Extra; Yom According to TDOT Vol 6, Pg(s) 24-49

 Contents: I. Ancient Near East: 1. Akkadian; 2. Egyptian. II. 1. Etymology and Occurrences; 2. Forms and Distribution; 3. Phrases; 4. Related Words and Expressions. III. General Usage: 1. Literal Usage; 2. Extended Usage. IV. Theological Usage: 1. Creation; 2. Cult; 3. History. V. Qumran. VI. LXX. I. Ancient Near East l. Akkadian. a. The common Semitic rrotJn yaum, which does not derive from any verbal root, appears in Akkadian as umu(m), in Old Akkadian asyumum. The plural is usually urnfr, rarely the feminine form amau(m). Derivatives include umtunlilndu, "specific day"; uma(m), "today"; umaklcal, "(for) one day"i imi,i, "like the bright day"; frmilam(ma), and (only Neo-Bab.) rzzuss4 "daily" ; frmiu(m), "to this day."l In the sense of "storm," a meaning not deriving from Proto-Semitic and found only in literary texts, umuis a loan translation from Sumerian, where n(d) means both "day" and "storm." As a term for a mythical lion, ilmu occurs only in lexical lists. A purely poetical synonym is immu(m);z urru(m) refers primarily to the dawning day (urra[ml, "in t]e morning, tomorrow"). 

b. Not even the lexica can provide a full listing of the tens of thousands of occurrences. Afew illustrations must suffice here. As in other Semitic and Indo-European languages, "day" is understood both in contrast to "night" and as a term including both daytime and nighttime, each divided into six double hours (bildru, lit., "interstice"), the length of which depends onthe season. As elsewhere, the primary divisions of the day aremorning, midday, and evening.3 "Day" is used in contrast to "night" in the astronomical omen texts and in the astronomical texts of the late period generally; elsewhere this usage is primarily found in literary texts, especially poetry. It is noteworthy that the hymns to 5ama3, the sun-god, who gives light to the-darkness, speak only iarely of thi Urigtrt daytime. In one great hymn,4 for example, Sama5 is called "illuminator of the day'; in one passages but "shortener of the (winter) day" in another.6 As a result of the intense heat of the summer day, the Babylonians preferred nighttime for many activities, especially marches. Sometimes other gods, for instance Nab0, are called "bright day." The darkening of the day by storm and rain is ascribed to the storm-god. The even more intense darkness brought about by eclipses ofthe sun was thought a serious disaster; such eclipses, along with eclipses of the moon, were zrmong the major themes of astrology. Curses occasionally include the wish that someone's days be darkened. 

c. The day in contrast to the night is also involved in the determination of auspicious and inauspicious days, which played a very important role in Babylonia and Assyria. The hemerologies themselvesT indicate for every day of the month and year what should be undertaken and what should not. Not even cultic acts are recommended for every single day. Generally unfavorable days include the phases of the moon (seventh, fifteenth lSapatul, twenty-second, and twenty-ninth), as well as the nineteenth day, which counted as the forty-ninth day of the preceding month. The omen calendarss state the good or evil consequences of specific acts on particular days. Constellations and other ominous occurrences are not equally favorable or unfavorable on all days. 

d. Much more often the "day" is a unit of time, e.g., in all kinds of documents. In the cult there were sacrifices and ceremonies to be performed every day, as well as those prescribed only for certain days. We often find umuin the sense of "festival," albeit usually preceding the name of the festival, e.g., ilm akiti" "New Year's day,,; um elleii, "month festival"; um bsini, "feast day"; um kispi, "day of sacrifice for the dead"; um telilti, "day of purification"; ilm rimki, "day of ablutions"; etc. But we also find such expressions as "day ofthe god," "day ofworshipping the god," and "day ofserving the goddess,"9 as well as "day of wrath," "day of fate," etc. e. Even more frequently than the pl. iannu(m), "years," the pl. "days" serves as a term for "time,"lo 1, the first instance a lifetime, which the gods can lengthen or shorten. A Neo-Assyrian school tablet containing the terms for the fourth through the ninth decades of life (obviously calculating backward from the end) calls the fifth decade ume kurfrti, "short days," and the seventh ilmE arhlti, "long days."ll For those who did not look for life after death, long days were a major hope, even though the subsequent stages of ilbutu, "old age," and littutu, "great old age," were unattainable for most. "Distant days" (umu rfrqltu) or fim(il) siatimlsdti, "days of distant time," may lie in the past or future, ama ullfiu or later il,nE pdni only in the past. The future is denoted, for example, by such expressions as umu darfitu\m) and warkiatlarkdt umt and adverbial expressions like afiriatil, darii, or labarii umi, "for later time." Only rarely do we find in references to an evil fate the expression ina la uml-iu, "in his 'not' days," "at a bad time."12 f. Finally, umuis used (early in the pl. only, later in the sg.) in the sense of "weather"; cf., e.g., umu dannu, "the weather is bad";t: kI unfi ittikl, "as soon as the weather has improve

2. Egyptian. a. Of the Egyptian words for "day,"ts hrw16 is the most important noun. In dates we find from the Middle Kingdom on the special word,fw.17 The word dny.t (dny.tr8) denotes the day of the first and third quarter of the moon, while 'rfyle means the last day of the month or of the year (in the phrase 'rlg rnpJ). In the later period, special names developed for most of the days of the month.20 For "every day" the expression r' nb (lit., "every sun") is used more often than hrw nb. "Day by day" is hrw hrhrw. "Today" ishrwpnorinl-ateEgyptian Nhrw. Fortheformula"bydayandnight," we find m hrwm grl.t or grl.r my hrw.zr The dawn is called M-t3, "the brightening of the land"--cf. the verb fi{-tj, "dawn"-31d the beginning of the day is wp-hrw. b. The noun hrw, whichderives etymologically ftomhrw, "be content, calm, happy," has as its determinative sign a sun. It refers to the day as brightness, the period when the sun shines. But hrw can also stand for "day and night." The day begins in the moming at or after dawn. Night (grf, connected with grlq "cease," and gr; "be silent") stands for the other period, between one sun and the next or between yesterday and the morrow. In the calendar the night goes with the preceding day, but in the cult it introduces the coming festival. The date changes at sunrise, and hours are counted from the beginning ofthe day. Day and night each have twelve hours, which accordingly vary in length with the seasons. Amonth comprises thirty days. The year with its twelve months totals 360 days, to which are added five intercalary days, "those (days) outside (time)." c. The observation of time and the determination of each day's character began early in Egypt. The horoslapoi ("time observers") of the temples are famous. Hemerologies became popular. From the Middle Kingdom on, we find entries for each day of the month; from the New Kingdom, for each day of the year. The categories are "good" and "bad," often subdivided more precisely into the three possibilities of "dubious," "bad," and "adverse." Each day usually has three entries, which probably stand for moming, midday, and evening. The nature of the days is often given a mythical explanation, and specific advice (concerning such matters as sacrifice, food, travel, and sexual intercourse) is appended. "On these bad days do not work on grain and clothing; do not begin anything," we read with reference to the intercalary days, which were of special importance as the birthdays of the five deities Osiris, Seth, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys.22 Special protective books were composed for guidance during them. Besides the simple names reflecting the birth of the deities (e.g., "Birth of Osiris"), strange terms appear in the New Kingdom ("Nile perch in its pond," *Child in its nest," etc.). We are assured: "Whoever knows the names of the intercalary days will neither hunger nor thirst. He will not fall victim to the annual plague. Sachmet has no power over hfun."23 The hemerology of the Egyptians exercised great influence in the ancient world, as the mention of the dies Aegyptica in the calendars of late antiquity attests.2a d. Fundamental for the Egyptians was the rhythm of day and night, called the "two times" (trwy).The polar formula "day and night" can express totality by merism. The statement "You have power by day, you cause trembling in the night"2s attests the total sovereignty of the god. The notion of the sun and moon as the two eyes of the god of heaven (e.g., Khenti-Irti) bears witness to a god who moves into day through night in an eternal cycle. The daily renewal of life, based on a conception repeated every night and a rebirth that takes place each day, is the primary theme of the Egyptian hymns to the sun.% "Praise to you, arising day by day, bringing yourself forth every morning"-1his is the basic tone of the important Egyptian momingworship in the temple.27 Therefore the god can be addressed: "O lord of the day, who creates the night,"28 but also: "O lord of the darkness, who creates the light." More commonly, however, we find a polarity in which light and life appear as positive counterparts to darkness and death. Atypical saying of the dead reads: "It is my dread to go forth in the night; I will go forth in the day. I am begotten in the night, but born during the day."2e 11re expressionpr t m hrw, "going forth by day," is familiar as the title of the Egyptian Book of the Dead; it expresses the highest yearning of the dead. "The day at its coming forth" appears also as a royal title.3o e. The phrase hrw nf4 "good, perfect day," is very @mmon, and may be translated "festival."31 From the Old Kingdom on, it even appears as a personal name,32 possibly 

