H3394 H3394
Moon — the lesser celestial luminary; associated with worship, calendar reckoning, and poetic imagery of permanence.
The Hebrew noun for the moon, the 'lesser light' set in the firmament alongside the sun (Gen 1:16). Almost always paired with the sun, it serves multiple roles in Scripture: a marker of sacred seasons (Ps 104:19), a symbol of enduring permanence (Ps 72:5; 89:38), and an object of forbidden astral worship that Israel's neighbors practiced (Deut 4:19; 17:3; 2 Kgs 23:5; Jer 8:2). Prophetic texts envision the moon darkened or turned to blood at the Day of the Lord (Joel 3:4; Isa 13:10). Job resists the temptation to venerate its brightness (Job 31:26). Spanish 'luna,' French 'lune,' and German 'Mond' all reflect a single, undivided sense.
Senses
1. moon (celestial body) — The moon as a visible celestial body, the nighttime counterpart to the sun. It appears in three main thematic clusters: (a) cosmological, as part of God's created order alongside sun and stars (Gen 37:9; Ps 136:9; Josh 10:12-13); (b) cultic, as an object of illicit worship condemned in Deuteronomy 4:19, 17:3, 2 Kings 23:5, and Jeremiah 8:2; (c) eschatological, darkened or bloodied in prophetic visions of divine judgment (Joel 3:4; Isa 13:10; Hab 3:11). Multilingual evidence — Spanish 'luna,' German 'Mond' — uniformly confirms one referent without semantic subdivision. 26×
AR["القَمَرَ", "القَمَرُ", "القَمَرِ", "الْقَمَرَ", "الْقَمَرُ", "قَمَرٍ", "وَ-القَمَر", "وَ-القَمَرَ", "وَ-القَمَرُ", "وَ-الْقَمَرُ", "وَ-يا-قَمَرُ", "وَالقَمَرُ", "وَٱلْقَمَرُ", "وِ-هَ-يَرِيحَ"]·ben["-চাঁদ", "আর-চন্দ্র", "এবং-চন্দ্র", "এবং-চাঁদ", "ও-চন্দ্র", "ও-চাঁদ", "চন্দ্র", "চন্দ্র।", "চন্দ্রের", "চাঁদ", "চাঁদকে"]·DE["Mond", "[הירח]", "[וירח]", "der-Mond", "und-Mond", "und-der-Mond"]·EN["and-moon", "and-the-moon", "moon", "nor-the-moon", "the-moon"]·FR["[הירח]", "[והירח]", "[וירח]", "et-le-lune", "et-lune", "et-והירח", "et-וירח", "le-lune", "lune", "ירח"]·heb["ה-ירח", "ו-ה-יָרֵחַ", "ו-ה-ירח", "ו-יָרֵחַ", "ו-ירח", "ירח"]·HI["-चन्द्रमा", "और-चंद्रमा", "और-चन्द्रमा", "चंद्रमा", "चन्द्रमा", "चन्द्रमा-को", "चांद"]·ID["bulan", "dan-bulan"]·IT["[הירח]", "[וירח]", "e-il-luna", "e-luna", "il-luna", "luna"]·jav["lan-rembulan", "lan-wulan", "rembulan"]·KO["그-달과", "그-달이", "그리고-그-달-이", "그리고-달-그", "그리고-달-이", "그리고-달과", "그리고-달아", "그리고-달은", "그리고-달이", "달", "달-과", "달-을", "달-이", "달도", "달이"]·PT["a-lua", "da-lua", "e-a-lua", "e-lua", "haver-lua", "lua", "nem-a-lua"]·RU["-луну", "hа-луна", "и-луна", "и-луну", "луна", "луну", "луны"]·ES["La-luna", "la-luna", "luna", "y-la-luna", "y-luna"]·SW["mwezi", "na-mwezi", "wala-mwezi"]·TR["ay", "ayı", "ayın", "ve-ay", "ve-ayı"]·urd["-چاند", "اور-چاند", "چاند", "چاند-کے"]
Gen 37:9, Deut 4:19, Deut 17:3, Josh 10:12, Josh 10:13, 2 Kgs 23:5, Job 25:5, Job 31:26, Ps 8:3, Ps 72:5, Ps 72:7, Ps 89:37 (+14 more)
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† יָרֵחַ n.m. Jos 10:13 moon, especially poet. (NH id.; Ph. ירח; Assyrian iriḥu, according to PinchesBOR Aug. 1888, 207; Ethiopic ወርሕ moon, month; cf. sub יֶרַח)—abs. יָרֵחַ Gn 37:9 + 25 times; sf. וִיֽרֵחֵךְ Is 60:20:—moon, usually named with sun Jos 10:12, 13 (poem in JE), ψ 72:5 (עִם־שָׁ֑מֶשׁ וְלִפְנֵי יָרֵחַ), 89:38 (in these two, a symbol of permanence), 121:6 Is 60:19 Hb 3:11 Jo 3:4; obj.…