Genesis 1:1-2:4 English Standard Version (ESV)The scene opens at some point after the creation of the heavens and the earth. After? Yes, after. The deep has already burst out (Job 38:8), been wrapped in clouds, been barred in, and had waves halted, yet the earth is described as formless and void. Darkness is then over the face of the deep for an unspecified duration. Each of the Days of creation begins with the words, "And God said", which is where the First Day begins.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
(unspecified duration during which the ocean and first coastlines form, per Job 38)
2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
(unspecified duration of darkness)
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4 And 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, the first day.
Contrast is created when God commands that light shine in the darkness. (See also John 1:5)
God issues a command: "Let there be light"
Creation responds to God's command: and there was light.
God pronounces judgement on creation: And God saw that the light was good.
The pronouncement that the light is "good" stands in contrast to the whole of creation being declared "very good" when it is finished. The word for "good" used throughout Genesis 1 holds the primary meaning "pleasant, agreeable".
This pleasant, agreeable light will drive photosynthesis and provide virtually all of the energy for all of the lifeforms on earth. These amazingly complex, God-created, photosynthetic processes will also transform the earth, making it habitable for plant and animal life. As the story opens, God brings light into focus. The Spirit of God is hovering (see Deut. 32:11 for the same word) over the waters, brooding over His creation and stimulating it to come to life. These first lifeforms are light-driven organisms which transform the earth by sequestering harmful metal ions and producing oxygen which is not yet available on earth. As the story closes in Genesis 1:30, the last created thing mentioned is "green plants for food".
It is possible to see a chiastic structure, which is a common Hebrew linguistic form, in Genesis 1:
- Formless and Void
- Light (drives photosynthesis and causes green plants to grow)
- the rest of the creation narrative
- Green Plants for Food (energy from photosynthesis)
- Very Good (formed and full of life)
The light is "good" because it begins to fulfill its created purpose, but not yet "very good" because it's purpose is not yet fully complete as we see next.
The next action is that God "separated" the light from the darkness. Literally in Hebrew it reads as such: And divided God a space between the light and between the darkness.
Light and darkness are not separated by time, but by location. There is "space" between light and darkness. If this is not clear enough from the Hebrew in Genesis 1, we can refer to the revelation of God in Job 38.
12 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place,
19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?In order to understand Genesis 1 properly, we have to think like a Hebrew. The setting for the Book of Job is during the time of Abraham, who preceded Moses, the compiler of Genesis 1. So the concept of spacial separation of light and darkness is already a concept in the Hebrew people's minds when they receive Genesis 1.
God calls the light day and God calls the darkness night. There is no time component to this distinction. One side (location) of the earth is flooded with light while the other side (location) is plunged into darkness. The observer of this phenomena during Day 1 of creation is the Spirit of God. God is omnipresent, able to "be present" hovering over the waters of the deep of the whole world at the same time. He is present in the light and present in the darkness - therefore He "calls" them both, indicating His complete sovereignty over light and darkness, day and night.
Furthermore, God is spirit, immaterial, and therefore not "gravitationally bound" to the surface to earth. Therefore, He is not affected by the rotation of the earth. He is not dragged along, under the force of gravity and the pressure of the atmosphere, forced to experience day and night according to the rotation of the planet. From God's perspective, Day and Night are places, more so than times.
The first usage of the word "day" in Genesis 1 is to indicate the "place of light". The context of the verse is what reveals this meaning. The word "day" is used in many other contexts in the Bible, not related to the original creation sequence and therefore has other meanings in these other contexts. Because the Book of Job is God's revelation regarding the creation of the earth, it provides appropriate commentary in the same context, the creation sequence.
As we close out Day 1, the transition phrase, "And there was evening, and there was morning, the first day", is utilized. This repeated phrase is the structural marker that gives Genesis 1 its unique form. The meaning of day and night as related to light and darkness and location is already established, and is independent of time.
What is notable is that Evening, Morning, and Day are used in a unique context, one of transition. We have to read ahead in Genesis 1 to see that the greater light will rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. This arrangement is not proscribed until the Fourth Day. Therefore, we cannot connect Evening and Morning and Day in the transition sentences to the government of the Sun or Moon. In other words, Day 1 may have an Evening and a Morning, but it does not have a sunset and a sunrise. Therefore, these words are clearly being used for a different linguistic context, and therefore carry a different meaning. Furthermore, there is no time component implied.
The rule of the Sun and Moon over day and over night is not pronounced "good" until the Fourth Day, because the separation, for which the Sun and Moon were created, is not yet complete until the Fourth Day. This explains why the light is good on Day One, but not the separation. The separation exists, but is not yet operating in its final form. The separation exists geographically, but the sequence of day and night is not yet proceeding under the regulated rule of the Sun and Moon.
The meaning of Evening and Morning in context is that each day is marked by an ending and by a new beginning. This is used to mark out six successive ranges of activity in which God forms the earth into a habitable world. These phases march along in ordered procession, each bearing a distinction from the last.
This linear view of time is crucial to the Hebrew and Christian mindset. We see a similar pattern in Biblical history: the time from Adam to Noah, the time from Noah to Abraham, the time from Abraham to the Exodus, the time from the Exodus to the Exile, the time from the Exile to the birth of Christ, the time from the birth Christ to the return of Christ, and so forth. The point here is not to identify, or quibble about, what these specific phases are, but rather to point out that the concept of linear time means a moving from the start of something to a final, pre-determined outcome. Observe that the creation account in Genesis 1 underscores the mindset that all of time and life is ordered toward a specific final destiny. Just as with many other aspects of God's timeline for humanity, He does not disclose the exact length of time of each of the phases of His plan.
In summary, Genesis 1 defines Day and Night in geographic terms with relation to Light and Darkness. Each ordinal Day, i.e. the First Day, are defined, in in terms of what happens, as follows:
- One Day completed comprised of:
- God's Commands and Actions, i.e. "Let there be..." or "God [did something]..."
- Creation's Responses, i.e. "[created thing] [did something]"
- God's Judgements, i.e. "... was good" or "God called..."
- A Transition to a new Era with an Ending and Beginning
Please feel free to post comments or questions.
No comments:
Post a Comment