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The fourth question concerns the words “to separate between the day and the night”1 (Genesis 1:14), which seem to imply that until the fourth day, when the luminaries were created, there had been no distinction between day and night in the world. Yet this is not so, for concerning the primordial light Scripture says, “And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night” (Genesis 1:5), and on each successive day it says, “And there was evening and there was morning.”
Ramban wrote that the light created on the first day illuminated the elements, but when the firmament was made on the second day, that light was cut off and prevented from illuminating the lower elements. When the earth was formed on the third day, therefore, it was enveloped in darkness rather than light. Now, on the fourth day, God willed that the light of the luminaries should reach the earth. This, according to Ramban, is the meaning of the words “in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:14–15).
The light of the sun passes downward through the three celestial spheres beneath it, owing to their transparency. Consequently, the primordial light, even if situated above the firmament, must necessarily have illuminated the earth.
This explanation, however, is not correct. For Scripture says concerning each of the preceding days, “And there was evening and there was morning,” which demonstrates that the primordial light functioned throughout those days in the same and consistent manner. Moreover, there was no need for light above the firmament, since no further acts of generation took place there after the creation of the primordial light, nor did God, blessed be He, have any need of that light2.
Furthermore, if the primordial light was situated above the firmament, it would necessarily have passed through the firmament and illuminated the elements below. For even today, the light of the sun passes downward through the three celestial spheres beneath it, owing to their transparency. Consequently, the primordial light, even if situated above the firmament, must necessarily have illuminated the earth.
The fifth question concerns the words “And let them be for signs” (Genesis 1:14). For the luminaries are the efficient causes of the things that occur here below, whether in generation and corruption, according to the principles of natural philosophy, or in all other matters, according to the teachings of those who practice judicial astrology3. How, then, can Scripture say, “And let them be for signs”? For signs are things that indicate causes; they are not themselves the causes. Perhaps it was to escape this difficulty that Ibn Ezra interpreted “And let them be for signs” as meaning “And let them be for moments of time.” But this does not accord with the plain meaning of Scripture, nor, in my judgment, is his explanation acceptable.
Moreover, the expression “to separate between the day and the night” is in the singular, whereas “And let them be for signs” is in the plural, and the two expressions do not agree. Some commentators explain that “to separate” refers to the sun, while “And let them be for signs” refers to all the stars. But this amounts to dividing the verse arbitrarily, assigning different parts of it to different subjects. Rabbeinu Nissim interpreted “to separate” as referring to each of the luminaries individually. Yet neither the moon nor the stars distinguish between day and night.
The sixth question is this: If Scripture intends to explain the benefits that the luminaries and stars confer upon the lower world, why does it omit their most essential function—namely, the combination of the elements and the generation of the things that come into existence? For it is well known that the celestial bodies are indeed the agents responsible for these processes, whether in the case of plants, as Scripture says, “And with the precious produce of the sun” (Deuteronomy 33:14), or in the case of man, whose generation is brought about by vapors, the sun, and the other stars through their motions. The same applies to all other living creatures4.
The seventh question concerns the words “And let them be for luminaries in the firmament of the heavens, to give light upon the earth” (Genesis 1:15). For this entire verse appears to be superfluous. The words “And let them be for luminaries in the firmament of the heavens” merely repeat what has already been stated: “Let there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens” (Genesis 1:14). And as for the words “to give light upon the earth,” this purpose has already been expressed. Moreover, if Scripture has already said “to give light upon the earth,” to what does the subsequent declaration “And it was so” refer?
The eighth question concerns the expression “the two great luminaries”5 (Genesis 1:16), which presents two difficulties. First, Scripture calls both luminaries “great,” but immediately afterward appears to contradict this by referring to “the lesser luminary to rule the night.” Second, as those versed in mathematical astronomy have established, all the other planets are larger than the sphere of the moon6. How, then, can Scripture describe the moon as great in comparison with them?
Parashat Bereshit — Genesis 1:14-19, The Riddles of the Fourth Day in the Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel)
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