Let there be light


"Let there be light" is an English translation of the Hebrew phrase found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek phrase and the Latin phrases and. It is part of the Genesis creation narrative.

Genesis 1:3

The phrase comes from the third verse of the Book of Genesis. In the King James Bible, it reads, in context:

Origin and etymology

In biblical Hebrew, the phrase is made of two words. is the third-person masculine singular jussive form of "to exist" and means "light."
In the Koine Greek Septuagint the phrase is translated "καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός γενηθήτω φῶς καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς" — kaì eîpen ho Theós genēthḗtō phôs kaì egéneto phôs. Γενηθήτω is the imperative form of γίγνομαι, "to come into being."
The original Latinization of the Greek translation used in the Vetus Latina was lux sit, which has been used occasionally, although there is debate as to its accuracy.
In the Latin Vulgate Bible, the Hebrew phrase is translated in Latin as fiat lux. In context, the translation is "dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux". Literally, fiat lux would be translated as "let light be made". The Douay–Rheims Bible translates the phrase, from the Vulgate, as "Be light made. And light was made."

Usage

"Let there be light", sometimes in its Latin form, fiat lux, is used as a motto by many educational institutions. The University of California is one example. The phrase also forms the chorus of John Marriott's hymn about creation, "Thou, Whose Almighty Word".