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The Second Benefit: Signs, Appointed Times, Days, and Years
The second benefit is expressed in the words “And they shall be for signs, and for appointed seasons, and for days and years”1 (Genesis 1:14). You have already seen how greatly the commentators differ in their interpretations of this verse.
What we may say is that this benefit concerns generation and corruption. In particular, the sun sets the element of fire in motion, the moon sets the element of water in motion, the other five wandering stars—that is, the planets—set the air in motion, and the fixed stars in the eighth sphere set the earth in motion, as the Master of the Guide explained in Part II, chapter 102.
This benefit did not exist in the primordial light, for that light neither brought things into existence through natural generation nor set the other elements in motion. These effects arose instead through the movements of the luminaries.
For this reason, Scripture says, “And they shall be for signs,” because the combinations of the elements are signs of the activity of the celestial bodies.
The expression “for signs” also includes eclipses of the luminaries and the movements of the stars, which are heavenly signs, as Scripture says, “And from the signs of the heaven be not dismayed”3 (Jeremiah 10:2).
Scripture calls these causes “signs” because they indicate what will occur in the world in the form of heat, cold, and other qualities. Through such indications, human beings can take precautions against their effects.
For example, if we know that at a particular time the sun will be joined by other celestial bodies that set the element of fire in motion, thereby producing excessive heat, a person may go and dwell in cooler places to escape the harmful effects of that heat.
Thus, Scripture says “for signs,” because these celestial bodies are signs indicating the effects of their own causal powers. U
The fifth question is thereby resolved.
By saying “and for appointed times,” Scripture alludes to the four seasons of the year, which are appointed periods during which the qualities of the air and other things undergo changes according to the signs of the zodiac through which the sun passes at those seasons.
By saying “and for days,” Scripture alludes to the lengthening and shortening of the days, which likewise result from the movements of the heavenly bodies. These changes also contribute to the processes of generation and to the predominance of one element over another.
The interpretation that appears most correct to me, however, is that the Torah intends to explain that the heavenly bodies do not, through their own independent nature and power, bring about events in the lower world.
And by saying “and years,” Scripture indicates that the years themselves vary through the influence of the luminaries. One year may be hot and dry or rainy, while another may be a year of drought, together with the other variations that occur from year to year as a result of the celestial motions and the movements of the luminaries.
The Celestial Bodies as Signs of Divine Providence
The interpretation that appears most correct to me, however, is that the Torah intends to explain that the heavenly bodies do not, through their own independent nature and power, bring about events in the lower world. This applies both to occurrences in the world generally and to events affecting human beings, contrary to the powers attributed to them by the astronomers and astrologers. Rather, the true Agent is God, blessed be He, acting through His providence.
The stars, moving along their appointed paths, through their conjunctions and aspects, indicate and announce what the divine will and wisdom have decreed shall occur in the lower world: the events and changes that will take place over days and years, according to the divine order conceived in His wisdom, blessed be He.
For this reason, Scripture says that the stars and luminaries shall be “for signs,” indicating what is destined to occur by God’s decree, and “for appointed times,” indicating the periods during which those changes and events will take place.
The expression “appointed times” also refers to the four seasons of the year, which arise from the sun’s inclination toward the north and south. It likewise refers to the appointed periods of the months, which are determined by the moon through its particular motion.
The reference to “days” concerns the daily motion of the first and all-encompassing celestial sphere, which carries the sun along with it and causes it to complete a revolution around the center in twenty-four hours, constituting a complete day. When the sun illuminates the earth, it is day; when it sets, it is night.
The expression “and years” refers to the sun’s particular motion, through which it traverses the entire belt of the twelve signs of the zodiac in 365 days, constituting a complete year.
Parashat Bereshit — Genesis 1:14-19, The Heavens as Signs of Providence in the Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel)
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