KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
WORDS OF GOD IN RED
This verse is part of the creation story.
To get what Genesis 1:14 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“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 this verse really mean? Use this table to get a word-for-word translation of the original Hebrew Scripture. This shows the English words related to the source biblical texts along with brief definitions. Follow the buttons in the right-hand column for detailed definitions and verses that use the same root words. Use this reference information to gain deeper insight into the Bible and enrich your understanding. Information based on Strong's Exhaustive Concordance[1].
| KJV Verse | Original Hebrew | Meaning/ Definition This is a simplified translation of the original Hebrew word. Follow the buttons on the right to get more detail. | More Use the buttons below to get details on the Hebrew word and view related Bible verses that use the same root word. |
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| “And God” | אֱלֹהִ֗ים | Gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative | God |
| “said,” | וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | To say (used with great latitude) | said |
| “Let there be” | יְהִ֤י | To exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary) | Let |
| “lights” | מְאֹרֹת֙ | Properly, a luminous body or luminary, i.e., (abstractly) light (as an element); figuratively, brightness, i.e.,cheerfulness; specifically, a chandelier | lights |
| “in the firmament” | בִּרְקִ֣יעַ | Properly, an expanse, i.e., the firmament or (apparently) visible arch of the sky | firmament |
| “of the heaven” | הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם | The sky (as aloft; the dual perhaps alluding to the visible arch in which the clouds move, as well as to the higher ether where the celestial bodies revolve) | heaven |
| “to divide” | לְהַבְדִּ֕יל | To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.) | divide |
| “the day” | הַיּ֖וֹם | A day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb) | day |
| “from” | וּבֵ֣ין | Between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles); also as a conjunction, either...or | from |
| “the night;” | הַלָּ֑יְלָה | Properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e., night; figuratively, adversity | night |
| “and let them be” | וְהָי֤וּ | To exist, i.e., be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary) | let |
| “for signs,” | לְאֹתֹת֙ | A signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc | signs |
| “and for seasons,” | וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים | Properly, an appointment, i.e., a fixed time or season; specifically, a festival; conventionally a year; by implication, an assembly (as convened for a definite purpose); technically the congregation; by extension, the place of meeting; also a signal (as appointed beforehand) | seasons |
| “and for days,” | וּלְיָמִ֖ים | A day (as the warm hours), whether literal (from sunrise to sunset, or from one sunset to the next), or figurative (a space of time defined by an associated term), (often used adverb) | days |
| “and years:” | וְשָׁנִֽים׃ | A year (as a revolution of time) | years |
See Genesis 1:14 with its adjacent verses in bold below. Follow either of the two large buttons below to see these verses in their broader context of the King James Bible or a Bible concordance.
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12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14 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:
15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
• Genesis creation narrative Wikipedia Article
The King James Bible (1611) and Strong's Concordance (1890) with Hebrew and Greek dictionaries are sourced from the BibleForgeDB database (https://github.com/bibleforge) within the BibleForge project (http://bibleforge.com). Popularity rankings are based on search volume data from the Google AdWords Keyword Planner tool.