Word studies · Hebrew · Strong's H216
אוֹר · ʼôwr · appears 121 times in the Old Testament
In one line: God's light — for seeing, living and being led.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3
Or is light — the first thing God speaks into being, and an image of His presence, guidance and salvation.
Or is physical light and, throughout the poets and prophets, a picture of life and rescue: “the LORD is my light and my salvation.” Its absence is judgment and confusion, so light in Scripture is bound up with knowing where you are and where you are going.
Or comes from the verb or, “to be or become light,” and covers daylight, lightning, the light of a lamp, and the brightness of a face — Hebrew describes favor as a face shining on someone. The word is broad enough to run from dawn to happiness.
Genesis has God create light on day one and the sun on day four, an order that puzzles modern readers but makes the theological point plainly: light is God's before it is the sun's. The luminaries are appointed servants, not sources.
Or (H216) appears 110 times in the Hebrew Bible, and its first occurrence is God's first recorded speech: “Let there be light.”
Light frames both creation and salvation: God speaks it at the beginning, and the prophets promise it to a people walking in darkness. The New Testament ties the two together, saying the God who said “let light shine out of darkness” has shone in human hearts to give the light of the knowledge of His glory in Christ.
Ask for guidance where you are genuinely in the dark rather than pretending to see. Bring one decision to God this week and wait for light rather than forcing a direction.
illumination or (concrete) luminary (in every sense, including lightning, happiness, etc.)
No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
Exodus 10:23When the Gazites heard that Samson was there, they surrounded that place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They were quiet throughout the night, saying, “Let us wait until dawn; then we will kill him.”
Judges 16:2And Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until dawn, leaving no man alive!” “Do what seems good to you,” the troops replied. But the priest said, “We must consult God here.”
1 Samuel 14:36So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.
2 Samuel 17:22Finally, they said to one another, “We are not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will overtake us. Now, therefore, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
2 Kings 7:9Press and hold light in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.