Genesis 1: 1 2: 4 The First Creation Story

Target year level: Prep, Year One, Year Four, Year Eight

Scripture text

Introduction

The study of this text is a course in itself. The following notes cover the core points of emphasis regarding the first creation account (Genesis 1:1-2:4) within the broader context of Genesis as the first book of the Pentateuch.

World behind the text

The first eleven chapters of Genesis contain stories of the origins of the Jewish people. These stories arose out of the tribal and oral traditions of these ancient nomads.

As stories of origins they have been influenced by their neighbours’ cultures and religions.

These stories are not history nor are they historical narratives. They are myths. The question to ask is not, “Is this really the way things happened?” but rather, “What are the meanings within the stories?”

There are two very different creation accounts in Genesis. The oldest is Genesis 2:2-25. It is the story centred on humankind with God depicted with human characteristics. Genesis 1:1-2:4 is very different, being centred not on humankind but on God.

The first creation account draws heavily on the stories and creation myths of neighbouring cultures of the time. For example, the Babylonians had a story called the Enuma Elish. Here the deities, Apsu (male) and Tiamat (female) begot another god named Ea, who in turn had a son named Marduk. Ea killed Apsu, and Marduk then killed Tiamat. From the carcass of Tiamat, Marduk fashioned the world. Marduk also killed Kingu, Tiamat's counsellor, and with his blood, fashioned humankind.

In the first Genesis account of creation, 1:1-2:4 we find an omnipotent, omniscient, all loving, eternal and infinite God. He creates freely according to His divine wisdom and is motivated by genuine love.

In Genesis, God creates in a very orderly fashion, following a seven-day plan. The number seven was considered a perfect number for the Jews. Although the word day normally means a 24-hour period of time, it can also be used for a season, a particular time or event (e.g. "judgment day"), or a period of time. We must remember that God is infinite and thereby is not bound by time. Consequently, in Genesis, day and the seven-day sequence refer more to a designed, purposeful span of time over which God creates.

Priestly scribes probably edited this text in the sixth century BCE around the time of the Babylonian exile. The Priestly themes are predominantly present – the transcendence of God rather than the immanence of God (as in the second creation account) and the orderliness of the events indicating God’s total control.

The mention of festivals and time calculations (seven days) were the domain of priests. The declaration that God made the sun and moon which were worshipped by other cultures also betrays a priestly teaching that God is greater than the sun and the moon.

Many commentators suggest that this account was a liturgical hymn – again a priestly link. The refrain structures of the verses (God said let there be ... and it was) reinforce a hymnlike, chant-like structure.

The creation accounts are based on an Ancient Hebrew understanding of cosmology. The earth was seen as being flat with four corners (Ezekiel 7:2, Isaiah 41:9, Revelation 7:1). An expanse or firmament, also called heaven, separated the waters below the earth from the waters above (Genesis 1:6-8, Exodus 20:4, Deuteronomy 5:8). The sun, moon and stars moved about in the firmament (Genesis 1:14-18). The earth was supported on pillars (1 Samuel 2:8, Psalms 75:3). Sheol, the abode of the dead, was a pit under the earth.

For further information, see the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to Genesis.

World of the text

The overall account of Creation (Genesis 1:1-2:4) is notable for its order, especially its ordering according to spatial differentiation and different levels of detail.

It begins with God organising the universe by the separation of the heaven from the earth, the light from the dark, the sea from dry land. After all of the major divisions are completed, God begins to organise within the new spaces. He deals first with the earth and then with the sky. The whole earth is made to bring forth plants, then the heavenly bodies are fixed in the sky.

Next, this newly organised earth is populated one habitat at a time according to the scale of each. The sea is populated first, then the air, and finally the land. Once God has created the beasts, humans are formed (Gen.1:1-27). The hierarchy of creation extends from large to small and from general to specific.

Not only is the order of the Creation itself important, but the manner in which God proceeds gives the reader clues as to the relationship between the Creation and the Creator in Genesis. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light and that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness” (1:4-5). God not only creates by calling, or naming, but he also uses separation as a means of creation. God is an organiser as well as creator.

The phrase, “it was good,” is an integral part of this creation account. It appears six times in the first chapter and its repetition adds to the poetry and symmetry of the writing. “It was good” appears not after God has created something, but after He has seen how that creation is organised with respect to the rest of nature. “It was good” denotes the congruence between the new creation (or separation) and the rest of nature. God is following a set of rules, or rather creating a set as he goes. God is creating nature with some order; it is not randomly formed.

World in front of the text

The first creation account was never meant to be a scientific treatise. It is rather a primary witness to the profound truth of God who created the universe, who created each one of us, who loves and cares for us, and presents God’s challenge to us to be responsible stewards of the gift of life that we have been given. It is poetry not science.