Br. Samuel Tan, LC
Introduction to Hebrew
Week 6 Nature
אֹור- 'ôr light
1 John 1:5 states that “God is light”. Philo of Alexandria first used this phrase in
his commentary on the Psalm 26:1 which declares “The Lord is my light and my
salvation.” In what way can light be attributed to God?
According to the Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, the word ’or is used
in the Old Testament 165 times, 41 times as a verb and 124 times as a noun. Other
words that are related to light about ner (lamp), nogah (brilliance), and ma’or (light
in reference to the heavenly bodies). The basic translation or ‘or is light, often refers
to daylight. Its first occurrence in the Bile is in Gen 1:1 when God creates ‘or.
In wisdom and cosmological literary genres, the opposition of light and darkness
is used to symbolize wisdom and folly (Ecclesiastes 2:13), good and evil (Isa 5:30),
life and death (Job 30:26). However, the light can also become darkness (Ex 14:20, Is
5:30) just as darkness become light (Ps 18:28, Is 42:16). In the Bible, the ‘or of the
face of God is desired 9 times in the Old Testament. Psalm 119:35 says “Make thy
face to shine (‘or) upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.” An interesting verse
found in Ecclesiastes uses the same words about the wise man. The ‘or of God saves
in the desert (Ps78:14), gives the land of Canaan to Israel (Ps 44:4).
In relation to God, ‘or is part of his creation. This is seen above all in Genesis
Chapter 1. God penetrates light and darkness (Job 12:22, Ps. 139:11). God is He
“Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment.” (Ps 104:2). It is also a metaphor
that describes His law (Prov. 6:23) and His word (Ps. 119:105)
In Greek, it is often translated by word family based on phos. This Greek word
appears 70 times in the New Testament. Its most significant use is in the first chapter
of the Gospel of John, which refers to it as a description of the Word. In Matthew
5:14, Jesus calls his disciples the light of the world. Yet, in John 12:46, He declares
that He is the light of the world.
When the Catechism of the Catholic Church uses the phrase “God is light”, it uses
it in the context of God as Truth. “He is the Truth, for ‘God is light and in him there
is no darkness’." (CCC 214) This is the princeps analogatum of God as light. The
Truth is the Word of God, our Lord Jesus Christ. As the Truth, He has overcome sin,
brings us through this world, and brings us to the Promised Land of Heaven. Sin as
darkness came from the primordial lie of the devil. Jesus teaches man the truth about
reality through the light of faith. Christ teaches man to walk in the truth of the Gospel
and, consequently, be called children of the light. When Christians teach the truth or
testify to it through their deeds, they become the light of the world. In conclusion,
Christ is the light of God and, by participating in His mission, Christians bring this
light into the world and are the light of the world.
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