because the person in question was born on a festival. The phrase refers to the appropriate time to celebrate festivities and to drink. A hymn to Isis begins thus: "Beautiful day! Heaven and earth rejoice, since Isis gave birth in Chemmis. . . ."33 Awonderful descrip-tion of the "beautiful day," i.e., well-ordered time, appears in a hymn recited by Thoth during the battle between Horus and Seth. O beautiful day, when Horus is lord of this land! O beautiful day on this day, which is divided into its minutes! O beautiful day in this night, which is divided into its hours! O beautiful day in this month, which is divided into its fifteen-day periods! O beautiful day in this year, which is divided into its months! O beautiful day in this age, which is divided into its years! O beautiful day of this eternity. . . .34 A love song contains the following variation: O beautitul day in this night! Tomorrow we shall say anew, how fresh is the moming! It is more beautiful than yesterday! Because it is so beautiful, let us celebrate a very beautiful day!3s f. The festival calendars of both the various temples and court of the king include a series of festivals.36 Several of them have names based on hrw, e.g., "day of the great going forth of Osiris," "day of the purification of the nonad," "day of settingup the died pillar," "day of the hazard festival." The great celebrations lasted several days. Under Ramses III, the famous festival of Opet ran for twenty-seven days! In addition, there were various commemorative days in the family sphere: "birthday," "this day of landing (= death)," "the day of judgment," etc.37 The Egyptians do not speak of a "day of God." Instead they can speak of "the time of the God" (e.g., Seth) as the culmination of his power.38 Both persons or gods and natural phenomena have their times, but these are expressed by different words (3.r for persons, fr for natural phenomena). Bergman III. The Hebrew noun y6m, "day," which belongs primarily to everyday language, is very common.3e It has a wide range of usage, which will here attract most of our attention.{ l. Etymologlt and Occurrences. The etymology of the word, which is found throughout the Semitic languages,al is unexplained. Akk. fimu, "day," also has the meaning "storm"; but the extent to which this may cast light on the etymologya2 remains unclear.a3 Etymological analysis is even more difficult because the root from which the word is derived is obscure. Some scholars such as Ntildeke have assumed a biliteral root ym; the majority, however, favor a triliteral ywm.44 In this case, the pl. ydmim ()am), which diverges from the sg. *yaum, is usually explained as assimilation to the similar word Santm, "yea15."4s ln the individual Semitic languages, however, we find a complex altemation of ym and ywm in the singular, as well as an o vowel in the plural alongside the basic form *yam-;46 this raises the question of whether this complex situation is not better explained by structural and phonological considerations, but the evidence has not been examined from this perspective. (SperberaT sees here only a reflection of two different Hebrew dialects.) In this case, however, it would be reasonable to assume that the weak lwl of. a basic form *yaum(u) was elided or contracted.4 This form was then realized differently in the various languages, in both singular and plural. From this point of view we need not be surprised at the oommon pl. ydmtm or other plural forms $tamtn, Dnl. 12:131' fmOL Dt.32:7; Ps. 90:15, in each case par. the unusual pl. *n61" "years"4e), or treat them as "divergent" in comparison to the singular. Because of the linguistic variety on this point, the forms can be understood as different realizations of the single root *yaum(u), whether the variation is between dialects or individual languages. 

2, Forms and Distribution. The word group that derives most probably from *yaum(u) does not contain any verbs, but is represented almost exclusively by the subst. ydm, "day." With 2,304 Hebrew occurrences and 16 Aramaic, it is the fifth most frequent noun in the OT;soy6rz is thus also by far the most common expression of time (in comparison to '6ldm, "long time," "eternity," with 4zt0 Hebrew and 20 Aramaic occurrences,sl and 'eg "time," with 296 occurrences52). The only other derivative is the adverbial yilmim, *by day,"sr with 51 occturences including Nu. 10:34.5a Jenniss has included in his statistics the disputed passage Isa. 54:9, but without good reason.56 It is noteworthy that the singular is always written plene except possibly in Jer. L7:L1, where the qere formymyw is usually read.sT There are weighty arguments against the proposed emendation of ywm in Job 3:8 to ym, "sea,"58 and the opposite change of ym,"sea," toywminZec. 10:11.5e The defectively written plural in Nu. 6:5 is unique. The singular (1,452 occurren@s in Hebrew, 5 in Aramaic) appears in all the books of the OT; it is especially common in the historical books, followed by the prophetic books (above all Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, as well as Zephaniah and Zechariah) and the Psalms. The plural (847 occurrences in Hebrew, Ll in Aramaic) appears in all the books except Obadiah, Haggai, and the Song of Songs. The dual ydmayimlydmnyim (or ydmayimlydtrfiyirz) appears only 5 times: Ex.16:29;21:2L; Nu. 9:22; ll:.191, Hos. 6:2.60 There is also a strange plural form with the ending -6(ltdmimd)found 5 times: Ex. 13:10; Jgs. 11:40; 2l:19; t S. L:3; 2: L9.61 It always follows miyydmir4 with which it constitutes a fixed adverbial formula meaning "year by year."62 

3. Phrases. This formal survey has contributed little to the meaning of y6mlydmtmlyOmnm. The semantic content of the words can be seen more directly and more clearly in their various combinations with otherwords and their extended semantic field, since ydm and yamtm, and to an extent also ydmam, are seldom syntactically independent. They are usually associated closely with another word or word element, more frequently than as subject (182 times) or as object (81 times;.or The compound expressions are multiform and can express various shades of meaning. a. The repetition of the indefinite sg. ydm ydm, "daily," expresses distribution (e.g., Gen. 39:10;64 possibly also in Ugaritic6s). The repeated words can also (esp. in later documents) be linked (ydz waydm, Est. 3:4) or expanded by the addition of a preposition 

