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”; and there was light. 4God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

Genesis 1:5 word by word

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

• Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• calledקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call byH7121
• the lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• and the darknessחֹ֫שֶׁךְchôshek · darknessH2822
• nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
• there was eveningעֶ֫רֶב‛ereb · eveningH6153
• and there was morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
• oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259

Cross-references for Genesis 1:5

• Genesis 8:22While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
• Psalms 19:2Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge.
• Psalms 74:16Yours is the day, Yours also is the night; You have prepared the light and the sun.
• Psalms 104:20You appoint darkness and it becomes night, In which all the beasts of the forest prowl about.
• Isaiah 45:7The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.
• Jeremiah 33:20“Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time,
• 1 Corinthians 3:13each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
• Ephesians 5:13But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
• Genesis 1:8God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was 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