'Sun' in the Bible

God made the two great lights—the greater light (the sun) to rule the day, and the lesser light (the moon) to rule the night; He made the [galaxies of] stars also [that is, all the amazing wonders in the heavens].

When the sun was setting, a deep sleep overcame Abram; and a horror (terror, shuddering fear, nightmare) of great darkness overcame him.

When the sun had gone down and a [deep] darkness had come, there appeared a smoking brazier and a flaming torch which passed between the [divided] pieces [of the animals].

The sun had risen over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep].

Jacob said, “Look, the sun is still high [overhead]; it is a long time before the flocks need to be gathered [in their folds for the night]. Water the sheep, and go, and return them to their pasture.”

Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip.

But Joseph dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers [as well]. He said, “See here, I have again dreamed a dream, and lo, [this time I saw] eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowed down [in respect] to me!”

So they gathered it every morning, each as much as he needed, because when the sun was hot it melted.

But Moses’ hands were heavy and he grew tired. So they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and one on the other side; so it was that his hands were steady until the sun set.

But if the sun has risen, there will be bloodguilt for him. The thief [if he lives] must make [full] restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold [as a slave to make restitution] for his theft.

If you ever take your [poor] neighbor’s robe in pledge, you must return it to him before sunset,

When the sun sets, he will be clean, and afterward he may eat the holy things, for it is his food.

The Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people [who have committed sin with the Moabites], and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”

And beware that you do not raise your eyes toward heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and let yourselves be led astray and worship them and serve them, [mere created bodies] which the Lord your God has allotted to [serve and benefit] all the peoples under the whole heaven.

Are they not across the Jordan, west of the road, toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah, opposite Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?

and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, [doing these things] which I have commanded not to do,

But when evening comes, he shall bathe in water, and at sundown he may return to the camp.

You shall give him his wages on the day that he earns them before the sun sets—for he is poor and is counting on it—so that he does not cry out to the Lord against you, and it becomes a sin for you.

With the precious fruits of the sun,And with the precious produce of the months.

Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord handed over the Amorites to the sons of Israel, and Joshua said in the sight of Israel,“Sun, stand still at Gibeon,And moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,Until the nation [of Israel] took vengeance upon their enemies.Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was in no hurry to go down for about a whole day.

yet the Amorites persisted in living on Mount Heres (the mountain of the sun), in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim; but when the power of the house (descendants) of Joseph became strong and prevailed, they became forced labor.

“So let all Your enemies perish, O Lord;But let those who love Him be like the rising of the sun in its might.”And the land was at rest for forty years.

Then in the morning, at sunrise, you will get up early and rush upon and attack the city; and when Gaal and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall do to them whatever you can.”

So they passed by and went on their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah, which belongs to [the tribe of] Benjamin,

They said to the messengers who had come, “You shall say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have help [against the Ammonites].’” So the messengers came and reported this to the men of Jabesh; and they were overjoyed.

But Joab and Abishai [Asahel’s brothers] pursued Abner. When the sun was going down, they came to the hill of Ammah, which is in front of Giah on the way to the wilderness of Gibeon.

All the people came to urge David to eat food while it was still day; but David took an oath, saying, “May God do so to me, and more also, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun sets.”

Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will stir up evil against you from your own household; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight.

Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and in broad daylight.’”

Is like the morning light when the sun rises,A morning without clouds,When the fresh grass springs out of the earthThrough sunshine after rain.’

When they got up early the next morning, the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water across from them as red as blood.

He got rid of the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense [to pagan gods] in the high places in Judah’s cities and all around Jerusalem—also those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations [of the zodiac], and to all the [starry] host of heaven.

And he got rid of the horses that the kings of Judah had given [in worship] to the sun at the entrance of the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the official, which was in the annex; and he burned the chariots of the sun.

I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while the watchmen are still standing guard, have them shut and bar the doors. Appoint guards from the residents of Jerusalem, each at his post [on the wall], and each in front of his own house.”

“He thrives and prospers [like a green plant] before the sun,And his branches spread out over his garden.

Who commands the sun, and it does not shine;Who seals up the stars [from view];

“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,Their words to the end of the world.In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,

He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light,And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].

The mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken,And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting [from east to west].

Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along,Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun.

Let them fear You [with awe-inspired reverence and worship You with obedience] while the sun endures,And as long as the moon [reflects light], throughout all generations.

May his name endure forever;May his name continue as long as the sun;And let men bless themselves by him;Let all nations call him blessed.