$tdm Uy6m, Neh. 8:18; expanded in tum to l"'e1-ydm WyOm, 1 Ch.12:23[22]; ct. d"bar-lbidbar-lli/bar-ydm b'ydm6, "as each day requires," 8.9., Ex. 5:1312 Ch. 8:L318:14; also l"ydm Uydm, 2 Ch.24:Ll; cf.. EyOm UyOm, "as on every day," 1 S. 18:10).00 Similar in meaning is l<ol-y6m, "every day" (Ps. 140:3[2]), expanded to b"f;ol-yOm (e.g., Ps. 7:12llll).67 b. As the preceding section has already shown, the word is used frequently with prepositions, as is also true of other words connected with time.68 The prepositional phrases, some of which appear to be formulaic, usually function adverbially to convey temporal meaning; precise differentiation is often difficult.6e Of 2,304 occurrences of ydmlydmtm in the Hebrew OT, 1057 (45.9qo) involve a preposition (esp. with the singular). The most common is Zr" (as is also true for 'e10), which appears 728 times (68.9Vo),590 times with the singular and 138 with the plural. We find 'ad 127 times (7 timestlf'a{, each time following min to indicate a period of time), P 7l times, F 76 times (in this context not a comparative particle in the strict senseTl), and min 66 times. By contrast,ydman is used with a preposition only once: with b" in Neh. 9:19.72 c. The meaning "day" is more or less weakened when a prepositional phrase withyim (or occasionally y"mA\ is itself linked with a verb. The most important usage of this type is b"ydmwith an infinitive (almost 70 times) as a general indication of time or a temporal conjunction meaning "when," although the basic meaning "day" need not be totally absent (cf. the important passage Gen. 2:4b following the seven-day schema of cre-ationT3). Other prepositions than trr are also f.ound ('aQ, lf , 1", min), as are other forms of the verb (perfect and imperfect).74 In l*v. 14;57, with the meaning "when" in a noun clause, ydmhas lost all trace of the meaning "day)' d. In addition, important common formulas expressing time are composed of preposi-tional phraseswithydm (rarely ydmtm) and a demonstrative pronoun. These formulas also have a variety of adverbial meanings. The formula 'aQ-hayydmhazzeh,"to this day," "until now," appears 84 times.Ts It also appears in an abbreviated form ('a/-luyy6a "until now," Gen. 19:38) and an emphati-cally expanded form ('adletem lwyydm hazzeh, "until this very day," l.ev. 23:14; Josh. lO:27; Ezk. 2:3; cf. the corresponding formula b"'egem hayydm hazzeh, which appears 13 times and often in a shorter form). In this formula, the definite sg. hayy6m, which is very frequent (some 350 occurrencesT6) with a variety of meanings, constitutes the semantic focus.T The formula 'd-hoyy6m hszzeh thus emphasizes the present status of the narrator (or redactor) or of what is narrated,T8 but also-through the prep. 'al-+he continued existence of a situation into this present. When the prep. min, "from," also appears, it increases the sense that an important span of time is involved (e.g., Ex. 10:6; Jgs. 19:30; I S. t2:21.te1his formula serves to express the importance of some historical datum for the present, or else to confirm it with the aid of the present (e.g., Dt. 6:24; lO:15;29:27128]; 1 K. 3:6;8:24; elsewhere primarily in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomistic literature, and the Chronicler's history). When the formula establishes a connection with an event in the distant past, it sometimes serves to explain a name or a present phenomenon (as in Gen. 26:33; Josh. 7:26; Jgs. 18:12;2 Ch.2O:26),. Under such circumstances, scholars are not agreed as to how to treat the etiological question. Disagreeing with Alt80 and-with some modifica-tion-Noth,8l Childs82 concludes that this formula "seldom has an etiological function of justifying an existing phenomenon, but in the great majority of cases is a formula of personal testimony added to, and confirming, a received tradition."83 Another formula, even more important theologically, isbayyOm hahit', "onthat day," which occurs much more frequently than the one just discussed (208 times according to Mandelkem).84 Of these occurrences, 69 (33Vo) are in the Deuteronomistic history and 109 (52.4Vo) in the prophets. Of the latter, 45 are in Isaiah and 17 in Zec. 72-14. T\e only occurrence in the Psalms is Ps. 146:4.s The formula can sometimes be shortened to bayydm (Jgs. 13:10) or expanded by the addition of prepositional and adverbial elements.s6 In the first instance it denotes a specific point in time, a "day" that can be emphasized ("on the same day") or reduced to a mere "then." This affects primarily the use of the formula as an adverb of time in texts refening to the past,87 in which it can refer to a specific "day" in the past (e.g., Gen. 15:18 [Fa1' Ex. 14:30; Josh 9:27), the simultaneity of two events (e.g., Gen. 26',32;Dt.21:23), or even some future "day" (e.g., Dt. 31:17f.). In future-oriented (primarily prophetic) texts,se the formula often gives the impression that the "day" can refer not just to some short period but equally well to a 

lengthy period of indefinite duration (e.g., Isa. 2:20;3:18; 4:2;7:18; Jer. 4:9; Am. 8:3,9; Zec. L4:6f.), which is otherwise generally expressed by the pl. ydmtm, "days."m Here the formula approaches such similar formulas asbayydmim halam(md), "in those days" (e.g., Jer. 3:16; 5:18; Znc,8:6)er or fr'etlwhi', "in that time" (e.g., lsa.2O:2; Jer.3:171' 4:l).m Here it also comes close to the special prophetic expression y6m YHWH, "day of Yahweh."e3 In the prophetic texts, bayydmhahfr'appears to be used especially in later strata of tradition and largely for redactional purposes: sometimes to link,ea sometimes to interpolate passages,es sometimes to construct a framework (esp. in ZEc. l2f.).e6 Without losing its nature as a temporal adverb, the formula thus takes on functions that lend it the character of an "eschatological term"; in later prophetic traditions it became a characteristic of eschatological style.eT Contrary to Gressmann,9s who attempted to demonstrate that "the expression 'on that day' is presupposed as an [eschatological] terminus technicus even before {16s,'8e Munch seeks to show that the eschatological interpretation is totally unnecessary because the formula can be understood in all contexts as a temporal adverb. Although his view has found general a@eptan@, a certain one-sidedness in his analysis and his insistence on posing the question as an either/or have been criticized.lm What had been a sharp controversy over this question seems now to have been replaced by a more judicious and nuanced functional description. e. Semantically important are the genitive phrases defining ydmlydmtm, which are many and various.l0l In construct phrases the noun appears most frequently as nomen regens @6mly"m€) but also not uncommonly as nomen rectun, (1t6ry hayydmlyamtm, hayyamim) qualified by other nouns or phrases. It can also further define other nouns or circumstances. As nomen regens, y6z usually refers to a specific day, the nature of which is defined by the following nomen rectun. Either y6m or fmA can be defined more precisely in calendrical terms (e.g., ydm-habdei, "day of the new moon," "first day of the month" lEx.40:21;y6m hakkese', "day of the full moon" fProv. T:20l;l5efie1ly"mA hainma%fleh, "[six] workdays" [Ezk. 46:ll), a usage especially typical of the cultic sphere (e.g., ydm haiiabbal "dayof rest,""Sabbath"[Ex.20:8,11];ydmm6'df, "festival day,"par.y6m hag YHWH, "day of the festival of Yahweh" [Hos. 9:5]; also further defined, e.9., ydm f,rt'A, "day of blowing the trumpets" [Nu. 29:tl; ydm g6m, "day of fasting" [Isa. 58:31).toz The nomen rectum can also define the nature of the day meteorologically (e.g.,y6m haggeSem, "day of rain" [Ezk. l:281; ydm haileleg, "day with snow" [2 5.23:20]; yOm qdd.?m, "day with an east wind" [Isa. 27:8]), with reference to human activities (e.g.,ydm qd;i4"harvest day" [Prov. 25:1,31;ydmmill.tnmd, "day of battle" [Hos. l0:L4];fmA Sdpa "days of a hireling" [Job 7:1], "time of servic€" [kv. 25:50]; ym€'Ef,el, "days/time of mourning" fGen.27:4ll) or important events of the past (e.g., y6m F'fkA, "the day of your departure [from Egypt]" [Dt. 16:3]; ydm-hammaggEpA, "day of the plague" [Nu. 25:18]) or the future (e.g., lsa.22:5;Jer.46:10;Znph.1.:1.5f.; and other passages referring to the day of Yahwehlo3). Historical events are also involved when the nomen rectum is a proper name, whether geographical $tdm mi/ydn, "day of Midian" [Isa. 93P]; cf. Jgs. 7:9ff.1; ydm frftfrla[y]im, "day of Jerusalem" lPs. 137:7; cf. Lam. 2:16,21;4:18,21f.; also ydmyizf"el,"day of Jezreel" [Hos. 2:2(1:17)toa);ydm mass6, "day of Massah" [Ps. 95:8]) or personal $fm€ dnwil, "days of David" [2 S.2l:1, with reference to David's reign]), or divine (above all in the prophetical expressionydz YIIWH, "day of Yahweh," with reference to God's future intervention in historytos;. In more general terms, the noun can also be connected with something negative (for either the community as a whole or an individual, e.g., ydm'€l, "day of calamity" [Dt. 32:35;Prov.27:L0l;lMydmpar6,"day of distress" [Gen.35:3; Ob.l2);y1mra'A,"day of trouble" [Ps. 27:5]10) or something positive $t6m 16[6, "day of prosperity" [Eccl. 7:14, in contrast to "day of adversity"ltoa). With respect to a particular individual, it can be used in the sense of "birth" (e.g.,ydm hulledel [Gen. 40:20; cf. also Hos. 2:5(3); Eccl. 7:1] or justyrim6, "his day," i.e., the day of his birth [Job 3:1]) or "death" $tdm hammiwel [Eccl. 7:1]; ydm m616, "day of his death" pel 52:341or just ydm6, "his day," i.e., the day of his death [1 S. 26:10]). The plural construct (fm€\ usually linked with hryytm, "life," can denote the life span of an individual.loe As nomen regens, y6m (more than 20 times) or y"zi (3 times: l*v. 13:46; Nu. 6:5; 9:18; otherwise absolute [12 times]) can also be qualified by a subordinate clause with "fler (3 times with ie-).110 The qualification is usually historical, the subordinate clause naming the event that marks the particular day (e.g., the exodus [Dt. 9:7], the occupation lDt.27:21, or the laying of the cornerstone of the temple [Hag. 2:18]; with reference to God, thedayofcreation [Dt.4:32Torthecomingday of intervention [Mal.3:17,21(4:3))). 

The reference can also be personal, as when Jeremiah curses the day of his birth (Jer. 20:t4; cf. Job 3:3). In some passages, even the sg. y6m goes beyond "day" and means something like "time"; this meaning is clear in the passages with the plural. Nevertheless, the phrase y"rn€l(hay)yAmtm'oJer always represents no more than the conj. "as long as" (cf.Irv. 13:46). As nomen rectum, ybm can be used to qualify other words, e.g., in the phrase g"nubtt ydm, "stolen by day" (Gen. 31:39;111 gf. sl5s the strange form b,ri1t hayy6m, "my covenant with the day" [Jer. 33:2Ol).It can also qualify other words having to do with time, e.g., b"'ere! ydm, "in the eve of the day" (Prov. 7:9).112 The temporal qualification can become spatial when travel and distance are involved, as in derel3 ybm, "a day's journey" (Nu. 11:31; I K. 19:4).tt3 The singular can also sometimes be used in the extended sense of a human lifetime, e.g., Job 30:25, where (iEh-y6m, "one whose day is hard," stands in parallel to'ely64 "poor." But an extended period of time is more usually expressed by the pl. (hay)yAmim (cf. also such idioms as 'Al yamtm, "an infant a few days old" [Isa. 65:20]; (l")'Arek yamtm, "length of days," "as long as I live" [Ps. 2l:5(4);23:6; marbb yamim, "after many days" |sa.24:22)), especially with respect to human life.1la The formulaic expression b"'ahorilhayyamtmis generally used in the sense "time to come" (e.g., Gen. 49:1),tts then the "future" and the "end of time" (e.g., Isa. 2:AMic. 4 : 1 ; Hos. 3 :5; Ezk. 38 : 1 6; Dnl. l2:28;l 1 0: 14). u6 The construct phrase can sometimes be broken down and represented by the prep. l",rr7 "u"n when ydm is nomen regens $6m I"YHWH [Ezk. 30:3; cf. Isa. 2:121.34:8; in Zec. 14:l in the context of the verb b6' often used in connection with ydm ot yAmim).tr8 f. Closer to the genitive qualification is the relatively rare qualification by an attributive adjective, as in such formulas as (le)y6m tamim, "(about) a whole day" (Josh. L0:13, as a measure of time, "the bright portion of the day"ue), or yilm t6f,, "a good [happy] day" (1. S. 25:8; also Est. 8:t7;9:19,22), as descriptive of a festival (cf. mA',!tm 16[tm, "cheerful feasts" [Zec. 8:19]). There are also negative expressions likeydm'tufii, "day of disaster" (Jer. 17;16; cf. v. 17), yhm ra', "evil day" (Am. 6:3), arrd yOm mar, "bitter day" (Am. 8:1,0), in the sense of a day of disaster for the people. The connection with the y6m YIIWH is clear; it is also called "bitter" or ga/61, "great," or described predicatively as being qardf,, "near" (7nph. l:7 ,74; cf. Ezk. 7:7).120 g. As one might expect, a word hke y6m or yamtm appears relatively often with numbers,l2r especially to indicate a date. Events may be dated (e.g., Ex. 16:1), as may prophetic revelations (e.g., Hag. 1.:1). Above all, however, in cultic and legal contexts we find references to the "seventh day" of the week and other times of festival (e.g., Gen. 2:2; Nu. 28f.; Josh. 5:10; 1 K.l2:32f..).In these cases, the wordy6m can sometimes be omitted (e.g., Hag. 2:1,10 and in the statements in Ezekiel conceming revelations). In | 5.27:1, yilm:efaQ means simply "one [indefinite] day"; elsewhere (A)yAm'el.cdd is an adverbial phrase indicating a particular day or simultaneity (cf., e.9., Gen. 27:45;l-ev. 22:28; 1, K. 2O:29; Isa. 9:13[14]; Znc. l4:7 is uniquelz). In 5 passages, ydlybmayim is used for "two days.'123 4. Related Words and Expressions. a. Shictly speaking, the opposite of yOm is -)t)n)t) layilllayl| "night" (233 occunencesl). The two words, however, often constitute an hendiadys denoting a 24-hour "day" (St6m walaylA, "day and night," or adverbially "by day and night" [e.g., Gen. 8:22;lsa.28:19; also withydmam instead of y6m, e.g., Ex. l3:2lrxl or in the opposite order with the same meaning layl6 wdybm [e.9., L K. 8:29]), which can also be expressed by ydm alone (e.g., when counting days, asin i"lolelydmtm, "tlvee days" [Est. 4:16], or in the distributive phrasey6z ydrq "day by day," "daily"ne1.It is therefore appropriate to call "night" the "correlata of day."rn b. In addition , ydm also appears with a series of other words relating to time, often to complete the sense. It can be used, for example, with the terms designating the nearest days to the present: 'elmbl, "yesterday"l2s (ydm 'etmdl lPs.90:41), and malwr, "tomor-row"l2e (ybm nfihar [e.g., Prov. 27:ll; cf.. hayydm frmbar "today and tomorrow" [Ex. 19:10]; bayyilmhi'ahEr, "next day" [2 K. 6:291), or with words referring to distant times, as in the expressions fmA qderu "days of old" (e.g., lsa. ?3:7; Mic. 7:20 lcf.. ydmim miqqelem (Ps. 77:6[5]), and yamtm qalmdntm, "former days" (Ezk. 38:17), and y"mA '6hm, "daysof the past" (e.g., Am. 9:11; Mic. 5:l(2)lcf..y"m6!'6ldm (Dt. 32:7)]), which relate to the past (cf. the general expression ydmim ri'ldntm, "former days" [e.g., Dt. a321. Other expressions refer to the future (e.g., P'drek ydmim and U'ah'ri1 hayyamtmrn) or its conclusion (e.9., leqes hayyamtn, "at the end of days" [Dnl. 12:13]; cf.'eyqep, "time of the end" [e.g., Dnl. 8:17]).u c. We also findy4m associated (often pleonastically) with terms for divisions of time such as Sabfra', "week" (e.g., YlaSd ldfoi'im ydmtr4 "for three weeks" [Dnl. 10:2f.]), 

