Page 137 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

CHAPTER 8 EARTH, MOON, SUN, PLANETS

CHAPTER 8

Earth, Moon, Sun, Planets

8.1 “Earth,” “Moon,” “Sun” in Biblical Hebrew

The earth, the moon and the sun have all synonyms in the Hebrew language—
some more known than others.
1
“Earth” has, in Hebrew, a nearly identical word: Eretz. This leads one to
suspect that the two words perhaps derive from a common source, or that the
historically more recent word evolved from the more ancient one.
The moon and the sun are related to already in the story of creation, where
the “assignments” given to these two celestial objects are clearly delineated:
“The greater light to rule the day … and the lesser light to rule the night” (Gen.
1:16).
“Moon” has in Hebrew multiple synonyms to select from. These include

2
• Yareach, the most commonly used name for “moon,” which is the same
word as used for “month,” though the latter is pronounced differently, as
yerach; 3
4
• Sahar, which in the Bible probably meant a circle (it appears only once,
in Song of Songs 7:3), but in modern Hebrew means also “moon”;
5
6
• Levanah, which in Hebrew is close to lavan, meaning “white.”
“Sun” has three synonyms too:

7
• Shemesh, which is the most common word, both in biblical and mod-
ern Hebrew; its origin is assumed by scholars to be in Mesopotamia,

116
116