Genesis 1:3-5 NIV

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 1:3

And God said ,.... This phrase is used, nine times in this account of the creation; it is admired by Longinus the Heathen in his treatise "of the Sublime", as a noble instance of it; and it is most beautifully paraphrased and explained in Psalm 33:6 as expressive of the will, power, authority, and efficacy of the divine Being; whose word is clothed with power, and who can do, and does whatever he will, and as soon as he pleases; his orders are always obeyed. Perhaps the divine Person... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 1:5

And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night ,.... Either by the circulating motion of the above body of light, or by the rotation of the chaos on its own axis towards it, in the space of twenty four hours there was a vicissitude of light and darkness; just as there is now by the like motion either of the sun, or of the earth; and which after this appellation God has given, we call the one, day, and the other, night: and the evening and the morning were the first day :... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:3

And God said, Let there be light - אור ויהי אור הי Yehi or , vaihi or . Nothing can be conceived more dignified than this form of expression. It argues at once uncontrollable authority, and omnific power; and in human language it is scarcely possible to conceive that God can speak more like himself. This passage, in the Greek translation of the Septuagint, fell in the way of Dionysius Longinus, one of the most judicious Greek critics that ever lived, and who is highly celebrated over... 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 1:3

Verse 3 3.And God said Moses now, for the first time, introduces God in the act of speaking, as if he had created the mass of heaven and earth without the Word. (48) Yet John testifies that ‘without him nothing was made of the things which were made,’ (John 1:3.) And it is certain that the world had been begun by the same efficacy of the Word by which it was completed. God, however, did not put forth his Word until he proceeded to originate light; (49) because in the act of distinguishing... 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

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:5

Verse 5 5.And God called the light That is, God willed that there should be a regular vicissitude of days and nights; which also followed immediately when the first day was ended. For God removed the light from view, that night might be the commencement of another day. What Moses says however, admits a double interpretation; either that this was the evening and morning belonging to the first day, or that the first day consisted of the evening and the morning. Whichever interpretation be chosen,... 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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 1:3

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 1:5

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:3

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

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:3

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

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 1:5

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

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