When God began to create the heavens and the earth. Gen 1:1
Welcome to the new format! We will continue our walk through Genesis here. But in order to do that, let’s go back to where we started and move forward. Some of this will be straight from my old page with changes, updates, and new thoughts. Today- enjoy a glimpse of Genesis 1:1 and what it means!
The first verse of Genesis has been the start of many conversations for many reasons. You will notice I did not translate this in the typical temporal clause as shown in most English translations: “In the Beginning…..” The definite article is not present in the Masoretic text (or other witnesses). Now this may be surprising, but there is ample discussion on if it should be or should not be rendered with the definite article. Some of these arguments draw on the use of the cantillation (fancy word for small marks that help pronunciation and emphasis) systems developed by the Masorites, the group of Medieval Jewish scribes who developed and maintained the vowel pointing to preserve the historical pronunciations of the Hebrew text and added cantillation to signal shifts in syntax. So by vowel pointing, just understand that Hebrew up until the time of the Masorites, was written as a consonant only text, sometimes with consonants functioning as a vowel to help differentiate some words from others. The Masorites changed this by adding small points, shapes, and symbols under or above the letters to help with vocal quality (or rather, pronunciation of vowels that were historically understood to exist between the consonants).
At the end of the day, I settled on a comparative Semitic approach. Nahum Sarna points out that “the Mesopotamian creation epic known as Enuma Elish also commences in this way.”1 Sarna continues his argumentation by noting that “apparently, this was a conventional opening style for cosmological narratives.”2 Now the danger of this is taking a traditional understanding of the text and comparing it to something that is wholly opposite of the evangelical understanding. While this is a fair point, it should also be remembered that no text from the ancient world was written in a bubble. All of these cultures and texts were made to serve a purpose unique to their cultures, but the history and thought behind them are enhanced when read together. God chose to use Human language to speak to Humans after all. Also, as we go along in our study, we will begin to see that Genesis is VASTLY different from other cosmological narratives and in fact, paints a much different picture of God in contrast to other cosmological documents of the time.
Now it’s safe to say, does it really matter? Why not translate it how we normally see it or recognize it? To this I would say, there is no issue with a traditional understanding of the first word of the Hebrew Bible. However, also understand that this is in fact, a work of Hebrews for an audience that is and was engrained in the Ancient Near East, and as such, the closer we can read it in the light, the better. It helps us understand the people better, their motivations, their struggles- all that they are as a people. Because, after all, you and I are people too. The Bible is a book about God, and subsequently Him making a people and within the people an ideal that ultimately leads His people back to Him.
On a Grammatical level, it is striking that both “the heavens” and “the earth” are in fact marked both by the definite article but also by an untranslated word in Hebrew that points to a Direct Object in a sentence, את. Now it seems clear that the author of the text was VERY particular to indicate what it was God was starting to do. The author does not define what the heavens are, he does not define who God is or even what “earth” is. He assumes the reader knows these things because his intended audience is connecting to the text via their culture and shared experience. Reading the text in light of understanding culture is a big deal. John Walton notes: “To compare the Old Testament to the literature of the ancient world is not to assume that we expect or find similarity at every point.”3 Walton makes a critical point to our approach here. We will see differences, but we will also see similarities that may make some uncomfortable. Through this, the goal is to understand the culture the Bible was written in and to seek to understand as best as possible the original intent of what is written.
Now, it must be asked, what is the point of this first verse? I think of it as a summary statement, a snapshot of what is to follow. Now there is some nuance to this. Was this just a basic framework and what comes next a filling of the frame? It could be, however it just isn’t clear, hence I understand this as an introductory statement, a starting point of both time and space and the story of God Who cares for the things He makes.
1 Nahum Sarna, The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, (Philadelphia: JPS) 1989, 5.
2 Ibid.
3 John Walton, The Lost World of Genesis 1: Ancient Cosmologies and the Origins Debate, (Downers Grove, IL: IVP), 2009, 10.
