Day 1 Introduction to the Text Genesis 1:1-5

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1 Day 1 Introduction to the Text Genesis 1:1-5 When we meet someone for the first time, we usually begin by telling them where we are originally from, sometimes describing where we grew up and maybe where we were born. The reason we do this is to orient the person we ve just met to who we are and where we are coming from. It is the way that we help them get to know who we are. In the same way, the Bible s first words announce how Israel s God can be known (Mathews, 125). Therefore, Genesis opens with a clear, concise statement about the Creator and the creation (Sailhamer, 50). The seven Hebrew words found in Genesis 1:1 form the foundation of all that is to follow in the Bible. The purpose of the statement is threefold: to identify the Creator, to explain the origin of the world, and to tie the work of God in the past to the work of God in the future. The people of the Ancient Near East were in the habit of naming a book by its first words. Thus, the Hebrew title for Genesis is b e rēʾšîṯ ( in the beginning ). We get the title Genesis from a transliteration of the Latin Vulgate derived from the Greek title, genesis, which means origin, source, race, or creation. Either way you slice it, Genesis is a book of beginnings. Not only is it the beginning of the heavens and the earth, but the beginning of mankind, of sin, and of God s plan of redemption through the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15). Everything in Genesis has to do with beginnings, except when it comes to God, who has no beginning. Unlike other Ancient Near Eastern accounts of the beginning of creation, the creation account is a highly sophisticated presentation, designed to emphasize the sublimity (power, majesty, and wisdom) of the Creator God and to lay the foundations for the worldview of the covenant community (Waltke, 56). Indeed, it is so sophisticated that disagreement exists over the translation and sense of the first word of the Bible among commentators of all eras, as well as almost every word of the opening two verses. One need go no further than a perusal of recent English versions to detect significant differences in the way the Bible s inaugural words have been understood (Mathews, 137). Scripture Memory: Genesis 1:3-5 1

2 Day 2 What Does the Text Say? Read Genesis 1 1. What connection can be made between the days of creation and what is said about the earth in verse 2? 2. How are days 3 and 6 distinguished from the other days? 3. How are days 1-3 related to days 4-6? Read Genesis 1: What assumption is made in verse 1? 2. What was the initial state of the earth? 3. What four things does God do as he creates? 4. What constitutes one day? 2

3 Day 3 What Does the Text Mean? Read Genesis 1:1-5 Verse 1: In the beginning... Beginning refers to the entire created event, the six days of creation, not something before the six days nor a part of the first day. Although some have argued that 1:1 functions as merely the first event of creation, rather than a summary of the whole account, the grammar makes that interpretation improbable (Waltke, 58)....God... The Hebrew Bible has three names for deity or god/god : El, Eloah, and Elohim.... Of these, Elohim occurs by far the most often in the Bible (2,750 ). As a plural in form it can refer to pagan deities, in which case it is translated gods (e.g., Exod 12:12; 20:3), or to the God of Israel. When used of the one God, it commonly occurs in the Hebrew with singular verbs as it is found here. Why the plural was also used of the one God of Israel is uncertain, though most ascribe it to the use of the Hebrew plural that indicates honor or majesty (Mathews, 127)....created... Although many verbs denote God s activity of bringing creation into existence, bārāʾ distinguishes itself by being used exclusively of God (Waltke, 58-59)....the heavens and the earth...this merism represents the cosmos, meaning the organized universe in which humankind lives. In all its uses in the Old Testament (cf. Gen. 2:1, 4; Deut. 3:24; Isa. 65:17; Jer. 23:24), this phrase functions as a compound referring to the organized universe (Waltke, 59). Verse 2: Verse 2 describes the condition of the world before God prepared it for human beings. The sense of the phrase formless and empty (tōhû wābōhû) must be gained from the context. The immediate context (vv. 2a, 9) suggests that the land was described as formless and empty because there was darkness over the land and because the land was covered with water. The general context of ch. 1 suggests, however, that the author meant the terms formless and empty to describe, in a narrow sense, the condition of the land before God made it good. Before God began his work, the land was formless (tōhû; GK 9332); 3

4 God then made it good (ṭôb). Thus formless and empty ultimately refers to the condition of the land in its not yet state. In this sense the description of the land in 1:2 is similar to that in 2:5 6. Both describe the land as not yet what it would later come to be (Sailhamer, 54). Verse 3: The source of creation s first light is not specifically stated. Since it is not tied to a luminating body such as the sun (vv ), the text implies that the light has its source in God himself. This is the thought of the poet who depicts the Creator wrapped in light as a garment (Ps 104:2) and the light witnessed by the prophet at the epiphany of the Lord (Hab 3:3b 4). The prophets and apocalyptists attributed to the coming day of the Lord terrestrial and cosmic transformations when the eschatological light will have its source in the Lord, not in the sun or moon. Like the luminous cloud of God, witnessed by Israel in the wilderness and in the tabernacle (cf. Exod 24:15 18 w/40:38), this primal light indicated the divine presence (Mathews, ). Verse 4: The good the author has in view has a specific range of meaning in ch. 1 the good is that which is beneficial for humanity. Notice, for example, that in the description of the work of the second day (vv. 6 8), the narrative does not say, God saw that it was good. The reason for the omission is that on day two there was nothing created or made that was, as yet, good that is, beneficial to humanity. The heavens were made and the waters divided, but the land, where humankind was to dwell, remains hidden under the deep. The land is still tōhû; it is not yet a place where humankind can live (Sailhamer, 57). Verse 5: God called... In biblical thought a name is equated with existence. By naming the positive life-support systems (light, atmosphere, and land) as well as their counterparts (darkness and chaotic water), God shows his sovereignty over even the negative elements of the precreated state (Waltke, 61). According to Wenham, 19, There can be little doubt that here day has its basic sense of a 24-hour period. The mention of morning and evening, the enumeration of the days, and the divine rest on the seventh show that a week of divine activity is being described here (Sailhamer, 56). In your own words, identify the main thrust of the passage 4

5 Day 4 What Difference Does the Text Make? Review and reflect on the information provided in Day 3 1. How does Genesis 1:1-5 help you see the glory of God? 2. What difference does it make to know that God created the heavens and the earth? 3. One of the big debates among scholars is the meaning of day and whether it is to be taken literally as a 24-hour day, or whether it is used figuratively to represent a longer period of time. Does it matter how we interpret the meaning of day? Why or why not? 4. How does knowing God is sovereign over His creation impact your faith in Him? 5

6 Day 5 What Must I Change? Review and reflect on your answers to the questions on Day 4 1. In studying the passage this week, how has your view of God changed? 2. How will seeing God s sovereignty and providence in Gen 1:1-5 influence your decision making this week? 3. What other impact has studying this passage had on your life? 6

7 Bibliography Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update. Mathews, K. A. Genesis 1-11:26. Vol. 1A. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, Sailhamer, John H. Genesis. In The Expositor s Bible Commentary: Genesis Leviticus (Revised Edition), edited by Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland, Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, Waltke, Bruce K., and Cathi J. Fredricks. Genesis: A Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,