Word of Truth Fellowship

• In Genesis, does the day start with the evening?
• This is the first in a series of verses that we will look at in detail,
• to see what Scripture says about when a day begins.

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     Genesis 1 consistently says, “…there was evening and there was morning…,” then following is the number of the day.  When I read this after realizing that I needed to be keeping the Sabbath and doing the Feasts appointed in Scripture was that my understanding of when the day begins needs to be aligned with Scripture.  The only thing is that, just like in my previous denomination, I looked to leadership to tell me and just followed along.  Because of my lack of searching, I was simply aligned with the ‘Jewish’ reckoning of the day, evening to evening.  For years that is what my family and I did, until one day, one phone call made me prove what I stood on.  

     I began with Genesis 1:

Genesis 1:3–5 (ESV) 
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

(emphasis mine)

The very first thing we see is that God creates light and each time we see the word light in these verses it is the Hebrew word א֖וֹר (or):

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017)
אוֹר ôr, n.c., daylight, light, dawn. 121x

Here is another dictionary entry, if you have a little bit of understanding of Hebrew, this will make more sense but if not just read the English:

James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament)

(Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

240 II. אוֹר (ʾôr): n.masc.; ≡ Str(Strongs) 216; TWOT(Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament) 52a

1. LN(Louw-Nida) 14.36–14.52 light, i.e., that which is contrasted to darkness (Ge 1:3), note: in some contexts with the associative meaning of

guidance, health, life, prosperity, enlightened judgment, and other positive things;

2. LN 1.26–1.33 sun, i.e., the orb in the daytime sky giving bright light and heat (Job 37:21);

3. LN 14.36–14.52 sunshine, light of day, i.e., daylight in contrast to the dark of night (2Ki 7:9);

4. LN 14.15–14.16 lightning, i.e., the bright, destructive spikes that precede thunder (Hos 6:5);

5. LN 67.73–67.77 unit: אוֹר הַ־ בֹּקֶר (ʾôr hǎ- bō·qěr) dawn, i.e., the time when light of day first appears (Jdg 16:2), note: Ge 44:3; Jer 31:35; 1Sa 29:10 may be interp as 239, q.v.;

6. LN 58.14–58.18 unit: אוֹר פָּנֶה (ʾôr pā·ně(h)) bright countenance, formally, light of the face,

i.e., an appearance of the face that shows positive, happy attitude (Job 29:24; Pr 16:15);

7. LN 22.42–22.47 unit: אוֹר פָּנֶה (ʾôr pā·ně(h)) favor, formally, light of the face,

i.e., favorable circumstances, and relief from trouble and danger (Ps 4:7[English Bible 6]; 44:4[EB 3])

Now obviously the sun, moon or stars aren’t created yet.  The only thing that is there before the light is darkness and water, elements that are associated with chaos.  Now before there is a sunrise or sunset, there is light and darkness which are separated and each one is given a title, light becomes day and dark becomes night.  Before we get to those titles, let’s look at what the darkness is…

Genesis 1:3–5 (ESV)
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

(emphasis mine)

Here you have the opposite of light which is darkness.  Here the Hebrew word is hoshek, which is also the same word used in v.2 when the “darkness” was over the deep.  Let’s look at the definition of this word:

Richard Whitaker et al., The Abridged Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew-English Lexicon of the Old Testament: From A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles Briggs, Based on the Lexicon of Wilhelm Gesenius (Boston; New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1906).

חֹשֶׁךְ n.m. darkness, obscurity —

1. darkness (opp. אוֹר); darkness in mines; of extraordinary darkness, in Egypt, from pillar of cloud; at Mt. Sinai; of clouds of theophany; of darkness in death, or She˓ôl (ˊח‍ אִישׁוֹן = extreme of darkness).

2. = secret places(s); = hiding-place.

3. fig., a. = distress (fig. of blindness). b. = dread, terror, symbol. of judgment. c. = mourning. d. = perplexity; confusion. e. ignorance. f. = evil, sin. g. = obscurity.

Also see:

James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).

3125 חֹשֶׁךְ (ḥō·šěḵ): n.masc.; ≡ Str 2822; TWOT 769a—

1. LN 14.53–14.62 darkness, the dark, i.e., the lack of light in a space (Ge 1:4; Ex 10:21), note: there are many associative meanings to “darkness,” including terror, ignorance, sadness, confusion, evil;

2. LN 79.26–79.38 blackness, i.e., the color of an object (Dt 4:11);

3. LN 28.68–28.83 unit: אוֹצָר חֹשֶׁךְ (ʾô·ṣār ḥō·šěḵ) valuable secrets, formally, treasures of darkness (Isa 45:3);

4. LN 22.1–22.14 unit: יוֹם חֹשֶׁךְ (yôm ḥō·šěḵ) time of distress, formally, day of darkness (Job 15:23)

Clearly, we see the distinctions of both light and darkness and how they are complete opposites of each other.  Even in the figurative language, the light is seen as favorable and a time of relief, but darkness is distress and terror.  Immediately we see that Father takes control over the things you can’t see, the time in which is uncertain and the waters which are untamed and unpredictable and makes them visible and easier even for us.  Now we have a division of time and God calls each one differently, light is called day and darkness is night.  

