In the beginning1 when God created the heavens and the earth2, the earth was a formless void3 and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God4 swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"5; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good6; and God separated the light from the darkness7. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.89
And God said, "Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters." So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky10. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.11 Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it." And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years12, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth." And it was so. God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule13 the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky." So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply14 and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth." And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, "Let us15 make humankind16 in our image17, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female18 he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply19, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion20 over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it21, because on it God rested22 from all the work that he had done in creation. These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.
[1] "In the beginning!" "Created!" "Wind from God!" "And it was so!" There is so much powerful language in here when you read it with fresh eyes.
[2] Does "the Earth" mean the whole physical universe, or just the planet Earth? That's not a question the author or his audience had in mind back then, so I don't think it'd be appropriate to pull it out of this text.
[3] There's some deep translation questions with this phrase. Was the formless void preexisting, or was it part of that "God created" that was just mentioned? There are translations and theologies that suggest a God who shapes pre-existing matter. I don't - I believe that there really was "nothing" in the beginning - no matter, space, time, etc. I can't get that from this text though - that is more of a general belief I have come to from my understanding of the nature of God.
[4] "wind from God" is deep. Study Bible says that the "spirit of God" phrase from earlier translations is an inaccurate Greek interpretation that wouldn't make sense in the Hebrew context.
[5] If there weren't a hundred other reasons to study Hebrew already, I'd want to understand it better for that phrase alone.
[6] "God saw that the light was good" - there goes Divine Command Theory.
[7] Light and darkness separated - is that foreshadowing or just physical description?
[8] 4,540,000,000 B.C. ±50,000,000 years
[9] Is this repeated evening/morning/day motif a literary/liturgical device, or is there something to understand theologically from it?
[10] Okay - now this is clearly not scientifically literal, and is instead set within the scientific understanding of the author's culture, so that it will make sense to the people for whom it is intended. Yes, I know that there are convoluted ways to try to explain a physical dome in the sky separating us from water above us, but the convolutions are unnecessary. I want to say 20-25 more pages about this, but I'll wait for now. If I were writing a study Bible, this would be "Excursus" time.
[11] It feels like the primary purpose of day 2 all the way through the first half of day 6 is a basic, careful affirmation of all creation. Bless the land, the seas, the plants, the trees, the birds, the bees, the sun, moon, stars, and all the things that creep. God saw that they were good. And he has higher standards than us, so who are we to judge differently?
[12] Even in translation this feels poetic.
[13] "rule" - does that feel a little pagan to anyone else?
[14] How interesting - the basic command from God for animals is a perfect match for the basic biological command for animals. Reproduce!
[15] I find the "speaking to the heavenly assembly" explanation for the use of "us" and "our" more believable than the "talking about the trinity" explanation.
[16] That's "adam" in the Hebrew, which means "mankind", both male and female. Adam, eh? Interesting....
[17] We're "in the image of God". And very good to boot. That's incredible. Yet we are still the created, not the Creator, the recipients of gifts, not the Giver. So we still need to have some humility. p.s. - I don't believe that "in the image of God" means specifically that we're the ones with souls - the Hebrew worldview was more holistic than that.
[18] Yup, both male and female are the in image of God. Repeated so often, still not understood by so many.
[19] Does "be fruitful and multiply" have relevance in an overpopulated world? Since we have sort of filled the world up (far past there, actually, if we want everyone to have a Western lifestyle), should the command be taken as fulfilled?
[20] "subdue", "dominion" - what do these words mean in this context? That's one of my big questions still about this chapter. I am certain it doesn't mean "abuse" though.
[21] The 7th day is blessed, hallowed. Do I take that as seriously as the writer of Genesis writes it?
[22] Do we believe that God can really tire from work, and can "rest"? If God is outside of time, what would a 7th-day-rest even mean for him? Is this story of God's 7th-day-rest in here just as an example and model for us, or is there some real theological meaning to a rest period for God? Another big question for me.
Take-home: God made everything. Everything that God made was good. Humans especially were made in God's likeness, to have dominion over the earth, and were very good. And on the seventh day God rested.
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