LIGHT (אﯴר֮, H240, מָאﯴר, H4401, φῶς, G5890; these are the more prevalent Heb. and Gr. words tr. “light”).
A. Introduction. In the earliest Biblical record concerning “the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1) light was created by God and was therefore separate from Him. He thereby challenged the darkness which engulfed the existing chaotic condition and which obstructed any possible ordered progress. This act opened the way to the great creative and growth processes which followed. To the prophets, God was the source of both light and darkness, of both good and evil (Isa 45:7). Nevertheless, throughout the Bible light represents that which is compatible with God and darkness is symbolic of the evil forces which are opposed to God. Among the final scriptural references to the affairs of man on earth, Babylon, the epitome of godlessness, is consigned to darkness (Rev 18:23), while God’s people (the city of God) are bathed in the light of His glory (21:23). In this city, the New Jerusalem, “night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light” (22:5).
Light is superior to darkness (Eccl 2:13) and is able to limit its scope and effects. This is esp. evident in the NT. Light will triumph because darkness cannot overcome it (John 1:5). Yet there is no indication in the Bible that darkness, literally or symbolically, will be finally or completely destroyed. The contest between light and darkness, between good and evil, is found outside the Bible in Zoroastrianism and to a marked degree in the Manual of Discipline of the DSS.
B. Artificial light. The Bible briefly recognizes the necessity of artificial light because man’s activities do not always conform to the schedule of day and night, and natural light is not always sufficient for his needs (Exod 25:6; Matt 5:15; Luke 15:8; Acts 20:8). A light was kept burning continually at night before the veil in the wilderness Tabernacle (Exod 27:20-22; Lev 24:2) as an emblem of the presence of God, “a statute forever to be observed throughout their generations” (Exod 27:20; cf. Lev 24:1-4; 1 Kings 7:49; 2 Kings 4:7; 1 Macc 1:21; 4:49).
C. Miraculous light. There are six references to miraculous light in the Bible, three in each of the Testaments: the light which illuminated the Israelites while the Egyptians were left in darkness (Exod 10:23); the burning bush by which God made Himself known to Moses (3:2); the pillar of fire in which God manifested Himself as leader of Israel (13:21; a cloud in this incident is also said to be the vehicle of God’s presence to His people); the light which accompanied the announcement of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9); the light which engulfed Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:3; 22:6; 26:13); and the light by which Jesus was transfigured (Matt 17:2).
D. Natural light. The poetry of the Hebrews is replete with references to light as opposed to darkness which held a certain dread for them and power over them (Job 12:24, 25; Isa 59:10; Jer 13:16). Because God made both light and darkness, both are under His control. To those who trust Him there is no fear of either the “terror” or the “pestilence” customarily associated with the darkness of night (Ps 91:6). The reason is as simple as faith: “The Lord is my light and my salvation” (27:1). God covers Himself “with light as with a garment” (104:2) and darkness is “under his feet” (18:9). God also uses darkness. When nature is unfavorable or destructive, it is because God has covered Himself with darkness (18:11-15). Morning is greeted with joy (30:5) for which the watchman has waited eagerly (130:6). This preoccupation with light and darkness can be attributed to the absolute control of the lives of the Heb. people by the alternation of day and night, rather than to some religious motive. The religious emphasis which they placed upon this natural phenomenon arose from the concept of God as creator of all things. So very easily light became the symbol for God and His concern for mankind, His highest creation.
E. Figurative uses
1. Revelation. God is known by man only because He has chosen to reveal Himself, and this revelation is primarily for redemptive purposes. Light stands for the holiness of God, the totality of His righteous character. “God is light” (1 John 1:5) and the “Father of lights” (James 1:17), whose dwelling is “in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). The psalmist thought of God as being covered with light (Ps 104:2), and the self-manifestation of God, both creatively and redemptively, is light for the guidance of mankind (119:105). “In thy light do we see light” (36:9). God’s truth and light are identified (43:3) as is His love and light, for He is also manifested as love (1 John 4:8). Light is identified with God as He has made Himself and His will known to man (Isa 10:17; 51:4; Hos 6:5). Christ the Son of God is light (Luke 2:32; John 1:4, 9). It is only as men are enlightened that they can comprehend Christ, and God through Christ (Luke 10:22). Light is synonymous with revelation, and the enlightened man himself becomes light (Ps 34:5; Eccl 8:1; Matt 5:14).
The creation of light (Gen 1:3) suggests that one should look for the revelation of God in His activity more than in His verbal communication. What God has said supports what He has already done. The act of creating natural, physical light becomes prophetic of the entire sweep of God’s self-revelation, both in nature and in redemption (2 Cor 4:6). Revelation is light. Agents of revelation become light. The sun, created apart from light as such (Gen 1:16) came about by an act of God, and it has as its function to reflect the manifold glory of God in all of His creation (Ps 19:1-6).
