Genesis 1:10

1:10 God called the dry ground “land” ¹  and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:12

1:12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:18

1:18 to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. ²  God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25

1:25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:31

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ³  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Ecclesiastes 2:13

2:13 I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, ⁴ 

just as light is preferable to darkness:

Ecclesiastes 11:7

Life Should Be Enjoyed Because Death is Inevitable

11:7 Light ⁵  is sweet, ⁶ 

and it is pleasant for a person ⁷  to see the sun. ⁸ 

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “earth,” but here the term refers to the dry ground as opposed to the sea.

[1:18]  ² sn In days one to three there is a naming by God; in days five and six there is a blessing by God. But on day four there is neither. It could be a mere stylistic variation. But it could also be a deliberate design to avoid naming “sun” and “moon” or promoting them beyond what they are, things that God made to serve in his creation.

[1:31]  ³ tn The Hebrew text again uses הִנֵּה (hinneh) for the sake of vividness. It is a particle that goes with the gesture of pointing, calling attention to something.

[2:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “and I saw that there is profit for wisdom more than folly.”

[11:7]  ⁵ tn The term “light” (הָאוֹר, ha’or) is used figuratively (metonymy of association) in reference to “life” (e.g., Job 3:20; 33:30; Ps 56:14). By contrast, death is described as “darkness” (e.g., Eccl 11:8; 12:6-7).

[11:7]  ⁶ tn The Hebrew term מָתוֹק (matoq, “sweet”) is often used elsewhere in reference to honey. The point is that life is sweet and should be savored like honey.

[11:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “to the eyes.” The term “eyes” is a synecdoche of part (i.e., eyes) for the whole person. Used with the idiom “to see the sun” (i.e., to be alive), Qoheleth is simply saying that the experience of a life is a pleasant thing that should be savored.

[11:7]  ⁸ tn The idiom “to see the sun” (both רָאָה הָשָּׁמֶשׁ, ra’ah hashamesh, and חָזָה הַשָּׁמֶשׁ, khazah hashamesh) is an idiom meaning “to be alive” (e.g., Ps 58:9; Eccl 6:5; 7:11; 11:7); cf. BDB 1039 s.v. שֶׁמֶשׁ 4.b. The opposite idiom, “the sun is darkened,” refers to the onset of old age and death (Eccl 12:2).