Genesis 1:5

Genesis 1:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
• New International Version (NIV)God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
• English Standard Version (ESV)God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
• New King James Version (NKJV)God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Context of Genesis 1:5

3Then God said, “Let there be light!” So there was light. 4God saw the light was good. So God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light day, and the darkness he named night. There was evening, then morning—the first day. 6Then God said, “Let there be a horizon in the middle of the water in order to separate the water.” 7So God made the horizon and separated the water above and below the horizon. And so it was.

Genesis 1:5 word by word

וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• the lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• Dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and the darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• Nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• And the eveningעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
• and the morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
• were the firstאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259

Cross-references for Genesis 1:5

• Genesis 8:22As long as the earth exists, planting and harvesting, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never stop.”
• Psalms 19:2One day tells a story to the next. One night shares knowledge with the next
• Psalms 74:16The day and the night are yours. You set the moon and the sun in their places.
• Psalms 104:20He brings darkness, and it is nighttime, when all the wild animals in the forest come out.
• Isaiah 45:7I make light and create darkness. I make blessings and create disasters. I, the Lord, do all these things.
• Jeremiah 33:20“This is what the Lord says: Suppose you could break my arrangement with day and night so that they wouldn’t come at their proper time.
• 1 Corinthians 3:13The day will make what each one does clearly visible because fire will reveal it. That fire will determine what kind of work each person has done.
• Ephesians 5:13Light exposes the true character of everything
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5You belong to the day and the light not to the night and the dark.
• Genesis 1:8God named ⌞what was above⌟ the horizon sky. There was evening, then morning—a second day.

Commentaries on Genesis 1:5

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3-5Verses 3-5 - III. The First Day 3. אמר 'āmar “say, bid.” After this verb comes the thing said in the words of the speaker, or an equivalent expression. In this respect it corresponds with our English “say.” אור 'ôr “light.” Light is simply what makes a sensible impression on the organs of vision. It belongs to a class of things which occasionally produce the same effect. ויאמר vayo'mer “then said.” Here we have come to the narrative or the record of a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-5Verses 3-5 God said, Let there be light; he willed it, and at once there was light. Oh, the power of the word of God! And in the new creation, the first thing that is wrought in the soul is light: the blessed Spirit works upon the will and affections by enlightening the understanding. Those who by sin were darkness, by grace become light in the Lord. Darkness would have been always upon fallen man, if the Son of God had not come and given us…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5God called (or named): Naming something shows authority over it (see also 2:19–20). day: The Hebrew word yom can mean: daylight (1:5a), a 24-hour period (1:5b), or an unspecified time (2:4b, “when,” literally in the day; compare Exodus 20:8–11). evening … morning: The Hebrew day started at sundown. This was like the first day that began with darkness and led to morning light.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. first day--a natural day, as the mention of its two parts clearly determines; and Moses reckons, according to Oriental usage, from sunset to sunset, saying not day and night as we do, but evening and morning.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 1:5

• Darkness
• Day
• God
• Light
• Night

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