l.rb{e!, "motth" (e.g., @eS ydmim, "for a month" [e.9., Gen.29:14}' cf. yeral.t yamtm [e.g., Dt. 2l:l3l'5, and Sand, "yeaf' (e.g., fm€ 5an6, "days of the year" [Job 3:6]; Ynnpyimydmir4"two full years" [e.g., Gen. 4l:ll).132 The parts of the day themselves are expressed by related words like -'1?) bdqer; "morning" (214 occunences), solf,rayim,"midday" (23 occurrences), and 'eref,, "eve-ning" (134 occurrences), not sharply differentiated. The phrase b€n ha'arbayim, "be-tween the evenings" (Ex. 12:6, plus 10 other occurrences in Exodus and Numbers), probably means "at dusk."133 Sometimes y6m canbe replaced by words of this sort (cf. the circumlocution'ereb bOqer, "evening morning," for "day" [Dnl. 8:14]) or be linked with one of them (e.g.,b"'erely6m, "inthe eveningof theday," Unelep, "at dusk" [Prov. 7:9]). More frequently, however, y6m is connecled with other more descriptive words (e.g.,UyOm'6r,"brigtday," "broad daylight" [Am. 8:9]; lbm hayy6r4 "the heat of the day" [e.g., Gen. L8:1]; 'q4!-nekbn hayydrn" "until full day" [Prov. 4:l8l; min-hn'6r 'aQ-mah'si1 hary6m, "from light to the haH of the day," i.e., "from morning to midday" [Neh. 8:3]; rliilluyydry "quarter of the day" [Neh. 9:3]).14 d. Finally, we must mention certain passages where the pl. ydmtm takes the place of .Ia-26, the usual word for "year" (876 occunencesl3s). Thus fqupdl hayydmim (1 S. 1:20) alternates with fiApa1 hattand (Ex. 34:22;2 Ch. 24:23) to designate the "turning of (the days oQ the year" (cf. also miqqq ydmtm layydmim, "at the end of each year" [2 S. M:26)\. Annual repetition is probably also meant by the phrase ze[ah hayydmim, "yearly sacrifice" (e.g., 1 S. 1:21).tr0 More general in sense are the expressions miyydmtm ldmimdt37 andlayydmi4 "annually" (Jgs. 17:10; cf. also IS.27:7;29.,3\.rn IIII. General Usage. This survey of the forms ofy6z lydmtmtogether with its phrases and semantic field has brought to light its wide range of usage. The formal and syntactic manifestations of the singular and plural have been seen to be analogous, so that it is not necessary to treat the singular and plural separately. There is nevertheness a sigrificant difference: y6z always designates some fixed point in time, whileyamtm often expresses temporal duration by indicating periods of time of various sorts. The plural can also sometimes mean "time" in general, as Kimchi already obsewed; l3e cf. also kol-hayydmtm, "for all time, forever" (e.g., DL 4:40),rQ in 1 S. 2:32 negated with lD', to mean "never."141 

