Genesis 1 Flashcards
Gen 1 Creation Account (NIV)
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11 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. 12 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. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 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. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 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.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 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.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 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. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
2 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
The central truth of Gen 1:1-2
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 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.
Gen 1:1-2 is the title of the book. It’s purpose is to inform the reader what this book is about
The central truth of this passage is that God is the sole creator: “In the beginning, God…”
God and God alone has the power to create, He is both above creation and separate from creation
The mirrorism of Gen 1:1-2
- In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The expression heaven and earth is a mirrorism which states two opposites, is a way of saying: “God created absolutely everything”
The first 6 days of creation
Gen 1:3-24
The first six days of creation can be divided into two parts: Days 1 - 3, making that which is chaostic and formless Inhabitable and Days 4 - 6 the Inhabited
Making creation Inhabitable. The key word here is “separate”. Each day God separates and places boundaries
Day 1: The light
Day 2: The expanse
Day 3: Sea/Land/Vegetation
Inhabited:
Day 4: Stars
Day 5: Fish and Birds
Day 6: Animals/People
What is the significant truth of Gen 1:3-5?
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
God created light without a sun or stars. God doesn’t need the sun in order to create light, He creates light out of nothing, in contrast to the pagan sun gods. God alone is the creative principle or agent of the universe
In contrast to pagan myths, where creation is essentially a cosmic accident, a meaningless byproduct of conflict between the gods, God created the universe with intention, orderly, and for a purpose
Our modern Naturalistic worldview is replete with creation myths, such as abiogenesis and the story of evolution, which tells us that we are essentially the by product of random, meaningless, purposeless, unguided processes.
What is the significance of God calling his creation good?
Just because something exists, doesn’t mean that it is inherently good. Creation is good, because a good God created it good and blessed it to be good.
The only goodness there is in the world, is the goodness that God spoke into it
What is the main question answered by Genesis 1
How big is your God?
Why is it important to understand the Jewish context when studying the old testament?
When we read Genesis, we do so with our own cultural presuppositions which are not only wrong, but hinders us from understanding the meaning of the text.
The bible was written for us, but not to us. It was written to Israel. It’s God’s revelation of himself to Israel and secondarily through Israel to everyone else, therefor it is important to understand the cultural context of in which the scriptures originated.
To properly understand the biblical text, we need to understand the world view and culture of the people who produced it
Why is it important not to interpret Genesis from a scientific perspective?
The author’s of the old testament, and Genesis did not use scientific categories, so when readers employ them they do a disservice to the intent of the authors
Why is it important to understand non-inspired ancient near middle eastern texts to understand Genesis?
These writings are not religiously authoritative, but they help us culturally translate the text, by helping us understand the world view of the people of the time.
“In the beginning” or “When first”
The phrase often translated as in the beginning is “Bereshit”. There is no Hebrew equivalent for “the” of the English language. The word “reshit” means “first”, the first letter “bhet” can mean in, it can also have a temporal meaning “When”.
This means, that although “Bereshit” could mean “In the beginning”, it could also mean “When first”
“When first” or “When God began to create” is a legitimate alternative based on grammatical analysis. Describing creation not as a single event, but as an ongoing process already in motion.
The words “Hashamayim” and “Haaretz” can mean “The heavens and the earth”, but it could also mean “The sky and the land”, So this text could be talking about the creation of the entire universe, but it could also be referring to the creation of our world, the one we inhabit
A more precise English translation of Genesis 1:1 could be:
“When first God created the skies and the land”
This would mean that Gen 1 is not describing the beginning of the universe like some sort of divinely appointed big bang, but rather describes God’s activity while establishing a living space for human inhabitants, Creation is already in motion before the start of Gen 1
In support of this interpretation stands that rest of the text. The rest of the text does not describe the material creation of the land, waters, darkness, the deep. These elements existed before Gen 1 starts
Does Bara mean creation out of nothing (ex nehilo) or ordering and structuring
- Contextual Usage of Bara’ in the Hebrew Bible
Bara’ is often used in cases where God is bringing something into a new state, not necessarily from nothing.
