PRIMEVAL HISTORY

Creation (1:1-2:25)

Creation, according to the biblical account, is the free, spontaneous act of a wise and sovereign God. He commands, and the world comes into being; he speaks, and all things are created by his word. The wisdom of the Creator is reflected in the orderliness of the cosmos; his goodness is woven into the very texture of the universe. Yet creation is not God; the forces of nature are never deified in the religion of Israel. In course of time Israel comes to see that the Creator God is the Covenant God, who freely elects Abraham and his seed to be a blessing to the world (Gen. 12:1-3), and creates Israel to be his servant (Isa. 42:5-6; 49:5). And the God who creates the heavens and the earth in the beginning will re-create creation at the end so that heaven and earth, which were rent by sin, will be united once again (see Isa. 65:17; Rev. 21: 1-4). Only in him can there be a true beginning and a true end, for he is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13).

The Two Accounts of Creation [P, J]

The Book of Genesis opens with two accounts of creation which differ in language, style, theological point of view, and the order of events in the creation. The first story, found in Genesis 1: 1–2:4a, is a finely wrought literary document in which the creative activity of God is spelled out in orderly progression with carefully chosen words and recurring stereotyped expressions. The writer is obviously a priestly theologian (P) who views the universe as God's temple in which all created things, arranged liturgically in classes, are worshipping their Maker. The Sabbath is sanctioned by the Deity as a day of rest from the very beginning, and the calendar of sacred feasts is regulated by the heavenly clock which is composed of the sun, moon, and stars. Over this cosmic congregation man, the crown of God's creation, presides as the divinely appointed high priest. The whole chapter may be regarded as a creation hymn in which all nature joins in praising the divine Creator.

The second story of creation, found in Genesis 2:4b-25, is quite different from the first. It is much more vivid and exuberant than the first account, and the style is simpler. The writer (usually designated 'J' because he prefers the Hebrew name for God which is translated "LORD" in the Revised Standard Version) is less skillful than 'P' in weaving his sources together, and far less interested in matters pertaining to worship and ritual. His conception of God is more anthropomorphic than P's; that is, he thinks of God in human terms, ascribing to him human actions like moulding clay, breathing, planting, and building.

The difference in structure between these two accounts may best be shown by outlining their contents in parallel columns:

The significance of these differences will be discussed later.

Even though there are obvious differences between the two Hebrew traditions of creation, the basic theological ideas underlying them are the same. In both accounts the one true and living God is the sovereign Lord of creation. He is prior to, and distinct from, the finite, material universe which he creates. Both stories teach that man is the crown of God's creation and that God has given him dominion over the animals. By placing man last in the order of creation, and by arranging the creative acts as he does - vegetation, birds, fish, beasts, and then man - P is showing the pre-eminence of man over all created things. At the same time J, by placing man at the first of the creation story and making the trees, the animals, and woman subservient to his needs, is saying the same thing about man as P, only in a different way.

It is most fitting that the story of creation, with its profound theological insights into the nature of God, man, and the universe, should be found on the opening pages of the Bible, for it is fundamental to the theology of both the Old and the New Testaments.

The First Account of Creation (1:1-2:4a) [P]

Genesis opens with one of the most sublime verses in Scripture. It is a brief, simple, yet remarkably profound statement of the divine act of creation which is spelled out in the rest of the chapter. It is as if with one stroke of the pen the inspired author has cleared the sky of heathen gods and the human mind of false theories re the beginning of things. In place of the fighting, jealous gods who appear in the ancient story of creation circulating in Babylonia, we find here the one, true, personal, and living God, whose existence is unquestioned and whose authority is unchallenged. He stands transcendent and sovereign at the beginning, before the world, as we know it, was created, an idea which is further developed in John 1:1 and I John 1:1. He is the powerful One, as Elohim, the Hebrew name for God throughout this chapter, indicates. His supreme wisdom is manifest in the orderliness of the cosmos, or "the heavens and the earth," as the Hebrews called it, and his infinite goodness is woven into the structure of the universe where all things fulfill his purpose (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21,25,31).

