יָרֵחַ

Genesis 37:9 וְהַיָּרֵ֗חַ and the moon

Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Deuteronomy 4:19 הַיָּרֵ֜חַ the moon

When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

Here: 'The moon'. The moon god (Sin/Yarikh) was widely worshipped in Mesopotamia and Syria. Yarikh is the West Semitic form of this very word.

Deuteronomy 17:3 לַיָּרֵ֗חַ to the moon

and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—

Here: The moon. The same word names the Canaanite moon-god Yarikh at Ugarit, and the moon-god Sin of Harran was widely revered across the region.

Joshua 10:12 וְיָרֵ֖חַ and O moon

On the day that the LORD gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the LORD in the presence of Israel: “O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”

Here: 'And moon!' The second line of the poem. The verb 'be still' is carried over from the first line, a common shortcut in Hebrew poetry. Verse 13 gives the moon its own verb, 'stood'. At Ugarit the moon was the god Yarikh.

Joshua 10:13 וְיָרֵ֣חַ and [the] moon

So the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance upon its enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? “So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.”

Here: "And [the] moon". It has no article, as often in poetic or elevated wording. The moon was also a deity in the region (Yarikh at Ugarit), and it too is pictured as holding its place.

2 Kings 23:5 וְלַיָּרֵ֙חַ֙ and to the moon

Josiah also did away with the idolatrous priests ordained by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem—those who had burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.

Job 25:5 יָ֭רֵחַ [the] moon

If even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in His sight,

Job 31:26 וְ֝יָרֵ֗חַ and [the] moon

if I have beheld the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor,

Here: 'And the moon.' The ordinary word for the moon. In Job's world this was also the name and face of a major god, the moon god honored across Mesopotamia and Arabia.

Psalm 8:3 יָרֵ֥חַ [the] moon

When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—

Here: 'The moon'. With the stars it marks this as a night scene; the sun is not mentioned. In Israel's world the same word named a moon god (Ugaritic Yarikh). Here the moon is only one of the things God made.

Psalm 72:5 יָ֝רֵ֗חַ [the] moon

May they fear him as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon remains, through all generations.

Psalm 72:7 יָרֵֽחַ׃ [the] moon

May the righteous flourish in his days and prosperity abound until the moon is no more.

Here: The moon was the sky's lasting, regular timekeeper. It is used here as the measure of how long something lasts. Its sound (yārēaḥ) echoes the verse's first word (yifraḥ), so the verse begins and ends on a matching sound.

Psalm 89:37 כְּ֭יָרֵחַ like [the] moon

like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

Psalm 104:19 יָ֭רֵחַ [the] moon

He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.

Here: The moon, named plainly. Genesis 1 avoids the word and says only "the lesser light". The moon comes first here because the Israelite day began at evening and the calendar was counted by the moon.

Psalm 121:6 וְיָרֵ֥חַ and [the] moon

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

Here: The moon, which ancient people often blamed for illness. In nearby religions it too was a god (Ugaritic Yarikh, Mesopotamian Sin). No verb follows, so "will not strike you" carries over from the first line: the moon will not strike you either.

Psalm 136:9 הַיָּרֵ֣חַ the moon

the moon and stars to govern the night. His loving devotion endures forever.

Here: The ordinary word for the moon. In Ugarit, a city to Israel's north, the same word was the name of the moon-god Yarikh. Here it is just a lamp God made and put in the sky.

Psalm 148:3 וְיָרֵ֑חַ and moon

Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars.

Here: 'And moon.' It is cognate with the name of the Canaanite and Ugaritic moon-god Yarikh. Paired with the sun, it gives the two great lights of Genesis 1 their own place in the choir.

Ecclesiastes 12:2 וְהַיָּרֵ֖חַ and the moon

before the light of the sun, moon, and stars is darkened, and the clouds return after the rain,

Isaiah 13:10 וְיָרֵ֖חַ and [the] moon

For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.

Here: 'And the moon.' It sets the months and festivals. In Babylon the moon was the god Sin, and in Canaan the related word was the name of the moon-god Yarikh.

Isaiah 60:19 הַיָּרֵ֖חַ the moon

No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.

Here: 'The moon,' the night light. Like the sun it was a worshipped god in the region (Yarikh in Ugarit, Sin in Mesopotamia).

Isaiah 60:20 וִירֵחֵ֖ךְ and moon your

Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your sorrow will cease.

Here: 'And your moon,' again with the feminine 'your'. The moon is the light of the night, so even Zion's nights will not lose their light.

Jeremiah 8:2 וְלַיָּרֵ֜חַ and to the moon

They will be exposed to the sun and moon, and to all the host of heaven which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up or buried, but will become like dung lying on the ground.

Here: 'And to the moon.' The moon was worshipped across the region, for example as Sin of Harran and Yariḫ in Ugarit. The bones lie exposed by night as well as by day.

Jeremiah 31:35 יָרֵ֥חַ [the] moon

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name:

Here: The moon. Its regular phases set Israel's calendar of new moons and feasts, and the Mesopotamian moon god (Sin) was a major deity. Here it is simply placed under God's statutes.

Ezekiel 32:7 וְיָרֵ֖חַ and [the] moon

When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.

Here: The third light, which completes the set: stars, sun, moon. Every light in the sky fails.

Joel 2:10 וְיָרֵ֙חַ֙ and moon

Before them the earth quakes; the heavens tremble. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.

Here: The moon, the night's light, paired with the sun. Both 'lamps' of the day-night order fail together.

Joel 2:31 וְהַיָּרֵ֖חַ and the moon

The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

Here: The moon. At Ugarit the moon god was Yarikh, a related name. The moon set Israel's calendar of months and festivals, so disturbing it also disturbs the sacred calendar.

Joel 3:15 וְיָרֵ֖חַ and moon

The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.

Here: "And moon." Yareach is the common poetic word for the moon. Its Ugaritic cognate Yarikh was the name of a Canaanite moon god. Sun and moon together stand for the great lights that rule day and night (Genesis 1:16).

Habakkuk 3:11 יָרֵ֖חַ moon

Sun and moon stood still in their places at the flash of Your flying arrows, at the brightness of Your shining spear.

Here: The moon, set right beside the sun with no conjunction. The pairing recalls Joshua 10:12–13, where the same two nouns and the same verb appear. The moon-god Yarikh of Ugarit (an ancient city on the Syrian coast) bears a related name.