Night
Hebrew #3915 – layil – ליל
Webster's Definition: The time from dusk to dawn when no sunlight is visible
And Elohim called the light 'day' and the Darkness He called 'night.' And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, one day.
Berĕshith (Genesis) 1:5
But his delight is in the Torah of יהוה, and he meditates in His Torah day and night.
Tehillim (Psalms) 1:2
Woe to those who rise early in the morning pursuing strong drink, who stay up late at night – wine inflames them!
Yeshayah (Isaiah) 5:11
יהושע said to him, "Truly, I say to you that this night, before the cock crows, you shall deny Me three times."
Mattithyahu (Matthew) 26:34
Night—something we all know and experience. But what might it mean from a Hebrew perspective?
The first reference in Genesis describes the night of creation noting that the darkness was named, the same darkness that was "on the face of the waters" (Berĕshith (Genesis) 1:3), and the "thick darkness" (Shemoth (Exodus) 10:21-22) in Mitsrayim. When the Creator "called" the darkness, Night, he used the same word for the naming of a child. Like "...she called his name Re'uḇĕn…" (Berĕshith (Genesis) 29:32), and that was his name. And that name would shape his character. So what shape should the darkness take, based on the meaning of her name? Let's find out.
The word, Hebrew #3915 – layil – ליל, is closely related to the word Hebrew #3885– lool – לול, which means a twisting stairway, or loop. In Hebrew, when two words are related by sound or form, they often share a thematic connection.
Exempla Gratia: At night, you are disoriented; in the dark, all things look similar. You are headed up a winding flight of stairs to a distant turret, around and around you go, with a repeating pattern. Like a loop, never ending...
Do you see a similarity?
Lets look at the Hebrew letters, and their meanings.
ל Lamed; a shepherd's staff, power, or correction, being held back.
י Yod; a right arm, strength, or weakness, human will.
ל Lamed; a shepherd's staff, power, or correction, being held back.
Based on these meanings, you could say something like;
"The shepherd, with staff in hand, does his job well," maybe guarding the sheep at night?
Or "being held back, by your own will, leaves you without Yah's power" disorienting, confusing, baffling, no?
Final Thought.
“For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of Darkness.” Tas'loniqim Aleph (1 Thessalonians) 5:5
So while the night may symbolize disorientation or distance from Yah’s hand, as children of light we are called to clarity, purpose, and trust—even when things feel unclear.
We are children of light, not of DARKNESS (i.e., night), so we don’t have to be shaped by that name.
Signing off
-IS
