Genesis 1:4
Genesis 1:4 is the fourth verse in the first chapter of Genesis. After God says, “Let there be light,” the verse notes that the light was good and that God separated light from darkness.
People read this verse in different ways. It’s often seen as showing that the world and light are good and that God brings order by dividing light and dark. Some scholars connect it to the coming of time—day and night.
Various thinkers offer other meanings:
- Augustine suggested a deeper division between holy and unholy beings, with light pointing to righteousness.
- The Zohar sees the light as filling creation with divine life.
- Rashi says the light will be set apart for the righteous in the future world.
Some view the verse as part of a larger literary pattern, setting up later separations like sea from sky and land from sea. The moment has inspired art as well, including Michelangelo’s depiction of the separation of light from darkness in the Sistine Chapel.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:26 (CET).