     Darkness is now night which is the Hebrew word “leyla.”  

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

4326 לַיְלָה (lǎy·lā(h)): n.masc.; ≡ Str 3915; TWOT 1111—

1. LN 67.192 night, i.e., a period of time from the setting to the rising of the sun, so with a focus of lacking light (1Sa 14:34), see also 4325;

2. LN 14.53–14.62 darkness, i.e., a lack of light as a focus opposed to daylight (Pr 31:15);

3. LN 67.93 unit: אַרְבַּע לַיְלָה (ʾǎr·bǎʿ lǎy·lā(h)) a long time, formally, forty nights, i.e., possibly a symbolic representation of a considerable period of time (1Ki 19:8), note: some also view forty nights as a mathematically exact numeral;

4. LN 67.73–67.77 unit: חֲצוֹת הַ־ לַיְלָה (ḥǎṣôṯ hǎ- lǎy·lā(h)) midnight, formally, half the night, i.e., a point of time halfway between the setting and rising of the sun (Ex 11:4);

5. LN 67.78–67.141 unit: לַיְלָה וְ־ יוֹמָם (lǎy·lā(h) w- yô·mām) continually, constantly, formally, night and day, i.e., a duration of time without limits (Dt 28:66);

6. LN 67.78–67.141 unit: לַיְלָה וְ־ יוֹם (lǎy·lā(h) w- yôm) continually, constantly, formally, night and day, i.e., a duration of time without limits (1Ki 8:29);

7. LN 67.78–67.141 unit: בֵּן לַיְלָה הָיָה (bēn lǎy·lā(h) hā·yā(h)) grow and mature very fast, formally, son of night, i.e., become mature plant in a time period of overnight (Jnh 4:10)

The first thing to notice is that the word for night is never used by itself for a full 24 hour period, it is always accompanied by the word for “day” to denote a full day and night.  Yet unlike the words for night and darkness that only refer to the dark period of the day, destruction, terror, secrets and all the things that are obscure and unclear we have in Genesis 1:5 the word “yom”, day:

Genesis 1:3–5 (ESV)
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

(emphasis mine)

     Just a simple reading we can easily see how the word “day” is used not just for the light but also for the entire 24-hour period by the use of the same word at the end of the verse denoting the whole “first day.”  Let’s look at this word:

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: 

3427 I. יוֹם (yôm): n.masc.; ≡ Str 3117; TWOT 852—

1. LN 67.163–67.200 day, i.e., a unit of time reckoned from sunset to the next sunset, including two or more segments (morning and evening) about 24 hours (Ge 1:5), cf. also 3429;

2. LN 67.163–67.200 day, i.e., the period of time which has light (Ge 1:5);

3. LN 67.142–67.162 time period, formally, day, i.e., an indefinite time period, ranging from relatively short to very long, years and beyond (Ex 2:23);

4. LN 14.36–14.52 daylight, i.e., the light of the sun as an extension of day as the time which has light (Jer 6:4);

5. LN 67.201–67.208 unit: הַ־ יוֹם (hǎ- yôm) today, i.e., the same day as the day of the discourse (Ge 4:14);…

This definition goes on to explain up to 28 uses so I encourage you to look it up in its entirety, but I think this should suffice for now.

     Notice how this word is used not just for daylight hours but also for a full day including the night without the addition of “layla.”  It is also used for multiple days and even for a lifetime as in Ecclesiastes 6:3 (ESV):

If a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years, so that the days(yemi-lemma is yom) of his years are many, but his soul is not satisfied with life’s good things, and he also has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he.

1 Samuel 27:7 (ESV)
And the number of the days (yamim) that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a year(yamim) and four months. (emphasis mine)

​

     Even here in 1 Samuel we see that the lemma “yom” is used for a year and four months which is completely different than the word for night (layla) which is never used by itself for a full day, months, a year or especially a lifetime like yom is used.  Why is this important you may ask, well, in Genesis 1 we see the first time yom is used is to denote the daylight part of the day and then after we have the next phrase of evening and morning included in the first yom/day.  So, when we see the phrase “evening and morning”, this is included with the light part of the day to make a full day.  To start a yom/day first there was light, then “there was evening and morning”, both denoting a period of transition, but what is in between the “evening and morning?  Layla, nightime, complete darkness is in between, correct? According to Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23 & 31 the “day/yom” ends with the morning.  To get a full understanding, we need to see the rest of verse 5 in Genesis 1.

