Kejadian 1:4

1:4 God saw ¹  that the light was good, ²  so God separated ³  the light from the darkness.

Ayub 28:3

28:3 Man puts an end to the darkness; ⁴ 

he searches the farthest recesses

for the ore in the deepest darkness. ⁵ 

Mazmur 139:11-12

139:11 If I were to say, “Certainly the darkness will cover me, ⁶ 

and the light will turn to night all around me,” ⁷ 

139:12 even the darkness is not too dark for you to see, ⁸ 

and the night is as bright as ⁹  day;

darkness and light are the same to you. ¹⁰ 

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “And God saw the light, that it was good.” The verb “saw” in this passage carries the meaning “reflected on,” “surveyed,” “concluded,” “noted.” It is a description of reflection of the mind – it is God’s opinion.

[1:4]  ² tn The Hebrew word טוֹב (tov) in this context signifies whatever enhances, promotes, produces, or is conducive for life. It is the light that God considers “good,” not the darkness. Whatever is conducive to life in God’s creation is good, for God himself is good, and that goodness is reflected in all of his works.

[1:4]  ³ tn The verb “separate, divide” here explains how God used the light to dispel the darkness. It did not do away with the darkness completely, but made a separation. The light came alongside the darkness, but they are mutually exclusive – a theme that will be developed in the Gospel of John (cf. John 1:5).

[1:4]  sn The idea of separation is critical to this chapter. God separated light from darkness, upper water from lower water, day from night, etc. The verb is important to the Law in general. In Leviticus God separates between clean and unclean, holy and profane (Lev 10:10, 11:47 and 20:24); in Exodus God separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Exod 26:33). There is a preference for the light over the darkness, just as there will be a preference for the upper waters, the rain water which is conducive to life, over the sea water.

[28:3]  ⁴ sn The text appears at first to be saying that by opening up a mine shaft, or by taking lights down below, the miner dispels the darkness. But the clause might be more general, meaning that man goes deep into the earth as if it were day.

[28:3]  ⁵ tn The verse ends with “the stone of darkness and deep darkness.” The genitive would be location, describing the place where the stones are found.

[139:11]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew verb שׁוּף (shuf), which means “to crush; to wound,” in Gen 3:15 and Job 9:17, is problematic here. For a discussion of attempts to relate the verb to Arabic roots, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 251. Many emend the form to יְשׂוּכֵּנִי (yesukkeniy), from the root שׂכך (“to cover,” an alternate form of סכך), a reading assumed in the present translation.

[139:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “and night, light, around me.”

[139:12]  ⁸ tn The words “to see” are supplied in the translation for clarification and for stylistic reasons.

[139:12]  ⁹ tn Heb “shines like.”

[139:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “like darkness, like light.”