Bible Strands
Genesis 1:4
And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God acts immediately after commanding light into existence in Genesis 1:3, concluding the first creative act before naming the light and darkness in Genesis 1:5.
The words — The text records God seeing (וַיַּרְא, va.yar) that the light (הָאוֹר, ha'or) was good (טוֹב, tov), then separating (וַיַּבְדֵּל, va.yavdel) it from the darkness.
The thread — The pattern of God separating light from darkness recurs in Genesis 1:18, where created lights are assigned to preside over day and night, and wisdom is contrasted with folly as light exceeds darkness in Ecclesiastes 2:13.
Why it lands — The text states God's evaluation and division of light and darkness, requiring the reader to recognize divine authority in establishing order and distinction without imposing personal meaning.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 2:13 And I saw that wisdom exceeds folly, just as light exceeds darkness:
- Genesis 1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
- Ecclesiastes 11:7 Light is sweet, and it pleases the eyes to see the sun.
- Genesis 1:31 And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
- Genesis 1:12 The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
- Genesis 1:10 God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
- Genesis 1:25 God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.