Creation - the Light and the Firmament/Part 2
Contents
Creation: the Light and the Firmament (Part 2)
This article, Creation: the Light and the Firmament reflects my personal journey to understand and believe the Biblical account of Creation in Genesis Chapter 1.
The scope is only the first few verses of Genesis, to the separation of waters by an expanse called a firmament. These are the verses I found most challenging.
This article is in four parts: the text of the Creation account in Part 1; several issues, which arise from the way the story was traditionally published, are expanded below; some thoughts about the Light which preceded the sun, moon and stars in Part 3; and in Part 4, a suggestion that the waters (verse 6) is a metaphor and the firmament separates the temporal from the atemporal or eternal.
Issues with Genesis Chapter 1 (as Published)
In Part 1, I presented Genesis Chapter 1 as it would typically look in editions of the King James Version, typical of the 1800s through to the present. From this I have raised several issues, summarised below, which are expanded in this Section:-
- The Chapter and Verse divisions are inappropriate and may be misleading.
- The frequent use of the word And, and the emphasis on some instances of this conjunction, implies a sequence of events which may be incorrect, particularly after accepting point (3).
- Verses 1 and 2 are an Introduction only. The book of Genesis is structured into sections each introduced by a headings similar to Gen 2:4. And,
- Preamble text such as the one in italics in Part 1 are added by translators and publishers to be helpful but are not part of the original text and can therefore be misleading - particularly if, as stated in (3) the first sentences of Genesis is already an Introduction. Another introduction is not necessary.
1) Chapter and Verse Divisions
The original Hebrew text did not have Chapter and Verse divisions.
The Creation narrative clearly extends into Chapter 2 verse 3 where God blesses the seventh day, having completed His work of creation.
Chapter 2 verse 4 is begins a new section introduced by the phrase These are the generations of... (KJV)
Even worse, the last verse in Chapter 1 is split by a Chapter heading so that the second part is in Chapter 2.
Conclusion: The addition of inappropriate chapter and verse divisions may have adversely affected the way we read the creation account in Genesis, has likely influenced commentators, preachers and apologists for centuries, and we need to be aware of this issue and bold enough to ignore these arbitrary divisions when reading the account afresh.
2) The Conjunction and
Conjunctions are the small words used to join phrases or statements. The word and in English usually infers a subsequent action or event. For example: it has been my privilege to see wildlife while I have been kayaking, so when I write 'I went kayaking and I saw a turtle' the inference is that I saw the turtle after I started a kayaking trip, I saw the turtle while I was kayaking, and by implication, I would not have seen the turtle if I had not been kayaking. There is a sequence of events: the observation of the turtle occurred after (as a consequence of) the commencement of kayaking. But let's complicate the story a bit. What if I wrote the story this way:-
"And I said: Let's go kayaking" and we went kayaking and the water was clear and the wind was calm and we saw a turtle and it was a good day and we had a barbecue lunch.
Which instances of the word 'and' indicates the start of an action; which instances join the segments of information together; and which 'and' indicates the consequence of something previous? I return to this example below.
In Genesis Chapter 1 we have many instances of the word and. Some of those are simply to join phrases; other instances emphasise a sequence of events. In the text of this chapter replicated in Part 1, verses 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, 24, 26 and 29 are all emphasised by indenting the remainder of the paragraph. This is based on my old KJV Bible and my newer NIV Bible[1].
An updated edition of the King James Bible, known as the New Kings James Bible (NKJV), substitutes the word Then instead of And in verses 3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 16, 20, 24, 26, 28, 31, and Chapter 2 verse 3. The NKJV also uses the word So instead of And in verses 5, 8, 13, 19, 21, 23, 27, and 31, often beginning the phrase So the evening and the morning were the ... day. The alternating use of And, Then and So makes reading easier. Each day begins with Then God said, which defines the sequence.
Returning to my kayaking statement, this can be rewritten, and clarified, by using the words then, and, and so in the same manner of the NKJV Bible:-
"Then I said: Let's go kayaking" so we went kayaking and the water was clear and the wind was calm and [then] we saw a turtle. So it was a good day.
