Seasons of the year

Seasons are appointed by God

Seasons are created by God

Psalm 74:16–17 ESV

Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun. You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

See also Ge 1:14; Ge 8:22; Ps 104:19

Seasons are sustained by God

Jeremiah 5:24 ESV

They do not say in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.’

See also Job 38:32–33; Eze 34:26; Ac 14:17

The agricultural seasons of Palestine

The dry and rainy seasons

Joe 2:23 The rainy season, accounting for over 90 per cent of the national rainfall, runs from October to March/April. Its beginning is marked by the autumn rains in October/November; the lighter spring showers in April/May announce the coming of the dry season.

See also Ezr 10:13; Ho 6:3; Jas 5:7

Israel’s continued enjoyment of seasonal blessings was conditional upon her obedience:

Le 26:3–4; Dt 11:13–14; Dt 28:12

Seedtime and harvest

Pr 20:4 Ploughing and sowing take place from October to December when the autumn rains have begun to soften the ground. Most crops are harvested between April and June.

See also Ex 34:21; Nu 13:20; Job 5:26; Ps 1:3

Spring

Spring rain as a sign of blessing

Job 29:23 The gentle spring rains signal the approach of harvest; Pr 16:15; Je 3:3; Zec 10:1

Spring as a time of growth

So 2:11–13 Spring marks a pleasant interval between the heavy winter rains and the onset of the dry season.

See also Pr 27:25; Joe 2:22; Mt 24:32

Spring as a time for war

2 Sa 11:1 The time following the spring harvest (May/June), when agricultural commitments are reduced; 1 Ki 20:26; 2 Ki 13:20

Festivals celebrated in spring

Le 23:5–6 Passover and Unleavened Bread; Le 23:10 offering the firstfruits of the barley harvest; Le 23:15–16 The Feast of Weeks celebrated the ingathering of the grain harvest.

Summer

A period of intense heat

Psalm 32:4 ESV

For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

See also Job 6:17

A time for harvesting summer fruit

Jeremiah 8:20 ESV

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”

See also Pr 10:5; Je 40:10–12 Grapes, olives and figs are harvested in July/September; Mic 7:1

A time to store harvested grain

Pr 6:8; Pr 30:25

Autumn

The breaking of the summer drought

Ps 84:6 Autumn is the start of the rainy season and corresponds to the time of ploughing and sowing.

Festivals celebrated in autumn

See also Le 23:24 the Feast of Trumpets; Le 23:27 the Day of Atonement; Le 23:34 the Feast of Tabernacles

Winter

A time of inclement weather

Job 37:6–10 ESV

For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’ likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour. He seals up the hand of every man, that all men whom he made may know it. Then the beasts go into their lairs, and remain in their dens. From its chamber comes the whirlwind, and cold from the scattering winds. By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast.

See also Is 55:10; Je 36:22

A time when travelling is difficult

Mt 24:20; 2 Ti 4:21; Ac 27:12; 1 Co 16:6; Tt 3:12

Celebration of the Feast of Dedication

Jn 10:22 The Feast of Dedication (Hannukah) commemorates the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in 165 b.c.