Genesis 1:15

Summary

The divine speech continues without a new introduction: the luminaries are also to give light upon the earth from the firmament of the heavens. The formula "and it was so" closes the command.

Key words

• m.'o.Rot ("luminaries", H3974) — again in the plural.
• r.Ki.a' ("[the] firmament of", H7549) — construct.
• ha.'Ir ("give light", H0215) — hiphil infinitive.
• 'A.retz ("earth", H0776) — the light's destination.
• Khen ("so", H3651) — the adverb of the fulfillment formula.

What the text says

The verse starts with ha.Yu ("they will become", H1961) in the sequential perfect, the same "continues the sequence" form seen in the previous verse: the command keeps flowing without a repeated "God said." The clause "and let them be for luminaries" reuses m.'o.Rot ("luminaries", H3974) preceded by the preposition "to/for": beyond separating times (v. 14), the lights are defined as light-bearers set in the firmament, with sha.Ma.yim ("heavens", H8064) as the second member of the construct chain.

The purpose is expressed with another hiphil infinitive — the causative conjugation: ha.'Ir ("give light", H0215), literally "to cause light," with 'al- ("on", H5921) marking the target: "upon the earth." The close repeats the familiar pair: the narrative form of y.hi- ("it was", H1961) plus Khen ("so", H3651): "and it was so."

Differences between versions

Where the Hebrew says "let them be for luminaries" (a concrete plural noun), the Septuagint reads "ἔστωσαν εἰς φαῦσιν" ("let them be for illumination"), an action noun, and renders the lighting as "ὥστε φαίνειν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς." The Vulgate resolves the whole verse with verbs: "ut luceant… et illuminent terram" ("that they shine… and light the earth"), without repeating the noun "luminaries." The BSB keeps the noun: "let them serve as lights."