or כֶּסֶה; apparently from כָּסָה; properly, fulness or the full moon, i.e. its festival; (time) appointed.
Transliteration:keçeʼ
Pronunciation:keh'-seh
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### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew lemma כֶּסֶא (keçeʼ, `{{H3677}}`), sometimes appearing as כֶּסֶה, is understood to derive from the root כָּסָה (kāsāh, `{{H3680}}`), meaning "to cover" or "to conceal." This etymological connection underpins its primary meaning of "fulness" or "completeness," specifically as it applies to the lunar cycle. Thus, its most prominent semantic range is "the full moon," signifying the point at which the moon's disk is fully "covered" or illuminated. By extension, כֶּסֶא also refers to the festival or appointed time associated with the full moon, indicating a fixed or set period within the calendar, often for religious observance. The core concept is one of culmination or a peak state, whether of the lunar phase or a scheduled event.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
The term כֶּסֶא (keçeʼ) is found in two distinct contexts within the Hebrew Bible, both offering insight into its usage:
1. **[[Psalm 81:3]] (MT 81:4):** "Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day." Here, כֶּסֶא (בַּכֶּסֶא - ba-keseʼ, "at the full moon") is presented in parallel with חֹדֶשׁ (ḥōdeš, "new moon"). This parallelism strongly indicates its meaning as a specific phase of the moon, most likely the full moon, which marked a significant festival or an appointed time for the blowing of the shofar. The context of Psalm 81 is a call to worship and remembrance of God's covenant and deliverance from Egypt, suggesting that these lunar-based observances were integral to Israelite cultic life and served as occasions for communal celebration and divine encounter. The כֶּסֶא here is clearly a calendrical marker for a sacred day.
2. **[[Proverbs 7:20]]:** "He took a bag of money with him; he will not return home till the full moon." In this passage, כֶּסֶא (לְיוֹם הַכֶּסֶא - lə-yōm ha-keseʼ, "till the full moon") refers to a specific, distant, and appointed time for the husband's return. While not explicitly tied to a festival here, it nonetheless signifies a fixed date or the end of a long period, likely understood within the predictable cycle of the lunar month. This usage reinforces the aspect of כֶּסֶא as an "appointed time" or a "fixed period," drawing upon the regularity and predictability of the moon's phases.
These occurrences demonstrate כֶּסֶא's dual function as both a celestial marker (full moon) and a temporal marker (appointed time/festival).
### Related Words & Concepts
The primary etymological link for כֶּסֶא (keçeʼ, `{{H3677}}`) is to the verb כָּסָה (kāsāh, `{{H3680}}`), meaning "to cover" or "to conceal." This connection highlights the idea of the full moon as being "covered" or "complete" in its illumination.
Other related concepts and terms include:
* **New Moon (חֹדֶשׁ - ḥōdeš, `{{H2320}}`):** As seen in [[Psalm 81:3]], חֹדֶשׁ is often juxtaposed with כֶּסֶא, indicating the two principal lunar markers that structured the Israelite calendar and its festivals. The new moon marked the beginning of a month, while the full moon often coincided with or marked the midpoint of significant feasts (e.g., Passover, Tabernacles).
* **Appointed Time/Feast (מוֹעֵד - mōʿēd, `{{H4150}}`):** This broader term refers to any set time, season, or festival divinely appointed for gathering or worship. כֶּסֶא can be seen as a specific type of מוֹעֵד, particularly one tied to the lunar cycle.
* **Festival (חַג - ḥag, `{{H2282}}`):** While כֶּסֶא can denote a festival, חַג is the general term for the pilgrimage feasts. The full moon was often the calendrical anchor for these major celebrations.
* **Moon (יָרֵחַ - yārēaḥ, `{{H3394}}`; לְבָנָה - ləḇānāh, `{{H3842}}`):** These are general terms for the moon, whose cycles כֶּסֶא specifically describes in its fullest phase.
The underlying concept of "fulness" also resonates with themes of completion, abundance, and the divinely ordered cycles of creation.
### Theological Significance
The theological significance of כֶּסֶא (keçeʼ) is multifaceted, primarily centered on God's sovereignty over time and creation, and its implications for Israelite worship:
1. **Divine Order in Creation:** The regularity of the moon's phases, culminating in the כֶּסֶא or full moon, points to God as the ultimate orchestrator of the cosmos. As stated in [[Genesis 1:14]], celestial bodies serve "for signs and for seasons and for days and years." The full moon, therefore, is not merely a natural phenomenon but a divinely appointed marker within God's ordered world.
2. **Sacred Time and Liturgy:** In [[Psalm 81:3]], כֶּסֶא is explicitly linked to cultic practice—the blowing of the shofar during a feast. This highlights the importance of observing God's appointed times for communal worship and remembrance. These lunar-based festivals were not arbitrary but were divinely ordained opportunities for the community to gather, recall God's mighty acts (like the Exodus, as in Psalm 81), and renew their covenant commitment. The full moon, as a time of visible completeness, may have symbolized the fullness of God's blessing or the culmination of His redemptive acts.
3. **Reliability and Certainty:** The usage in [[Proverbs 7:20]], where כֶּסֶא signifies a fixed, future point, subtly underscores the reliability of God's ordained cycles and, by extension, the certainty of His plans and promises. While not directly theological in its immediate context, it reflects a worldview where time is structured and predictable according to divine design, providing a stable framework for human life.
4. **Symbol of Fullness and Completion:** The core meaning of "fulness" inherent in כֶּסֶא can be seen as a metaphor for divine blessing, the completion of God's purposes, or the culmination of His work. Just as the moon reaches its full state, so too does God bring His plans to fruition, promising a future of completion and abundance.
### Summary
The Hebrew word כֶּסֶא (keçeʼ, `{{H3677}}`), derived from כָּסָה (kāsāh, `{{H3680}}`, "to cover"), primarily signifies "fulness" or "the full moon," extending to denote "its festival" or an "appointed time." Its two biblical occurrences, in [[Psalm 81:3]] and [[Proverbs 7:20]], illustrate its use as both a calendrical marker for a sacred feast (often paired with the new moon) and a definite, distant point in time. Conceptually linked to חֹדֶשׁ (new moon, `{{H2320}}`) and מוֹעֵד (appointed time, `{{H4150}}`), כֶּסֶא carries significant theological weight. It underscores God's meticulous ordering of creation and time, the divine establishment of liturgical seasons for communal worship and remembrance, and the inherent reliability of His preordained cycles. The observance of כֶּסֶא thus represents an act of faith, participating in God's cosmic and redemptive design, and anticipating the fullness of His blessings.
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