Genesis 1:8 (WEB)

Passage

God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Nearby Context

Genesis 1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”

Genesis 1:7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.

Genesis 1:8 God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.

Genesis 1:9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.

Genesis 1:10 God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "called", "expanse", "evening", "morning", and "second". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "called" and "expanse", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "God made the expanse and divided the..." into verse 9's "God said Let the waters under the...", so "called" and "expanse" 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 "called" and "expanse" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.