Genesis 1:3-31
Summary for Gen 1:3-13: 1:3-13 a In the first three days, God formed the chaos into a habitable world. 1:3 b Then God said: Nothing in ch 1 c is created apart from God’s powerful word (cp. Ps 33:6 d, 9 e).• “Let there be ...” and there was: God’s command enacted his will to create the world. God is not a part of creation or limited by it; he is the supreme ruler over everything (cp. Neh 9:6 f).
1:4 g Light is antithetical to chaotic darkness (1:2 h); the light is declared good but the darkness is not (cp. John 1:5 i). God is the source of this light (cp. Gen 1:14-19 j). God separated the light, as he did water (cp. 1:6-8 k), by his creative word. Light is associated with life and blessing (Job 38:19-20 l; Pss 19:1-6 m; 97:11 n; 104:19-20 o; Isa 60:19-20 p) and sets a boundary on the darkness that would destroy cosmic order. Darkness often typifies terror, death, and evil (see Gen 15:12 q; Job 18:6 r, 18 s; Ps 88:12 t; Eph 5:11-12 u; 1 Jn 1:5 v).
1:5 w God called (or named): To name something is to exercise authority over it (see also 2:19-20 x).
• day: The Hebrew yom can refer to daylight (1:5a y), to a 24-hour period (1:5b z), or to an unspecified time period (2:4b aa, “When,” literally in the day; cp. Exod 20:8-11 ab).
• evening ... morning: The Hebrew day began at sundown, just as the first day began with darkness and brought the first morning light.
Summary for Gen 1:6-8: 1:6-8 ac The creation account describes the appearance of things from a human perspective. The sky is viewed as a shiny dome that is a buffer between two collections of water (cp. Job 37:18 ad; Ezek 1:22 ae). In the ancient Near East, the cosmos was understood as a three-tier system, with rain originating from the outermost tier (see Gen 7:11-12 af and study note).
Summary for Gen 1:9-10: 1:9-10 ag Let the waters ... flow together: Other ancient cultures viewed the sea as a hostile force. Genesis shows God as further restraining chaos (see study note on 1:2) by prescribing specific boundaries for the sea. The flood—an act of God’s judgment (6:7 ah)—undid these boundaries and returned the earth to chaos (7:1-24 ai).
Summary for Gen 1:14-31: 1:14-31 aj On days 4–6, God filled the domains that had been formed during days 1–3 (1:3-13 ak). 1:14 al Let them ... mark the seasons, days, and years: The movement of the heavenly bodies defined Israel’s liturgical calendar, whose roots in creation gave a sacred timing to Israel’s festivals and celebrations (see Exod 23:15 am; Lev 23:4 an).
1:16 ao In the surrounding pagan cultures, the two great lights were worshiped as deities, but in Genesis they serve God and humanity (see Ps 136:7-9 ap; Jer 31:35 aq). The sun and moon are not named; they are simply called the larger one and the smaller one. Not including their names may have reminded Israel that they were not gods.
• govern: Cp. 1:26 ar, 28 as; Ps 136:9 at.
• the stars: The starry heavens testify to God’s creative power as they proclaim his glory (Pss 19:1 au; 148:3 av). They do not predict the future, as Israel’s neighbors believed (see Jer 10:2 aw).
1:21 ax Contrary to the pagan idea that the great sea creatures were co-eternal with God, Genesis states that God created them and is sovereign over them. The Hebrew word tanninim (“creatures”) elsewhere refers to crocodiles (Ezek 29:3 ay), powerful monsters (Jer 51:34 az), or the sea creature Leviathan (Isa 27:1 ba; cp. Job 41:1-34 bb).
1:22 bc God blessed them: God’s blessing commissions and enables the fulfillment of what God has spoken (see thematic note for Blessing at end of chapter).
• Let the fish ... let the birds: These directives define the blessing. The fish and birds are fertile by God’s command, not by pagan ritual, as some of Israel’s neighbors thought.
1:26 bd Let us make is more personal than the remote “Let there be” (e.g., 1:3 be, 6 bf).
• The plural us has inspired several explanations: (1) the Trinity; (2) the plural to denote majesty; (3) a plural to show deliberation with the self; and (4) God speaking with his heavenly court of angels. The concept of the Trinity—one true God who exists eternally in three distinct persons—was revealed at a later stage in redemptive history, making it unlikely that the human author intended that here. Hebrew scholars generally dismiss the plural of majesty view because the grammar does not clearly support it (the plural of majesty has not been demonstrated to be communicated purely through a plural verb). The plural of self-deliberation also lacks evidence; the only clear examples refer to Israel as a corporate unity (e.g., 2 Sam 24:14 bg). God’s speaking to the heavenly court, however, is well-attested in the Old Testament (see Gen 3:22 bh; 11:7 bi; 1 Kgs 22:19-22 bj; Job 1:6-12 bk; 2:1-6 bl; 38:7 bm; Ps 89:5-6 bn; Isa 6:1-8 bo; Dan 10:12-13 bp).
• The descriptors in our image and like us are virtually synonymous in Hebrew. Humans enjoy a unique relationship with God.
• They will reign: Humans represent the Creator as his ambassadors, vice-regents, and administrators on earth.
1:27 bq The first poetry of Genesis reflectively celebrates God’s climactic feat in creating humankind.
