Original artwork, not a still
Genesis 1:3
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Seven words that stand for the moment anything begins. In the story God creates by speaking, so the line became the Western shorthand for a sudden, total start: the Big Bang in a sermon, a switch flicked in a dark room. Universities carry it as a motto in Latin (fiat lux), and every film or game that opens on a black screen followed by a flood of white is quietly quoting it.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The BibleShow the scene
The line is Genesis 1:3, the third verse of the Bible. It opens the first day of the creation story: the earth is formless and dark, and God speaks the first creative command. Light appears, God judges it good, separates it from the darkness and names the light Day and the darkness Night. The sun, moon and stars only arrive on the fourth day. The English wording "Let there be light" first appeared in the Tyndale Bible, and the King James Version carries it on; the Latin Vulgate renders the Hebrew as fiat lux.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: Let there be lightGenesis 1:3 and Origin and etymology sectionsReference checked
- Wikipedia: Genesis creation narrativeFirst day (1:3-5) and the six-day structureReference checked
Context reviewed
