MOON (יָרֵחַ, H3734, moon; לְבָנָה֒, H4244, moon [cf. לָבַנ֒, H4235, white]; חֹ֫דֶשׁ֒, H2544, to renew; כֶּ֫סֶא, H4057, full moon; Gr. σελήνη, G4943, moon; νεομηνία, G3741, new moon; σελήνη ὅλη, full moon). That material heavenly body in this solar system made on the fourth day of creation to give light at night (Gen 1:16-18).
1. The terms used. Yārēaḥ is the more usual OT word for moon and possibly to be connected with the verb אֹ֫רַח, H784, “to wander,” since the moon travels across the heavens. The term usually is named with the sun (as in Josh 10:12, 13; Ps 121:6; Isa 60:19), sometimes with the sun and stars (Gen 37:9; Ezek 32:7; Joel 2:10) or just with the stars (as Job 25:5; Ps 8:3; Jer 31:35), and once it is used alone (Ps 72:7).
Lebānāh, related to lābān, “white,” is used for the moon prob. because of its white appearance. Its three OT uses in poetic sections are in Isaiah 24:23; 30:26; and Song of Solomon 6:10 (in a figure for a woman’s beauty), and always in parallel with the sun which in each case is called, חַמָּ֑ה, “the hot one.”
The word ḥōdes, “new moon,” “month,” obviously has specialized significance to indicate the time when certain religious festivities were held (cf. 1 Sam 20:5) and offerings performed (1 Chron 23:31), to designate month segments (Gen 38:24), and to point out calendar months (Exod 13:4).
The term, kese’, “full moon” is perhaps an Akkad. loan word, kuse’u, “headwear,” “cap,” or “crown.” Its only OT use is in Job 26:9; Psalm 81:3; and Proverbs 7:20; possibly fig. depicting the moon to be like a person wearing a crown. In the pseudepigraphical book of 1 Enoch (78:2) four names given to the moon are Asônjâ, Eblâ, Benâsê, and Erâe.
The NT Gr. word for “moon” is selēnē, used basically in eschatological contexts as Luke 21:25 and Revelation 21:23 (cf. 1 Cor 15:41). Neomēni’a, “new moon,” “first of the month,” occurs once in Colossians 2:16 of a festival celebrated by Jews and Gentiles.
2. The moon in creation and providence. God’s creation of the moon and the other heavenly bodies is recorded in Genesis 1:16-18, which fact is later alluded to in Psalms 8:3; 104:19; 136:9. Such a created object is stated to be inferior to God Himself in Job 25:5; Isaiah 24:23. Scripture sets forth God’s providence in sustaining the moon and other heavenly spheres by stating that He orders the moon in its course (Jer 31:35), obscures the moon by a cloud cover (Job 26:9), and also miraculously affects the normal action of the moon in relation to the earth (Josh 10:12, 13; Hab 3:11).
The moon is a part of a picture of the enduring nature of God’s creation, in the psalmist’s expression of his desire for a long life (Ps 72:5, 7) and in the promise that the Davidic dynasty will have permanence (Ps 89:37). The moon is also a symbol of God’s protective care over His people (Ps 121:6). The figure of the moon, sun and stars bowing before one of His servants (Gen 37:9) depicts God’s providence over His universe and mankind. The moon and other heavenly bodies are to show the glory of God and produce thanksgiving in the hearts of men (Pss 8:3; 148:3; 1 Cor 15:41).
3. The moon as an object of worship. There is Biblical and extra-Biblical evidence for the fact that ancient Near Eastern peoples worshiped the moon, such as in Pal. and Syria where one of the common names for the object was Ugaritic yrḫ, “moon,” equivalent to yariḫ (Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook, No. 1151, 3 Aqht:9), the moon-god Yariḫ (Gordon, No. 1151; 1:14; 5:11; 77:4). Also Jericho (Heb. יְרִיחﯴ) may well be named for this ancient moon god (cf. the other name of the fortress Khirbet Kerak, Beth-Yerah, meaning “the house,” or “temple,” “of the moon god”). The mention of Sahr in an early 8th-cent. b.c. inscr. from Syria further attests the worship of the moon or dawn god, since the inscr. speaks, in a context of gods, of the sun (god) and Sahr, the latter of which prob. is to be taken as the moon (god) (i.e., as accompanying the sun) or dawn (god) (cf. Heb. שַׁ֫חַר, H8840, “dawn”), that which precedes the sun (ANET, 502). Isaiah (47:13) refers to the Babylonian practice of making astrological prognostications at the time of new moons.
In spite of the Biblical warning and command not to worship the moon and other heavenly bodies (Deut 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26-28), and the statement of the penalty involved (Deut 17:6; cf. 2 Kings 23:5), the OT people of God did fall into this form of idolatrous worship (Jer 8:1, 2).
4. The moon as identification. The term, “new moon,” sometimes is used to indicate a measure of time as three (Gen 38:24), and seven (1 Sam 6:1) months, or the length (Job 14:5) or period in a person’s life (Lev 27:6). The term also identified a religious holiday at the beginning of the lunar month when there was feasting (1 Sam 20:5-34; Isa 1:14) and the offering of sacrifices (2 Kings 4:23; 1 Chron 23:31; Neh 10:33; Isa 1:13; 66:23; Ezek 46:1, 6. Cf. also Hos 5:7; Amos 8:5). The feast of Passover or of Tabernacles is in view in reference to blowing the trumpet at the new and full moon (Ps 81:3; cf. Prov 7:20).
The term, “new moon,” was used also with the particular names involved, to indicate lunar calendar months such as Abib (Exod 13:4), later Nisan (Esth 3:7), the first month; Ziv (1 Kings 6:1), second; Sivan (Esth 8:9), third; Chislev (Zech 7:1), ninth; Tebeth (Esth 2:16), tenth; Shebat (Zech 1:7), eleventh; and Adar (Esth 3:7, 13; 8:12; 9:1), twelfth.
5. The moon in eschatological passages. Of several OT eschatological passages where the moon figures as a sign, that of Isaiah 30:26 might be considered as referring to Israel’s near or far distant future (cf. also Ezek 32:7). Most of these references refer to the time of Christ’s Second Coming (Isa 13:10; Joel 2:10) when the moon with the sun, shall fade and become dark (Isa 13:10; Joel 2:10, 31; 3:15). The millennium or eternal state is in mind in the reference to the new moon in Isaiah 66:22, 23 (cf. Isa 60:19).
Parallel NT references to the moon emphasize its being darkened at Christ’s Second Coming (Matt 24:29; Mark 13:24; Luke 21:25; Acts 2:20 [quoting Joel 2:31]). Revelation 6:12 prophesies that “the full moon became like blood.” The woman of Revelation 12:1 (whether Christ, the Church, or Israel) is pictured as having the moon under her feet, etc. In the millennium, or eternal state, the new Jerusalem will not need the moon to shine (Rev 21:23).
Bibliography J. B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts (1955), 501, 502; C. H. Gordon, Ugaritic Textbook, Glossary, Analecta Orientalia 38 (1965), No. 1151.