Genesis 1 - Introduction
Chapter Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a (P). The Creation Narrative... [ Continue Reading ]
Chapter Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a (P). The Creation Narrative... [ Continue Reading ]
The Beginning of all Things, and the First Creation Day 1. _In the beginning B'rêshîth_: LXX ἐν ἀρχῇ : Lat. _in principio_. This opening word expresses the idea of the earliest time imaginable. It contains no allusion to any philosophical conception of "eternity." The language used in the account o... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the earth_, &c. Notice, in the present verse, (1) that "darkness" exists which God is not said to have made: (2) that "waters" exist before the formation of the seas: (3) that "the spirit of God" is mentioned, without explanation of its nature or origin, as "brooding upon the face of the waters... [ Continue Reading ]
The First Day 3. _And God said_ Observe here that the spoken Word is the only means employed throughout the six days" Creation, cf. Psalms 33:6; Psalms 33:9, "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.… For he spake, and it was done: he commanded, and it stood fast." Creation by a word combines... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God … good_ This phrase is repeated (Genesis 1:10_; Genesis 1:12; Genesis 1:18; Genesis 1:21; Genesis 1:25_, and in slightly amplified form, Genesis 1:31) at each successive creative act, except on the second day (Genesis 1:8, where see note). The purpose of this sentence is to express (1) that... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God called_ That God should give names to things is to our minds a strange and almost unintelligible thought. To the Hebrews, on the contrary, it seemed a natural feature of the story. To them the Hebrew language was that in which the Divine Will was expressed; and, to their minds, the Hebrew n... [ Continue Reading ]
The Firmament of the Heaven 6. _Let there be … waters_ The work of the "second day" is the creation of the so-called "firmament" of heaven. The Hebrews had no conception of an infinite ethereal space. The vault of heaven was to them a solid arched, or vaulted, structure, resting upon the pillars of... [ Continue Reading ]
_and it was so_ This formula is here out of place. See previous note.... [ Continue Reading ]
_God called the firmament Heaven_ It is clear therefore that what the Hebrews meant by "Heaven," was neither the clouds and mist, nor the empty space of the sky. It was a solid arch, to which, as we shall see in Genesis 1:14, the luminaries of the sky could be attached. At the close of the descript... [ Continue Reading ]
The Third Day Two Creative Acts. (1) The Separation of Sea and Earth (Genesis 1:9). (2) The Creation of the Vegetable World (Genesis 1:11) 9. _Let the waters … appear_ In this verse the dry land is rendered visible by the removal of the waters, that were under the Heaven, into their special place.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the earth … grass_ The creation of the vegetable world follows naturally and logically upon the emergence of the earth out of the waters. The most common and beautiful thing in nature, in the East, is the instantaneous appearance of fresh green blade and shoot, after the rain has fallen upon so... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let there be lights_ The word rendered "lights" (LXX φωστῆρες : Lat. _luminaria_) denotes a thing, or body, carrying light; cf. Psalms 74:16, "The day is thine, the night also is thine: Thou hast prepared the light (Heb. _luminary_) and the sun"; Ezekiel 32:8, "All the bright lights of heaven." It... [ Continue Reading ]
Fourth Day. The Creation of the Heavenly Bodies Observe that the creation of the "lights" in the heaven on the fourth day corresponds to the creation of "light" on the first day. If we divide the six days into two groups of three, there are in each group four creative acts, and at the head of each... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God made_, &c. The work of creation on the fourth day is twofold. In Genesis 1:16 God is said to make the sun, the moon, and the stars; in Genesis 1:17 He is said to set them in their place. It is noticeable that, although the "greater" and the "lesser lights" are here mentioned, the names of... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God set them_ Having made the heavenly bodies (as in Genesis 1:16) God is now said to "set," that is, to place (LXX ἔθετο, Lat. _posuit_), them in "the firmament of heaven." They are located in the firm structure which stood as a dome, or convex roof, over the surface of the earth; see note Gen... [ Continue Reading ]
The Fifth Day. The Creation of Water Animals and Flying Animals 20. _Let the waters … life_ The rendering, "bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life," fails to give the full meaning of the original. Literally, the words mean "let the waters swarm swarms, even living soul": and the p... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God created_ Observe the use of the word "create" (Heb. _bârâ_). It signalizes a new departure of the Divine work, when the principle of animal life (_nephesh_) is first communicated on earth, and living animals are formed: cf. note on Genesis 1:1. The writer does not directly speak of fish; b... [ Continue Reading ]
_God blessed them_ With the creation of the living animals of the water and the air is introduced the mention of a new Divine act, that of blessing. It is connected with the gift of life (see note on Genesis 1:21). The animal world differs from the vegetable world in its distinctive principle of lif... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let the earth_, &c. The work of the sixth, like that of the third, day is twofold. Furthermore, the creation of the land animals on the sixth day seems to correspond to the creation of the earth on the third day. The creation of the land animals immediately precedes that of mankind. It is implied... [ Continue Reading ]
Sixth Day: (_a_) Creation of the Land Animals (Genesis 1:24); (_b_) Creation of Man (Genesis 1:26); (_c_) The End of the Creation (Genesis 1:31),... [ Continue Reading ]
_And God made_ Notice the word "made," Lat. _fecit_, not "created"; cf. Genesis 1:7_; Genesis 1:16_. _and God saw that it was good_ It is noticeable that the blessing, which followed these words after the creation of the water animals and the birds (Genesis 1:22), is here omitted. Either the blessi... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let us make_ LXX ποιήσωμεν, Lat. _faciamus_. The use of the 1st pers. plur. is a well-known _crux_of interpretation. How are we to explain its occurrence in the utterance of the Almighty? The only other passages in which it is found are (1) Genesis 3:22, "And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is b... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let us make_, &c. The creation of man, although taking place on the same day with that of the land animals, is a completely separate creative act. It constitutes the climax and the crown of Creation. It is, therefore, described with especial fulness and solemnity. There is no formula, "let there be... [ Continue Reading ]
The reiteration of the principal words in the clauses of this verse has something of the rhythm of poetry. Repetition and love of detail are characteristics of the Priestly Code. "Created," cf. Genesis 1:1_; Genesis 1:21_(see notes). _male and female_ The distinction of the sexes, which is here giv... [ Continue Reading ]
The Blessing and the Command 28. _replenish_ The word is the same as that used in Genesis 1:22 of the fishes, "be fruitful, and multiply, and _fill_the waters." _and subdue it_ A strong word, denoting subjugation to power. Man's authority over the creatures of the earth confers upon him responsibil... [ Continue Reading ]
Provision of Food In this verse God gives food to mankind consisting of the seed-bearing herbs and the fruit of trees. By comparison with Genesis 9:3, we see that the writer believed that, until after the Flood, mankind subsisted upon a purely vegetable diet. It may be asked how, if this were the c... [ Continue Reading ]
_to every beast of the earth_ God ordains that the wild beasts, the birds, and all living creatures, shall have the leaves for their food. The words, "every green herb," would be more literally "all the green, or verdure, of the herbs." A distinction is, therefore, drawn between the food ordained fo... [ Continue Reading ]
_and, behold, it was very good_ The work of the six days" Creation having been completed, God, as it were, contemplates the universe both in its details and in its entirety. That which He saw to be "good," on each separate day, was but a fragment; that which He sees to be "very good," on the sixth d... [ Continue Reading ]