The History of Creation in Genesis 1:1-5
Introduction
The passage that I choose to write about was Genesis chapter 1 verses 1-5. I choose this passage because I was interested in studying how God supposedly created the earth and turned darkness into a world full of life and spirit. Genesis 1 begins by saying “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”(NKJV) I think that the purpose of this verse is to summarize the things that God would do in the future. This text tells us that God existed before the heavens and the earth. We also learn that before God started to create, the earth was empty, dark, and lifeless. The text also represents the beginning of everything earthly by saying God will create life on earth and in
…show more content…
Chapter 1 where verses 1-5 can be found tells that God created the heavens, the earth, and everything that lives. These verses explain that God was the first and only creator. However Genesis later describes a lot more about the creation of the earth. After verses 1-5 in chapter 1 we learn that God continues creating by making humankind in his image and also giving them charge over the earth. We also learn that after the first day of creation in verses 1-5, God continues creating for a total of seven days. After God initially created the earth and light, God on the second day created the sky. On the third day, dry land was created. The fourth day he created the sun, moon, and stars. On the fifth day he created every living creature. The sixth day he made animals and human beings in his own image to commune with them. On the last day God rested and blessed it making his creation holy. At the end of Genesis chapter 1 God had created everything and it was perfect. I think that verses 1-5 fit perfectly with the rest of the chapter because they give a good insight was to how the chapter will continue. They also are very consistent in that they don’t make any drastic changes in the later verses. Verses 1-5 also contribute to the rest of the chapter by setting a starting point for what would be happening and how God would be acting. In this context, my interpretation of these passages helps me to
From Genesis 1.1-2.4a it can be discerned that God is the creator of all. He created the world and its inhabitants from a vast nothingness. The text reflects upon who God is and what His capabilities are through the act of creation. The verses allow that God is communicating with us. It is communicated what Gods will is for man and gives us a history of our beginnings. From the data provided in the verses, scientists can conclude as to the how and why the order of creation came about. For example, light was first, land second, and then plants. Light and land are needed for plats to survive. The passages allude to the fact that He and He
The Drama of Scripture written by Bartholomew and Goheen takes the reader on a journey through the entire Bible in six short “acts.” The first Act discusses creation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom. In the beginning was complete darkness. Then, God created light and divided the heavens and the earth. He then split the waters and the seas, creating dry ground on which the rest of creation could walk. He proceeded to make plants and flowers and the sun, moon, and stars. He created days and seasons and animals of all shapes and sizes. And then, to add the finishing touch, God created men and women, male and female, He created them. The book states that “the Genesis story is given so that we might have a true understanding of the world in which we live, its divine author, and our own place in it” (Bartholomew, 29). Genesis 1-3, the story of Creation, is prevalent because it introduces the author of creation, humanity, and the creation upon which humanity’s drama unfolds.
1. What levels of meaning can be found in Genesis 1.1-2.4a? Genesis 1.1-2.4a has several meanings; however, in religious context the meanings that are represented are open to interpretation. Since Genesis contains two creation stories, individuals reading may adapt better to one story versus the other.
These are the first three days of creation in Genesis, and formulate the basic framework of the earth as we have come to know it. God, as the benevolent and mighty being he is, draws the together out of nothing, defying the idea of physics and laws which bind us to the constraints of the natural world. He created the sea, land, animals, and plants without asking if such a thing was possible, or what would something like this even look like. As he declared the world to be illuminated, to be bountiful, to provide nutrients to plants, to divide things between sky and land, land and ocean, we notice that all of this based on spoken word. Again, the key thing to realize is that God, in no way shape or form is conducting this orchestra of creation through tangible means. All of which adds to the awe of God, that an entity so great and vast in power and knowledge, body unknown to humanity and the Bible, could create something as complex and benevolent as the world in the time span that he did.
In the book of Genesis, we are introduced to everything. From the creation stories to the sagas in between Genesis is an opening to the old testament and an opening to the book of exodus. This essay will contrast each creation story and describe each stories interest, explain how Genesis 12: 1-3 links the stories of 2: 4b-11 with the ancestral narratives in 12-50 and connect the sagas of Abraham/Sarah, Isaac/ Rebecca and Jacob/ Racheal.
