Genesis 1:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

NIV: God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

NASB: God called the light 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night.' And there was evening and there was morning, one day.

CSB: God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." There was an evening, and there was a morning: one day.

NLT: God called the light 'day' and the darkness 'night.' And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.

KJV: And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

NKJV: God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

Genesis is a book of firsts. In verse 3, we heard God's first recorded words in the Bible: "Let there be light." We saw God's first approval of something as "good." Now, in verse 5, we see God name something for the first time.

God named the light day and the darkness "night." Naming things is a significant act in the book of Genesis, as well as in the rest of the Bible. Naming something, in the ancient mindset, is a claim to ownership. Having the right to name something means claiming sovereignty over that thing. Later, God will task Adam to name the animals as part of his human work in ruling and subduing the earth.

In part, then, we see that God means to remain Lord over night and day. He created them. He intended for day and night to exist; they are not merely an accidental consequence of the natural world. Another way to apply this point is that God is not merely creating and then allowing this creation to spin out of control. What He has created, He still maintains authority over.

Finally, the verse ends with the blueprint used for the description of each of the six days of creation: There was evening and there was morning, the first day. From very early on, the people of Israel thought of a day as beginning in the evening, at sunset, and continuing until the sun set on the following day. That may explain the wording in Genesis 1 of "evening and morning."

Some scholars suggested that these days need not have been strict 24 hour days in the sense that we think of them. As noted before, there is nothing explicit in the text to dispute or support this claim. Nor is there anything which explicitly proves or disproves that they are most certainly 24-hour days. The God who is capable of speaking light into the world is certainly capable of creating as much as He would choose to in a 24-hour period of time, or of creating using a longer process. The important details are those which God has actually given: He created light, and called it "good."

Genesis 1:1–13 describes the first three days of creation. These follow a common pattern. First, God speaks, then He creates, then names His creation, then declares that creation ''good.'' Finally, the day is numbered. Each of these first three days prepares creation for what God will create in the second three days. Day one creates light, night and day, preparing for the sun and moon on day four. Day two creates the oceans, preparing for sea creatures on day five. Day three creates land and plants, preparing for animals and humans on day six.

Genesis 1 is nothing less than a bare-bones claim that God created the universe. Setting all of the debates on models and interpretations aside, the chapter undeniably insists on one thing: God means to be known as the Creator of all things. Written in the original Hebrew language according to a rigid, poetic structure, the chapter unfolds in a series of patterns and revelations. For those who believe these words, our response should be nothing less than to worship our Maker.

Genesis 1 is the first chapter of what came to be known as the Pentateuch: the first five books of the Bible. Likely written by Moses, Genesis 1 begins the story of God and His relationship with His people Israel. The role of God as Creator is not only important for setting up His work in later chapters, but also in His supremacy and authority for all of the other words of the Scriptures. God intends first to be known to all peoples as the Creator of all things—from sun, moon, and stars, to human life itself. And as the Creator, He is owed worship by all He has made, including and especially human beings

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.