Genesis 1

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

created,- The verb is in the perfect form, denoting a completed act. The adverbial note of time, “in the beginning,” determines it to belong to the past. To suit our idiom it may, therefore, be strictly rendered “had created.” The skies and the land are the universe divided into its two natural parts by an earthly spectator. The absolute beginning of time, and the creation of all things, mutually determine each other.

created, gave being to something new.” It always has God for its subject. Its object may be anything: matter Gen_1:1; animal life Gen_1:21; spiritual life Gen_1:27. Hence, creation is not confined to a single point of time. Whenever anything absolutely new - that is, not involved in anything previously extant - is called into existence, there is creation Numbers 16:30 But if Jehovah makes a new thing, and the earth opens her mouth and swallows them up with all that they have, and they go down alive into the pit, then you shall understand that these men have provoked Jehovah. Any thing or event may also be said to be created by Him, who created the whole system of nature to which it belongs Malachi 2:10 Is there not one Father to us all? Has not one God created us? Why do we act deceitfully, each man with his brother, to profane the covenant of our fathers. The verb in its simple form occurs forty-eight times (of which eleven are in Genesis, fourteen in the whole Pentateuch, and twenty-one in Isaiah), and always in one sense.

Created - Caused existence where previously to this moment there was no being. The rabbins, who are legitimate judges in a case of verbal criticism on their own language, are unanimous in asserting that the word bara expresses the commencement of the existence of a thing, or egression from nonentity to entity. It does not in its primary meaning denote the preserving or new forming things that had previously existed, as some imagine, but creation in the proper sense of the term. The supposition that God formed all things out of a pre-existing, eternal nature, is not correct.

God--the name of the Supreme Being, signifying in Hebrew, "Strong," "Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its use here in the plural form, is obscurely taught at the opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons in the Godhead--Father, Son, and Spirit, who were engaged in the creative work
Proverbs 8:27 When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep;
John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world did not know Him.
Ephesians 3:9 and to bring to light what is the fellowship of the mystery which from eternity has been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ;
Hebrews 1:2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds,
Job 26:13 By His Spirit the heavens were beautiful; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.

God.
The noun 'elôah or 'eloah is found in the Hebrew scriptures fifty-seven times in the singular (of which two are in Deuteronomy, and forty-one in the book of Job), and about three thousand times in the plural, of which seventeen are in Job. The root probably means to be “lasting, binding, firm, strong.” Hence, the noun means the Everlasting, and in the plural, the Eternal Powers. It is correctly rendered God, the name of the Eternal and Supreme Being in our language, which perhaps originally meant lord or ruler. The original word Elohim, God, is certainly the plural form of El, or Eloah, and has long been supposed, by the most eminently learned and pious men, to imply a plurality of Persons in the Divine nature. As this plurality appears in so many parts of the sacred writings to be confined to three Persons, hence the doctrine of the Trinity, which has formed a part of the creed of all those who have been deemed sound in the faith, from the earliest ages of Christianity. Nor are the Christians singular in receiving this doctrine, and in deriving it from the first words of Divine revelation. An eminent Jewish rabbi, Simeon ben Joachi, in his comment on the sixth section of Leviticus, has these remarkable words: “Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other.”

And, like this, it is a common or appellative noun. This is evinced by its direct use and indirect applications. Its direct use is either proper or improper, according to the object to which it is applied. Every instance of its proper use manifestly determines its meaning to be the Eternal, the Almighty, who is Himself without beginning, and has within Himself the power of causing other things, personal and impersonal, to be, and on this event is the sole object of reverence and primary obedience to His intelligent creation.

Its improper use arose from the lapse of man into false notions of the object of worship. Many real or imaginary beings came to be regarded as possessed of the attributes, and therefore entitled to the reverence belonging to Deity, and were in consequence called gods by their mistaken worshippers. This usage at once proves it to be a common noun, and corroborates its proper meaning. When thus employed, however, it immediately loses most of its inherent grandeur, and sometimes dwindles down to the bare notion of the supernatural or the extramundane. In this manner it seems to be applied by the witch of Endor to the unexpected apparition that presented itself to her 1Sa_28:13.

heavens, skies, being the “high” or the “airy” region; the overarching dome of space, with all its revolving orbs.