Then we had a barbecue lunch.
Previous generations read the Bible much more literally than we are inclined to do now. A literal reading places the order of Creation as 1) the heavens, 2) the earth, and then 3) light followed by the remaining day's work. This led to an argument over whether there was a 'gap' of time (maybe millions of years) between the creation of the heavens and the creation of the earth. And the earth at the time of creation was pictured like a lump of clay which a potter has not yet formed into a finished object - based on the word 'formless' or 'without form'. And in some versions where the translator imagined water covering the surface of the as yet not fully-formed earth a wind blew over the waters. I prefer the translation the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. My point is that the KJV usage of the word and in all instances[2] plus the publishers' printing layouts affected the interpretation of the Creation narrative for generations, and my own reading was similarly pre-conditioned.
So I was quite surprised when I encountered a Bible translation which does not emphasise the conjunction And like the KJV, NIV and other literal translations.
I struggled to learn French at school but decided to try again as an adult so I purchased a French Bible translation by Louis Segond. Genesis Chapter 1 in the Segond version simply writes Dieu dit: (God said:) at the beginning of verses 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, and 24. The sequence of days alone is sufficient to document a sequence of events. Repetition of And is unnecessary for understanding that one day followed another; each set of creation events was followed by another set until God's work was completed. Within each set the word et (and) joins various actions together as the sum of things created on any one day. I found that quite refreshing!
Conclusion: To read the Creation account with an open mind avoid being influenced by verse divisions (as noted above) and similarly, accept that the conjunctions[3] are there in the original Hebrew but do not carry the same weight or meaning. Commentators and publishers, although acting in good faith, may may have misplaced the emphasis on some instances. Read it freshly.
3) Verses 1 and 2 are an Introduction Only
The book of Genesis is structured. There are at least 10 sections beginning with an introductory phrase These are the generations of... (KJV and ESV), or This is the history of... (NKJV), or This is the account of... (NIV). These sections rarely correlate with Chapter divisions. Introductory notes in the NIV Study Bible identify ten sections in a Literary Outline:-
| Literary Outline of Genesis | |||
| I | Introduction | 1:1-2:3 | |
| II | Body | 2:4-50:26 | |
| A | The account of the heavens and the earth | 2:4-4:26 | |
| B | The written account of Adam's line | 5:1-6:8 | |
| C | The account of Noah | 6:9-9:29 | |
| D | The account of Shem, Ham and Japheth | 10:1-11:9 | |
| E | The account of Shem | 11:10-26 | |
| F | The account of Terah | 11:27-25:11 | |
| G | The account of Abraham's son Ishmael | 25:12-18 | |
| H | The account of Abraham's son Isaac | 25:19-35:29 | |
| I | The account of Esau | 36:1-37:1 | |
| J | The account of Jacob | 37:2-50:26 | |
| Source: The NIV Study Bible Zondervan 1985 | |||
The similarity in these subdivisions in the book of Genesis is the use of a Hebrew word toledot.[4] The same word is also used in Genesis 36:9 providing more detail in the account of Esau.
If the author of Genesis deliberately sectioned the narrative into parts each identified by, and introduced by, a word which we read as This is the account of followed by the details, wouldn't it be reasonable to find that this author deliberately wrote an introductory section at the beginning of the scroll too? Consider too that the Creation story is presented in two parts: the first a broad overview, and the second considerably more detail about the first inhabitants of the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, and their expulsion from it? So wouldn't it be sensible to view Genesis 1 verses 1 and 2 together as this Introduction? Not part of the Creation narrative but an even broader overview to be followed by the step-by-step description?
A footnote in the NIV Study Bible describes Gen 1:1 as A summary statement introducing the six days of creative activity. Why not include verse 2 as part of that introduction?