The doctrine of creation which this verse teaches is in direct opposition to many of the man-made philosophies about the origin and nature of the world. The statement that "God created the heavens and the earth" denies, for instance, the view that matter is eternal and the whole of reality, and the view that the universe came about by a purely mechanistic process. It also shows that God is separate from his creation, and so cannot be identified with nature in any way.

The Hebrew word translated "create" in verses 1, 21, and 27 of this chapter, is a theological term used exclusively in the Old Testament of divine creative activity. In Isaiah 40-66, where its theological significance is most clearly expressed, it is used about twenty times. There God is the creator of the universe (Isa. 42: 5; 45: 7-9), of Israel (Isa. 43:1, 15), and of the new heavens and earth in the Golden Age (Isa. 65:17); and it is the creative power of God which ensures the success of the Servant's mission (Isa. 42: 5-9; 49:5-6). The writer of Psalm 51, who confesses his heinous sin before God, realizes that only the divine power that created the universe can make a new "creation" out of him (Ps. 5 1: 10, where the verb "to create" is used; see also II Cor. 5:17). Although the idea of the Creator-God was known to Israel in pre-exilic times (Gen. 2:4b-9; Deut. 4:32; Amos 4:13), it was not until post-exilic times that the full significance of this doctrine was realized.

Associated with this theological term are the ideas that God's creative activity is free and unnecessitated, and that what God creates is totally new and marvellous (see Exod. 34: 10). God is the sovereign, transcendent Lord of creation, who brings the cosmos into being by his word and will (Ps. 33:6-9; Jer. 10: 12).

Whether the writer of Genesis 1:1 meant creation out of nothing, his use of the word for "create" does not make certain. Etymologically the word seems to come from a root meaning "to form by cutting" or "to build." In any case, when the word is used in the Old Testament with the meaning "create," God is its exclusive subject. This, plus the fact that it is never used with an object out of which something is fashioned, would seem to indicate that it could have meant "creation out of nothing." It was not until a later time, however, that this idea was explicitly stated (as in the Apocryphal work II Macc. 7:28; compare Heb. 11:3).

With the support of the ancient versions and as the English translation indicates, we take verse 1 as a complete, independent sentence, a preface to the story of creation which follows. In sharp contrast with the orderly heavens and earth, the cosmos of verse 1, created by the will of a free and sovereign God, is the formless void, the chaos of verse 2, over which the divine Spirit broods like a mighty bird to effect the miracle of creation (see also Deut. 32:11). Here the underlying conception of creation is a struggle between the Deity and certain forces of nature in which the mysterious, invisible divine power brings order out of chaos, conquers the realm of darkness, and subdues the wild and boundless sea.

The recital of the creative acts of God now proceeds in rapid tempo. The repeated phrase, "and God said" (vv. 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29), indicates that God creates by his word (as in Ps. 33:6-9). Creation is the product of God's personal will, of which his word is the outward expression. God's word not only creates nature, but history as well (I Kings 2:27; 8:24). Creation by the divine word denotes the unconditional sovereignty and power of God. He speaks, and the world is created (see Isa. 55: 11). By speaking this creative word God shows that he is a personal God, and the nature of the word is such that it shows that he expects a response from that which he creates. This concept of the word which God spoke at creation, without which nothing was made that was made, was in the mind of the New Testament writers as they spoke of the Word which became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:3-14; see also Col. 1: 16; Heb. 1: 2).

Light is the first created thing, the indispensable condition of all life and growth on earth. It is evidently conceived of here as independent of the heavenly luminaries, since they do not appear until verse 16. It is tempting to think of this light as the glory 'Of God, the light of God's own presence (Ps. 104:2; Rev. 21:23), but the Hebrew expression, "and the light came into existence," indicates that light is a distinct creation, and not an emanation from God. In the creation of light God shows that he is the conqueror of the darkness which enveloped the "deep" (vs. 2), a victory which is dramatically re-enacted with the dawn of each new day. Having divided the light from the darkness God assigns to each of these elements its own abode (see also Job 38:19).

