The Book of Genesis (2020 Edition) (eBook)

GENESIS

Firstfruits

In the Beginning

1Whena Godb createdc the heavens and the earth,d 2the earth was completely formless and empty, with nothing but darknesse draped over the deep. God’s Spirit hoveredf over the face of the waters.

3And then God announced,g “Let there be light,” and light burst forth!h

4And God saw the light as pleasing and beautiful;i he used the light to dispel the darkness. 5God called the light “Day,” and the darkness “Night.” And so, evening gave way to morning—the first day.j

6And God said, “Let there be a domek between the waters to separate the water above from the water below.” 7–8He made the dome and called it “Sky,” and separated the water above the dome from the water below the dome. Evening gave way to morning—day two.

9And God said, “Let the water beneath the sky be gathered into one place, and let the dry ground appear.”l And so it happened. 10God called the dry ground “Land,” and the gathered waters he called “Seas.” And God saw the beauty of his creation, and he was very pleased.

11Then God said, “Let the land burst forth with growth: plants that bear seeds of their own kind, and every variety of fruit tree, each with power to multiplym from its own seed.”n And so it happened. 12The land flourished with grasses, every variety of seed-bearing plant, and trees bearing fruit with their seeds in them. And God loved what he saw, for it was beautiful. 13Evening gave way to morning—day three.

14–15And God said, “Let there be bright lights to shine in space to bathe the earth with their light. Let them serve as signso to separate the day from night, and signify the days, seasons,p and years.” And so it happened. 16God made two great lights: the brighter light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. He also spread the tapestry of shining starsq 17and set them all in the sky to illuminate the earth, 18to rule over the day and to rule over the night, and to separate the light from darkness. God loved what he saw, for it was beautiful. 19Evening gave way to morning—day four.

20God said, “Let there be life! Let the waters swarm with sea life, and let the sky be filled with soaring birds of every kind.”

21God created huge sea creaturesr and every living creature that moves of every kind—swarming in the water and flying in the sky, according to their species. God loved what he saw, for it was beautiful. 22God blesseds them, saying, “Reproduce and be fruitful! Fill the waters of the sea with life, and the earth with flying birds!” 23Evening gave way to morning—day five.

24God said, “Let the earth produce every class and kind of living creature: livestock, crawling things, wild animals, each after its kind.” And so it happened. 25God made the wild animals according to their species, livestock according to their species,t and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their species. And God loved what he saw, for it was beautiful.

Shaped by Love

26Then God said, “Let usu make a man and a womanv in our imagew to be like us.x Let them reign over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the livestock, over the creatures that creep along the ground,y and over the wild animals.”

28And God blessed them in his love,z saying, “Reproduce and be fruitful! Populate the earth and subdue it!aa Reign over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and every creature that lives on earth.”ab

29And God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant growing throughout the earth, vegetables, and every fruit-bearing tree with its seed within itself. They will be your food.ac 30They will also be food for every animal and bird, and every creature that moves on the ground—every creature with the breath of life.”ad And so it happened.

31God surveyed all he had made and said, “I love it!” For it pleased him greatly. Evening gave way to morning—day six.ae

a1:1 Although most translations view v. 1 as an independent sentence serving as a general heading, it is likely that the fi rst phrase serves as a subordinate time clause, such as “At the beginning [of time], God created” or “When God began the creation of heaven and the earth.” The fi rst word in Hebrew is re’shiyth and means “fi rst,” “chief,” or “fi rstfruits.” Genesis gives us the fi rstfruits of God’s creation. The New Testament takes us into the new creation life of Christ until all things are made new.

b1:1 This is the word Elohim, the commonly used Hebrew term for God. It stresses his sovereignty and power and could be translated “Mighty God.” Elohim is the plural of Eloah and occurs nearly 2,600 times in the Bible. Eloah is derived from the word ahlah, which means “to worship” or “to adore,” and presents God as the one worthy of worship and adoration. After the word Elohim, there is an untranslatable marking, which most scholars believe is a direct object marker with the fi rst and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. However, it is seen by some as the word known as Aleph-Tav, which occurs over seven thousand times in the Hebrew text of the Old Testament. Some believe that this could be pointing to Jesus Christ who declared himself to be “the Aleph and the Tav,” or “the Beginning and the End” (Rev. 1:8, 17; 2:8; 22:13). The fi rst verse of the Bible shouts out: “God is all powerful!”

c1:1 This is the word bara’, which is used in the Old Testament exclusively for God’s creativity, things that only God can do. Creating is an integral part of God’s nature.

d1:1 Or “the sky and the land.” This is a merism (a fi gure of speech using two contrasting words to refer to an entirety) for the entire universe. See Ps. 33:6, 9. The Hebrew word for “heaven” appears seven times in this chapter (vv. 1, 8, 9, 14, 15, 17, 20).

e1:2 See Jer. 4:23–27. Darkness is a frequent biblical metaphor for evil, misfortune, and death. It appears here as something more than an absence of light—it is a distinct entity. See Isa. 45:7.

f1:2 Or “God’s Spirit gently vibrated.” The Syriac cognate word can mean “to incubate” or “to brood.” The Hebrew verb rachaph means “to fl utter,” “to gently move,” “to hover over with gentle wavering,” or “to be relaxed [grow soft]” and describes the utmost care and affection of a mother eagle caring for her young (see Deut. 32:11). This word is also used for a bridegroom hovering over his bride. This same Holy Spirit overshadowed (brooded over) a virgin named Mary to bring the perfect man into the world (see Luke 1:35). God’s Spirit danced over the waters on creation’s morning.

g1:3 This is the Hebrew word ’amar, which is most often translated “said,” but it can also mean “to think,” “to imagine,” or “to speak inside your heart.” God imagined light and there was light. God spoke and shattered the cosmic silence to give birth to creation. God spoke ten times in the creation account—the Ten Commandments of creation. See Ps. 33:9; John 1:1–3. God’s thoughts had already imagined and shaped the largest galaxy and the smallest atom before he created them. With exquisite skill and creativity, God shaped all things by his word and spoke them into being with intricate detail and skill (see Heb. 11:3). A dimension separate from the being of God was birthed. No detail was too small for God as he prepared to unveil his masterpiece of wisdom, his dream come true. God spoke order and goodness into his creation.

h1:3 Or “and there was light.” God created light but did not create the sun until the fourth day. God himself filled the universe with the light of his presence and glory. The Hebrew verbs used with the phrases “Let there be” and “and there was” are both related to the holy name Yahweh: yehi (“let there be”) and...