V
Vanguard
Guest
Genesis 1:1-5
I am not a "young earth" believer, so I don't even post in that forum. What I would like to do is to look at the first five verses in the Bible, and have an intelligent, civil discussion about them.
(NASB)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God 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, one day.
I am going to use hermeneutics and Hebrew to break down these five verses.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Many people assume that this was part of day 1. No where does it say that the heavens and earth were created on day 1. They were merely created "in the beginning," which could very well mean "in the beginning of time, during the Big Bang, etc." The earth, stars, planets and other astral bodies could have sat in a dark, lifeless, void for billions of years prior to the start of the creation of biological material (life).
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
The fact that it clearly states that the earth was formless and void, immediately makes me think of a gaseous state. Darkness being over the surface of the deep is obscure, but many think it refers to an ocean, supported by the rest of the verse. You have to keep in mind that at this point, the earth was formless and void. It can't hold water in the traditional sense. The surface of the deep could refer to the black, deepness of space. It is an unknown piece of data.
However, in later verses of Genesis, we learn that God created an expanse between the waters, thus separating them. The implication is "ground water" and "airborne water." The Spirit of God moving over the surface of the waters could be referring to God moving through airborne water (rain/ice clouds, or some type of vapor dome), while the ground water could be some type of icy core (think comet/asteroid surrounded by gas).
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
We must stop right here and take a side road for a moment. If you look at the Hebrew, the word for light is "owr," but it does not mean an object that emits light. It literally means illumination, or enlightenment. Keep that in mind...
4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Again, the Hebrew uses the word owr (illumination/enlightenment) followed by "choshek," which means darkness, but not in the literal sense. It refers to the opposite of owr; blindness, misery, ignorance (Hebrew idioms here).
Many believe the Bible is talking about daytime and nighttime right here. It's not. The Hebrew word for night is "layil," which is completely different than "choshek" (the absence of owr). Layil (night) has not been used in the Hebrew yet.
So what or who is emitting this owr (illumination)? God Himself. The choshek (absence of illumination) is everything that is ungodly thus far.
5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Jewish culture measures time in lunar cycles. They could very well have been talking about God creating during "daytime" and stopping at "nighttime," thus giving us one day, from a Jewish perspective. Christian translations don't use the Talmud (oral teachings) so the exact nature of this verse (in English) is a X factor. Since neither the sun nor the moon had been created at this point, I will have to simply say "it is an unknown." However, one theory suggests that God merely called the time during illumination/enlightenment "day" and the time during the absence of it "night," something far different than what we know them as today.
The Hebrew word for an object that emits light is "maor," with the plural being "maorot." On the 4th day of creation, the maorot are created (sun and moon). Notice the words used changed from "owr" and "choshek" to "maor and maorot." This means that the first 5 verses in Genesis are not referring to light from a sun, star, moon etc. but literally the illumination/enlightenment from God vs. the absence of God's illumination/enlightenment. Prior to Genesis 1:14 (the creation of the sun/moon), the Hebrew words of maor and maorot have yet to be used.
What God actually created in verses 3 and 4 (according to Hebrew) are godly illumination and/or enlightenment. He was the source of that "light." The darkness is the absence of godly illumination/enlightenment. That's why there can be "light" on the first day, but the astral bodies that we know to emit light aren't created until the 4th day (however long a day is to God). Two entirely different "lights." This gets butchered when you translate from Hebrew to English; you lose the idioms, ancient cultural philosophies, etc.
This is the stuff that drives scientists nuts!
Edit: sorry about the title missing the last )...hit a key and it posted before I could finish typing.
I am not a "young earth" believer, so I don't even post in that forum. What I would like to do is to look at the first five verses in the Bible, and have an intelligent, civil discussion about them.
(NASB)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good; and God 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, one day.
I am going to use hermeneutics and Hebrew to break down these five verses.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Many people assume that this was part of day 1. No where does it say that the heavens and earth were created on day 1. They were merely created "in the beginning," which could very well mean "in the beginning of time, during the Big Bang, etc." The earth, stars, planets and other astral bodies could have sat in a dark, lifeless, void for billions of years prior to the start of the creation of biological material (life).
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
The fact that it clearly states that the earth was formless and void, immediately makes me think of a gaseous state. Darkness being over the surface of the deep is obscure, but many think it refers to an ocean, supported by the rest of the verse. You have to keep in mind that at this point, the earth was formless and void. It can't hold water in the traditional sense. The surface of the deep could refer to the black, deepness of space. It is an unknown piece of data.
However, in later verses of Genesis, we learn that God created an expanse between the waters, thus separating them. The implication is "ground water" and "airborne water." The Spirit of God moving over the surface of the waters could be referring to God moving through airborne water (rain/ice clouds, or some type of vapor dome), while the ground water could be some type of icy core (think comet/asteroid surrounded by gas).
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
We must stop right here and take a side road for a moment. If you look at the Hebrew, the word for light is "owr," but it does not mean an object that emits light. It literally means illumination, or enlightenment. Keep that in mind...
4 God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
Again, the Hebrew uses the word owr (illumination/enlightenment) followed by "choshek," which means darkness, but not in the literal sense. It refers to the opposite of owr; blindness, misery, ignorance (Hebrew idioms here).
Many believe the Bible is talking about daytime and nighttime right here. It's not. The Hebrew word for night is "layil," which is completely different than "choshek" (the absence of owr). Layil (night) has not been used in the Hebrew yet.
So what or who is emitting this owr (illumination)? God Himself. The choshek (absence of illumination) is everything that is ungodly thus far.
5 God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Jewish culture measures time in lunar cycles. They could very well have been talking about God creating during "daytime" and stopping at "nighttime," thus giving us one day, from a Jewish perspective. Christian translations don't use the Talmud (oral teachings) so the exact nature of this verse (in English) is a X factor. Since neither the sun nor the moon had been created at this point, I will have to simply say "it is an unknown." However, one theory suggests that God merely called the time during illumination/enlightenment "day" and the time during the absence of it "night," something far different than what we know them as today.
The Hebrew word for an object that emits light is "maor," with the plural being "maorot." On the 4th day of creation, the maorot are created (sun and moon). Notice the words used changed from "owr" and "choshek" to "maor and maorot." This means that the first 5 verses in Genesis are not referring to light from a sun, star, moon etc. but literally the illumination/enlightenment from God vs. the absence of God's illumination/enlightenment. Prior to Genesis 1:14 (the creation of the sun/moon), the Hebrew words of maor and maorot have yet to be used.
What God actually created in verses 3 and 4 (according to Hebrew) are godly illumination and/or enlightenment. He was the source of that "light." The darkness is the absence of godly illumination/enlightenment. That's why there can be "light" on the first day, but the astral bodies that we know to emit light aren't created until the 4th day (however long a day is to God). Two entirely different "lights." This gets butchered when you translate from Hebrew to English; you lose the idioms, ancient cultural philosophies, etc.
This is the stuff that drives scientists nuts!
Edit: sorry about the title missing the last )...hit a key and it posted before I could finish typing.
Last edited by a moderator:
totopic
