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Parent guide · Grade 3 Biblical Hebrew · Unit 5

Lesson 5.1 Let There Be Light

Written for the parent. The Read aloud parts are written to your child; read them as they are. Do this parts are for you. Answers for you are marked Listen for.

At a glance

Time
3 sessions of 20–30 minutes
Goal
Read Genesis 1:3 aloud. Know יְהִי (let there be) and וַיְהִי (and there was). Explain that God created by His word.
You need
  • Black card stock
  • A white or yellow gel pen
  • A small flashlight (optional)
  • A sketchbook or plain paper, and crayons
  • A King James Bible
Print
Worksheet A · the lesson page (it also has a short video (2:06))

Steps

  1. Do this together: Stand in a dark room and say, “Let there be light!” Then flip the switch. You needed a switch, but God needed only His word.

  2. Read aloud: The story. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. Then God spoke, and the very first thing He made was light. The Bible says God created everything by His word. John’s Gospel begins the same way: In the beginning was the Word… All things were made by him.

    Read aloud: Word by word. וַיֹּאמֶר and he said; אֱלֹהִים God; יְהִי let there be; אוֹר light; וַיְהִי־אוֹר and there was light. Five words, and light filled the world.

    Read aloud: Notice. God said יְהִי, let there be, and the verse answers וַיְהִי, and there was. What God commands happens exactly as He says.

  3. Do this: Say each word clearly; your child says it back twice. Point to a picture or the real thing when you can.

    • וַיֹּאמֶר (vayyomer) [vai-YOH-mer]: and he said
    • יְהִי (yehi) [ye-HEE]: let there be
    • אֱלֹהִים (Elohim) [e-loh-HEEM]: God
    • אוֹר (or) [OHR]: light
  4. A great dark cloud rises like a tower over a stormy sea; brilliant white light bursts from behind it high in the sky, and the light streams down onto the churning waves in a shining path.
    Chaos (The Creation), Ivan Aivazovsky, 1841. Image: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

    Do this: Look at the picture together for a quiet minute before anyone talks.

    Read aloud: Aivazovsky was a Russian painter of Armenian family who painted the sea thousands of times. Here he painted the moment before creation was ordered: darkness on the face of the deep, and light breaking through. Pope Gregory XVI admired it so much that he gave Aivazovsky a gold medal.

    Point and find:

    • Where is the brightest light?
    • Find the path of light on the water.
    • What shape is the dark cloud?
    • Is the sea calm or stormy?

    Ask:

    • “How does this painting show Genesis 1:2–3?”
    • “Why did the painter leave out the land?”

  5. Show: Read: וַיֹּאמֶר

    Say this: “vav + patach = va; yod with dagesh + holem = yoh: vai-YOH.”

    Say this: “mem + segol = meh; resh = r.”

    Answer: vai-YOH-mer (and he said).

    Show: Read: אֱלֹהִים

    Say this: “alef with hatef segol = a quick e.”

    Say this: “lamed + holem = loh; he + hireq yod = hee; end-mem = m.”

    Answer: e-loh-HEEM (God).

  6. Do this: Ask out loud. Let your child try first; help only after a real try.

    Ask: Read and translate: אוֹר

    Listen for: or, light.

    Ask: Read and translate: יְהִי

    Listen for: yehi, let there be.

    Ask: Read: אֱלֹהִים

    Listen for: e-loh-HEEM.

    3 more on the lesson page.

  7. Read aloud: Make a verse card that shines.

    Steps:

    1. Copy Genesis 1:3 in Hebrew across the black card with the gel pen.
    2. Under each word write its English meaning.
    3. In a dark room, shine a light on the card and read it aloud.

    Tips for you:

    • Copy the maqqef in וַיְהִי־אוֹר.

    Done when your child can say:

    • My card has all five words.
    • I can read the verse aloud.

  8. Do this: Your child picks one or more; you write the date.

    1. Copy Genesis 1:3 in Hebrew and English.

  9. Read aloud: The Latin translation of yehi or is fiat lux, “let there be light,” which is still the motto of many schools and universities.

    • Reading the dagesh in וַיֹּאמֶר as two y’s. It doubles the yod: vai-YOH-mer.
    • Saying yehi and vayhi the same. Vayhi adds va-: and.

  11. The parent reads one word of Genesis 1:3. If you can read the next word, flip the light on; if not, it stays off. Get to the end with the lights on.

  12. Say this: “Tell me what you learned today.”

    Listen for: Read Genesis 1:3 aloud.; Know יְהִי (let there be) and וַיְהִי (and there was).; Explain that God created by His word.

  13. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

    Genesis 1:3 (KJV)

    Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex, vowel points shown, cantillation marks left out): <span class="heb-block" lang="he" dir="rtl">וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃</span> Read all five Hebrew words: vayyomer Elohim yehi or vayhi-or.

Spread over the week

3 sessions of 20–30 minutes. Stop while it is still going well.

  1. Session 1. Warm-up, then read and teach the new idea and the new words. Picture study and show how.
  2. Session 2. Practice together, then start the project. Finish the project, then the sketchbook.
  3. Session 3. Narration, the game and the Scripture.