The day is Yours, the night also is Yours;You have established and prepared the [heavenly] light and the sun.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;The Lord bestows grace and favor and honor;No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

“His descendants shall endure foreverAnd his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.

My days are like an evening shadow that lengthens and vanishes [with the sun];And as for me, I wither away like grass.

He made the moon for the seasons;The sun knows the [exact] place of its setting.

When the sun arises, they withdrawAnd lie down in their dens.

From the rising of the sun to its settingThe name of the Lord is to be praised [with awe-inspired reverence].

The sun will not strike you by day,Nor the moon by night.

The sun to rule over the day,For His lovingkindness endures forever;

Praise Him, sun and moon:Praise Him, all stars of light!

What advantage does man have from all his workWhich he does under the sun (while earthbound)?

Also, the sun rises and the sun sets;And hurries to the place where it rises again.

That which has been is that which will be [again],And that which has been done is that which will be done again.So there is nothing new under the sun.

I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity, a futile grasping and chasing after the wind.

Then I considered all which my hands had done and labored to do, and behold, all was vanity and chasing after the wind and there was no profit (nothing of lasting value) under the sun.

So I hated life, for the work which had been done under the sun caused me only great sorrow; because all is futility and chasing after the wind.

So I hated all the fruit (gain) of my labor for which I had labored under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will succeed me.

And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the fruit of my labor for which I have labored by acting wisely under the sun. This too is vanity (futility, self-conceit).

So I turned aside and let my heart despair over all the fruit of my labor for which I had labored under the sun.

For what does a man get from all his labor and from the striving and sorrow of his heart with which he labors under the sun?

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

Moreover, I have seen under the sun that in the place of justice there is wickedness, and in the place of righteousness there is wickedness.

I said to myself regarding the sons of men, “God is surely testing them in order for them to see that [by themselves, without God] they are [only] animals.”

Then I looked again and considered all the acts of oppression that were being practiced under the sun. And behold I saw the tears of the oppressed and they had no one to comfort them; and on the side of their oppressors was power, but they had no one to comfort them.

But better off than either of them is the one who has not yet been born, who has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

Then I looked again at vanity under the sun [in one of its peculiar forms].

I have seen all the living under the sun join with the second youth (the king’s acknowledged successor) who replaces him.

There is a grievous evil which I have seen under the sun: riches being kept and hoarded by their owner to his own misery.

Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

There is an evil which I have seen under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men:

It has not seen the sun nor had any knowledge; yet it has more rest and is better off than he.

For who [limited by human wisdom] knows what is good for man during his lifetime, during the few days of his futile life? He spends them like a shadow [staying busy, but achieving nothing of lasting value]. For who can tell a man what will happen after him [to his work, his treasure, his plans] under the sun [after his life is over]?

Wisdom along with an inheritance is goodAnd an [excellent] advantage for those who see the sun.

All this I have seen while applying my mind to every deed that is done under the sun. There is a time in which one man has exercised power over others to their detriment.

Then I commended pleasure and enjoyment, because a man [without God] has no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink and to be merry, for this will stand by him in his toil through the days of his life which God has given him under the sun.

and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.

This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.

Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong, and neither is bread to the wise nor riches to those of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of ability; but time and chance overtake them all.

This [illustration of] wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and great it was to me:

There is an evil I have seen under the sun, like an error which proceeds from the ruler—

The light is sweet and pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.

before the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars are darkened [by impaired vision], and the clouds [of depression] return after the rain [of tears];

When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person.

“Do not gaze at me because I am deeply tanned,[I have worked in] the sun; it has left its mark on me.My mother’s sons were angry with me;They made me keeper of the vineyards,But my own vineyard (my complexion) I have not kept.”

‘Who is this that looks down like the dawn,Fair and beautiful as the full moon,Clear and pure as the sun,As majestic as an army with banners?’

For the stars of heaven and their constellationsWill not flash with their light;The sun will be dark when it rises,And the moon will not shed its light.

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of Destruction.

Then the full moon will be embarrassed and the sun ashamed,For the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,And His glory and brilliance will shine before His elders.

The light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days [concentrated in one], in the day the Lord binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted [because of their sins].

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]Will gain new strength and renew their power;They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];They will run and not become weary,They will walk and not grow tired.

“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,Even as a potter treads clay.”

That people may know from the rising to the setting of the sun [the world over]That there is no one except Me.I am the Lord, and there is no other,

Saying to those who are bound and captured, ‘Go forth,’And to those who are in [spiritual] darkness, ‘Show yourselves [come into the light of the Savior].’They will feed along the roads [on which they travel],And their pastures will be on all the bare heights.