4 | Genesis 1:1
The Beginning
In the be gin ning God cre at ed the heav ens
1 and the earth . 2 Now the earth was form less and emp ty , dark ness was over the sur face of the deep , and the Spir it of God was hov er ing over the wa ters .
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And God said , “ Let there be light ,” and there was light . 4 God saw that the light was good , and he sep a rat ed the light from the dark ness .
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God called the light “ day ,” and the dark ness he called “ night .” And there was eve ning , and there was morn ing — the first day .
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And God said , “ Let there be a vault be tween the wa ters to sep a rate wa ter from wa ter .”
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So God made the vault and sep a rat ed the wa ter un der the vault from the wa ter above it . And it was so . 8 God called the vault “ sky .” And there was eve ning , and there was morning — the sec ond day .
1:1 — 2:3 The Bible ’ s opening narrative introduces the Bible ’ s main character — God . The creation account emphasizes God ’ s power as he brings all things into existence through divine decree . God ’ s creative activity occurs over six days in Ge 1:3 – 31 . The account ends with the description of God ’ s rest on the seventh day in 2:1 – 3 . The six-day structure reflects the overall pattern the writer gives to God ’ s work . Creation is organized into three categories : the heavens , the sea and sky , and the earth . God ’ s creative activity forms and then fills each of these categories . The focus of the creation account demonstrates how God brought order and structure to the universe . Throughout the Bible , God ’ s power over creation shows his sovereignty ( see Ps 104:1 – 35 and note ; Isa 40:12 and note ).
1:1 In the beginning Genesis opens with the Hebrew phrase bere ’ shith , typically translated as “ in the beginning .” There are two possible interpretations of this phrase : a specific , absolute beginning of all time ; or a nonspecific , general beginning of God ’ s work of creation . God The Hebrew word used here for “ God ,” elohim , is plural . While elohim may be used to describe multiple deities , OT authors usually use the term to refer to the singular God of Israel ( more than 2,000 instances ), such as here . See the infographic “ The Days of Creation ” on p . 6 . created The Hebrew word used here is bara . Compare Isa 40:26 ; note on Ge 1:27 . the heavens and the earth This phrase refers to the entirety of creation . The OT often uses opposing word pairs to refer to a totality .
Genesis 1:1
BARA The Hebrew word for “ create ” ( bara ) is used in the OT to refer to divine activity only — Yahweh alone serves as its grammatical subject — implying the writer wanted to emphasize that people cannot create in the way that Yahweh creates and that no other god can claim to be the creator . The verb bara also conveys the idea of ordering or determining function , suggesting God ’ s creative activity consists of bringing proper order and function to the cosmos .
1:2 formless and empty The Hebrew terms used here , tohu and bohu , describe material substance lacking boundary , order and definition . This same word pairing occurs in Jer 4:23 , indicating that the meaning of tohu and bohu is not nonexistence but a nonfunctional , barren state . The Hebrew structure implies that this material existed in a formless and empty state when God began his creative work . This does not mean that God didn ’ t create this material prior to the time period recorded by the Biblical text . Hence , Isa 45:18 , which declares that God did not create the earth empty ( bohu ), does not contradict Ge 1:2 , where God orders and fills an initially empty ( bohu ) creation . darkness Throughout the Bible darkness represents evil or calamity . Here , darkness refers to the unformed and unfilled conditions of the material of v . 1 . the deep The Hebrew word used here , tehom , refers to the primordial or primeval sea — the cosmic waters of chaos . Tehom is similar to the Babylonian words tamtu and Tiamat . Tiamat refers to a chaos deity , and the slaying of a chaos monster is described elsewhere in the OT in the context of creation ( Ps 74:12 – 17 ). However , a closer parallel can be found in the Ugaritic thm , the term for the primeval abyss . Since thm is not personified , tehom in Ge 1:2 should likewise not be considered a personified god . In both instances , the description credits the God of Israel with subduing the chaotic primordial conditions to bring about an ordered , habitable creation . Although chaos is not eliminated in the OT account , God ’ s action yields order and restraint . The chaos is part of what God deems “ very good ” in v . 31 . It is nevertheless a perpetual danger that will only be finally removed at the end of the age when there is no longer any sea ( Rev 21:1 ). Spirit of God Since the Hebrew word used here , ruach , can mean “ spirit ” or “ wind ,” this phrase can be translated “ Spirit of God ” or “ wind from God ” ( or even “ mighty wind ”). However , the pairing of ruach with God ( elohim in Hebrew ) usually refers to God ’ s Spirit . 1:3 And God said The ordering of creation begins with the spoken word . Only one other ancient Near Eastern creation account , the Egyptian Memphite Theology , includes an example of creation by speech . Let there be light God creates light before the creation of the sun ( Ge 1:14 – 18 ). This reflects an understanding of the world , common in the ancient Near East , that held that the sun does not serve as the source of light . See the infographic “ Ancient Hebrew Conception of the Universe ” on p . 5 . 1:4 good God calls his handiwork good seven times in ch . 1 ( vv . 4,10,12,18,21,25,31 ). The Hebrew word used here , tov , has a broad range of meaning but generally describes what is desirable , beautiful or right . In essence , God affirms creation as right and in right relationship with him immediately after he creates it . The material world is good as created by God . 1:5 evening , and there was morning — the first day The expression “ evening , and there was morning ” specifies the length of a “ day ” ( yom in Hebrew ). While the author may have meant a 24-hour day , less specific interpretations are possible . The Hebrew word yom can refer to a 24-hour cycle , the daylight hours or an unspecified future “ someday .” The meaning of the word , though , does not settle the debate over whether the passage references a literal six-day creation or symbolic days . In addition , the sun ( which marks the change from evening to morning ) is not created until the fourth day . Nonliteral interpretations of this phrase fall into two main groups : those that privilege the literary qualities of ch . 1 , and those that seek to accommodate scientific conclusions about the