Genesis 1:18
in Genesis 1to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
KJV
And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
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This verse in Genesis 1
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
two great lights
on Genesis 1:16-19
Moses calls them the greater light and the lesser light. The ordinary Hebrew names for sun and moon were the names of gods in the nations around Israel, and this account leaves them out. God set these lights in the expanse to rule the day and the night.
This site's exposition
to preside over the day
On the first day God separated the light from the darkness Himself, and here the lights take over that work. The Hebrew verb behind preside, and behind rule in verse 16, is mashal, used of mastering sin at Genesis 4:7. Wesley read the daily change as a lesson in providence.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church2 voices
To shine upon the earth, and to rule over the day and the night, and to divide the light and the darkness. These things can be understood both about the great lights and about the stars with this distinction only, that what is said "to …
And God saw that it was good. Necessarily, the holy Scripture often finds that God saw that the things He made were good, so that the piety of the faithful might be informed by this; however, it is not for human understanding, which often is …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And to rule over the day, and over the night,....
Those are most valuable that are most serviceable; and those are the greater lights, not that have the best gifts, but that humbly and faithfully do the most good with them.
(2.) The duty and wisdom of daily worshipping that God who made all these things, and made them to be that to us which they are. The revolutions of the day and night oblige us to offer the solemn sacrifice of prayer and praise every morning and evening.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלִמְשֹׁל֙ | velimshol | and to rule | H4910 → | 81 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | over the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| וּבַלַּ֔יְלָה | uvalaylah | and over the night | H3915 → | 233 times |
| וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔יל | ulahavdil | and to separate | H914 → | 42 times |
| בֵּ֥ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הָא֖וֹר | haor | the light | H216 → | 121 times |
| וּבֵ֣ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| הַחֹ֑שֶׁךְ | hachoshekh | the darkness | H2822 → | 80 times |
| וַיַּ֥רְא | vaiyar' | and he saw | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| טֽוֹב׃ | tov | [it was] good | H2895 → | 45 times |
וְלִמְשֹׁל֙and to rule
velimsholH4910 →81 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםover the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
וּבַלַּ֔יְלָהand over the night
uvalaylahH3915 →233 times
וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔ילand to separate
ulahavdilH914 →42 times
בֵּ֥יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
הָא֖וֹרthe light
haorH216 →121 times
וּבֵ֣יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
הַחֹ֑שֶׁךְthe darkness
hachoshekhH2822 →80 times
וַיַּ֥רְאand he saw
vaiyar'H7200 →1300 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
כִּי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
טֽוֹב׃[it was] good
tovH2895 →45 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 31:35Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day, who sets in order the moon and stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the…
it leads to
- Isaiah 51:15
For I am the LORD your God who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Jeremiah 10:16
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
- Psalms 136:7–9
He made the great lights— His loving devotion endures forever.
- Genesis 1:14–18
And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
- Jeremiah 50:34
Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
- Isaiah 51:15
Through
Psalms 19:6it rises at one end of the heavens and runs its circuit to the other; nothing is deprived of its warmth.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:5
The sun rises and the sun sets; it hurries back to where it rises.
- Job 22:14
Thick clouds veil Him so He does not see us as He traverses the vault of heaven.’
- Colossians 1:23
if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul,…
- Ecclesiastes 1:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies40
On this chapter
- Adam
- The Bible and the Ancient Near East
- The Designer's Fingerprint
- The Numbers of Scripture
- The Covenants
- Creation and Evolution
Show the next 6 titles
About Genesis
This page draws on Bede, Commentary on Genesis (Hexaemeron); John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.