KING JAMES VERSION (KJV)
TRANSLATION, MEANING, CONTEXT
This verse is part of the creation story.
To get what Genesis 1:4 means in detail, scroll down or follow these links for the original scriptural meaning , biblical context and relative popularity.
“And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”
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 God” | אֱלֹהִ֛ים | 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” | וַיַּ֧רְא | To see, literally or figuratively (in numerous applications, direct and implied, transitive, intransitive and causative) | saw |
| “the light,” | הָא֖וֹר | Illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.) | light |
| “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:” | ט֑וֹב | 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 |
| “and God” | אֱלֹהִ֔ים | 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 |
| “divided” | וַיַּבְדֵּ֣ל | To divide (in variation senses literally or figuratively, separate, distinguish, differ, select, etc.) | divided |
| “the light” | הָא֖וֹר | Illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.) | light |
| “from” | וּבֵ֥ין | Between (repeated before each noun, often with other particles); also as a conjunction, either...or | from |
| “the darkness.” | הַחֹֽשֶׁךְ׃ | The dark; hence (literally) darkness; figuratively, misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness | darkness |
See Genesis 1:4 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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2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 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.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
• Genesis 1:4 Wikipedia Article
• 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.