Genesis 1:8

Genesis 1:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
• New International Version (NIV)God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And God called the expanse Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.

Context of Genesis 1:8

6Then God said, ‘A wide space will appear between the waters. So the waters will be in two separate places.’ 7So God made this wide space. He made the water under the space separate from the water that was above it. What God said happened. God called the wide space ‘sky’. Evening passed and then it was morning. That was the second day. 9God said, ‘The water that is under the sky will come together in one place. Then dry ground will appear.’ And what God said happened. 10God called the dry ground ‘land’. He called the water that had come together ‘sea’. God looked at what he had made. He saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:8 word by word

וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ שָׁמָ֑יִם וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם שֵׁנִֽי׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• the firmamentרָקִיעַrâqîya‛ · expanseH7549
• Heavenשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• And the eveningעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
• and the morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
• were the secondשֵׁנִיshênîy · secondH8145
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117

Cross-references for Genesis 1:8

• Genesis 1:5God called the light ‘day’. He called the dark ‘night’. Evening passed and then it was morning. That was the first day.
• Genesis 5:2God made male and female people and he called them ‘human’. He blessed them.

Commentaries on Genesis 1:8

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6-8Verses 6-8 - IV. The Second Day 6. רקיע rāqı̂ya‛ “expanse;” ́ stereōma רקע rāqa‛ “spread out by beating, as leaf gold.” This expanse was not understood to be solid, as the fowl is said to fly on the face of it Genesis 1:21. It is also described as luminous Daniel 12:3, and as a monument of divine power Psalm 150:1. 7. עשׂה ‛āśâh “work on,” “make out of already existing materials.” The second act of creative power bears upon the deep of waters, over…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 6-13Verses 6-13 The earth was emptiness, but by a word spoken, it became full of God's riches, and his they are still. Though the use of them is allowed to man, they are from God, and to his service and honour they must be used. The earth, at his command, brings forth grass, herbs, and fruits. God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the produce of the earth. If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6-8The creation story describes how things appear from a human perspective. The sky looks like a shiny dome separating two groups of water (see Job 37:18; Ezekiel 1:22). In the ancient Near East, people understood the universe to have three levels, with rain coming from the highest level (see Genesis 7:11–12 and study note).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 6-86. firmament--an expanse--a beating out as a plate of metal: a name given to the atmosphere from its appearing to an observer to be the vault of heaven, supporting the weight of the watery clouds. By the creation of an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens, while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The air was thus "in the midst of the waters," that is…Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 1:8

• Day
• Firmament
• God

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Appear
• Beginning
• Call
• Create
• Darkness
• Divide
• Earth
• Embalm

Commentaries on Genesis 1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings