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:
What does Genesis 1:14 mean?
In the fourth day's work, the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is accounted for. All these are the works of God.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 1:14-18 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 1:14
The Fourth Day 14. ma'or, "a light, a luminary, a center of radiant light." moed, "set time, season." Words beginning with a formative musually signify that in which the simple quality resides or is realized. Hence, they often denote place. 17. nathan "give, hold out, show, stretch, hold out." Latin: tendo, teneo; τεινω teino. The darkness has been removed from the face of the deep, its waters have been distributed in due proportions above and below the expanse; the lower waters have retired and given place to the emerging land, and the wasteness of the land thus exposed to view has begun to be adorned with the living forms of a new vegetation.
Context in Genesis 1
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Genesis 1 belongs to the opening movement of the book, especially the section often described as primeval history from creation to Babel. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.
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A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.