• human beings: This term (Hebrew ha-’adam, “the man”) is often used to denote humanity collectively (see 6:1 br, 5-7 bs; 9:5-6 bt). Though traditionally translated “man,” gender is not at issue here; both male and female are included.
1:28 bu God blessed them: See study note on 1:22; see also 17:16 bv; 48:16 bw; Deut 7:13 bx.
• said: God’s message to humankind is direct and intimate; we are stewards of his delegated authority.
• govern... . Reign: As God’s vice-regents, humans are entrusted with the care and management of the world God created (see also Gen 9:2 by; Ps 8:5-8 bz).
Summary for Gen 1:29-30: 1:29-30 ca These verses highlight the extent (throughout the earth) and variety (every seed-bearing plant ... all the fruit trees) of God’s provision for humans, animals, and birds.
1:31 cb The Creator declares his work good seven times in ch 1 cc; following the creation of human beings, God declares it all very good.
Thematic note: Blessing
Before his death, Jacob offered a blessing to each of his sons (49:1-28 cd), as well as to Joseph’s sons (Gen 48:3-20 ce), just as his father Isaac had blessed him (27:27-29 cf). Blessing enables, enhances, and enriches life, whereas a curse diminishes it (Lev 26:14-39 cg). A blessing is issued publicly by a benefactor and provides power for prosperity and success. Blessing is essential to covenant relationships in that it guides and motivates the parties to obey the covenant’s stipulations (Lev 26:3-13 ch). Obedience leads to blessing, whereas rebellion brings a curse (see Deut 28 ci).
The initial realm of blessing is creation, in which God as Creator is the ultimate granter of blessing for animals (Gen 1:22 cj) and humans (1:28 ck; see Pss 104 cl; 128:3-4 cm). Humans also serve as channels of divine blessing. Abraham was called to be a blessing to the nations (Gen 12:2-3 cn). The institutions of family (27:27-29 co), government (1 Kgs 8:14 cp, 52 cq, 66 cr), and religion (Gen 14:19 cs; Lev 9:22 ct) are nurtured, commissioned, and purified through blessing. Israel’s priests mediated God’s blessing to Israel (Num 6:24-26 cu; Deut 10:8 cv).
Three basic characteristics can be observed in Old Testament blessings: (1) They are conveyed from a greater party to a lesser one (Gen 32:26 cw; Heb 7:6-7 cx); (2) they are signs of favor that result in well-being and productivity (Deut 28:3-7 cy); and (3) they acknowledge that all power and blessing stems from the Creator. All blessings have their source in God’s love (Deut 7:7-8 cz, 12-15 da).
God’s blessings in the Old Testament are in striking contrast with those of the pagan religions of antiquity. For pagan religions, fortunes and fertility of flock, family, and fields came about through sympathetic magic in ceremonial observances at their shrines—profane customs that were designed to manipulate the deities to act on their behalf so that the cycle of life could be maintained. In the Old Testament, all life, fertility, and blessing came by God’s decree, for he is the only true and living God.
In the New Testament, the emphasis of blessing shifts from the material to the spiritual, from the nation to the church, and from the temporal to the eternal (Matt 6:25 db; Eph 1:3 dc; 1 Pet 3:9 dd). In his death, Jesus carried the consequences of sin’s curse (Gal 3:13 de), established God’s Kingdom (Matt 3:2 df; 5:3-20 dg; John 3:3-5 dh), and blessed its citizens with forgiveness of sin (Rom 4:6-25 di). Now believers are called to bless the world (Luke 6:27-28 dj; Rom 12:14 dk; see also Isa 19:24 dl; Zech 8:13 dm).
Passages for Further Study
Gen 1:22 dn, 28 do; 9:26-27 dp; 12:2-3 dq; 14:19-20 dr; 24:59-60 ds; 27:1-41 dt; 28:1-4 du; 32:24-30 dv; 46:1–50:26 dw; Lev 26:3-13 dx; Num 6:22-27 dy; Deut 7:12-15 dz; 10:8 ea; 28:1-14 eb; 33:1-29 ec; 1 Sam 2:20-21 ed; Ps 128:1-6 ee; Matt 5:3-12 ef; Luke 6:27-28 eg; Rom 12:14 eh; Gal 3:13-14 ei; Eph 1:3 ej; Heb 7:6-7 ek; 1 Pet 3:9 el
Genesis 2:1-3
Summary for Gen 2:1-3: 2:1-3 em Humankind is the high point of God’s creative acts (1:26-31 en), while day 7 is the climax of the creation week. When God rested, he endorsed all of creation—there was nothing more to do! This seven-day framework structured Israel’s week, with the seventh day as the precedent for their weekly Sabbath. The Sabbath was intended to celebrate God’s finished work; the seventh day would be set apart as holy and dedicated to the Creator, who also rested (see Exod 20:8-11 eo; 31:12-17 ep; cp. Matt 12:1-8 eq; Rom 14:5-6 er; Col 2:16-17 es; Heb 4:1-11 et).2:3 eu The first six days of creation involved separation (light from darkness, day from night, water from dry land). The last act of creation separated what is ordinary from what is holy, thus laying the foundation for Israel’s worship. It also anticipated a coming age of rest (Heb 4:1-11 ev; 12:2 ew; 13:14 ex).
• The absence of the usual “morning and evening” reflects the Creator’s willingness to enter into unending fellowship with humankind.
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