Genesis 1:3–5 (ESV)
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

(emphasis mine)

     First, we will look at what evening and morning are and then look at the phrase “and there was” because this is where many people, especially Judaism, have come to the conclusion that the day begins and ends at sunset or the evening.  So it is fitting that we look at evening first and the word in the Hebrew is “ereb:”

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

6847 II. עֶרֶב (ʿě·rěḇ): n.[masc.]; ≡ Str 6153; TWOT 1689a—

1. LN 67.191 evening, sundown, i.e., the period of time related to the setting of the sun, from late or very late afternoon to the beginning of the dark night time (1Sa 14:24);

2. LN 67.163–67.200 unit: בַּיִן הַ־ עֶרֶב (bǎ·yin hǎ- ʿě·rěḇ) twilight, dusk, i.e., the period of time between sunset and dark (Ex 12:6; 16:12; 29:39, 41; 30:8; Lev 23:5; Nu 9:3, 5, 11; 28:4, 8+);

3. LN 67.163–67.200 night, i.e., the period of time that is after sunset and twilight, a dark time of the night (Job 7:4; Ps 30:6[EB 5]+)

     Here the word is very clear, it is the time when there is a transition from light to the point of no light and the best time of day that fits this is sunset or as we would call it, evening. Now let’s look at the Hebrew word for morning:

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

1332 II. בֹּקֶר (bō·qěr): n.masc.; ≡ Str 1242; TWOT 274c—

1. LN 67.163–67.200 morning, i.e., the early part of the daytime period, which can vary from early daybreak, to an undetermined time before midday when the sun is at its apex (1Sa 1:19), note: for another interp, of Ps 5:4b[EB 3b]+ see 1331; note: for MT text in Isa 26:9, see 7931;

2. LN 67.163–67.200 tomorrow morning, next morning, i.e., the early part of a next day (Ex 16:12; 1Sa 19:2);

3. LN 67.163–67.200 unit: עֶרֶב בֹּקֶר (ʿě·rěḇ bō·qěr) one day, i.e., a period of time, approximately 24 hour period (Da 8:14), note: cf. also Ge 1:5ff.

     Here the word boqer is a transition time when there is no light to a time when light is almost full.  This time is a fitting time for morning or sunrise because it is when it starts dark and then begins to get brighter and brighter until there is full light.  So, with both of these words we can clearly see both the light and dark and also the transition period where the two mix.  Now we can see that a day begins with light, includes the evening or the mixing of light and dark, then there is complete darkness ending with the morning or the mixing of dark and light.  Now for the last part of the verse that sheds ‘light’ (pun intended) on these verses: 

Genesis 1:3–5 (ESV)
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

(emphasis mine)

    These words, “there was/yehi” is the same lemma that is used in Exodus 3:6 when Father tells Moses, “I AM/eheyeh” and in both of these verses the word means: to be, to exist, to become.  Also, we see the same word translated as “there was” is also used in v.3 for “let there be” and “there was.”  In v.3 we understand what is said that light was created or came to be as something that is past but that is consistent.  The Hebrew word is “hayah”:

Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains:

2118 הָיָה (hā·yā(h)): v.; ≡ Str 1961; TWOT 491—

1. LN 13.1–13.47 (qal) be, i.e., to possess certain characteristics whether inherent or transitory (Ge 1:2); (nif) been (Ex 11:6; 1Ki 12:24; 2Ch 11:4; Da 2:1; Joel 2:2; Mic 2:4; Zec 8:10+);

2. LN 13.1–13.47 (qal) be, i.e., to possess certain characteristics identical with another object (Ps 10:14);

3. LN 13.69–13.103 (qal) be, i.e., to exist in the absolute sense (Ex 3:14);

4. LN 13.104–13.163 (qal) happen, occur, i.e., have an event transpire (1Ki 14:3); (nif) happen (Dt 4:32; Jdg 19:30; 20:3, 12; 1Ki 1:27; Ne 6:8; Pr 13:19; Jer 5:30; 48:19; Eze 21:12[EB 7]; 39:8; Da 12:1+);

5. LN 85.1–85.31 (qal) be, i.e., be in a place (Lev 16:17);

6. LN 58.63–58.69 (qal) be, was, i.e., belong to a certain class (Ge 10:9);

• This entry continues for much longer but you can continue on your own, I believe this will give you a good start to understand these verses.

In Summary

     With all of this we can see how evening and morning were something that came to pass, in other words we see a day beginning with light, evening coming to be, night and finally morning coming to be. Day one.  Now with all of this we can look at the rest of the days of creation and see that Father creates during the light and then evening and morning come to pass, which is the end of the day.  If a day was only the evening/ereb and morning/boqer then the day/yom would only be the nighttime without the light except for the mixture of day and night.