Genesis 1:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 1:3-5

We have here a further account of the first day's work, in which observe, 1. That the first of all visible beings which God created was light; not that by it he himself might see to work (for the darkness and light are both alike to him), but that by it we might see his works and his glory in them, and might work our works while it is day. The works of Satan and his servants are works of darkness; but he that doeth truth, and doeth good, cometh to the light, and coveteth it, that his deeds may... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 1:4

And God saw the light, that it was good ,.... Very pleasant and delightful, useful and beneficial; that is, he foresaw it would be good, of great service, as Picherellus F11 In Cosmopoeiam, p. 267. interprets it; for as yet there were no inhabitants of the earth to receive any advantage by it; see Ecclesiastes 11:7 besides, it was doubtless good to answer some present purposes, to prepare for the work of the two following days, before the great luminary was formed; as to dispel the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:4

God divided the light from the darkness - This does not imply that light and darkness are two distinct substances, seeing darkness is only the privation of light; but the words simply refer us by anticipation to the rotation of the earth round its own axis once in twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes, and four seconds, which is the cause of the distinction between day and night, by bringing the different parts of the surface of the earth successively into and from under the solar rays; and... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:4

Verse 4 4And God saw the light Here God is introduced by Moses as surveying his work, that he might take pleasure in it. But he does it for our sake, to teach us that God has made nothing without a certain reason and design. And we ought not so to understand the words of Moses as if God did not know that his work was good, till it was finished. But the meaning of the passage is, that the work, such as we now see it, was approved by God. Therefore nothing remains for us, but to acquiesce in this... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 1:3-5

- III. The First Day3. 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 series of events. The conjunction is prefixed to the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Genesis 1:4

Genesis 1:4. God saw the light, &c. He beheld it with approbation, as being exactly what he designed it to be, pleasant and useful, and perfectly adapted to answer its intended end. God divided Made a separation between the light and the darkness, as to time, place, and use, that the one should succeed and exclude the other, and that by their vicissitudes they should make the day and the night. Though the darkness was now scattered by the light, it has its place, because it has its... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 1:1-31

THE STORY OF CREATIONThe Bible and scienceModern science has revealed so much about the wonders and the size of the physical universe that human beings may seem almost to be nothing. The Bible takes a different view. Human beings are its main concern, for they alone are made in God’s image. The story of creation is but an introduction to the story of God’s dealings with the human race. The Bible demonstrates this order of importance from the outset by fitting the story of creation into a mere... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 1:4

saw. Occurs 7 times in Introduction. App-5 . good = beautiful (Ecclesiastes 3:11 ). divided. Occurs twice. App-5 . Each day's work called "good", except the 2nd, because nothing created on that day: only division made. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 1:4

"And God saw the light that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.""And God saw the light that it was good." The intelligence of the Supreme Being, His concern with and His interest in the affairs of His creation, and His personal preference for that which is "good" appear as legitimate deductions from what is revealed here. It seems highly improbable that the creation of light merely means the making of light visible upon the earth. The text does not state that God made... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Genesis 1:4

Genesis 1:4. That it was good— The word טוב tob, signifies not only what is goodly and pleasant in itself, but what is useful and fit for the end to which it is designed. And surely it could not be more properly applied than at the first, to that light, which, as Cowley calls it, is, "Active Nature's watchful life and health, Her joy, her ornament, and wealth." The world, which now is a palace, would have been a dungeon without it. Truly light is sweet, says Solomon: it rejoiceth the heart. And... read more

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