The LORD God created light through speaking His Word (Gen. 1:3) (Literally)

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1 Page 1 Becker Bible Studies Template 1 Genesis 1:3 5 By Kathy L. McFarland Scripture Worksheet Database Chapter/Verses Genesis 1:3 5 Title The creation of light and separation of darkness on the first day King James Scripture And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. Hebrew/Greek Scripture ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י ה י א וֹר ו י ה י א וֹר ו יּ ר א א לה ים א ת ה א וֹר כּ י ט וֹב ו יּ ב דּ ל א לה ים בּ ין ה א וֹר וּב ין ה ח שׁ ך ו יּ ק ר א א לה ים ל אוֹר י וֹם ו ל ח שׁ ך ק ר א ל י ל ה ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר י וֹם א ח ד פ The Lexham Hebrew Bible (Logos Bible Software, 2012). Important Ideas The LORD God created light through speaking His Word (Gen. 1:3) (Literally) The Lord Jesus Christ is identified as the Word of God (John 1:1) (Literally/Typology/Deeper Mystery) 1 Becker Bible Studies Template has been changed with additional categories and increased emphasis with ideas based upon the foundation that was first developed by: Duvall, Scott J. and J. Daniel Hays. (2005) Grasping God s Word. Michigan: Zondervan.

2 Page 2 The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is identified as the light (Acts 26:23; 2 Cor. 4:6) (Typology/Deeper Mystery) The Lord Jesus Christ is in the light, and His followers walk together in the same light, and are cleansed of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7) (Typology/Deeper Mystery) Even in darkness the light of Christ shines in a believer s heart to give knowledge of Him (2 Cor. 4:6) (Typology/Deeper Mystery) The Lord Jesus Christ abolished the darkness of death to bring life and immortality through the light of the Gospel (Eph. 5:14; 2 Tim. 1:10) (Typology/Deeper Mystery) The LORD God did not create darkness; rather, He separated darkness from the light (Gen. 1:4) (Literally) The LORD God saw the light to be good, but not the darkness (Gen. 1:4) (Literally) The LORD God called light day and darkness night on the first day of creation (Gen. 1:5) (Literally) The light of the Word of God shines in the darkness, but those in the dark cannot understand it (John 1:5) (Typology/ Deeper Mystery) Satan, the god of this world, blinds the eyes with darkness to prevent the light of Christ from being seen (2 Cor. 4:4) (Literally/Typology/Deeper Mystery) Theological Significance Theological Difficulties Which came first, the light or the sun? Some say that the creation of the sun occurred when the heavens were created in Genesis 1:1. The stars, sun, and moon are attributed to this first creation with the thick darkness enveloping these heavenly glows. When the darkness is separated from the light, day and night are established. Thus, it seems to indicate that at this point the source of created light and separated darkness formed day and night. Others attribute Genesis 1:14 18 to the creation of the sun and stars. This too is supported as the light is made to rule the day and darkness made to rule night. But, it also seems a clear representation of the creation of the heavenly bodies; in its specificity, most

3 Page 3 professional Bible Teachers attribute the specific creation of the sun and stars to Genesis 1: Genesis 1:1 is considered by most to be a general condition existing upon the creation and division of light and darkness, but without the creation of the sun and stars until Genesis 1: Scripture References Created Light Genesis 1:3 5; Psalm 74:16; Isaiah 45:7; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Miraculous Light Matthew 17:2; Acts 9:3; Figurative and Symbolical 1 Kings 11:36; Psalm 27:1; 119:105, 130; Proverbs 6:23; Ecclesiastes 2:13; Isaiah 8:20; 49:6; 58:8; 60:19, 20; Matthew 4:16; 5:14, 16; Luke 2:32; 11:34; 16:8; John 1:4, 5, 7 9; 3:19 21; 5:35; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35, 36; Acts 26:18; Ephesians 5:8, 14; Philemon 2:15; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Timothy 6:16; James 1:17; 1 Peter 2:9; 2 Peter 1:19; 1 John 1:5, 7; Revelation 21:23;

4 Page 4 Typological Significance Illumination and enlightenment of believers shined by the light of the Word of God, through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, under His rule Keywords Gospel, Christ, Word, light, dark, day, night, illumination, enlightenment, darkness, blinds Permanent Worksheet Link Words Repetition of Words Light (אוֹר) (v. 3, 4, 5) Darkness ך) (ח שׁ (v. 4, 5) Contrasts (ל י ל) (Night) (ח שׁ ך) vs. Darkness (יוֹם) (Day) (אוֹר) Light Light (אוֹר) (Good) (טוֹב) vs. Darkness ך) (ח שׁ (Not Good) Comparisons (יוֹם) = Day (אוֹר) Light (ל י ל) = Night (ח שׁ ך) Darkness Cause and Effect Light comes forth upon God s Word God divides the light from the darkness God establishes both existences by naming them Day and Night Verbs

