Genesis 1:5

1:5 God called ¹  the light “day” and the darkness ²  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ³ 

Genesis 2:11

2:11 The name of the first is Pishon; it runs through ⁴  the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold.

Genesis 4:20-21

4:20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the first ⁵  of those who live in tents and keep ⁶  livestock. 4:21 The name of his brother was Jubal; he was the first of all who play the harp and the flute.

Genesis 13:4

13:4 This was the place where he had first built the altar, ⁷  and there Abram worshiped the Lord. ⁸ 

Genesis 44:28

44:28 The first disappeared ⁹  and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since.

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¹ tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”

sn God called. Seven times in this chapter naming or blessing follows some act of creation. There is clearly a point being made beyond the obvious idea of naming. In the Babylonian creation story Enuma Elish, naming is equal to creating. In the Bible the act of naming, like creating, can be an indication of sovereignty (see 2 Kgs 23:34). In this verse God is sovereign even over the darkness.

² tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”

sn The first day. The exegetical evidence suggests the word “day” in this chapter refers to a literal twenty-four hour day. It is true that the word can refer to a longer period of time (see Isa 61:2, or the idiom in 2:4, “in the day,” that is, “when”). But this chapter uses “day,” “night,” “morning,” “evening,” “years,” and “seasons.” Consistency would require sorting out how all these terms could be used to express ages. Also, when the Hebrew word יוֹם (yom) is used with a numerical adjective, it refers to a literal day. Furthermore, the commandment to keep the sabbath clearly favors this interpretation. One is to work for six days and then rest on the seventh, just as God did when he worked at creation.

⁴ tn Heb “it is that which goes around.”

⁵ tn Heb “father.” In this passage the word “father” means “founder,” referring to the first to establish such lifestyles and occupations.

⁶ tn The word “keep” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation. Other words that might be supplied instead are “tend,” “raise” (NIV), or “have” (NRSV).

⁷ tn Heb “to the place of the altar which he had made there in the beginning” (cf. Gen 12:7-8).

⁸ tn Heb “he called in the name of the Lord.” The expression refers to worshiping the Lord through prayer and sacrifice (see Gen 4:26; 12:8; 21:33; 26:25). See G. J. Wenham, Genesis (WBC), 1:116, 281.

⁹ tn Heb “went forth from me.”