Genesis 1:5

1:5 God called ¹  the light “day” and the darkness ²  “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day. ³ 

Genesis 1:31

1:31 God saw all that he had made – and it was very good! ⁴  There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis 18:7

18:7 Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ⁵  who quickly prepared it. ⁶ 

[1:5]  ¹ tn Heb “he called to,” meaning “he named.”

[1:5]  ² tn Heb “and the darkness he called night.” The words “he called” have not been repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:5]  ³ tn Another option is to translate, “Evening came, and then morning came.” This formula closes the six days of creation. It seems to follow the Jewish order of reckoning time: from evening to morning. Day one started with the dark, continued through the creation of light, and ended with nightfall. Another alternative would be to translate, “There was night and then there was day, one day.”

[1:31]  ⁴ 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.

[18:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “the young man.”

[18:7]  ⁸ tn The construction uses the Piel preterite, “he hurried,” followed by the infinitive construct; the two probably form a verbal hendiadys: “he quickly prepared.”