The heaven and the earth - As the word shamayim is plural, we may rest assured that it means more than the atmosphere, to express which some have endeavored to restrict its meaning. Nor does it appear that the atmosphere is particularly intended here, as this is spoken of, Gen_1:6, under the term firmament. The word heavens must therefore comprehend the whole solar system. In the word earth every thing relative to the terraqueaerial globe is included, that is, all that belongs to the solid and fluid parts of our world with its surrounding atmosphere.

earth, land, the low or the hard.” The underlying surface of land.

It implies His omnipotence, for He creates the universe of things. It implies His absolute freedom, for He begins a new course of action. It implies His infinite wisdom, for a kosmos, “an order of matter and mind,” can only come from a being of absolute intelligence. It implies His essential goodness, for the Sole, Eternal, Almighty, All-wise, and All-sufficient Being has no reason, no motive, and no capacity for evil. It presumes Him to be beyond all limit of time and place, since He is before all time and place.

It asserts the creation of the heavens and the earth; that is, of the universe of mind and matter. This creating is the omnipotent act of giving existence to things which before had no existence. This is the first great mystery of things; as the end is the second. Natural science observes things as they are, when they have already laid hold of existence. It ascends into the past as far as observation will reach, and penetrates into the future as far as experience will guide. But it does not touch the beginning or the end. This first sentence of revelation, however, records the beginning. At the same time it involves the progressive development of what is begun, and so contains within it the whole of what is revealed in the Book of God. It is thus historical of the beginning, and prophetical of the whole of time. It is, therefore, equivalent to all the rest of revelation taken together, which merely records the evolutions of one sphere of creation, and nearly and more nearly anticipates the end of present things.

This verse forms an integral part of the narrative, and not a mere heading as some have imagined.

Let those who have any doubt whether Elohim, when meaning the true God, Jehovah, be plural or not, consult the following passages, where they will find it joined with adjectives, verbs, and pronouns plural. Gen_1:26 Gen_3:22 Gen_11:7 Gen_20:13 Gen_31:7, Gen_31:53 Gen_35:7. “Deu_4:7 Deu_5:23; Jos_24:19 1Sa_4:8; 2Sa_7:23; “Psa_58:6; Isa_6:8; Jer_10:10, Jer_23:36. “See also Pro_9:10, Pro_30:3; Psa_149:2; Ecc_5:7, Ecc_12:1; Job_5:1; Isa_6:3, Isa_54:5, Isa_62:5; Hos_11:12, or Hos_12:1; Mal_1:6; Dan_5:18, Dan_5:20, and Dan_7:18, Dan_7:22”

The word את eth, which is generally considered as a particle, simply denoting that the word following is in the accusative or oblique case, is often understood by the rabbins in a much more extensive sense. “The particle את,” says Aben Ezra, “signifies the substance of the thing.” The like definition is given by Kimchi in his Book of Roots. “This particle,” says Mr. Ainsworth, “having the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet in it, is supposed to comprise the sum and substance of all things.” “The particle את eth with the cabalists is often mystically put for the beginning and the end, as α alpha and ω omega are in the Apocalypse.”

The word את eth - I was told by someone who was in rabbinical training and who is a believer in Jesus Messiah and Lord that the את is a visual cue of Jesus in the bible. In this instance, Jesus is there in the middle of creation, and is the one through whom all creation comes into being. Colossians 1:16 For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. Throughout my studies, I will be looking for where this word shows up in the bible. It has a strong’s number of 853, and in the posted verse, the number shows up after the word it is attached to. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created (853) the heaven and the earth. There is no doubt to be made, that all the three Persons in the Godhead were concerned in the creation of all things, Psalms 33:6 By the Word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

the heaven and the earth.. The ה prefixed to both words is, expressive of notification or demonstration, as pointing at "those" heavens, and "this earth"; and shows that things visible are here spoken of, whatever is above us, or below us to be seen: the sense is, God created with the heavens whatsoever are in the heavens, and with the earth whatsoever are in the earth; that is, the substance of all things in them. Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.

But three creative acts of God are recorded in this chapter:
1. heavens and the earth (Gen_1:1)
2. animal life (Gen_1:21)
3. human life (Gen_1:27)

In the beginning--a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Proverbs 8:22-23 Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was.

