[22] The Sun and Moon are the Primary Lights in Gen 1:14

To explain the significance of the translation “appointed-times” in Gen 1:14, let us now consider the following.

Lev 23:2, “The appointed-times [4150 moed] of YHWH which you shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, My appointed-times [4150 moed] are these:”
Lev 23:3, “Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation, you shall not do any work, it is a Sabbath to YHWH in all your dwellings.”
Lev 23:4, “These [are the] appointed-times [4150 moed] of YHWH, holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their appointed-times [4150 moed]:”.

These verses show that the appointed-times discussed in this chapter are days upon which there is to be a holy convocation. In Lev 23:3 note that the appointed-times include the Sabbath that repeats every seventh day. But this Sabbath example of an appointed-time [4150 moed] is not determined by the moon; instead it is determined by counting days, and days are determined by the alternation of darkness during the night followed by light during the day.

This alternation of darkness and light is a result of the alternation of the absence and presence of the light from the sun, so that the sun is involved in determining this appointed-time, the Sabbath, but the moon is not involved for the following reason. Each month (or specific cycle of the moon) there are from one to three nights during which the moon cannot be seen at all, even with clear weather. During this period of invisibility of the moon, the days that are counted to arrive at the Sabbath have no contribution in counting light by the moon because the moon cannot be seen at that time.

Notice the following description of rulership or dominance by the light of the heavenly bodies.
Ps 136:7, “To Him who made the great lights ...”
Ps 136:8, “The sun to rule in [the] daytime ...”
Ps 136:9, “The moon and the stars to rule in [the] night ...”

These verses show that the sun and moon are called the great lights, but the stars are also said to rule in the night. If it is not cloudy or rainy all night (and sometimes it is), it is possible to count the days by counting the nights during which one sees the stars as well as the daytimes during which one sees light given by the sun. However it is not possible to count days by counting the light from the moon due to its varying period of invisibility each month.

The use of the sun rather than the moon to determine the count to the Sabbath as an appointed-time, as well as calling the sun and the moon “the great lights” in Ps 136:7-9 and declaring the moon to be for appointed-times in Ps 104:19, show that the sun and moon are the major contributors as lights to determine the appointed-times.

When one considers all the lights in the sky (sun, moon, stars, planets, and comets), the stars, planets, and comets do not have a cyclical period that matches the cycle of the year on the earth. Due to precession of the equinoxes, every 1000 years the stars shift 14.1 days further away from the vernal equinox. Therefore, by eliminating the other choices from consideration, the last word in Gen 1:14, “years” must involve the sun in some way.