What Does Genesis 1:31 Mean in the King James?

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The final verdict names the whole creation as exceedingly good, after it is seen in its entirety.

THE MEANING

You exist within the whole that God sees and calls exceedingly good; that verdict includes embodied life and the world around you. Goodness belongs here to the fullness of what is made, not only to one isolated part.

THE ROOT

טוֹב

tov

GROWS FROM

ט־ו־ב

Good, pleasant, beneficial; what is fit for well-being.

This root can name goodness as a quality and also what is good or beneficial. Here the verdict embraces everything made, so goodness describes the created whole, not just a single part.

ALSO GROWS

tuv: Goodness; what is good.

טוּב

This noun shows goodness as something present in the world to be seen, not only an abstract judgment.

tovah: A good thing, benefit, or welfare.

טוֹבָה

This branch gives goodness a concrete sense of benefit and well-being, widening the verdict beyond moral approval.

רָאָה

ra'ah

GROWS FROM

ר־א־ה

To see, perceive, or regard.

“saw” in this verse is ra'ah. The verse places seeing before the verdict: God perceives everything made and calls it good. This root also forms words for a seer and for appearance, joining the act of seeing with what comes into view.

ALSO GROWS

ro'eh: A seer; one who sees.

רֹאֶה

This branch names the one who perceives, echoing the verse’s full view of what has been made.

mar'eh: Appearance or sight.

מַרְאֶה

This branch names what is seen, linking the creation’s visible reality with the verdict spoken over it.

THE PATTERN

The created order is recognized as good in its parts and named exceedingly good when seen as a whole.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4 · KJVThe same pattern appears as light is seen and called good within the unfolding creation.

O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Psalm 104:24 · KJVThe whole earth is described as full of the richness of God’s many works.

For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

1 Timothy 4:4 · KJVThe goodness named over the completed creation is affirmed of every creature.

THE THREAD

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4 · KJV

The same Hebrew roots appear in both verses: ⁨רָאָה⁩ (ra’ah, “see or perceive”) and ⁨טוֹב⁩ (tov, “good or beneficial”). The earlier verdicts over parts of creation gather here into one judgment on everything made: exceedingly good.

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