light”; but parallel to the moon it is the sun. This section speaks of false worship of the sun and the moon.

[8:3]  ¹² tn Heb “when I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars which you established.” The verb “[and] see” is understood by ellipsis in the second half of the verse.

[19:4]  ¹³ tc The MT reads, “their measuring line” (קוּם, qum). The noun קַו (qav, “measuring line”) makes no sense in this context. The reading קוֹלָם (qolam, “their voice”) which is supported by the LXX, is preferable.

[19:4]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “goes out,” or “proceeds forth.”

[19:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “their” (see the note on the word “its” in v. 3).

[19:4]  ¹⁶ tn The verb is supplied in the translation. The Hebrew text has no verb; יָצָא (yatsa’, “goes out”) is understood by ellipsis.

[19:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “to the end of the world.”

[19:4]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “in them” (i.e., the heavens).

[19:4]  ¹⁹ sn He has pitched a tent for the sun. The personified sun emerges from this “tent” in order to make its daytime journey across the sky. So the “tent” must refer metaphorically to the place where the sun goes to rest during the night.

[19:5]  ²⁰ tn The participle expresses the repeated or regular nature of the action.

[19:5]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew noun חֻפָּה (khufah, “chamber”) occurs elsewhere only in Isa 4:5 and Joel 2:16 (where it refers to the bedroom of a bride and groom).

[19:5]  ²² tn The imperfect verbal form draws attention to the regularity of the action.

[19:5]  ²³ tn Heb “[on] a path.”

[19:6]  ²⁴ tn Heb “from the end of the heavens [is] its going forth.”

[19:6]  ²⁵ tn Heb “and its circuit [is] to their ends.”

[19:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “is hidden from.”

[148:3]  ²⁷ tn Heb “stars of light.”

[148:4]  ²⁸ sn The “water” mentioned here corresponds to the “waters above” mentioned in Gen 1:7. See also Ps 104:3. For a discussion of the picture envisioned by the psalmist, see L. I. J. Stadelmann, The Hebrew Conception of the World, 47.

[24:23]  ²⁹ tn Heb “will be ashamed.”

[24:23]  ³⁰ tn Or “glow of the sun.”

[24:23]  ³¹ tn Heb “will be ashamed” (so NCV).

[24:23]  ³² tn Or “take his throne,” “become king.”

[24:23]  ³³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[24:23]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and before his elders [in] splendor.”