Verse MeaningGenesisSome background helps
Genesis 1:16: Meaning Explained
And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made...
Genesis 1:16
“God made the two great lights — the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night — along with the stars.”
What Does This Verse Mean?
God made the sun (the bright one for daytime) and the moon (the one for nighttime), plus all the stars.
What’s Happening Here
The sun is the brightest light and rules the day. The moon is dimmer and rules the night. Stars are background lights.
Key Words
Greater lightThe sun, which is very bright
Lesser lightThe moon, which is dimmer
GovernTo be in charge of or control
Why It Matters
The sun and moon control our day and night cycles. Everything on Earth depends on their light and heat.
Did You Know?
The sun is about 400 times bigger than the moon, but they look the same size in the sky because the sun is much farther away.
Word Study
H6213
madeוַיַּ֣עַשׂ
H430
And Godאֱלֹהִ֔ים
H8147
twoשְׁנֵ֥י
H3974
lightהַמָּא֤וֹר
H1419
greatהַגָּדֹל֙
H4475
to ruleלְמֶמְשֶׁ֣לֶת
H3117
the dayהַיּ֔וֹם
H6996
and the lesserהַקָּטֹן֙
H3915
the nightהַלַּ֔יְלָה
H3556
he made the starsהַכּוֹכָבִֽים׃
Cross References
Continue Exploring
Read Genesis 1:16 in the Bible reader, or explore the full chapter summary.