The plural can thus move in the direction of a general (and abstract) notion of time, although it is usually held that such a notion does not appear to be present in the OT.142 However this may be, the word ydm is central to the Hebrew understanding of time. Not only is it the fundamental word for division of time according to the fixed natural alternation of day and night, on which are based all other units of time (as well as the calendar),la3 but it also exhibits a wealth of extended and metaphorical meanings, as we have to some extent already seen above. These two usages will provide the general outline for our further semasiological discussion,le which will be followed in turn by a discussion of the various theological aspects based on both major divisions.las It is important in this regard not to make to sharp a distinction between "secular" and "religious" usage. The word ydm and its narrower semantic field appear (for no great reason) to have taken second place in scholarship to other important words related to times such as -dl19'6lam,"etemity,uLuand-t'ly ce-[l4TAsubstantialportion oftheylmmaterialhas been analyzed by DeVries, but there is still no detailed monograph discussing all the material against the background of the other words having to do with time. There are widely divergent opinions about the Hebrew notion of time in general.l€ l. Literal Usage. The fixed natural basis of yriz is "light.'t+e "Day" in the narrow sense refers to the daylight periodts0 in contrast to "night."lsl The relationship of"day" to "night" is essentially that of "light" to "darkness,"ls2 although night is not totally without light. The sun,ls3 which is superior in strength to the moon and the stars,lsa gives the day not only light but heat; the middle of the day (cf. Neh. 8:3), when the day is "full" (cf. Prov. 4:18), is also the "hot time" (Gen. 18:1; Neh. 7:3).tss Jgs. 19:4-L6,20,25-27 is instructive with respect to the periods making up the day.156 The day as "daylight" is the temporal center to which the other major words of time relate in two sequences. The first starts with the beginning of the day in the "morning" (baqerrs), marked by sunrise and the (morning) light preceding it (cf. Neh. 8:3) and the "dawn" (\ahar).154l,rnou"sbackward to "last night" or "yesterday evening" ('eme.I [e.g., Gen. f 9:34]), then to "yesterday" ('etmdl [e.g., 1 S. 4:7]; fmOl le.g.,2 S. 15:20]) and "day before yesterday" (.iil,i6rz, "three days ago" [e.g., Ex. 5:8]), and finally to the far-off past, the days that lie "before " (Odeml.rss'[re other starts with the end of the day in the evening ('eref,), with "dusk" (netep le.g.,2 K. Z:511.te0 It moves forward to "tonight" (hallayli [e.g., Gen. 19:5], as correlate to hayy6r4 "today") and "night" (layld le.g.,Ex. L3:21)), then to "tomorrow" (mal.tdr [e.g., Ex. 8:25(29)l) and "day after tomorrow" (fhayydm] ha\*li(tt, "the third day" [e.g., 1 S. 20:12]), and finally to the distant future, the days that lie "aftef' ('al.tar; cf.'alport6 *that which comes after," "future").161 Jt is noteworthy that only the days immediately before and after the present "day" have special names, while even the next but one are merely enumerated, as is true in gen eral.t62 Neither the days of the month nor the days of the week have special names, but only numbers; the exception is the Sabbath (iabbal [e.g., Isa. L:13) or ydm haiiabbalfe.g., Ex. 20:8]).to: This merely underlines the fundamental importance of the "day" even for longer units of time. When longer units are involved, however, we are not dealing with the day as "daylight" but with the calendar day of twenty-four hours, for which Hebrew (unlike Aramaic and Syriacl#) does not have a special word. This "full day" includes "night" as a temporal complement; the "night" belongs to the preceding day (cf., e.g., Gen. 19:33f.; 1 S. L9:1.1, and such phrases as ydm wdlayld and hallayli, "tonight").16s From its outset at creation (Gen. 1:3-5),166 ydm as "full day" had the same beginning as yilm in the narrower sense, namely morning, and the "minor temporal sequence" remains the same:' e1mdl,' eme1, baqer-(lny)yOm: erel, (hal)layld, mabdr The evidence on this point, however, is rendered ambiguous by the cultic regulations governing observance of the Sabbath and other festivals. l*v. ?3:32 stipulates that the Day of Atonement shall be a day of absolute rest(Sabbal SabbaPnral on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 23:27); it is noteworthy that v. 32 expressly sets this observance on the "ninth day of the month, beginning at evening," that it may last "from evening to evening." Thus we find a kind of competition between a calendrical enumeration of days beginning in the morning and a cultic determination of the festival (Sabbath) that begins on the evening of the preceding day. But the cult also reckoned days as beginning with the morning (cf. the sacrificial regulations in kv. 7:15.22:30; the mitigation proposed by Stroes168 is not valid). In the cultic realm, however, the vespertine beginning of the day gradually increased in importance, although certain inegularities show that a long process was involved: compare l*v.23:5f.. with Ex. 12:8,18; also Nu. 33:3 and Neh. 13:19f. with reference to the Sabbatfu.t0e $61i1g from the cultic sphere, this manner of defining days gradually extended throughout Jewish life until it became normative. For a long time, however, there were nonconformists, as Thlmon has shown.170 There is yet another factor, however, that complicates the evidence respecting the "day" as a "full day" in its temporal calendrical function in the context of larger units of time. The "full day" is determined not only by daylight and the light of the sun,171 but also by the moon Oareafu, lpaSeEl.ttz This is not especially apparent in the case of the "week" (Ja!0a), whose sevenday period is hard to reconcile with the lunar cycle of aboutzg ll2 days, or with the 5Gday period comprising seven weeks plus a holiday, which has left traces in the calculation of the Feast of Weeks and the Jubilee Year (cf. l*v. 23:15f. [compare with Ex. 23:16; 34:22; Dt. 16:9]; l*v. 25:8'73) and has influenced later apocalyptic writings like Jubilees and 1 (Ethiopic) Enoch as well as the Qumran docu-6916.173 The moon instead exhibits its calendrical sigrrificance primarily in the "month" $era$ +ll1) ydrdab "moon"; + Ofi @fle|lchndheshl,"new moon," "first day of the lunar month," "month"), above all in the cultic sphere (including not only the "new moon" but also the "full moon"174). The moon also enters into the computation of the "year" (Sand" alsoyamhnt7s). This latter is based on much more complex observations than the simple alternation between day and night: there is a conflict between the solar year (of 365 days and some "hours" [Aram. Ja?, "short interval of time,"l76 e.g., Dnl' 3:6; not in the Hebrew OT]) and the lunar year (of some 354 days [plus additional intervals spread out over an extended period to reconcile the discrepancy with the solar year]). In the OT, these different ways of calculating the year are combined in a "luni-solar" year.l77 One can also observe influences from Israel's neighbors, especially Mesopotamia and Egtrpt;178but thiswould raise the largerquestion of the calendar in the ancient Near east

Besides general questions having to do with the calendar, in the modern period the question touched on above of whether the day begins with morning or evening has been the subject of lively discussion. The so-called "morning theory" was revived by Dillmannls0 and has been supported most vigorously by Cas5u16.181 It has been developed, with various modifications and historical nuances, by many scholars.l82 Zeitlin and Stroes, on the other hand, have attempted to defend the traditional "evening theory" to the widest extent possible. The question deserves further traditio-historical analysis. 2. Extended Usage. The chronological and calendrical usage of yOmlydmtm is natural-ly central. But the word has also been used in many extended senses, in which it may take on a special meaning or lend its meaning to characterize other objects. If we start from the observation thatydm refers in the first instance to "daylight,"rsr the meaning "full day" (twenty-four hours) is itself an extended temporal sense. More important, however, are the cases in which the focus of the meaning is not on the "day" as such, but on a "time" or situation characterized in a particular way. This holds true primarily for the pl.ydmtn, which not rarely has the meaning "time," often in combina-tion with some additional attribute (e.g., HmA '6hm, "as in the days of old" [Am. 9:11]; y"m€ '€fol "days/time of mouming" [Gen. 27:4ll)]u It is also true, however, for the sg. y6m (e.9., ydm qdgtri "dayltime of harvest" [Prov. 25:13]; y1m gdrdtt, "daylsituation of my distress" [Gen. 35:3]).r8s Something similar is probably involved in the more or less stereotyped adverbial use of both y6m and ydmtmlfmd in the sense of "when."lffi In addition, (hay)yamtmly"m0 with reference to an historical period or epoch can be linked with the name of a king (e.g., btm€ dnwid, "in the days/reigrr of David" [2 S.2l:ll; cf. also Jgs. 8:28; 1 K. 16:34); it also appears relatively often in the titles of books (se7er dif,rA hayydmtm, "cluonicles"; cf. L K. 14:19; Neh. 12:23; 1 Ch. 27:24; Est. 6:1;.taz Similarly, y6m can refer to an historic event defined more closely by the context (e.g., y6my"rfi.ldlafylim,"the day/catastrophe of Jerusalem" [Ps. 137:71; cf. Ob. 12-14;with reference to Babylon: kt ba' ydm"ftd'eltqadtikd, "for your day has come, the time when I will punish you" [Jer.50:3l]).taa 

