The last issue we addressed last week was regarding the creation of ‘the two great lights’ as can be found in the opening chapter of the Book of Genesis:
“And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.” (Genesis 1:14-15)
The following words are interesting in particular: ‘and let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years’ because of the different possible meanings they could have in the original Hebrew.
In the original Hebrew these words appear as ‘Ve-Hayu Le-Otot U-Le- Moadim U-Le-Yamim Ve-Shanim.’ {והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ושנים} What is most intriguing for us is the FIRST part ‘Ve-Hayu Le-Otot U-Le-Moadim’ {והיו לאותות ולמועדים}(‘and let them be for signs and for seasons’).
The Hebrew word ‘Ot’ {אות} (the singular form of ‘Otot’ {אותות}) has more than one meaning and can be understood as ‘sign’ (like in the English translation) but also as a ‘mark’ or ‘indication’ and that is the reason, by the way, it is used also as the Hebrew word for ‘letter.’
The Hebrew word ‘Moed’ {מועד} (the singular form of ‘Moadim’ {מועדים}) was translated to English as ‘seasons’ but in fact derives from the Hebrew word ‘Ad’ {עד} which means ‘eternity’ and refers to any FIXED time of the year – which will be marked for eternity (meaning forever). At the same time, it is common to use this word as the Hebrew word for ‘holidays’ and ‘festivals’ because they always took place at the SAME time of the year.
Now, since we know the Hebrew meaning, it means that there are TWO ways to understand this phrase. The first, will be the same as in English – meaning the ‘great lights’ (sun and moon) will be used as signs for upcoming events.
And the second meaning that can be understood from the original Hebrew is that the sun and moon will be used for determining the time of the holidays – as we can still see in the Hebrew Calendar even today, in which the moon and the sun play a significant role in determining when will be the exact date of the biblical holidays.