Genesis 1:16 (DRB)

Passage

And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.

Nearby Context

Genesis 1:14 And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:

Genesis 1:15 To shine in the firmament of heaven, and to give light upon the earth, and it was so done.

Genesis 1:16 And God made two great lights: a greater light to rule the day; and a lesser light to rule the night: and the stars.

Genesis 1:17 And he set them in the firmament of heaven to shine upon the earth.

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "light", "great", "lights", "greater", "rule", and "lesser". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "light" and "great", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "To shine in the firmament of heaven..." into verse 17's "And he set them in the firmament...", so "light" and "great" 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 "great" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.