Misunderstanding or Contradiction? : Examining the Light of Genesis 1

One of the most frequently discussed passages in the creation narrative appears right at the beginning of the Bible. It raises a question that has puzzled readers for centuries and makes for a perfect entry in this series: Did God create light twice?

Let’s take a closer look.

The Two Passages in Question

Genesis 1:3–5

The text states:

“God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light… He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’”

Here, light is created on the first day, and the concepts of “day” and “night” are established.

Genesis 1:14–18

A few verses later, we read:

“Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate day from night… God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night.”

This happens on the fourth day, when the sun and moon are created.

So the natural question arises:

If day and night already existed on Day 1, why are the sun and moon introduced on Day 4?

What Can We Deduce From the Text?

From the structure of the narrative, it appears that “light” and “darkness” are presented as separate creations. They exist before the sun and moon appear. The sun and moon—the “greater” and “lesser” lights—are introduced later as the mechanisms by which we distinguish and regulate these periods.

In other words:

• Light and darkness are created on Day 1.

• The lights in the sky (sun, moon, stars) are created on Day 4 to govern or mark the cycles of day and night.

This suggests that the initial “light” is not necessarily identical to sunlight.

Observations From Experience

What I can observe is that the duration of the greater light (the sun) and the lesser light (the moon) varies in different places. Some regions experience long days and short nights; others experience the opposite.

Does that imply that “darkness” itself exists more in some places at certain times?

Again, the text doesn’t give enough information to draw such a conclusion. It simply states that light and darkness were separated, and later, the sun and moon were appointed to govern those periods.

Is This a Contradiction?

So, is this a contradiction, a misunderstanding, or neither?

My conclusion: neither.

There may be a misunderstanding if someone assumes that “light” (Day 1) and “lights” (Day 4) refer to the same thing. But the text itself doesn’t claim that. It presents them as distinct concepts without fully explaining the nature of the first light.

Because the passage doesn’t provide enough detail to define what that original light is, we cannot confidently label this as a contradiction. Instead, it remains an open question—one that may or may not be clarified by later references in other books.

If future passages shed more light (no pun intended) on this early creation moment, then we can revisit the topic. For now, the information is simply incomplete.