IN THE BEGINNING

An overview of the beginning of Genesis shows that it is structured in the form of a genealogical tree, stressing the importance of human descent and lineage. One of the purposes of a genealogical structure within the Bible is not just a tracing backward but a pushing forward to a divine goal. There are essentially ten of these branches to the genealogical tree in Genesis, which start in Genesis 2:4 and continue. Each one emerges out of a previous section (Gen 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1; 37:2).2

The beginning of Genesis 1:1–2:3 functions as a prologue to the whole, introducing some of the main themes to follow, almost providing a type of overture for a musical performance. It is distinguished by being written in a distinctive style of elevated prose narrative. It is almost poetic prose, a proem. Its symmetrical structure and precise wording compose a majestic introduction to the book of Genesis and the Bible. Every word counts.3 The sequence using the number seven is stressed throughout: the initial verse consists of seven words, creation occurs over seven days, God sees the goodness of creation seven times (Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31), the title of God appears thirty-five times, and thirty-five words describe the events of the seventh day, which also contains three sentences consisting of seven words each (Gen 2:2 and the first part of Gen 2:3). This sevenfold emphasis in this liturgical production can hardly be fortuitous, along with the tenfold repetition of the creative word (Gen 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29), the climactic creation of the divine image, and the “Sabbath” day conclusion.

In a series of actions described as a human work week of seven days, God creates the universe. The world is created for the flourishing of its creatures, ruled by human beings under the divine rule. After creating the universe, the focus shifts to the earth as a place of order and harmony, shaped from unformed matter described as an abyss of water enveloped in darkness. Two triads of organization occur, where a habitat is formed, and then filled with inhabitants. The first triad (days 1-3) consists of light, the heavens separating waters above from waters below, then the land emerging from the waters below, complete with vegetation (Gen 1:3-13). The second triad (days 4-6) comprises the inhabitants of these habitats: the sun and moon rule the sphere of light, the fowl the sky and the fish the water, and finally animals and humans live on the earth and humans rule the whole (Gen 1:14-31).

Significantly, only darkness and water occupy the beginning. This is totally uninhabitable space, and both the darkness and the water are preserved in the creation. The darkness is separated from the light and is preserved as a recurring period—day and night—in which light alternates with darkness. The waters are then separated into seas and oceans and partially subside as dry ground appears, making space for future plants, animals, and human habitation. Both darkness and water are restricted and serve as reminders of the very beginning and reflect God’s grace in providing light and land. Each day, in a sense, is a reminder of the original creation.

CREATION, ENTHRONEMENT, AND HUMAN DOMINION

But there are three more salient points to consider about this world. First, the entire account reflects the sovereign power of the Creator. Unrivaled, his word is sovereign. The command-response sequence is automatic. From ancient Near Eastern creation accounts we learn that creation means enthronement.4 Other creation texts in the Bible highlight this: “The Lord has become king; he is robed in grandeur; the world stands firm, it cannot be shaken” (Ps 93:1); “For the Lord is a great God, a great king above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are his. His is the sea, He made it, and the land which his hands have fashioned” (Ps 95:3-5). Creation is a function of the reign of God.5

Second, despite the vast plethora of creation during this sequence of seven days, there is a climactic buildup to the creation of humanity on the sixth day. Some of the key differences between the creation of humans and the other creations are as follows. First, every other animal creation is created en masse, but humanity is created as male and female. Second, this creation of humanity is set apart since there is a pregnant pause before the creation of human beings as God ponders and reflects before their creation. As von Rad clarifies, the previous creations happen from a distance as there is a bond between the creatures and their environment, as they are brought forth from the earth or the seas in a simple command-consequence sequence. But human beings originate “from above, from God, in absolute immediacy.” Thus “God participates in this creation more intimately and intensively than in the other works of creation.”6 Third, where all previous creations emerge from the earth or water and produce after their kind, this creation emerges from God, is patterned after God’s kind, and is therefore in God’s image. Finally, because humans are made in God’s image, they have a different relation to the rest of creation and a different relation to God. They rule the rest of creation and have an immediate relation to God.

The terms that capture this unique relationship are image and likeness. It used to be thought that these were essentially synonyms, a distinct theological vocabulary found only in the Bible. But a recently discovered bilingual inscription in Akkadian and Aramaic in northern Syria, dating to the ninth century BC, uses these terms in a way that helpfully expresses their distinct nuances. The inscription appears on the back and front of a large statue of a governor named Hadad-yithi,7 indicating that he ruled in a certain place, and his image proclaims his rule and his likeness his homage to his god. In a sense he faces outward to the world in his image while he faces inward to his god in his likeness. While the words in the Hebrew texts do overlap in meaning, this nuance of rule and dominion of the world (facing the world as his image) on God’s behalf as his obedient servant (facing God as his likeness) provides some insight. Put another way, “As the human creatures faced God in communion, they can now face the world in dominion.”8 This way of putting the matter is crucial, for if they do not face God in communion, their dominion will be distorted into domination.

There is unmistakably a royal dimension to humanity, as it now is called to rule the world on God’s behalf. One could say that in their distinct role they are to image the divine rule over all creation. Peter Gentry and Steven Wellum draw this very conclusion about the ancient Near Eastern idea of the image of God:

The third salient distinctive of Genesis 1 is the absence of death or curse. Animal predation may be present, but the text is silent about this (cf. Ps 104:20-21). There is a sense of everything being good, fulfilling the divine purpose and intention. This cannot be overemphasized since the word good is repeated seven times, concluding with the emphatic verdict “very good” (Gen 1:31).

Before leaving this chapter, it is worth noting two other texts where the terms image and/or likeness are used to describe human beings, as well as a passage from the Psalms that reflects on humanity’s role in Genesis 1. Genesis 5:1-3 repeats Genesis 1:26 where the terms describe the creation of humanity in the divine likeness, after the divine image. The terms here are found in reverse order with different prepositions, which suggest semantic overlap.