Genesis 1:5

Modern

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Traditional

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Literal

And God called the light “Day,” and the darkness He called “Night.” And there was evening and there was morning—day one.

Latin

Appellavitque lucem Diem, et tenebras Noctem: factumque est vespere et mane, dies unus.

Hebrew

English

God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

God called (or named): Naming something shows authority over it (see also 2:19–20).
day: The Hebrew word yom can mean:
- daylight (1:5a),
- a 24-hour period (1:5b), or
- an unspecified time (2:4b, “when,” literally in the day; compare Exodus 20:8–11).
evening … morning: The Hebrew day started at sundown. This was like the first day that began with darkness and led to morning light.

In the first three days, God shaped the formless world into a place where people and animals could live.

These verses introduce the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). They teach Israel that one true God created, ordered, and populated the world, not the gods of nearby nations.
God blessed three specific things:
- animal life (1:22–25),
- human life (1:27), and
- the Sabbath day (2:3).
These three blessings emphasize the Creator's plan. God made humans in his image to rule in his place over earth's creatures and to join in God's Sabbath rest.

Theme notes and profiles

Psalm 74:16
The day is Yours, and also the night; You established the moon and the sun.
Isaiah 45:7
I form the light and create the darkness; I bring prosperity and create calamity. I, the LORD, do all these things.
Psalm 104:20
You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you are all sons of the light and sons of the day; we do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
Genesis 8:22
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall never cease.”
Genesis 1:8
God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
Jeremiah 33:20
“This is what the LORD says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time,
Psalm 19:2
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Ephesians 5:13
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself.
1 Corinthians 3:13
…his workmanship will be evident, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will prove the quality of each man’s work.
Genesis 1:23
And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
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.