The Light · stop 1 of 9
Let there be light
'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.' The noun is אוֹר (ʾor, H216). Light is spoken into being on day one; the sun, moon, and stars are not made until day four — so from the first page light is something God gives, not something a lamp produces.
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
Open Genesis 1:3–5 in the reader →Everything gathered on this verse →
A voice from the tradition
Witness
That the light was made by the word of God's power; He said, Let there be light - He willed it, and it was done; there was light - Such a copy as exactly answered the original idea in the eternal mind.
John Wesley· Explanatory Notes upon the Bible (1765), on Genesis 1:4 — public domainEvangelical
The approved voices
On Genesis 1:3–5
The first word of God created the nature of light; it made darkness vanish, dispelled gloom, illuminated the world, and gave to all beings at the same time a sweet and gracious aspect. The heavens, until then enveloped in darkness, appeared with that beauty which they still present to our eyes. The air was lighted up, or rather made the light circulate mixed with its substance, and, distributing its splendour rapidly in every direction, so dispersed itself to its extreme limits. Up it sprang to the very æther and heaven.
Basil of Caesarea· The Hexaemeron, Homily 2: The Earth Was Invisible and Unfinished, 379Patristic
How can we worthily praise light after the testimony given by the Creator to its goodness? The word, even among us, refers the judgment to the eyes, incapable of raising itself to the idea that the senses have already received. But, if beauty in bodies results from symmetry of parts, and the harmonious appearance of colours, how in a simple and homogeneous essence like light, can this idea of beauty be preserved? Would not the symmetry in light be less shown in its parts than in the pleasure and delight at the sight of it?
Basil of Caesarea· The Hexaemeron, Homily 2: The Earth Was Invisible and Unfinished, 379Patristic
The workbench
Words in this verse
The floor
Where the canon echoes this verse
- 2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4:61 voice
But does anyone deny that the Godhead of the eternal Trinity is to be adored, when the Scriptures also set forth the inexplicable majesty of the divine Trinity, as the apostle says elsewhere: "For the God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Christ Jesus?" … Who is it, then, who shined that we might know God in the face of Christ Jesus?
Ambrose of Milan· On the Holy Spirit 3.12.86. 88, 397Patristic
- John 1:5
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Commentary on John 1:51 voice
The person who supposes that he is protected by the darkness is vain, since he cannot escape the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness grasped it not. Accordingly, he is discovered like a fugitive and a wicked hireling and is recognized before he can conceal himself. For all things are known to the Lord before he seeks them out, not only past events but also those that are to come.
Ambrose of Milan· Interrogation of Job and David 1.3.6, 397Patristic
- Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Commentary on Isaiah 45:72 voices
(Verse 7) Forming light and creating darkness: making peace and creating evil. I am the Lord who does all these things. Therefore, I, the only God, give you strength. I myself create opposing things, light and darkness, that is, day and night; peace and evil, that is, calm and war, through which I indicate that I was angry with my people when they endured the darkness of captivity and the evils of slavery. And again, I showed mercy when I released them to their homeland and they received peace and joy.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
I form the light, and create darkness,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- Isaiah 60:19
No longer will the sun be your light by day, nor the brightness of the moon shine on your night; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your splendor.
Commentary on Isaiah 60:192 voices
(Verse 19, 20.) The sun will no longer be your light by day, nor will the splendor of the moon shine on you; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will never set again, and your moon will not decrease; for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning will be fulfilled.
Jerome· Commentary on Isaiah, 420Patristic
The sun shall be no more thy light by day,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- 1 John 1:5
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
Commentary on 1 John 1:51 voice
When John says that there is no darkness in the light of God, he proves that all the lights of others are stained by some blemish.
Jerome· Against the Pelagians 2.7, 420Patristic
- Ephesians 5:8
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Commentary on Ephesians 5:81 voice
The darkness is being turned into light. There is not, as some heretics argue, a nature so alienated that it cannot receive salvation.… Those who receive salvation—the righteous—are "the light of the world." Those who refuse, the unrighteous, are in consequence called darkness.… The difference and distance between one and the other is clearly seen by their own fruits.
Jerome· Commentary on Ephesians 5:8, 420Patristic
- John 3:19
And this is the verdict: The Light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds were evil.
Commentary on John 3:192 voices
He lets not the condemnation of the unbelievers remain without consideration, but recounts its causes, and shows clearly that, according to the words of the Proverbs, Not unjustly is the net spread for the birds.
Cyril of Alexandria· Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 2, 444Patristic
And this is the condemnation,....
John Gill· Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)Reformed
- Psalms 97:11
Light shines on the righteous, gladness on the upright in heart.
Commentary on Psalms 97:112 voices
. Ver. 11. Light is sown for the righteous. All along their pathway it is strewn. Their night is almost over, their day is coming, the morning already advancing with rosy steps is sowing the earth with orient pearls. The full harvest of delight is not yet ours, but it is sown for us; it is springing, it will yet appear in fulness. This is only for those who are light before the Lord in his own righteousness, for all others the blackness of darkness is reserved. And gladness for the upright in heart.
Charles Spurgeon· The Treasury of David (1869-1885)Reformed
Light is sown for the righteous,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
- John 1:9
The true Light who gives light to every man was coming into the world.
Commentary on John 1:91 voice
(Hom. 2, in div. loc.) Or thus: We must not understand the words, lighteneth every man that cometh into the world, of the growth from hidden seeds to organized bodies, but of the entrance into the invisible world, by the spiritual regeneration and grace, which is given in Baptism. Those then the true Light lighteneth, who come into the world of goodness, not those who rush into the world of sin.
Origen of Alexandria· Catena Aurea by Aquinas, 253Patristic
- Psalms 33:6
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
Commentary on Psalms 33:62 voices
The rule of truth which we hold, is, that there is one God Almighty, who made all things by His Word, and fashioned and formed, out of that which had no existence, all things which exist. Thus saith the Scripture, to that effect "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens established, and all the might of them, by the spirit of His mouth." And again, "All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made."
Irenaeus· AGAINST HERESIES 1:22.1, 202Patristic
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,....
John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)Reformed
Cross-reference data: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge; OpenBible.info (CC-BY).