Genesis 1:18 (DBY)

Passage

and to rule during the day and during the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Nearby Context

Genesis 1:16 And God made the two great lights, the great light to rule the day, and the small light to rule the night, and the stars.

Genesis 1:17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens, to give light on the earth,

Genesis 1:18 and to rule during the day and during the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:19 And there was evening, and there was morning a fourth day.

Genesis 1:20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls, and let fowl fly above the earth in the expanse of the heavens.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "darkness", "rule", "during", "night", "divide", and "between". It is saying that the contrast between light and darkness marks a real divide in how people respond to God's work.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "And God set them in the expanse..." into verse 19's "And there was evening and there was...", so "light" and "darkness" belong inside that flow. In Genesis context, the local focus is creation, human rebellion, covenant promise, and God's providence.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "light" and "darkness" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.