Ken Griffith, Derek Kidner, Nahum Sarna

• Ken Griffith, Starlight, Time, and the New Physics - A Short Review, from The Aquila Report
• Derek Kidner, The Story of Creation (1:1-2:3), from Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary
• Nahum M. Sarna, Creation (1:1-2:3), from Genesis

Important, Uncertain, Not Central

• The meaning of bara’ (ברא)
  • Argument that it means creation “from nothing”
• The meaning of yom (יום)
  • Especially when accompanied by a numeral

Real Issue: Clause Structure

• What is a clause?
  • A group of related words containing a subject and a verb
    • May or may not express a complete thought
    • Verb may be expressed or not present — just understood

• Independent clause A group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.

  Jim studied in his room for his chem exam

• Dependent clause

  A group of words that contains a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought

  When Jim studied in his room for his chem exam

• Needs something before or after

  When Jim studied in his room for his chem exam, he was able to concentrate

  His brother stayed away when Jim studied in his room for his chem exam

Clause Questions

Independent or Dependent?

Which is necessary for knowing…

• What is the main idea?
• What modifies / describes what?

Genesis 1:1-3

1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.

2. Now the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

   And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3. And God said, “Let there be light” and there was light.

Is the sequence linear (chronology) or backgrounded?

Traditional (independent)

• linear, 2 as the result of 1 and 3 follows.
• God did something in verse 1 which initiated 2 & 3
• 1 - Ind. / 2 & 3 Dep.

Hebrew Syntax View (dependent)

When God began to create the heavens and the earth (indefinite)

• (1. dep) When God began to create the heavens and the earth —

  (2. dep) Now the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters —

• (3. ind) Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

Writer describing conditions that exists before God created anything.

What’s the Importance?

• Traditional View = Chronological Sequence

  1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

  2. (The result being)
     • The earth was formless and empty, and
     • Darkness was upon the face of the deep, and
     • The Spirit of God was hovering…
  3. (Then next)
     • God said, “Let there be light,”
     • And there was light

• Hebrew Syntax View

  1. When God began to create the heavens and the earth

  2. (Hence the conditions:)
     • The earth was (at that moment) formless and empty, and
     • Darkness was upon the face of the deep…and
     • The Spirit of God was hovering…
  3. (Then)
     • God said “Let there be light,”
     • And there was light…

Ramifications

The grammar and syntax of Genesis 1:1-3 allowing these assertions:

• Gen 1:1
  • is not the absolute beginning
• Gen 1:1-3
  • describes an ORDERING or refashioning of matter (“heavens and earth”) that was ALREADY EXISTING when God got to work.

Important, Uncertain, Not Central

The meaning of bara’ (ברא)

• Argument that it means creation “from nothing”
  • bara’ does not inherently speak of “creation from nothing”

  • Alternate clause view does not support a context for that meaning.

  • Gen 1:26-27

    “Let make man” in our image…

    • bara’ cannot mean only from “nothing”
  • Gen 2:7

    then the LORD God formed (יצר ysr) the man of dust from the ground

    • God uses dust to bara’ human
  • Cannot have ברא bara’ out of nothing then a different meaning.

  • If v.1 is a setup to v.3 then that’s not a contradiction

  • Gen 2:26 Let us make (עשׂת asa) man in our image
    • Ex 20:11 (עשׂת)

The meaning of yom (יום)

• Traditional: 24-hour day Especially when accompanied by a numeral

• yom (יום) + numeral
  • does not inherently require a 24-hour period
  • e.g., Gen 3:4; Gen 33:13
• Gen 3:4

  These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day (יום) that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens

  • refers to the previous 6 days; that’s more than 24-hours
• Laban and his men travelled 7 yom
  • They traveled 7 daytime
• Jacob & Esau - driven hard for 1 yom
  • If you drive them for 24-hour? or a day?

Defending the Traditional View?

• The grammar and syntax of Gen 1:1-3 is not on the side of the traditional view.

  Other more techinal reasons:

  • Waw disjuctive on the first word of v.2
  • Closest ANE creation parallel (Enuma Elish)
  • linguistic analysis (Holmstedt, relative clause)

  Intended to be a theological

  • Heiser: Justify the stupidity of the question you just ask

• Traditional defense:

  • Logic? (monism?)

  • Analogy to Isa 40:21

    Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?

    • Isaiah looks at Gen 1:1 as the beginning.
    • Heiser: It might be possible supporting the traditional view
  • Gen 1:1-3 if there’s no time sequence before v.3 creation starts 6 24-hour. But before that? Possible eternity

• For alternative view of the translation of Bereishit see Melissa Carpenter’s Questioning Torah — Bereishit: A First-Rate Beginning