Genesis 1:1 identifies the Creator, explains the origins of the universe and ties the work of God in the past to His work in the future. As Genesis is the beginning, Revelation is the end. This was seen by Moses when he wrote this line. The "beginning" (re'shith), is often paired with its antonym "end" ('aha rith). Moses has begun a book with the beginning in anticipation of its end as well. The bible shows us a progression towards the end times in its writings. Isaiah 65:17 For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth. And the things before will not be remembered, nor come to mind. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea no longer is. The first 2 books of Genesis are alluded to in the last book of Revelation. Last things are like first things.

the heavens and the earth - a figure of speech meaning totality. Its use here appears to be equivalent to the "all things" in Isaiah 44:24 So says Jehovah, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb, I am Jehovah who makes all things; who stretches out the heavens alone; who spreads out the earth; who was with Me? Psalms 103:19 The LORD has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all. Jeremiah 10:16 The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for He is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance. Jehovah of hosts is His name.

Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

be. - It is to be noted, however, that the word has three meanings, two of which now scarcely belong to our English “be.”

1. “Be, as an event, start into being, begin to be, come to pass.” This may be understood of a thing beginning to be, yehiy 'ôr, “be light” Gen_1:3; or of an event taking place, vayehîy mîqēts yāmîym, “and it came to pass from the end of days.”

2. “Be,” as a change of state, “become.” This is applied to what had a previous existence, but undergoes some change in its properties or relations; as vatehîy netsîyb melach, “and she became” a pillar of salt Gen_19:26.

3. “Be,” as a state. This is the ultimate meaning to which the verb tends in all languages. In all its meanings, especially in the first and second, the Hebrew speaker presumes an onlooker, to whom the object in question appears coming into being, becoming or being, as the case may be. Hence, it means to be manifestly, so that eye-witnesses may observe the signs of existence.

The earth was without form and void - The original term tohu and bohu, which we translate without form and void, are of uncertain etymology; but in this place, and wherever else they are used, they convey the idea of confusion and disorder. The two terms denote kindred ideas, and their combination marks emphasis. Besides the present passage bohû occurs in only two others Isaiah 34:11 But the pelican and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also, and the raven, shall dwell in it. And He shall stretch out on it the line of shame, and the stones of emptiness; Jeremiah 4:23 I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light, and always in conjunction with tohû. If we may distinguish the two words, bohû refers to the matter, and tohû refers to the form, and therefore the phrase combining the two denotes a state of utter confusion and desolation, an absence of all that can furnish or people the land. Tohu and Bohu, confusion and emptiness, so those words are sometimes rendered. Tohu alone is frequently employed as synonymous with non-existence, and nothingness (Isa_40:17, Isa_40:23; Isa_49:4). The coming earth was at first waste and desolate, a formless, lifeless mass. The expression "formless and empty" refers to the condition of the earth before God made it good. That the earth was an undifferentiated shapeless fluid that existed prior to creation. This is the first hendiady (toho and bohu) in the bible. A heniady is where 2 words are used to signify one thing.

Before proceeding to translate this verse, it is to be observed that the state of an event may be described either definitely or indefinitely. It is described definitely by the three states of the Hebrew verb - the perfect, the current, and the imperfect. The latter two may be designated in common the imperfect state. A completed event is expressed by the former of the two states, or, as they are commonly called, tenses of the Hebrew verb; a current event, by the imperfect participle; an incipient event, by the second state or tense. An event is described indefinitely when there is neither verb nor participle in the sentence to determine its state. The first sentence of this verse (And the earth was without form and empty) is an example of the perfect state of an event, the second of the indefinite (And darkness was on the face of the deep), and the third of the imperfect or continuous state (And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters). After the undefined lapse of time from the first grand act of creation, the present verse describes the state of things on the land immediately antecedent to the creation of a new system of vegetable and animal life, and, in particular, of man, the intelligent inhabitant, for whom this fair scene was now to be prepared and replenished.