The phrase, "and there was evening and there was morning," found at the close of each of the six days of creation, reveals the Jewish custom of reckoning a day from sunset to sunset. That the writer had in mind literal days in this chapter is made clear by the hallowing of the seventh day in 2:2-3. Therefore, to interpret "day" in these passages as a long period of a thousand years (as in Ps. 90:4; 11 Peter 3:8), or a geographical period, is both unnecessary and incorrect.

On the second day (1:6-8) God makes the firmament, which the ancients thought of as a solid, bowl-like structure overarching the earth (see Ps. 104:5; Job 26: 11). To this vault of heaven, separating the upper waters from the waters below, are attached the luminaries which rule the day and night. Rain is caused by opening the sluice gates of heaven (Ps. 78:23). The rivers and seas and springs on earth are fed by the subterranean waters.

On the third day (1:9-13) two creative acts take place-the separation of the dry land from the waters which were under the heavens, and the production of vegetation. Psalm 104:6-8 gives an excellent description of the appearance of the earth after the waters recede. That God could set a bound for the waters of the deep to keep them in place was always a source of amazement to the Hebrews (Job 38:8-11; Ps. 104:9; Jer. 5:22).

After the dry land is firmly established amid the seas (see Ps. 24:2), it is clothed, by divine command, with verdant vegetation consisting of two kinds of plant life: the herbs, which produce seeds in themselves, and the trees which produce seed-bearing fruit. The author takes special care to note that the various species of plant and animal life (vv. 12, 21, and 24) are determined by divine command from the very beginning. This emphasis upon divinely imposed distinctions in nature reflects the concern of the priesthood to distinguish between clean and unclean animals, between man and animal (Lev. 18:23), and even between man and woman (see Deut. 22:5). God is not a God of confusion, but of order (see Isa. 45:18; 1 Cor. 14:33), and all creation reflects the orderliness of its Maker.

On the fourth day (1:14-19) the luminaries, or bodies of light, come into existence. Their purpose is threefold. First, they are "to separate the day from the night." Even though light has already been divided from darkness, and the alternation of evening and morning has been referred to several times, the writer does not mention the making of the luminaries to rule over the day and night until this point in the scheme of creation. By their presence in the firmament the distinction between day and night apparently becomes more pronounced.

Secondly, the luminaries are to serve as a cosmic clock, designating the calendar days and years, and regulating the appointed seasons with their liturgical feasts. The world view underlying this verse is obviously geocentric, which means that the earth is the centre of the universe and that all the heavenly bodies were made to serve it. In the light of modem astronomical discoveries this theory, of course, is no longer tenable. The purpose of Genesis, moreover, is not to give scientific theories, ancient or modern. Yet from the religious point of view there is much to be said for the description of the universe given in these verses. Wonderful and impressive as the heavenly bodies are, there is no hint in the Genesis story that they were to be worshipped, as they were in the pagan religions of the Near East. Rather are they created to glorify God (see Ps. 19: 1 ) and to subserve the needs of man, who is far greater than all the phenomena of nature (see Ps. 8:3-5). In particular their religious function is to indicate the rhythm of the festal seasons-the new moon, the full moon, the recurring festivals of seedtime and harvest-and thus they ever remind man that God is the Lord of time.

Thirdly, God has set the luminaries in their courses "to give light upon the earth." Here again they are described in their relation to earth, especially as they benefit all living organisms by day and as they guide the wayfarer on land or sea by night.

Just as the light of the first day corresponds with the "lights" of the fourth day, so the appearance of the firmament and the division of the waters on the second day prepare the way for the creation of the fowl and aquatic animals on the fifth day (1:2023). For the second time "create" is used (1:21; compare vs. I). In this context the word emphasizes the fact that the principle of life, common to man and the other creatures (see 1:27), is derived from God alone. The divine blessing, expressed in the words "be fruitful and multiply," gives to creatures (and man, 1:28) the special power of self-propagation. The variety and multiplicity of animate life attest to the mighty power released by this blessing. The continuing power of the divine creative energy is seen in the preservation and propagation of life (see Neh. 9:6, where the expression, "thou preservest all of them"' is literally "thou [art] keeping all of them alive").

