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God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
Genesis 1:8 · World English Bible
Parallel translations
  • KJV And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
  • BSB God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
  • NKJV And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
  • NASB God called the expanse “heaven.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
  • NLT God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

God names the expanse 'sky,' and the second day ends. He continues to order and rule over each part of creation.

Overview

By naming the expanse 'sky,' God again asserts his authority over the cosmos he is forming. The familiar refrain closes the second day, maintaining the deliberate, ordered structure of the creation account. The careful sequence reminds us that the same God who arranges the heavens watches over his people with the same purposeful care.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Gen 1:5God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
  • Gen 1:19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
  • Gen 1:23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
  • Gen 1:10God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.
  • Gen 1:13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
  • Gen 1:31God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
  • Gen 5:2He created them male and female, and blessed them. On the day they were created, he named them “Adam”.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

Pastoral

  • CommentaryCommentary on Genesis 1Matthew Henry · Free

    The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 1:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 1:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.