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James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 1:14-19

THE FOURTH DAY"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth, and to... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:14

Genesis 1:14. And God said, Let there be lights— The Almighty now proceeds to furnish the heaven, or expanse of air, after having furnished the earth; and so to complete his inanimate creation. The light, by whatever means till now sustained, was to be collected; or, at least, two great bodies were to be formed, as instruments of the diffusal of it; as lamps, if I may so speak, hung up in the firmament, to enlighten the earth by day and night. For the word translated lights, מארת meoroth,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Genesis 1:14

14. let there be lights in the firmament—The atmosphere being completely purified, the sun, moon, and stars were for the first time unveiled in all their glory in the cloudless sky; and they are described as "in the firmament" which to the eye they appear to be, though we know they are really at vast distances from it. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 1:1-26

I. PRIMEVAL EVENTS 1:1-11:26Chapters 1-11 provide an introduction to the Book of Genesis, the Pentateuch, and the whole Bible."What we find in chaps. 1-11 is the divine initiation of blessing, which is compromised by human sin followed by gracious preservation of the promise: blessing-sin-grace." [Note: Mathews, p. 60.] "His [Moses’] theological perspective can be summarized in two points. First, the author intends to draw a line connecting the God of the Fathers and the God of the Sinai... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 1:3-31

3. The six days of creation 1:3-31Cosmic order consists of clearly demarcating the various elements of the universe. God divided light and darkness, waters and dry land, the world above from the world below. Likewise people should maintain the other divisions in the universe. [Note: See Mathews, p. 124.] In three "days" God made the uninhabitable earth productive, and in three more "days" He filled the uninhabited earth with life. The process of creation, as Moses described it, typically... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 1:14-19

The fourth day 1:14-19The luminaries served four purposes.1. They distinguished day from night.2. They provided signs.3. They distinguished the seasons.4. They illuminated the earth."The narrative stresses their function as servants, subordinate to the interests of the earth. . . . This differs significantly from the superstitious belief within pagan religion that the earth’s destiny is dictated by the course of the stars." [Note: Mathews, p. 154.] "Here is a stern warning for our times for any... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:1-31

The Creation'The foundation of foundations and pillar of all wisdom is to know that the First Being is, and that He giveth existence to everything that exists! 'Thus wrote Moses Maimonides, a Jewish scholar of the 12th cent, a.d., concerning whom the Jewish proverb runs: 'From Moses to Moses there arose none like Moses.' He had in his mind the opening chapter of the Bible, the object of which is to lay this foundation; to declare the existence of the One God; to teach that the Universe was... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 1:1-31

EXCURSUS B: ON THE NAMES ELOHIM AND JEHOVAH-ELOHIM.Throughout the first account of creation (Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3) the Deity is simply called Elohim. This word is strictly a plural of Eloah, which is used as the name of God only in poetry, or in late books like those of Nehemiah and Daniel. It is there an Aramaism, God in Syriac being Aloho, in Ohaldee Ellah, and in Arabic Allahu—all of which are merely dialectic varieties of the Hebrew Eloah, and are used constantly in the singular... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Genesis 1:14

(14) Let there be lights (luminaries) in the firmament (or expanse) of the heaven.—In Hebrew the word for light is ôr, and for luminary, ma-ôr, a light-bearer. The light was created on the first day, and its concentration into great centres must at once have commenced; but the great luminaries did not appear in the open sky until the fourth day. With this begins the second triad of the creative days. Up to this time there had been arrangement chiefly; heat and water had had their periods of... read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Genesis 1:1-31

The Creation Genesis 1:2 Every writing must be judged by the object the writer has in view. If the object of the writer of these chapters was to convey physical information, then certainly it is imperfectly fulfilled. But if his object was to give an intelligible account of God's relation to the world and to man, then it must be owned that he has been successful in the highest degree. Intimate communion with God, a spirit trained to discern spiritual things, a perfect understanding and zeal... read more

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