Gen 1:1-5

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The Old Testament > Genesis > Chapter 1

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Questions

  • Spiritual then physical creation? With a similar account in Gen 2:1-5, is this speaking of a spiritual creation prior to the physical creation? Compare Abr 4:1-5 and Moses 2:1-5.

Verse 4

  • Light and darkness. God calls the light "good." As all things have opposites, why does he not call the darkness "good?"

Lexical notes

Verse 1

  • Elohim. The Hebrew word translated as "God" is elohim, which is plural in form (-im is a plural ending) but is followed here by a singular verb.
  • Created. The Hebrew word translated as "created" is bara. Just as the English word, it can mean to fashion from something that already exists as well as to make something entirely new. The use of this word contradicts neither the traditional Christian view of creation ex nihilo nor the LDS view of creation from preexisting matter.

Verse 2

  • Was darkness caused? In Moses 2:2 the phrase "darkness was upon the face of the deep" is replaced with the phrase "I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep."

Exegesis

Verse 1: In the beginning of what?

It seems ironic that the opening words of Genesis could also be among the most theologically significant, yet also among the most ambiguous passages in the Bible. There are four generally accepted ways to interpret the Bible's first few verses. Translating verse one with the King James Version, it could be the title of what follows, or it could be the first act of creation itself. The latter interpretation means God created the world from nothing, whereas the former has no such implication. Others translate the first verse as a temporal clause ("In the beginning, when God created the heaven and earth . . ." or "When God began to create . . . "). In either of these cases, the earth already existed as a vast wasteland of chaotic matter.

All these interpretations have their academic defenders, though admittedly creation ex nihilo is the traditional Christian interpretation of the first verse of Genesis. It should also be noted that, though the Hebrews probably did not think in such terms, they probably would say God had the power to create the world from nothing. Nevertheless, as Joseph Smith indicated, defending ex nihilo on the basis of the Hebrew word translated "created" cannot be sustained. The word is only used for acts of creation by God, and seems applicable to something only God can do. Beyond that, little else can be said.

The strength of creation from pre-existing matter comes from parallels in Israel's cultural background at the time the account took its final shape. Genesis 2:5-9 is similarly constructed, and there is no doubt matter already existed when God created the world. Isaiah 45 refers to God's creative action in a way that is foreign neither to the pagan tales of creation nor to Genesis 1. It should be noted that Moses 2:1-2 seems to favor the idea God created the heaven and earth from nothing. However, Moses 1:35 introduces a certain amount of ambiguity on the issue. If Moses is ambiguous when it comes to creation ex nihilo, then the Book of Abraham certainly is not.

Verses 2-4: "God saw the light, that it was good"

There is a general pattern that the verses in this chapter follow. First God says "let" followed by some creative act and then later we see the phrase "and God saw that it was good." In this pattern, the "it" in the phrase "it was good" doesn't clearly refer to any specific item. Instead, it refers more generally to the results of the creation at that stage. This is clear in verses 10, 12, 18, 21, and 25.

It is often noted that God's last creation, the creation of man, is different from God's other creations in that this creation is not followed with the statement "and God saw that it was good." Interestingly, God's first creation also doesn't quite fit the pattern. In this first case only is the reader told specifically what is good. "God saw the light, that it was good." Further, in this case only, the "it was good" is moved up so that it immediately follows the "let there be" statement. If it were to fall in its normal spot, the statement would fall at the end of verse 5.

It may be that the reason for these differences is similar to the reason for treating the last creative act differently. Man, collectively, is both good and bad. It is not right to say man is good. In the same way light and darkness are not both good. Light is good, darkness is not.

Related links

Verse 1: In the beginning

  • Joseph Smith. Joseph Smith's comments on the first word of the Bible are here.
  • The construct form. Rav Micahel Hattin describes in his essay "In the Beginning" discusses a grammatical problem with the traditional translation of verse 1. A more correct translation might be "In the beginning of the Lord's creating of heaven and earth". Theological implications are also considered.
  • With wisdom. The Targum Yerushalmi translates "In the beginning" as "With wisdom". Implications of this reading can be found here.
  • Analysis of other scriptures. See the thread Targum: Genesis 1:1 at et-ha'adam's blog for alternate texts and scriptures talking about the beginning of creation.
  • Bet before aleph. See RobertC's creation subpage for a discussion of Jewish lore on why the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet, bet, is the first letter of Genesis, as opposed to the first letter, aleph.

Verses 1-31


The Old Testament > Genesis > Chapter 1

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