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

3God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light! 4God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. 6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. 7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. 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

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 8:22“While the earth continues to exist, planting time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.”
• Psalms 19:2Day after day it speaks out; night after night it reveals his greatness.
• Psalms 74:16You established the cycle of day and night; you put the moon and sun in place.
• Psalms 104:20You make it dark and night comes, during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
• Isaiah 45:7I am the one who forms light and creates darkness; the one who brings about peace and creates calamity. I am the Lord, who accomplishes all these things.
• Jeremiah 33:20“I, Lord, make the following promise: ‘I have made a covenant with the day and with the night that they will always come at their proper times. Only if you people could break that covenant
• 1 Corinthians 3:13each builder’s work will be plainly seen, for the Day will make it clear, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test what kind of work each has done.
• Ephesians 5:13But all things being exposed by the light are made evident.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:5For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.
• Genesis 1:8God called the expanse “sky.” 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