Summer and winter in the Bible

• Seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter shall never ceaseGen 8:22
  The verses

  Gen 8:22As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
• Lights in the sky to mark the seasons, days and yearsGen 1:14, Ps 104:19
  The verses

  Gen 1:14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.

  Ps 104:19He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
• A psalm: “You made the summer and winter”Ps 74:17
  The verses

  Ps 74:17You set all the boundaries of the earth; You made the summer and winter.
• Rain in season: the autumn and spring rainsDeut 11:14, Joel 2:23, Jer 5:24
  The verses

  Deut 11:14then I will provide rain for your land in season, the autumn and spring rains, that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil.

  Joel 2:23Be 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.

  Jer 5:24They 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.’
• In the spring, when kings march out to war2 Sam 11:1
  The verses

  2 Sam 11:1In the spring, at the time when kings march out to war, David sent out Joab and his servants with the whole army of Israel. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah, but David remained in Jerusalem.
• Threshing until the grape harvest, the grape harvest until sowing timeLev 26:5
  The verses

  Lev 26:5Your threshing will continue until the grape harvest, and the grape harvest will continue until sowing time; you will have your fill of food to eat and will dwell securely in your land.
• Ruth came at the start of the barley harvest and gleaned until the wheat was inRuth 1:22, Ruth 2:23
  The verses

  Ruth 1:22So Naomi returned from the land of Moab with her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess. And they arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

  Ruth 2:23So Ruth stayed close to the servant girls of Boaz to glean grain until the barley and wheat harvests were finished. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
• Samuel called for thunder and rain during the wheat harvest1 Sam 12:17–18
  The verses

  1 Sam 12:17–18Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call on the LORD to send thunder and rain, so that you will know and see what a great evil you have committed in the sight of the LORD by asking for a king.” So Samuel called to the LORD, and on that day the LORD sent thunder and rain. As a result, all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.
• Jacob’s years: heat by day and frost by nightGen 31:40
  The verses

  Gen 31:40As it was, the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes.

Summer

• Eglon sat in the coolness of his upper roomJudg 3:20, Judg 3:24
  The verses

  Judg 3:20Then Ehud approached him while he was sitting alone in the coolness of his upper room. “I have a word from God for you,” Ehud said, and the king rose from his seat.

  Judg 3:24After Ehud was gone, Eglon’s servants came in and found the doors of the upper room locked. “He must be relieving himself in the cool room,” they said.
• Winter houses and summer housesAmos 3:15
  The verses

  Amos 3:15I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish, and the great houses will come to an end,” declares the LORD.
• Ziba brought David a hundred summer fruits2 Sam 16:1–2
  The verses

  2 Sam 16:1–2When David had gone a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a skin of wine. “Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
• Gedaliah: gather wine grapes, summer fruit and oil into storage jarsJer 40:10, Jer 40:12
  The verses

  Jer 40:10As for me, I will stay in Mizpah to represent you before the Chaldeans who come to us. As for you, gather wine grapes, summer fruit, and oil, place them in your storage jars, and live in the cities you have taken.”

  Jer 40:12they all returned from all the places to which they had been banished and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. And they gathered an abundance of wine grapes and summer fruit.
• The ant stores up its food in summerProv 6:6–8, Prov 30:25
  The verses

  Prov 6:6–8Walk in the manner of the ant, O slacker; observe its ways and become wise. Without a commander, without an overseer or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food at harvest.

  Prov 30:25The ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer;
• Chaff on the threshing floor in summer, carried off by the windDan 2:35
  The verses

  Dan 2:35Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
• When the fig tree puts out leaves, summer is nearMatt 24:32
  The verses

  Matt 24:32Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.
• “My strength was drained as in the summer heat”Ps 32:4
  The verses

  Ps 32:4For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was drained as in the summer heat. Selah

Winter

• “The winter is past; the rain is over and gone”Song 2:11–13
  The verses

  Song 2:11–13For 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.”
• In the ninth month the king sat in his winter quarters by a fireJer 36:22
  The verses

  Jer 36:22Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning before him.
• In the rainy season the people trembled in the square in heavy rainEzra 10:9, Ezra 10:13
  The verses

  Ezra 10:9So within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled in Jerusalem, and on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people sat in the square at the house of God, trembling regarding this matter and because of the heavy rain.

  Ezra 10:13But there are many people here, and it is the rainy season. We are not able to stay out in the open. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.
• The Feast of Dedication in winter; Jesus walked in Solomon’s ColonnadeJohn 10:22–23
  The verses

  John 10:22–23At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple courts in Solomon’s Colonnade.
• “Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter”Matt 24:20
  The verses

  Matt 24:20Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.
• Sailing grew dangerous after the Fast; they sought a harbor to winter inActs 27:9, Acts 27:12
  The verses

  Acts 27:9By now much time had passed, and the voyage had already become dangerous because it was after the Fast. So Paul advised them,

  Acts 27:12Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there. Phoenix was a harbor in Crete facing both southwest and northwest.
• An Alexandrian ship had wintered at the islandActs 28:11
  The verses

  Acts 28:11After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered in the island. It had the Twin Brothers as a figurehead.
• Paul decided to winter at NicopolisTitus 3:12
  The verses

  Titus 3:12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
• Paul to Timothy: “Make every effort to come to me before winter”2 Tim 4:21
  The verses

  2 Tim 4:21Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.
• Snow spread like wool, frost scattered like ashesPs 147:16
  The verses

  Ps 147:16He spreads the snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes;

Sayings in Proverbs

• “He who gathers in summer is a wise son”Prov 10:5
  The verses

  Prov 10:5He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
• “Like snow in summer and rain at harvest”Prov 26:1
  The verses

  Prov 26:1Like snow in summer and rain at harvest, honor does not befit a fool.
• “Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest”Prov 25:13
  The verses

  Prov 25:13Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a trustworthy messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.
• The slacker does not plow in seasonProv 20:4
  The verses

  Prov 20:4The slacker does not plow in season; at harvest time he looks, but nothing is there.