Example:
Genesis 1:27 – “God created (bara’) mankind in His image.”
Humans are formed from the “dust of the ground” (Genesis 2:7), indicating that bara’ here refers to something more than material creation—perhaps giving them a new role or identity.
Isaiah 45:7 – “I form (yatzar) the light and create (bara’) darkness.”
Darkness is not a material thing but a condition or state. This suggests bara’ can refer to bringing about something functionally new rather than materially new.
Psalm 51:10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Isaiah 43:10 he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
Joshua 17:15 15 “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear [bara] land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”
- Comparison with Other Creation Verbs in Hebrew
Hebrew has other verbs that explicitly mean “to make from something”:
יָצַר (yatzar) – “to form” (e.g., potter shaping clay, Genesis 2:7).
עָשָׂה (asah) – “to make” (often used for crafting or building).
בָּנָה (banah) – “to build” (e.g., Genesis 2:22, God “built” Eve from Adam’s rib).
Bara’ is distinct from these, which suggests its focus is not necessarily material formation but functional creation or ordering.
- Ancient Near Eastern (ANE) Parallels
Genesis 1 is often compared to other creation stories from the Ancient Near East, particularly Mesopotamian texts like Enuma Elish.
These texts describe creation as an act of bringing order to chaos, not necessarily as an act of making something from nothing.
For example, in Enuma Elish, the god Marduk does not create the universe from nothing but instead organizes pre-existing chaotic waters into a structured cosmos.
If Genesis 1 is engaging with these traditions, it could suggest that bara’ means establishing order and function rather than material creation.
- The State of the World in Genesis 1:2
Genesis 1:2 describes the world as “formless and void” (tohu va’vohu, תֹּהוּ וָבֹהוּ), with waters already existing.
If bara’ meant strict material creation, why does the text immediately describe something already present (the chaotic deep)?
This supports the idea that Genesis 1:1-2 describes God’s action of ordering the cosmos rather than creating it from nothing.
- Jewish and Early Christian Interpretations
Rashi (11th century Jewish commentator):
He noted that Genesis 1:1 can be read as “In the beginning of God’s ordering of the heavens and the earth…”
He saw the verse as describing an ongoing process rather than an absolute starting point.
Philo of Alexandria (c. 20 BCE – 50 CE):
He interpreted bara’ in a more philosophical way, emphasizing shaping rather than strict material creation.
Counterpoint: Does Bara’ Imply Creatio Ex Nihilo?
Later Jewish and Christian theology, particularly after Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, emphasized that bara’ means creation from nothing.
2 Maccabees 7:28 (written in the Hellenistic period) explicitly describes God as creating the world “out of nothing” (ex nihilo), possibly reflecting later theological developments.
Classical Christian doctrine (e.g., Augustine) understood bara’ as implying absolute creation.
Conclusion
The traditional view sees bara’ as referring to creation from nothing (creatio ex nihilo). However, textual and comparative evidence suggests that bara’ could also mean bringing order to chaos or assigning function, rather than necessarily material creation.
The ANE context, the Hebrew Bible’s use of bara’, and the description of Genesis 1:2 support the idea that Genesis 1 describes God structuring and organizing the cosmos rather than creating it from pure nothingness.
How does the use of the word “separates” [yavdel] support the idea that Genesis 1 is not talking about material creation but about function creation
The act of separating is not material creation but rather it is the act of organizing and functionalizing existing matter
How did God create light before creating the sun
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
The ancient Hebrews did not think of light as made out of physical photons, instead light and darkness are conceptualized as states of being rather than physical stuff
The more culturally accurate translation would be that God appointed a period of light, which he called day and a period of darkness, which he calls night, and therefore establishes time (The first day), not physical light
This is fitting that the first thing God does in Creation is to set up a time table, the same way in how we create a schedule or time table when we plan things.
Functional Creation
Genesis 1 is not concerned with material creation, but rather with how God made the universe function, by organizing things and appointing functions to things
