Distinctive periods of the year marked by certain climatic conditions. Seasons are examples of God's perfect order in the world. They represent the balanced cycle of creation which is sustained by God and through which his provision and mercy are made known.
Seasons are appointed by God
Seasons are created by God
Psalm 74:16–17 See also Genesis 1:14, Genesis 8:22; Psalm 104:19
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun. You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
Seasons are sustained by God
Jeremiah 5:24 See also Job 38:32–33; Ezekiel 34:26; Acts 14:17
They have not said in their hearts, ‘Let us fear the LORD our God, who gives the rains, both autumn and spring, in season, who keeps for us the appointed weeks of harvest.’
The agricultural seasons of Palestine
The dry and rainy seasons
Joel 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 Ezra 10:13; Hosea 6:3; James 5:7LEV James 26:3–4; Deuteronomy 11:13–14, Deuteronomy 28:12
Be glad, O children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God, for He has given you the autumn rains for your vindication. He sends you showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.
Seedtime and harvest
Proverbs 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 Exodus 34:21; Numbers 13:20; Job 5:26; Psalm 1:3
The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.
Spring
Spring rain as a sign of blessing
Job 29:23 The gentle spring rains signal the approach of harvest; Proverbs 16:15; Jeremiah 3:3; Zechariah 10:1
Spring as a time of growth
Song of Solomon 2:11–13 Spring marks a pleasant interval between the heavy winter rains and the onset of the dry season. See also Proverbs 27:25; Joel 2:22; Matthew 24:32 parallels Mark 13:28, Luke 21:29–30
For now the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in the countryside; the season of singing has come, and the cooing of turtledoves is heard in our land. The fig tree ripens its figs; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come away, my darling; come away with me, my beautiful one.”
Spring as a time for war
2 Samuel 11:1 parallel 1 Chronicles 20:1 The time following the spring harvest (May/June), when agricultural commitments are reduced; 1 Kings 20:26; 2 Kings 13:20
Festivals celebrated in spring
Leviticus 23:5–6 parallel Numbers 28:16–17 Passover and Unleavened Bread; Leviticus 23:10 offering the firstfruits of the barley harvest; Leviticus 23:15–16 parallel Deuteronomy 16:9–10 The Feast of Weeks celebrated the ingathering of the grain harvest.
Summer
A period of intense heat
Psalm 32:4 See also Job 6:17
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah
A time for harvesting summer fruit
Jeremiah 8:20 See also Proverbs 10:5; Jeremiah 40:10–12 Grapes, olives and figs are harvested in July/September; Micah 7:1
“The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we have not been saved.”
A time to store harvested grain
Autumn
The breaking of the summer drought
Psalm 84:6 Autumn is the start of the rainy season and corresponds to the time of ploughing and sowing.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; even the autumn rain covers it with pools.
Festivals celebrated in autumn
See also Leviticus 23:24 parallel Numbers 29:1 the Feast of Trumpets; Leviticus 23:27 parallel Numbers 29:7 the Day of Atonement; Leviticus 23:34 parallel Numbers 29:12 the Feast of Tabernacles
Winter
A time of inclement weather
Job 37:6–10 See also Isaiah 55:10; Jeremiah 36:22
For He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the gentle rain, ‘Pour out a mighty downpour.’ He seals up the hand of every man, so that all men may know His work. The wild animals enter their lairs; they settle down in their dens. The tempest comes from its chamber, and the cold from the driving north winds. By the breath of God the ice is formed and the watery expanses are frozen.
A time when travelling is difficult
Matthew 24:20 parallel Mark 13:18; 2 Timothy 4:21; Acts 27:12; 1 Corinthians 16:6; Titus 3:12
Celebration of the Feast of Dedication
John 10:22 The Feast of Dedication (Hannukah) commemorates the rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.