Genesis 1, Creation

Genesis is "the beginning". Here we learn of the beginning of everything, of the universe, earth and all humankind.

Genesis 1:1, God created

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In this dramatic opening everything is created by this one Being. This story begins with a first principle -- that there is One powerful Creator.

Genesis 1:2-5, Day 1, God creates light

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

    

And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

    

God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.

Does verse 2 refer to the planet earth as "formless and empty" or is this really the entire universe? 

I have always thought that if someone were to watch a video clip of the Big Bang, it might be described as an explosion of light, just as described here. (As a mathematician, I like the t-shirt that includes Maxwell's equation in between the phrases "Let there be light" and "there was light"!)  However, John Walton (in The NIV Application Commentary on Genesis) would argue that I am reading into Genesis my own cultural bias, my own desire to have everything explained in scientific structural terms.  Instead, says Walton, the ancient Hebrews might have seen Day 1 as describing the creation of the function time; in Day 4 God will provide time with its inhabitants, objects that help us measure time.

Walton argues that the ancient Hebrews would have seen the world around them as consisting of various functions (functions such as time, weather, agriculture.)  They would not have viewed the world in terms of structure, a distinction that separates them from our modern emphasis on the material objects (atoms, molecules, planets) that make up the universe.  I will say more about this on a Sunday post.

Genesis 1:6-8, Day 2, Creation of the "expanse" or sky

And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."
    

So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so.  God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.

What is the expanse?  What does it mean to create it? There is a separation occurring in the heavens. The expanse, sometimes translated sky, is probably the place of weather; it is where clouds and storms come from.  (For an example, see Job 38:22.)

Genesis 1:9-13, Day 3, Creation of the land and the things that grow on it

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
    

God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.
    

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
    

And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.

There is more separation, this time water from land. Throughout this text we will move from chaos to structure (and beauty.) In Day 1 empty chaos is replaced by light and darkness; in Day 2 the "expanse" is replaced by water above" and water below"; in Day 3 the "water below" is replaced by seas and lands -- and the land produces animal life.

At this point, the heavens, sky, sea, and dry land are all created. (Indeed, the land has produced vegetation and seeds that will lead to more vegetation.) In the next three days, these spaces will be inhabited.  

Genesis 1:14-19, Day 4, God creates the lights of the sky!
And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." 

And it was so.
    

God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. 
    

And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.

The inhabitants of the heavens are the sun, moon and stars. The sun obviously marks out the day; the moon marks out the night and the slow rotation of the stars overhead markout the seasons and yeaers. In the fourth day we have timekeepers. These lights provide ways to measure the light and darkness created in Day 1.

Genesis 1:20-23, Day 5, God creates the water animals

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. 
    

And God saw that it was good.
    

God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.

What is God's "blessing" to the sea animals?

Genesis 1:24-26, Day 6, God creates the land animals... and a special creature

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.
    

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
    

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."  

In Day 6, the land is filled with animals, including a very special animal "man".  This special animal is created "in God's image", both "male" and "female".  Chapter 2 of Genesis will elaborate further on the activities involved in this Day.

John Walton argues that the main objective of the Torah is to describe a covenant history of Israel.  As we move through the early history of Israel covered in the five books of Moses, each covenant carries a blessing. Walton argues that the first blessing of the covenant occurs here, as God makes humankind in God's image and gives this new creature creative control and responsibility over Creation.

Commentators have pointed out the parallel triplets in creation: in the first three days, the heavens, the sea and sky and then the dry land are created; in the second three days, these three dominions are inhabited.

Genesis 1:27, Day 6, Male and female

    So God created man in his own image, 

    in the image of God he created him; 

    male and female he created them.

The Bible Project argues that this is the first poem in the Bible.  (See the short video here.) 

Genesis 1:28-31, God's blessing

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
    

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
    

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.

It is all good.  All creation has been spoken into being, in wondrous glory.

Some Random Thoughts

Notice the word "teems" in verse 20.  In that verse the earth explodes with life. Life erupts into every nook and corner, even on Mt. Everest and Antarctica.  Life teems throughout this planet.

If one is a scientist -- especially if one is a biologist -- there is an invitation here. Find out all you can about this explorion!

First published Jan 2, 2023; updated July 29, 2024