In Genesis 1:3, what did God mean by, "Let there be light?"?

Question

When God said that, did He only create the concept of light or did He actually make light instantly appear?

No bashing please.

Answer 1

At that point, he had created light, but not the sun. It was emitted from something, possibly God himself. Before that, there was nothing really to illuminate. Remember, he had just created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was empty. On the third day he created grass and trees. He says that they brought forth fruit and seeds, implying that they were growing. For these things to grow, they would have had to have light. The sun wasn't created until the 4th day.

Genesis 1
1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

13And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Answer 2

Until this time there was only darkness and God created the real light ,not just the concept. Also when He said let there be light it was just like turning on the switch. First its dark ---God speaks And instantly it is light

Answer 3

"The first thing created by the divine Word was “light,” the elementary light, or light-material, in distinction from the “lights,” or light-bearers, bodies of light, as the sun, moon, and stars, created on the fourth day, are called. It is now a generally accepted truth of natural science, that the light does not spring from the sun and stars, but that the sun itself is a dark body, and the light proceeds from an atmosphere which surrounds it. Light was the first thing called forth, and separated from the dark chaos by the creative mandate, “Let there be,” - the first radiation of the life breathed into it by the Spirit of God, inasmuch as it is the fundamental condition of all organic life in the world, and without light and the warmth which flows from it no plant or animal could thrive."

Answer 4

The creation referred to in Genesis was this earth. The Bible says the light actually appeared, it wasn't just thought about. The sun was later.

Answer 5

Its not clear coz the sun somehow was created later. However concept of day and night came before the sun was created...after light was created. So even if it was the concept of light.. how was there night and day before the sun was created?

Beats me !

Answer 6

Prior to that it was dark. No bashing it really is that simple
Numbers 6:24-26

Answer 7

He had to make light to see wtf he was doing.
This actually brings up a good point. If God was hanging out before creation just "being", then how did he see what he was doing all that time before creating light? He wouldn't even be able to see to hit the toilet.
Wow.

Answer 8

Seems pretty obvious to me... God said 'Let there be Light' and there was light. We call it the BIG BANG.

Answer 9

the sun...i think for earth

Answer 10

GOD SPOKE EVERYTHING INTO EXISTENCE ,WHEN HE SAID IT IT HAPPENED