Especially noteworthy is theuseof hayydm, "today,"l8e alone or in compound phrases to refer not to a single day but to the present time of the speaker in contrast to a past situation or past events (e.g., lannnf,t hayyilm yiq@rE' Ppmtm hir6'eh, "he who is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer" [1 S. 9:9]) or, more c,ommonly, to convey actuality. This latter usage is especially common in Deuteronomistic exhortation (e.g., Dt. 11:1-9,13,26,32;28:1; total renewal isemphasized in 27:9;;tso Ite crucial importance of "today," the present, for the future is revealed (cf. Josh. 24:15\. In the personalrealm,yOm can also be a time of special importance for an individual. The single wordyilm6, "his day," can ret'er not only to the day of someone's birth or death,rel but also to the day/time that marks the end and judgment of the wicked (Ps. 37:13; Job 18:20; cf. also Ulo'-ydnd, "prematurely" [Job 15:321). The pl. ydmim frequently refers to the days of someone's lifele2 and can thus be a term meaning "lifetime" or occasionally "advanced age" (Job 32:7). Furthest removed from the temporal sense is the use of ybmlyamtm in a spatial sense, to indicate distance in the form of a journey.le3 As a general rule, it is often difficult to make precise distinctions among the extended uses of the word. IV. Theological Usage. We have seen that the wordyOmlydmirn is the fundamental term for time, with a wide and varied range of uses.l% The transition from what might be called "seculal' usage (in temporal and extended senses) to explicitly religious or theological usage is also fluid and therefore difficult to define precisely. The information cited in the preceding discussion has often contained a "theological" element. It is theologically significant, for instance, that the days do not have names but are simply counted,les for this deprives them of any independent significance. In the OT, "days"-or the opposites "day" and "night"-are not expressions of divine powers; instead of being deified, they are made entirely subject to Yahweh, the God of Israel.le6 "Days"-and "time," to the extent that "time" can be spoken of in the OT-belong to God; this finds various forms of theological expression. !. Creation. God is lord of days and time because he is the creator of light and darkness, day and night and seasons (cf. Ps. 74:16f.; Isa. 45:7; also Ps. 139:11f.; Jer. 33:20). We have here a universal creative causality on the part of God comprehending both day and night that does not find corresponding expression in Gen. 1,l:3-4al),1e7 while the same is not said of dur1or"s5.1e8 Jfiere is then a "separation" (hibdtl) between light and darkness (v. 4b), and above all a "calling" of the light "day" and the darkness "night," which can be seen as further acts in the process of creation.lry This incorporates darkness/night at least functionally into God's creation, but the "day" as "daylight" when the sun gives its light maintains its preccdence. The other important theological point of Gen. 1:3-5 is the constant alternation of day and night as a fundamental element of creation.m It is confirmed after the Deluge (Gen. 8:22; cf. Jer.33:20), and will not come to an end until the eschaton, in the glorious final revelation of Yahweh (7*c. 1.4:7)-n1 Thus "time takes precedence over space in P's presentation of creation; creation does not begin with the division of space, but with the division of night and day as the basis of time."T2 This also makes it possible to present the seven-day schema of the first account of creation and to link it with history.20: The division between day and night is also the subject of important statements in Gen. 1:L4-18 (see also Ps. 136:7-9), this time in connection with m"'drd7, "lights" (Gen. 1:14-16), or "light" and "darkness" (v. 18). The tension between this section and w. 3-5 has been variously judged.2Oa It is noteworthy in any case that there is no longer any trace of the lighVday versus darkness/night polarity; there also seems to be a neutral balance between sun and moon. Their temporal functionality is emphasized, not just with respect to "days and years" but also with respect to "seasons/festivals" (m6',@im), so that we find here an element of cultic theology. The same is true at the end of the account(2:2f .), which deals with the seventh day, on which God "rested" (idbat).ns Ultimately the "lights" and stars in Gen. 1:14-18 are presented only as instruments for measuring time; they are robbed of their traditional power to affect human destiny. As parts of God's creation, they are servants rather than masters of time.m6 God's sovereignty over time as Creator extends from the cosmic level to the "days" of each individual, as we see above all in texts that have been influenced by Wisdom Literature (e.g., Ps. 39:5-7[4-6];90:9f.,12,14; 102:4,12,24f.13,1L,23f.1; Job 7:6; 8:9; lO:20; 17:'1.,1.1.; also Ps. 31:16[15]: b"yAtkd'ifidlAy, "My times [future] are in thy hand." 2. Cult. God's sovereignty over the time of each individual finds expression in the theology of the cult, an important element of which is the division and anangement of days and seasons.rT  a passage of central importance for the theology of creation. In the latter, there seems instead to be a certain polarity of light and darkness, in which light is the first thing created by God. Like the rest of his creation, it is viewed with approval and called "good" (6! [Gen. Special days belong to God and are therefore "holy" (qa@t; cf. Neh. 8:9; also y"mA habU'dltm, "(feast) days of the Baals" [Hos. 2:15(13)]); they are therefore governed by certain regulations or rituals. In addition to days set apart by special circumstances (e.g., y"m€ niddi, "days of [menstrual] uncleanness" ll.ev. 12:21) or events in the life of the family (e.g., Gen. 21:8) or the community (e.g., Isa. 58:3; 7*c.7:1tr.),2m there were regularly recurring festivals throughout the year with various cultic observances.Te First there is the most frequent festival, the Sabbath; as the day of rest concluding a seven-day week, it defines the smallest cultic temporal unit. This festival is merely described in Ex. ?3:L2; 34:21; in the Decalog (Ex. 20:8-11 and Dt. 5:L2-15) and elsewhere it is mentioned by name @6m haiiabba).2lo It became much more important with the passage 6f 1ims.2u Alongside the Sabbath, Am. 8:5; Hos. 2:13(L1); Isa. L:13 speak of the "(day of the) new moon" (badei; see also Nu. 10:10; 1 S. 20:5,18f.,26f..\.2r2 This bespeaks a cultic rhythm regulated by the moon,2l3 which was considered 'lord of the calgnd31"214 1, Mespotamia and is mentioned before the sun in Ps. 104:L9 in its function "for the festivals" (1"m6'"Qtm). The moon had a cultic significance that cannot be overlooked, as is attested by the ritual in the latest cultic calendar (Nu. 28f.) for the "day of the new moon" (Nu. 28:11-15)(cf .I*v.23:24;Nu.29:1; andsuchlate textsasNeh.10:34[33] and 2Ch.zsla],),. The cultic calendars (8x.23:14-17 34:18-23;l*v.23; Nu.28f.; Dt.l6:l'17;cf. Ezk. 45'L8-25zts)regulate primarily the thLree great pilgrimage festivals. It is noteworthy that the earlier calendars (Ex. 23,34) arc entirely agrarian, while the later (that of H in [rv. 23 and that of P in Nu. 28f., as well as Ezk.45) reveal a calendrical interest in certain fixed days. The day of the new moon on the first day of the fint month and half a year later on.the first day of the seventh month was especially important, but so was the fifteenth day of the same months. This may indicate that the "day of the full moon" (ydrn hakkEse', e.g., Ps. 81:4[3]; Prov.7:20) was also of great cultic importance. Thus in the calculation of "days" (and more generally of time) we find not only an observable tension between the sun (or daylight) and the moon (or evening/night), but also a certain element of competition between them in the theologies of creation and the cult. 3. History. God is lord of time, not only because he created the constant alternation between day and night, thus laying the foundation for the course ofhistory, but because he also intervenes mightily in the course of history. In the context of the theology of history, the most important expression of his activity is the genitive phrase y6m YHWH, "day of Yahweh." It occurs 16 times, all in the prophets (from the southem kingdom): Isa. 13:6,9; Ezk. l3:5; Joel 1:15; 2:l,lli 3:4(2:31); 4:14\3:14); Am. 5:18(twicn\,20; Ob. 15; 7*ph. 1:7,14(twice); MaL3:23(4:5). In 3 passages the genitive is replaced by /": Isa. 2:12;Ezk. 30:3; and (expanded by the addition of M', "comes") Zr*. l4l.In 8 passages there is an additional qualification: ydm'elralyHWH (Ezk 7:L9; Zeph. 1:18) andyOm-'apYtIWH (Znph.2:2,3;lam.2:22),"thedayof thewrath ofYahweh";y6mnnqdmI:YHWH (sa.34:8), "the day of vengeance of Yahweh" (cf. Jer. 46:.lO); ydm zebah YHWH (7*ph. 1 : 8), "the day of sacrifice of Yahweh"; also yOm nfhtund . . . la'danay (lsa. 22:5), "a day of confusion . . . for the Lord Yahweh." Apart from I:m. 2:22,which is retrospective, these citations also are all from the prophets. Oddly enough, the expression does not occur in Daniel. Modern scholars have interpreted these observations very differently. Early on, the primary question concemed the (pre-prophetic) origin of the "notion" or "idea" of a special "day of Yahweh." Gressmann hypothesized a very ancient complex of es-chatological ideas involving salvation and deliverance, rooted in nature mythology, which underwent further development in the OT. In opposition to this theory, Mowinckel explained the eschatology of the prophets and their talk of the "day of Yahweh" on the basis of the Israelite cult, especially the enthronement festival of Yahweh; many have followed his lead.216 More critically, eernf and Herrmann2lT have suggested Israel's traditions of(theological) history as a better interpretative background, as have Couturier and most recently Preuss and van Leeuwen. Von Rad, on the other hand, has proposed interpreting the particular phraseology of the "day of Yahweh" primarily on the basis of traditions associated with the ancient holy war. He has been followed more or less by Mtiller and Schunck, while Lutz has modified von Rad's theory substantially.2ls Jeremias has studied the relationship of the day of Yahweh to ideas associated with theophany.2le In contrast to the earlier approach,22o scholars today generally attempt to understand the "day of Yahweh" within the terms of the OT itself. Scholars (still) often inquire into the origin of the expression; but, despite many theories, they know almost nothing about what (if anything) it was before Amos, but only what it developed into among the prophets. And the picture is puzzlingly varied. a. As we saw above, ydm as nomen regew can take on an historical aspect in the context of an attributive nomen rectumiDl one might speak, for example, of "the day that the l-ono spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire" (Dt. 4:15) or "the day when 