The parallelism of the first and second days of creation with the fourth and fifth days is continued in the correspondence between the appearance of the land masses, clothed with verdant plant life, on the third day and the creation of the land animals, including man, and the provision of vegetation for their food, on the sixth day ( 1: 24-3 1 ). The creation of man is pictured ( 1: 26) as the result of God's deliberation with his heavenly court (see also I Kings 22:19-22; Isa. 6: 1; etc.). There is no word of command as in other places in the chapter, simply a word of reflection. That the word "man" or adam is used here in the generic sense of "'mankind" is shown by verse 27, in which the word adam is parallel with "male and female." Mankind is created in the image of God.

What the phrase, "in our image, after our likeness" (1:26), signifies is difficult to determine. Generally it is taken to mean that man receives from God a divine stamp which differentiates him from the animals. Although man has much in common with the animals, he is far superior to them because of his special relation to his Maker, and he is given dominion over them (1:28). More specifically we can say that man is made for fellowship with God. He can think God's thoughts after him, and enjoy him forever. But the Hebrew word for "image" means more than spiritual resemblance or self-conscious reason. Literally it means "something that is cut out," as, for example, the "'image"' of i heathen god (see II Kings 11: 18; Amos 5:26; Ezek. 7:20), and so it suggests something concrete and substantial in form and appearance. This basic meaning of the word cannot be ignored in this passage. Throughout the history of Israel, God's form was seen by men in visions and appearances of various kinds. It was that form which God stamped upon man at the creation. The substantial nature of this image is further confirmed by Genesis 5:3, which states that "he [Adam] became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image," which can only mean that the image received by Adam from God at creation is passed on from one generation to another (see also Gen. 9:6). Perhaps the writer wished to offset the materialistic conception of the word "'image" in 1:26 by adding the qualifying phrase, after our likeness" (or, resemblance). The image of God in man, which was marred by sin, is revealed in perfect clarity in the Incarnation, in the person of Jesus Christ. The very fact that man was created in the divine image shows the possibility of God's becoming flesh and dwelling among us.

The third occurrence of the theological term "to create" is found in verse 27, where it is used of the creation of man. God's special creative power, expressed by this word, is the only explanation we have for the origin of matter (vs. 1), sentient life (1:21), and man as a distinct creation (1:27).

The tenth divine utterance, "and God said" (1:29), makes provision for food for man and beast. Before the Fall, both man and animals subsisted purely on a vegetable diet. Since God provided the food for his creatures, there would have been no bloodshed or struggle for existence in his creation (see also Matt. 6-2533). "Peace on earth" was God's goal from the beginning, as the idyllic description of the Garden of Eden reveals (ch. 2).

God's stamp of approval upon his creation is expressed in the words, "Behold, it was very good." The work of each day was "good," but now as God contemplates the whole of creation, he declares it to be "very good." According to Hebrew psychology, matter is not inherently evil and nature is not hostile to God. All things are created in their order to perform their special functions. The universe and all its "host" (2: 1) are ready to offer their Praise and worship to their Creator on the Sabbath day.

After completing the work of creation, God set apart the seventh day for rest (2:1-4a). He "blessed" it, bv which it was given special life-giving powers, and he "'hallowed" it, to be set apart for holy uses. A Sabbath without honouring God is a lie. In this passage the divine sanction of the Sabbath goes back to the creation of the world when God rested on the seventh day (see Exod. 20: 11; 31:17; see also Deut. 5:15, which gives another view of the significance of the Sabbath). The Sabbath rest, initiated and ordained by God, was shattered by sin. Never fully restored in the Old Testament (Ps. 95: 11), the true Sabbath rest remains for those who have fellowship with God in Christ (Heb. 3:7-4: 10). The earthly Sabbath is a foretaste of that unbroken fellowship which the true believer will have with God in eternity.

The word "generations" (2:4a) is used in the priestly document of Genesis as an introductory formula for the ten sections of the patriarchal history (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, [91; 37:2). In 2:4a it comes at the end of the story of creation, and should probably be translated literally, "begettings, or births," of the heavens and the earth, "when they were created" by God. Just as in the birth of a human being a new person comes out of the unknown to take its place, where nothing had been before, so the writer here is thinking of the creation of the universe as a birth brought about by the divine creative power.