God’s goodly favor toward the righteous is a lighted lamp in the darkness (18:28). Hebrew orthodoxy held that life always would be indicative of this principle. Job had looked for reward because of his charitable regard for the afflicted, but only evil came to him. “When I waited for light, darkness came” (Job 30:26). Yet Isaiah believed that eventually things would work out that way, that light would “break forth like the dawn” (Isa 58:8). In anticipation of the coming restoration the prophet cried out, “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (60:1).
In the poetic parallelisms of the Book of Job light is synonymous with life (Job 3:16-20). In the fourth gospel Jesus is both life and the giver of life; also He is both light and the giver of light (John 1:4-9). Christ, the Logos, the pre-existent Son of God, is the source of all mankind’s illumination, moral, intellectual, and spiritual (cf. 1:9). In Daniel’s praise of the name of God who revealed to him the secret of the king’s dream, the wisdom thus received was light (Dan 2:22; 5:11-14). Jeremiah gives God’s creation of natural light as the guarantee that God will keep His promise concerning the new covenant (Jer 31:35, 36). To Paul the light of the Gospel was the counterpart of the light of creation (2 Cor 4:4-6). He would agree, however, with the Book of Hebrews (1:3) that the glory of God revealed in Christ is greater than that revealed in creation.
2. Character. In the thought of Jesus, moral excellence is the product of the light which He Himself possessed, and it gives soundness and character to all of one’s life (Matt 6:22, 23; cf. Luke 11:34-36). The followers of Christ are lights because of the moral character which they possess; and this display sheds light upon and reveals hidden defects in the lives of those around them (Matt 5:14-16; Luke 8:16; 11:34-36). People of light as opposed to people of darkness are aware and sober and prepared even for the apocalyptic “day of the Lord” (1 Thess 5:4-8; cf. Rom 13:11-14).
When Moses came down from Sinai after receiving the tablets of the Commandments, his face shone so that the people were afraid (Exod 34:29; cf. 2 Cor 3:12-18). The revealed will of God is light to the heart, the soul, and the mind of man (Ps 19:7-10). “The unfolding of thy words gives light” (119:130; cf. 119:105). Light is given to man for a purpose (Eph 5:8), and walking in the light is a walk of fellowship with God (1 John 1:6), based upon pardon and cleansing (1:9). Both Isaiah and Paul saw that God’s plan of redemption is light to be lived by (Isa 62:1; Col 1:12). If light is not followed, darkness ensues (Matt 6:23) and judgment follows (John 3:19; 12:48). Rejection of revealed light indicates an inner disposition which is contrary to the truth revealed (3:20), but a favorable response brings about a change in that disposition (1 John 1:9). Paradoxically, John also says that acceptance of revealed light indicates an inner quality of character or disposition which is compatible with the light (3:21). Different personalities respond variously to light prior to actual acceptance or rejection.
The kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of light (Col 1:12). God’s people have been called out of darkness into light (1 Pet 2:9). Christians are “sons of light” (Luke 16:8; John 12:36; 1 Thess 5:5). He who has been enlightened by the Gospel has “tasted of the heavenly gift” (Christ), has been a partaker of the Holy Spirit, has “tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come” (Heb 6:4, 5). The Christian life is an enlightened life, evincing knowledge and wisdom in regard to Christ and His work of salvation, both in the present and in the far-flung future (Eph 1:16ff.). The Gospel does not make everything in one’s environment light, but it does serve as a shaft of light through the darkness.
3. Influence. As a consequence of being enlightened, God’s people themselves are lights (Matt 5:14; 6:22, 23). Israel as the servant of God was destined to be “a light to the nations” (Isa 42:6ff.; 49:6). “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (60:3). Such prophetic statements have found their complete fulfillment in Christ (Luke 2:32; Acts 26:23), also in Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:47). This imposed parallelism between Jesus and the two men is rather astounding except that, in the words of Jesus, men read, not only “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5; 12:46) but also “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5:14). Those who have entered the kingdom of God have lamps that shed light, and in the truest sense they are themselves lamps set on a stand—lighted cities on hills—where all may see and be guided by their lights (5:14). They are “children of light” (Eph 5:8) who walk in love.
To them Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt 5:16).
Bibliography C. Sheard, Life-Giving Light (1933); E. Underhill, Light of Christ (1945); B. Vassady. Light Against Darkness (1961); M. Black and H. H. Rowley, eds., Peake’s Commentary on the Bible (1962); J. Pelikan, The Light of the World (1962); L. Sibum, The Bible on Light (1966).