you came out of the land of Egypt" (Dt. 16:3; to be "remembeted" fzdllafzz] cultically; cf. the frequent use of actuallr,inghayydm in Deuteronomy22j).ln this way special times were indicated that had important (transforming) significance for the life of the people; what was important, however, was not the actual point in time, but the event recorded. "The concept 'day'describes the eventful historical character ofa mighty happening and its effects.za This is also true when the nomen rectum is a toponym ("day of Midian" [Isa. 9:3(a)]; "day of lezreel" [Hos. 2:2(l:ll)l; "days of Gibeah" [Hos. 9:9; l0:91)-22s WhenYHWH isthe nomen rectun associated withy4m he has a time to act, a time to intervene in "history"; what will take place then, he alone determines. The relative chronology is necessarily not uniquely defined (e.g., future), being defined in each instance by usage and context; but the future is most common. The most important element, however, is God's act. b. The earliest passage is Am. 5:18-2D,which states metaphorically that Yahweh has appointed a"day" when he will intervene, from which no one can escape. This "day" will bring the opposite of what the people hope for from Yahweh, namely disaster ("darkness") rather than deliverance ("light"1.zN Amos'speech is a judgment discourse linked with history (v. 27); it constitutes an integral part of his general message of judgment, in which he proved in many ways to be breaking new ground (cf., e'g., what he says about the qEg, "etd," of Israel in 8:2). In like fashion, the form and phraseology of Isaiah's discourse concerning the "day of Yahweh" in Isa. 2:(6-11),12-17(18-22) is part of his proclamation ofjudgment for the people in the present day. The same is true in 22:5, where the mention of the "day" is followed at once by "a concrete description with reference to his historical 691ng11."227 The "day of Yahweh" of which Amos and Isaiah speak, each in his own historical setting, thus refers to the immediate future of the people, which will be radically altered. c. In the prophets that follow Amos and Isaiah, mention of the "day of Yahweh" appears to have become a prophetic theologoumenon of a very different kind. Highly informative in this regard are both Zeph. l:7-2:32x and Ezk. 7:2'4,5-27,22e the latter being a literary composite. ln Z,eph. l:7f.,14'16; 2:2f., a series of attributes (some synonymous) describing the "day," referring in part to changes in the natural realm, in part to God's wrath and human fear, and in part to the "nearness" (qdr6[) of the "day," gives the impression of more or less stereotyped phraseology. In Ezk. 7:2-4,5ff., similar-ly, terms like haq@s, "the end," ra'd, "disaster," and hayydm, "the day," which appear elsewhere in various contexts, are juxtaposed in baroque abundance. The "day of Yahweh" is still a coming day of God's judgment upon Israel, albeit upon other nations as well; but it is no longer just an "application" of the prophets' message: it has in large measure become an independent didactic theme.a0 In a sense the exile marked a turning point. Now-in I:m. l:12; 2:1,21f.., for example-people look back upon the "day of the wrath of Yahweh." With the fall of Jerusalem and the temple, the "day" has already come and the prediction has been fulfilled (cf. also Ob. 15; Ps. 137:7). But the "history" of the "day of Yahweh" has not thereby come to an end. In postexilic prophecy, the formation of the didactic tradition continues. The "day of Yahweh" gradually becomes the nucleus around which crystallizes a complex es-chatological drama, as we see above all in Joel t4l-3) andZnc. 12-14. The "day of Yahweh" can bring both disaster and deliverance; it can come to both Israel and the ((nations."231 The final stage is the apocalypticism of Daniel, where ydm YHWH is replaced by qe* "errd," and other fixed terminology.ts2 d. Although with the passage of time the eventful nature of the "day of Yahweh" came increasingly to be emphasized, along with other attributes, its temporal nature still was preserved. This is shown by the various words for time that cluster about the "day of Yahweh": bayydmhahtt',"onthatday"; bayydmtmluhem, "inthose days";ba'Elhahl', "in that time"; hinneh ydmtm ba'tm, "behold, days are coming"; U'abort! hayyamtm, "at the end of the days."233 Most of these formulas, which have undergone some develop-ment and take on eschatological character only in the later texts, not only define an eventful point in time, but refer to actual "days" or "time," the "time of the end." e. Within the context of prophetic eschatology, which is largely a question of definition among the preexilic prophets, too much irnportance should not be attached to the y6m YHWH;ztt n"vertheless, the expression makes an essential contribution to the theocentric emphasis of the prophetic (eschatological) message: it is God who holds the initiative in doing mighty acts, it is God who holds dominion over time, over the "history" of the people of Israel and of the nations. V. Qumran. Usage in the Qumran documents, including eschatological usage, agrees essentially with that of the OT.23s We can observe, however, a gteater interest in calendrical questions.B6 

vI. LXX.In the LXX,y6m is almost always renderedby hEm€ra,which emphasizes the chronological character of the word.237 Most of the other words used to translate y6m appear only once; exceptions include bios (12 times) and lcair6s (3 times).zls