Day four of creation inconsistency

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DJT_47

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Oct 20, 2022
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There is a very misleading verse in scripture regarding day 4 of creation in the book of Genesis, specifically chapter 1 verse 16, that most translations have gotten wrong. You'll find that translations typically referred to as "literal" translations in such places as Bible Hub seem to all have gotten verse 16 right, as well as have a few translations not falling into the aforementioned "literal" translation category, such as the ESV; but more commonly used translations such as the KJV for instance have gotten it wrong.

Day 4 of creation involves the creation of two great lights in the firmament by God, namely the sun and the moon, to shine light upon the earth in the day and night respectively, as well as to rule both day and night by their predominance in the sky. This is where verse 16 has gone awry in most translations as those inferred above. In these translations, as opposed to those termed "literal" translations, the words "he made", or similar, have been arbitrarily added by the translators referring to the stars mentioned there, inferring that the stars were also made on day 4, whereas this is not the case. The clear intent of verse 16 was to make it clear that the sun and the moon in their brilliant shining, would shine predominantly, with the moon doing so at night, over the brilliance of the stars as well, with the errant translations imposing the words "he made" the stars "also", instead of simply 'the stars also' or 'and the stars' as the ESV states. The intent really is to show that the brilliance of the moon shining at night would be greater or more brilliant than the brilliance of the shining of the stars. This error can be borne out by the succeeding verses 17 and 18 as well, which supports this fact. See below KJV verses 16-18, and also the same verses 16-18 as derived from the ESV.

Gen 1:16-18 KJV

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.

Gen 1:16-18 ESV

16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

DJT
 
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Aaaaand... the point is?

Whether God made "the stars also" or "God made the lesser light to rule the night and the stars", does it affect anything important?
 
Dino246 said:
Aaaaand... the point is?

Whether God made "the stars also" or "God made the lesser light to rule the night and the stars", does it affect anything important?
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It's an observation that many people don't see. It's also an observation that tells you that the star weren't created on day 4 as many transactions infer. Is it important? That's up to your own consideration of the observation made; it's knowledge. Is knowledge and truth important to you? You be the judge. I don't care what you think. It's simply an observation that maybe wasn't previously considered by some.
 
DJT_47 said:
....the stars weren't created on day 4 as many translations infer.
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Hello DJT_47, all of the translations and paraphrases of the Bible that I'm aware of teach that the stars, along with our star (the Sun) and our Moon, were created on Day 4 (see below). Assuming for the moment that you are correct, if God did not create the rest of the stars on Day 4, then when did He create them :unsure:

The NASB adds the words "He made" to "the stars also" at the end of v16, but it puts them in italics for us, so that we'll know that they were added. That said, it seems to me that whether a translation adds those two words or not, what's important is that the meaning of the verse remains the same, that God made the Sun, the Moon ~AND~ the rest of the stars in the expanse if the heavens (all on the 4th Day of Creation).

Thanks!

God bless you!!

~Deuteronomy

Genesis 1​
14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;
15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16 God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also.
17 God placed them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,
18 and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good.
19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
​
 
Whoops, I meant to add the same passage from the ESV translation above as well, but since I failed to do so, here it is (the bold text was added by me, of course).
​
Genesis 1 (ESV)​
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, ​
15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ​
16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ​
17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, ​
18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ​
19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. ​

~Deuteronomy
 
DJT_47 said:
Gen 1:16-18 KJV

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.

Gen 1:16-18 ESV

16And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

DJT
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It would not make a difference either way.

The focus is God made two great lights which is the sun and the moon which is brighter than the stars.

The greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night which the focus is the moon.

The focus is not the stars to give light although there is a little light from them.

It could be written He made the stars also to distinguish that the focus is not on the stars to give light but the sun and moon.

I would not translate it different either way.

If there were no stars, the moon would still be more than enough to light the Earth.

The moon is so bright that it routinely washes out the light of the stars anyway.

The full moon is approximately 250,000 to 400,000 times brighter than the brightest star in the sky (Sirius).

Even without every star in the universe, the moon's light would remain virtually unchanged to the human eye.

Since stars are so far away their intensity at Earth is almost zero.

Psa 19:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

Rom 1:19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
Rom 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.

You can say the stars are God's handywork a decorative piece to show His creative ability.
 
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