KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
This verse is part of the creation story.
To get what Genesis 1:18 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”
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. |
|---|---|---|---|
| “And to rule” | וְלִמְשֹׁל֙ | To rule | rule |
| “over the day” | בַּיּ֣וֹם | 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 |
| “and over the night,” | וּבַלַּ֔יְלָה | Properly, a twist (away of the light), i.e., night; figuratively, adversity | night |
| “and to divide” | וּֽלֲהַבְדִּ֔יל | To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.) | divide |
| “the light” | הָא֖וֹר | Illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.) | light |
| “from” | וּבֵ֣ין | Between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles); also as a conjunction, either...or | from |
| “the darkness:” | הַחֹ֑שֶׁךְ | The dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness | darkness |
| “and God” | אֱלֹהִ֖ים | 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 |
| “saw” | וַיַּ֥רְא | To see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative) | saw |
| “that” | כִּי | (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed | that |
| “it was” | (No Hebrew definition. English implied.) | ||
| “good.” | טֽוֹב׃ | Good (as an adjective) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masculine and the feminine, the singular and the plural (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adverb (well) | good |
See Genesis 1:18 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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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.
17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
• 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.