A Deeper Understanding of Evening and Morning in Genesis 1
The way that evening and morning are used in Genesis 1 is very interesting when verses are carefully analyzed. For the first 5 verses there is an interesting interplay between light and darkness, day and night. There is also the first introduction of the phrase “And there was evening and there was morning, the first day”. This evening and morning phrase is then used throughout the first chapter at the end of the description of each day. There are insights that we gain by looking more deeply at how light and darkness, day and night are used in the first 5 verses of Genesis 1, based on our current understanding that Genesis 1 describes a series of the stages of creation unfolding that is compatible with science.
Light and Darkness in Genesis 1
Part of the foundations presented on this website is that oftentimes we have a greater understanding of Scripture over time. With this understanding, let us examine how light and darkness, day and night are described in the first few verses of Genesis 1.
The first time that the word “darkness” is used is Genesis 1:2.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
From the scientific perspective, this passage describes the darkness during early chaotic stage of the earth with rocks and gas coalescing through accretion into the early stages of a planet. This darkness is then associated with the chaos when the earth is “without form and void”.
Then in verse 3, God had the light appear and then darkness is once again used in Genesis 1:4.
And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness.
So, here we see that the LORD God saw that the light was good and separated it from the darkness. An implication can be made here that God was moving the stages of the earth from darkness to light, from that which is chaotic to that which is more orderly, from that which is more mysterious to that which is more clear.
Then in the first part of Genesis 1:5 is the third use of the word darkness in chapter 1.
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
Here there is an analogy made between darkness and Night. Then the last part of Genesis 1:5 states the following.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Symbolism of Evening and Morning
Now what can we say about the words “evening” and “morning”? One way to define the evening is that it comes before the night, which was equated by analogy in Genesis 1:2 to darkness. And darkness was first referenced in Genesis 1 as being associated to a chaotic earth. So, one way to look at this definition of evening is that it is a state that is more chaotic, more full of mystery and potential perhaps. But it is less orderly and clear than is the light.
Similarly, morning is that time which comes before the light of the day. In other words, it is a sign of the more orderly, clear, and defined state of being. So, if we use these symbolic meanings then the phrase, “And there was evening and there was morning”, could be understood to mean that there was a state that was more chaotic followed by a state that was more orderly and defined. And then these periods where the Creator God brought order out of chaos were defined as period of time, translated from the word yom as “day”. This is consistent with each “day” of creation, because each “day” brought greater order, light, and even life in its various forms (physical, mental, and spiritual) into existence.
The Order of Evening Before Morning
There is another aspect to this use of the phrase,
And there was evening and there was morning, the (first, second, third, etc.) day.
For most situations, when we mention the sequence of a day, we would say there was morning and then there was afternoon and then there was evening and then there was night, or something along those lines. But in Genesis 1, the sequence is always first evening and then morning. Is this significant? Perhaps. Perhaps it is significant because from the symbolic point of view that we have been discussing here, then the actions in creation are always from chaos to order, not order to chaos. And so having evening before morning and understanding the symbolism of evening for chaos and morning for order, then the phrase also displays the handiwork of the Creator, always from chaos to order. This would be another example of why it is appropriate to consider that this phrase is meant to be taken in a symbolic manner, like many of the other prophecies in the Bible.