Summer, קיץ

The Biblical Hebrew קיץ (qaitz) carries three senses: 1) summer; 2) metonymically = summer fruit (especially figs, but sometimes grapes); 3) the time when these fruits are harvested (HALOT, 1098). The denominative verb created from קיץ “to stay during the summer” occurs once (Isa 18:6), in parallel with the denominative verb חרף the “to stay in the winter”; referring to the residence of birds of prey in summer and the “beasts of the earth” in winter, this verse covers the entire year. The Hebrew Bible divides the year into two seasons: קיץ וחרף “summer and winter” (Gen 8:22; Zech 14:8; Ps 74:17) (ABD 5:122).[1] In the Gezer Calendar, ירח קץ is the last month of the summer (Aḥituv 2008, 252–257).

• In the meaning of “summer season,” קיץ appears ten times in the Hebrew Bible: once in the Deluge narrative (Gen 8:22), three times in the prophetic literature (twice as a noun [Amos 3:15; Zech 14:8] and once as a denominative verb [Isa 18:6]), twice in Psalms (32:4; 74:17), four times in the wisdom corpus, indicating the summer as the dry season (Prov 26:1) and the time for collecting food (Prov 6:8; 10:5; 30:25).
• As “summer fruit,” קיץ appears six times: twice in narrative (2 Sam 16:1, 2), four times in the prophetic literature (Amos 8:1, 2, in a prophecy against Israel: כלוב קיץ “basket of קיץ” [frequently rendered “figs”] plays on קיץ [“summer”] and קץ [“end”], and Jer 40:10, 12, which quotes Gedaliah’s instructions to the remnant of Judah to gather a series of agricultural products: אספו יין וקיץ ושמן “gather wine, and קיץ, and oil.”
• In the meaning of “summer fruit harvest,” קיץ appears five times: once in a prophecy against Ephraim (Isa 28:4), twice in judgment prophecies against Moab (Isa 16:9; Jer 48:32), once in a quoted lament (Jer 8:20), in which קציר and קיץ signify two sequential agricultural tasks — grain harvest and fruit harvest (grapes or figs) — and once in an individual lament (Mic 7:1).

קיץ as “summer season”, the antonym of חרף. Gen 8:22 records God’s oath not to bring another deluge upon the earth but to sustain its order — summer and winter, plowing and harvesting, the cold and hot seasons. The antonymy between winter and summer is further evinced in Isa 18:6; Amos 3:15; Zech 14:8; Ps 74:17. The winter and summer houses of the rich of Samaria, for example, will be destroyed in punishment for their behavior (Amos 3:15).

Dry season. The summer as the hot, dry period is portrayed in Ps 32:4 בחרבני קיץ) “the summer drought”). Here, the dry summer heat serves as a metaphor for the psalmist’s suffering. Prov 26:1: כשלג בקיץ וכמטר בקציר, כן לא נאוה לכסיל כבוד “Like snow in summer and rain at harvest-time, so honor is not fitting for a dullard” adduces impossible climactic conditions. Although it can rain during the harvest season, such an event is disastrous for the crops (1 Sam 12:16–19).

The time when certain fruits ripen. Several passages suggest that קיץ signifies figs. In 2 Sam 16:1, 2, קיץ appears together with a group of items — bread, raisins, and wine — taken on a journey. It may be dried fruit/figs (cf. דבלת תאנים in Isa 38:21). In Jer 40:10, 12, Gedaliah instructs the remnant of Judah to אספו יין וקיץ ושמן “gather wine, and קיץ, and oil.” Symbolizing the successful renewal of agriculture in Judah (v. 12), this list follows the sequence of the ripening of grapes, figs, and olives. In Isa 28:4, the fresh fig consumed in one sitting serves as a metaphor for the annihilation of the proud Ephraimites. The כלוב קיץ “basket of קיץ” — frequently translated figs — in Amos 8:1, 2 plays on קיץ “summer” and קץ “end” (cf. also דודאי תאנים “baskets of figs” [Jer 24:1]).

“Summer fruit harvest”. This expression refers to grapes or figs. A prophecy against Moab notes: כי על קיצך ועל קצירך הידד נפל “ended are the shouts over your fig and grain harvests” (Isa 16:9), alongside recurring allusions to vines/vineyards and grain harvest on the Carmel (vv. 6–12). Jer 48:32 repeats this idea with two significant differences: על קיצך ועל בצירך שדד נפל “a ravager has come down upon your fig and grape harvests.” Grapes and figs are harvested close together. The pairing קציר and קיץ appears in a quoted lament (Jer 8:20) that observes the agricultural sequence of grain followed by fruit. Here, too, the reference may be to grapes or figs.

An individual lament in Mic 7:1–8 opens with a simile based on the late harvesting of figs and grapes: הייתי כאספי קיץ כעללת בציר אין אשכול לאכול בכורה אותה נפשי “I am become like leavings of a fig harvest, like gleanings when the vintage is over, there is not a cluster to eat, not a ripe fig I could desire.”

קיץ as the season for gathering and storing food for the winter. תכין בקיץ לחמה, אגרה בקציר מאכלה “it [the ant] lays up its stores during the summer, gathers in its food at the harvest” (Prov 6:8; cf. 30:25). Prov 10:5 contrasts the successful with the incompetent or disgraceful son, who sleeps through the harvest.

The majority of references to קיץ relate to the realistic conditions of this season and its agricultural products (see above). Ps 32:4 is figurative, comparing the poet’s suffering to the dry summer heat. קיץ plays on קץ in Amos 8:1, 2, constituting a simile for the enemy consuming Israel in Isa 28:4 and the decline of the lamenter in Mic 7:1. Proverbs adduces קיץ in a series of brief sayings, referring both to the season (Prov 26:1) and its products — and thus the behavior expected from diligent farmers, fauna serving as exemplars (the ant and the wise son: 6:8; 10:5; 30:25).

The pairing קיץ וחרף “summer and winter” occurs three times in the Hebrew Bible: Gen 8:22; Zech 14:8; Ps 74:17. The expression suggests that the year is divided into these two seasons.

The pairing קיץ/קציר occurs four times: Jer 8:20; Prov 6:8, 10:5, 26:1.

Amos 3:15 mentions בית קיץ and בית חרף.

[1] The Mishna also divides the year into two seasons — sun and rain. See also the entry “Season, עת / עונה.”