BIBLE VERSE STUDY
Genesis 1:13 — The Close of the Third Day
The closing formula of the third creative day, marking the completion of land formation and vegetation.
Scripture
13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
What this passage means
Genesis 1:13 is a framing verse: it contains no new creative act but uses the recurring day-ending formula to seal the work of the third day. The verse quotes the text verbatim: "And there was evening and there was morning, a third day." The pattern was already established in verse 5 (one day) and verse 8 (a second day), so verse 13 extends that pattern to day three.
The content being sealed is verses 9-12: the gathering of waters into seas, the appearance of dry land, and the earth bringing forth vegetation — grasses, seed-bearing herbs, and fruit trees with seed in themselves. The evaluation "that it was good" appeared twice in verses 10 and 12, but verse 13 itself does not repeat the goodness formula, distinguishing the third day from the second (where goodness is also not repeated at the close, verse 8).
The ordinal "third" (Hebrew שְׁלִישִׁי) makes the day's place in the seven-day structure explicit. The verse sets up the transition to day four (verses 14-19), in which the sun, moon, and stars are appointed — meaning day three completes the habitats (land and plants) before day four installs the luminaries that will govern them.
Context
In the chapter's structure, Genesis 1:13 stands between the creative acts of day three (verses 9-12) and day four (verses 14-19). Verses 11-12 describe the earth's producing vegetation: grasses, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, followed by God's seeing that it was good. Verse 13 then closes this unit before God speaks again in verse 14.
The full chapter moves through paired days: day one (light) and day four (luminaries); day two (sky and waters) and day five (birds and sea creatures); day three (land and vegetation) and day six (land animals and humanity). Genesis 1:13 is the hinge that finishes the third pair's first member, preparing for the land animals and humanity of day six.
Key words in the original
- H1961 The verb הָיָה in the jussive form יְהִי ("there was") is the same construction used in verses 5 and 8 for the day-ending formulas. The form is emphatic rather than a simple copula, giving weight to the arrival of evening and morning as a completed unit.
- H6153 עֶרֶב ("evening") denotes dusk, the closing of the day. Combined with H1242 בֹּקֶר (morning, dawn), it forms the recurring day-bracket that frames each creative day in chapter 1.
- H7992 שְׁלִישִׁי ("third") marks the ordinal position within the seven-day structure. Its appearance here, parallel to the first and second days, signals the orderly, sequential progression of the creation narrative.
Common questions
Why does Genesis 1:13 not include the phrase "that it was good"?
The provided text does not state why the goodness formula is omitted on day three. Within the chapter, "that it was good" appears on days one, two (in verse 10 regarding the seas), three's vegetation (verse 12), four, five, and six, but the day-closing formula itself (verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) does not always carry a goodness verdict — it did not on day two (verse 8) either.
What does the day-ending formula in 1:13 accomplish?
It closes the unit of day three by summarizing the passage from evening to morning as one completed day. The formula brackets the work described in verses 9-12, marking its completion before the next divine speech in verse 14 begins day four.
How does verse 13 fit into the chapter's pairing of days?
In the chapter's pattern, day three (land and vegetation, closed by verse 13) is paired with day six (land animals and humanity). The full chapter moves through three pairs: days 1 and 4, days 2 and 5, days 3 and 6. Verse 13 completes the first member of the third pair.