Question:
Does Genesis 1:5 refer to the evening as the beginning or the morning?
Answer:
The question of when a biblical day begins—whether at evening or morning—has been asked by many honest in heart. Genesis 1:5 gives us the key: “And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” The order here is clear: evening first, then morning. To understand this correctly, we must let the Bible explain itself.
The Scriptures show that the evening is the time after the sun sets, marking the close of one day and the beginning of another. Deuteronomy 23:11 says, “But it shall be, when evening cometh on [approaches], he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.” Evening comes when the sun goes down. Likewise, Deuteronomy 16:6 says, “But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.” The Gospel of Mark gives the same picture: “And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.” (Mark 1:32). From Old Testament to New, the meaning is consistent—evening refers to the period beginning after sunset.
The morning, on the other hand, is when the sun rises and light returns. It is the bright part of the day, but not its beginning. Judges 9:33 says, “And it shall be, that in the morning, as soon as the sun is up, thou shalt rise early, and set upon the city.” Second Samuel 23:4 adds, “And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds.” And Mark 16:2 records, “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.” Morning marks the continuation of the day that began the prior evening.
When we go back to the creation account in Genesis, the pattern is unmistakable. It does not say “the morning and the evening were the first day,” but rather, “the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5). The same pattern repeats throughout the creation story: “And the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:8), and so on. God established this order from the very beginning. The transition into darkness marks the close of one day and the beginning of another. This rhythm begins with rest and moves into labor, showing that rest in God comes before work for God.
This divine principle was reaffirmed in the instructions concerning the Sabbath: “It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.” (Leviticus 23:32). The Sabbath, like every day according to Scripture, begins at evening and ends the following evening. This simple statement confirms that, in God’s timekeeping, a day starts at sunset.
From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible speaks with one voice: a day begins at evening when the sun sets and ends the following evening. This truth restores the divine rhythm of life established by God Himself—a pattern that starts with rest and continues with work. The first act of each new day is not labor, but trust and rest in Him. “The evening and the morning were the first day.” (Genesis 1:5)