There has been much debate over the interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2 throughout the years and continues today. The reason for this debate is because of the wording of Genesis 1:2 that the “earth was without form and void” (formless and empty). The real debate is the relationship of this verse to Genesis 1:1. When trying to interpret this text or any text in the Bible one must look at the grammar and structure of the passage – the original Hebrew as well as well as principles of hermeneutics to determine which interpretation is the best fit for the text. This essay will evaluate the interpretation of Genesis 1:1-2 especially the view known as the Gap theory in determining whether there is any justification for a long gap of time between the two verses (Genesis 1:1&2). This will be done by analyzing the grammatical-syntactical relationship between these two verses.
accept his offering for it was all that he had and did not know how to
In Genesis 1:1, of the King James Version, the scripture says “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth”. This opening statement introduces
Along with providing information on the origins of the natural world, Genesis also provides insight into how the world was originally intended to function. After God was finished with his creative work, He declared that everything was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). At this point in time, all of creation was living in perfect harmony—until Adam and Eve sinned. After Adam and Eve gave into Satan’s temptation, sin entered the world and changed how the natural world functioned. Genesis chapters 3-11 show continuous examples of how sin infected the natural world. Animals had to be killed (Genesis 3:21 and 4:4), death entered the human race (as can be implied from Genesis
The first five chapters of Genesis provide not only historical information about Creation, the Fall, and the first generations of mankind, but they also describe God’s attitude toward His creation and towards sin. These chapters also provide insights into the nature of man. For example, we learn from Genesis 1 and 2 that we have been made in the image of God. This means that humans have authority, value, and purpose because God possesses these traits. The first four chapters of Genesis give us insight into how each of these traits specifically apply to human life and society.
In the beginning God had taken the earth which had nothing but darkness and he had created many things in order to give it light. The second chapter of Genesis God was able to create life such as animals, humankind, and vegetation. Although God had created destruction in the story of Noah’s ark, he still had created something. My dominant impression of God after reading Genesis is that God is a creator. I think he had produced all of these wonderful, and he had done all of this from scratch. Even though God had created the destruction which had killed the flesh on the earth, I don’t think he was creating destruction just for the sake of crating chaos. I think he had the right intentions when he had flooded the earth He had noticed that the earth was corrupted and was becoming violent. I think God just wanted to make the world good like he had intended from the very beginning of Genesis. I think that the fact that God took this earth, which had nothing on it, and was able to create all of these extraordinary things is truly breath
Did you know that the Holy Bible was written over 3500 years ago ("When Was the Bible Written?" - Biblica. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.)? In Genesis 1-4, by God this book was written over thousands ago. This story in the Bible is about one great God putting everything we know into existing and creating human however one of the human named Cain gets jealous of his younger brother Abel and kills him. Ultimately, the story portrays the relationship between creation story, jealousies, love, murder and punishment in mankind. In return of God’s creation being jealous, God states the punishment upon Cain however, God still shows love by letting Cain Know that if anybody body tries to kill will suffer sevenfold vengeance (The Norton Anthology World
Genesis is the beginning of the beginning, the basis for the rest of the Bible, and the start of it all. Genesis shows us creation, man’s sinful downfall, man’s rebellion, a chance for redemption, and God’s mercy.
Francis Collins explains the figurative interpretation of Genesis by stating that, “... to most other interpreters throughout history, until Darwin put believers on the defensive, the first chapters of Genesis had much more the feel of a morality play than an eyewitness report on the evening news.” If the Lord informed the Israelites that the universe was created by an explosion of space and time itself, humans were created by a mechanism of natural selection, and the ability for reason and scientific exploration came from God, the Israelites would have been confused, so the accounts in the first two chapters of Genesis provide a basic and meaningful explanation to God’s chosen people. Understanding the first two chapters of Genesis in a figurative sense can open the possibilities of the universe being created from theories such as the big band, but it is always important to remember that these are scientific theories, thus they are not facts. The Genesis creation story may be absolutely correct, but fearing and ignoring science due to conflicting accounts between theories and Biblical scripture can limit the knowledge that can be obtained by an
The chapter begins with the existence of Supreme Being, God, who created heaven and earth from rather a formless and void full of darkness; “let there be light; let there be an expanse between the waters……” Genesis 1:3, 6. This reveals the power of a supernatural being that controls the universe; and that absolute power lies with God, the creator of the universe. The creation work is systematically done in six