5 Page 5 Let there be ה י ה) (א (Word Study Necessary) From Greek 181, Strong s 1961, I AM WHO I AM, i.e., a title of God with a focus on presence, care, concern, and relationship. Was ה י ה) (א (Word Study Necessary) From Greek 181, Strong s 1961, I AM WHO I AM, i.e., a title of God with a focus on presence, care, concern, and relationship. Saw א ה) (ר Viewed. Greek #8011, Strong s #7200 Divided ד ל) (בּ Separated. Greek #976. Strong s #914; between י ן) (בּ Position of space defined by position that is on each side. Greek #1068. Strong s #996. Called ר א) (ק (Some controversy: Word Study necessary) Designated; named. Greek #7924. Strong s #7121. Paragraphs General and Specific Purpose/Result Statements Means Conditional Clauses Actions/Roles of God The basic creation acts of God in the six days of creation build a poetic form (with some variations) that is first illustrated in Genesis 1:3 5 and continues on through the other days of creation recorded in Genesis 1. 2 Introduction And God said 2 William David Reyburn, and Euan McG. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis, Ubs Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998),

6 Page 6 Command Let there be light Completion And there was light Evaluation God saw that the light was good Action God separated the light from the darkness Naming God called the light day and the darkness he called night Time And the evening and the morning were the first day Actions/Roles of People Emotional Terms Tone of the Passage Discourses Connections to Other Paragraphs and Episodes Shifts in the Story/Pivots Interchange Word Studies Word Studies (Literal) Word Studies (Literary Forms) Exaggeration, Metaphor, Simile, Irony, Rhetorical, Parallelism, Parable

7 Page 7 Word Studies Concordance (Hebrew/Greek) Let there be light in Genesis 1:3 is expressed by the jussive form of Biblical י ה י אוֹר Hebrew. Only the context gives the indication of its type, which in this case is a command, rather than a request, invitation, or wish. 3 showingי it to say, with the אמר And God said is structured with the verb root ו יּ אמ ר ו to be a 3 rd masculine singular prefix which makes it an imperfect tense. However, the waw conversive converts it from future to past. So instead of And God will say it becomes And God said. 4 Word Studies Semantic Range (Dictionary) Word Studies Translations (Bible Versions) Word Studies Notes (Other Examples within Bible) Word Studies Contextually (Defined with nearby words) Word Studies (Typology and Shadows) Word Studies Conclusions Meaning and Application Meaning of Text for Biblical Audience 3 Christo; Van der Merwe, A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), Gary Staats, The Person and Work of Christ Jesus through Hebrew and Aramaic Grammar in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures: A Study of the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ (an Old Testament Emmaus Walk) (Gary Staats, 2010), 36.

8 Page 8 Differences between Biblical Times and Ours Theological Principles Communicated by Passage Application of Theological Principles Homiletic Errors There is a common, often used example of the connection of light to darkness in sermons; almost always the sincere preacher will say some typical things like: God often brings light out of darkness: 1. The light of day from the darkness of night. 2. The light of prosperity from the darkness of affliction. 3. The light of knowledge from the darkness of ignorance. 4. The light of peace from the darkness of strife. 5 This is not supported by Scripture. In fact, it is the darkness that is removed from the light. It is the light that is created by God, and after He saw the light was good, He separated the darkness from it. While the pastors that make this mistake are attempting to reflect the nature that the righteous light bestows upon the enlightened versus the ignorance of darkness that prevents light from penetrating, they are not stating Scriptural Truth. God s Truth of good light separated from bad darkness become typologically significant throughout His Word; it helps mature Christians understand Christ s dealings with the blind in the Gospels. Though the Pastor s hearts might be sincere, their homiletics are faulty and cause difficulty later on for mature students to understand the deeper mysteries of God revealed by Scripture. Other Significant Books Significant Commentaries 5 Joseph S. Exell, and Thomas H. Leale, Genesis, the Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary (New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1892),

9 Page 9 Significant Journal Articles Significant Archaeological Discoveries Footnotes Profiles Holy Spirit Journey Summary Compilation of Study About the Author: Kathy L. McFarland is a Becker Bible Studies Teacher and Author of Guided Bible Studies for Hungry Christians. She has received her Bachelor of Science degree in Religious Studies from Liberty University, and is currently seeking her Master of Divinity (Professional Ministries Track) degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary & Graduate School and her Master of Classics and Christianity with Knox Theological Seminary. Kathy's favorite studies include the connections between Old Testament exegesis, Christian Apologetics, and Bible typology and mysteries.

10 Page 10 Bibliography Exell, Joseph S., and Thomas H. Leale. Genesis, the Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary. New York; London; Toronto: Funk & Wagnalls Company, Reyburn, William David, and Euan McG. Fry. A Handbook on Genesis, Ubs Handbook Series. New York: United Bible Societies, Staats, Gary. The Person and Work of Christ Jesus through Hebrew and Aramaic Grammar in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings of the Hebrew Scriptures: A Study of the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ (an Old Testament Emmaus Walk): Gary Staats, Van der Merwe, Christo;. A Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999.