When I chose to believe in Creation, and prayed for help to believe, I didn't just wait for something to happen. I read the scriptures. I read commentaries. I read books on understanding Genesis. I came to see that verses 1 and 2 form the author's introduction. I would like to attribute that to a book I read but no longer have by an author whose name I have forgotten. Regardless of a more qualified reference it is a belief that, as I will show in the next section, just simply makes sense. I don't know why it is so hard to see, except that other people's perception may have been pre-conditioned by inappropriate verse divisions, over-use and emphasis of the word and in translations, and failure to attribute to Moses the wisdom to provide an Introduction to this remarkable book.
Conclusion: Consider that Genesis Chapter 1 verses 1 and 2 were written as an Introduction and consequently God's first act of creation begins with verse 3. Don't take my word for it though, if it makes sense to you then accept that as fact. If not, research it and find a better explanation.
4) Preamble Text May Be Misleading
Most Bibles have some form of headings to assist readers find various sections. For example my NIV Bible has these in the Gospel of Matthew:-
- Jesus Begins to Preach (Matt 4:12)
- The Calling of the First Disciples (Matt 4:16)
- Jesus Heals the Sick (Matt 4:23)
- The Beatitudes (Matt 5:1)
None of these headings are in the original text; they have been added by translators and publishers to be helpful, which most of them are. But what if the additional information was actually misleading? Would generations of readers absorb the information and consequently interpret or understand the passage of scripture following in a manner guided by the non-original addition? Consider the preamble to Genesis chapter 1 as shown in Part 1:-
CHAPTER 1
1 The creation of heaven and earth, 3 of the light, 6 of the firmament, 9 of the earth separated from the waters, 11 and made fruitful, 14 of the sun, moon and stars, 20 of fish and fowl, 24 of beasts and cattle, 26 of man in the image of God. 29 Also the appointment of food.
This 'authoritative' introduction to the Creation narrative promotes the belief that the heavens were created first, then the earth and then the light. Next is the firmament which God called Heaven (even though the heavens had already been created) after which God separated the waters so that land could appear and He called that Earth, even though the earth had been established in verse 1. It just doesn't make sense. But this sequence has affected a lot of literature about creation, both from those trying to defend their belief or adding some kind of spiritual insight to explain away the anomalies, and those quick to dismiss the story merely as a myth.
Conclusion: Ignore such preambles. Short section headings provided by publishers may be helpful to identify sections of scripture, but longer ones like the example here may be misleading.
Summary
Genesis Chapter 1 provides a summary of God's creation in a simple step-by-step (day by day) description; followed by more detail from Chapter 2:4 onwards; and preceded by a short over-arching summary which asserts that In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, basically making something out of nothing as the earth as we know it was void and prior to creation there was just an abyss, a deep, emptiness.
God's first creative act was to create Light. Everything else was created subsequent to that.
Verse and Chapter divisions, publisher's preambles, translator's sectioning of the text by emphasising the word And or Then may be misleading and may have preconditioned an interpretation or understanding of this passage of scripture for generations.
Look at the account afresh. And maybe the next part of my personal journey will make sense too.
References
- ↑ I recall having an old family Bible from the early 1800s, a large, heavy book about 3 inches thick with an embossed brown leather cover and brass reinforcement on the corners and very ornate text and in Genesis Chapter One the word And was significant - bold, outdented into the left margin, and may have had a red coloured A. In my smaller King James Version the word And is capitalised at the beginning of verses 6, 9, 14, 24, 26 and 29 but not verses 3 or 20. The New International Version carried on the tradition of emphasising the And at the beginning of verses 3, 6, 9, 14, 20, and 24 by indenting the remainder of each paragraph - but does not do that for verses 26 and 29.
- ↑ The consistent use of the word and by King James' translators in Genesis 1 may have followed the example set by the Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures, known as the Septuagint. Verses 3, 6, 9 etc begin with the Greek word Καί (Kai = And) like the KJV. See https://www.ellopos.net/elpenor/physis/septuagint-genesis/1.asp.
For the meaning of the word καί refer to William Mounce online at https://www.billmounce.com/greek-dictionary/kai - ↑ Source: Frazier, Michael V. (2009) The "Waw" Conjunctions of Genesis 1 - Textual support against Gap and Day-Age theories
- ↑ Source: Christian Study Library The Structure of the Book of Genesis
