The Bible In Paintings: AND GOD SAID, "LET THERE BE LIGHT"

[Hebrews 11:6]

The Bible In Paintings 2
Engravings•Facades•Frescoes•Illuminations•Miniatures•Mosaics•Photographs•Reliefs•Sculptures•Tapestries•Windows

G E N E S I S
CHAPTER 1, VERSES 2 & 3

2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

NOTES:
1. God explained this surface-darkness in Job 38:
"When I laid the earth’s foundation…I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness."
2. God directs our attention to the earth's surface. We are to view the following events not looking downward from outer space, but looking UPWARD from earth's surface.


3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

NOTE: Here, God transforms the thick cloud layer
from opaque to translucent (but not yet transparent),
permitting sunlight to reach the earth's watery surface—needed for photosynthesis by the vegetation He soon will create.

New International Version ©1984, Abrdgd, EMPHASES Added

1
BART DUNLAP
"And There Was Light"

2
GUSTAVE DORÉ
Source

3
JAMES TISSOT
"The Creation"

4
STEVE K
"Let There Be Light"

5
MICHAEL HELFEN
"Let There Be Light"

6
HAZEL HOLLAND
"Let There Be Light"

7
ALINA MARTINEZ-BEATRIZ
"Let There Be Light"

8
MICHELANGELO
"Dividing Light from Darkness"

G E N E S I S
CHAPTER 1, VERSES 6-24

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.”


9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.”


11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.”


14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.”

NOTE: Finally, God transforms the thick cloud layer from translucent to transparent, permitting sun, moon and stars to be seen at the earth's surface—needed by animals to regulate their biological clocks.

20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”


24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.”

New International Version ©1984, Abrdgd, EMPHASES Added

9
EDWARD BURNE-JONES
"Angels Informing Moses of the Separation of Waters"

10
CAROLINE STREET
"Creation, Second Day: Sky and Water"

11
LAURIE SNOW HEIN
"Let There Be a Firmament in the Midst of the Waters"

12
CAROLINE STREET
"Creation, Third Day: Land Seeds Fruits"

13
EDWARD BURNE-JONES
"Angels Informing Moses of the Creation of Vegetation"

14
Maciejowski Bible
"Fourth Day of Creation"

15
EDWARD BURNE-JONES
"Angels Informing Moses of the Thinning of the Cloud-Layer"

16
CAROLINE STREET
"Creation Fifth Day: Sea Creatures and Birds"

17
EDWARD BURNE-JONES
"Angels Informing Moses of the Creation of Fish and Birds"

18
Maciejowski Bible
"Fifth Day of Creation"

19
GUSTAVE DORÉ
"The Creation of Fish and Birds"

20
DANA BRETT MUNACH
"Life on Earth"

21
GARY LESSORD
"Creative Splendor"

22
BILL BELL
"The Joy of Creation"

23
SUSHOBHA JENNER
"Seven Days of Creation"

24
CAROLINE STREET
"Creation, Sixth Day"

25
ROELANDT SAVERY
"The Garden of Eden"

26
JAN BRUEGHEL the Elder
"The Garden of Eden"

27
JACOB BOUTTATS
"Garden of Eden"

28
ANDY RUSSELL
"Eden"

29
JAN BRUEGHEL the Elder
"The Garden of Eden"

30
BRACHA LAVEE
"Six Days of Creation "

→ a n d... f i n a l l y ←

31
New Julfa Bible
"The Creation of the World"

[stars & stripes forever]

You want angels with beards?

I don't believe GOD mentioned angelic facial hair in the Bible. :)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Gillette has long cornered the market....

[Red Badger]

He didn’t mention ears, either, but I bet they had ears...................

[etabeta]

Two daughters.

[RoosterRedux]

Sorry, KJV.

As an aside, I always love your threads. I am jesting because I just finished reading the OT in a wonderful Audible rendition of the NIV by David Suchet (HERE) and was regularly shocked by how great He is and how limited our comprehension of Him must be.

[Wonder Warthog]

"So what was the “light” that was created on this day?"

"Electromagnetic radiation", as another poster called it (i.e. LIGHT). Matter (sun and stars) came later as the created "Big Bang" "cooled off".

[left that other site]

Good Morning, Dan. :-)

[Hebrews 11:6]

I'll bet Suchet's is wonderful. Before I retired, I listened during my commute to Alexander Scourby reading the NIV and it was, well, divine.

Gotta say, though, I prefer Albert Finney's Poirot to Suchet's....

[Hebrews 11:6]

Mary-Lou!

[RoosterRedux]

I just looked and found that the entire Holy Bible read by David Suchet is free on youtube. Check it out and share it with friends...it is wonderful.

The Holy Bible read by David Suchet (in its entirety)

[Hebrews 11:6]

Light was not created on this day. The Hebrew word for "creating something brand-new" is "bara", but the word here is "yahi", "let there be"--at the earth's surface.

The only "bara" appears in verse one when God creates the "heavens and the earth". Verse three announces not the creation of light but rather its arrival through the thinning cloud layer at the earth's surface.

[Bellhead]

He must have done something as the earth still has an electromagnetic field around it many years after it should have aged out of existence protecting the surface from cosmic rays. Scientist believe an “unknown force” is keeping our electromagnetic field in place after other planets in our solar system have lost theirs. It may be the same “unknown force” that keeps the universe in existence as the scientific calculations of matter and antimatter don’t balance and should cancel each other out thus no universe. The unknown force does a lot for humanity as scientists can’t use the G word.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I am indebted to you. Just tried it while reading the text—I’m in Job currently—and found the combination to be fabulous. Many thanks!

[RoosterRedux]

Most welcome!

When I listen to it, I keep turning to the commentary at Blue Letter Bible (I like David Guzik because he provides a cross-section of comments from other sources).

Also helps a lot when I have a map of ancient Israel handy.

[Hebrews 11:6]

I’ll try Guzik—thanks for the recommendation.

[Phinneous]

Interesting. The Kabbalists attribute it to G-d’s contraction of His “light” (envision the “Godhead,” and the “infinite light” it must emanate) into the light of creation of our world(s) (meaning, spiritual, the realms of angels and demons, down to our physical world— the “lowest” world, the physical.)

Since you parse the Hebrew (bara...etc) Did you know that the Hebrew Bible is riddled with grammatical “mistakes?” The very first word Bereishit (”in the beginning”) is in construct form (the “t” sound at the end) and demands the next word be a noun. However the next word in Hebrew is “bara”. The text in Hebrew reads “In the beginning OF _____ He created the heavens and the earth.” There is an unanswered pregnant pause. So since G-d knows grammar, there must be an interpretation, like every seeming mistake in the Hebrew grammar— and there are many examples.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Moses needed an editor? LOL

Is not "time" implied after "In the beginning [of]"?

"Bara" appears during the "creation week" only in 1:1 and in 1:27, in creating man in His image: that is, in making for the first time a creature with the capacity to relate directly with God.

[Wonder Warthog]

"The only "bara" appears in verse one when God creates the "heavens and the earth". "

And he did....the "Big Bang" simply describes HOW He did it. "Light" turns out to be the active agent. What was left over is what reached the earth later.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Could you add me to your ping list for this thread?

[Forgiven_Sinner]

Fun question. My conjecture is that female angels look more beautiful to male artists.

No beards are mentioned, but ears are implied. EZEKIEL 1 face of a man, face of a lion, face of an ox, face of an eagle. See also Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4.