The phrase rûach 'ĕlohîym means “the spirit of God,” as it is elsewhere uniformly applied to spirit, and as rîchēp, “brooded,” does not describe the action of wind. The verbal form employed denotes a work in the actual process of accomplishment. The brooding of the spirit of God is evidently the originating cause of the reorganization of things on the land, by the creative work which is successively described in the following passage.

The spirit of God - the Holy Spirit of God is intended; which our blessed Lord represents under the notion of wind, Joh_3:8; and which, as a mighty rushing wind on the day of Pentecost, filled the house where the disciples were sitting, Act_2:2, which was immediately followed by their speaking with other tongues, because they were filled with the Holy Ghost, Act_2:4. These scriptures sufficiently ascertain the sense in which the word is used by Moses.

Moved - merachepheth, was brooding over; for the word expresses that tremulous motion made by the hen while either hatching her eggs or fostering her young. It here probably signifies the communicating a vital or prolific principle to the waters.

And darkness was upon the face of the deep - to roar, to rage, denotes the raging waters, the roaring waves or flood and hence the depths of the sea even the abyss of the earth.

formless and empty, shows the condition of the land before He rendered it habitable for man and his well being. This theme in the creation account reveals itself later in the prophets when they describe God’s judgment in their exile as a comparison to the uninhabitable earth before He prepared it for man. The land became uninhabitable (word used is tohu) when the people were sent into exile. Jeremiah 4:23-26 I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and, lo, they quaked; and all the hills were shaken. I looked, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens had fled. I looked, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all its cities were broken down before the face of the LORD, before His fierce anger. The English translation of formless and void, often leads to view of the earth as a chaotic, amorphous mass, rather a view of the earth as an uninhabitable stretch of wasteland, a wilderness not yet inhabitable for man.

One commentator compares the darkness shattered by the light in verse 3 to the verses that compare the Light of Jesus breaking through the darkness of His people as heralding God's blessing, salvation is marked with the Light that shatters the darkness. Isaiah 8:22-9:2 And they shall look to the land; and behold, trouble and darkness and gloom of anguish! And they are driven away into darkness. Yet there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish, as in the former time. He degraded the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali, so afterwards He will glorify the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; they who dwell in the land of the shadow of death, on them the light has shined. Matt 4:13-17 And leaving Nazareth, He came and lived in Capernaum, which is on the seacoast, in the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the nations! The people who sat in darkness saw a great Light; and Light has sprung up to those who sat in the region and shadow of death." From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, Repent! For the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it John 1:8-9 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. He was the true Light; He enlightens every man coming into the world.

The same commentator shows that salvation is marked by a flowering of the desert (Isa 35:1-2, as a barren world bloomed in the creation account. The prophets would call to prepare for the coming day of salvation while waiting in the wilderness. Isaiah 40:3 The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the LORD, make straight a highway in the desert for our God. Mark 1:4-5 John came baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And all the land of Judea, and those of Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she had a place prepared by God, so that they might nourish her there a thousand, two hundred and sixty days.

The Spirit of God hovering over the waters is similar to Deuteronomy 32:11 As an eagle stirs up her nest, flutters over her young, spreads abroad her wings, takes them and bears them on her wing, where God is depicted as an eagle hovering over its.

Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Then said God. - God speaks. From this we learn that He not only is, but is such that He can express His will and commune with His intelligent creatures. Speech is the proper mode of spiritual manifestation. Thinking, willing, acting are the movements of spirit, and speech is the index of what is thought, willed, and done. Now, as the essence of God is the spirit which thinks and acts, so the form of God is that in which the spirit speaks, and otherwise meets the observations of intelligent beings. In these three verses, then, we have God, the spirit of God, and the word of God. And as the term “spirit” is transferred from an inanimate thing to signify an intelligent agent, so the term “word” is capable of receiving a similar change of application.

And God said - This phrase is used, nine times in this account of the creation;

let there be light, 2Corinthians 4:6 For it is God who said, "Out of darkness Light shall shine;" who shone in our hearts to give the brightness of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This was the first thing made out of the dark chaos; as in the new creation, or work of grace in the heart, light is the first thing produced there.

Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Genesis 1:4 And God saw (853) the light, that it was good: and God divided, the light from the darkness.

God divided the light from the darkness - This does not imply that light and darkness are two distinct substances, darkness is only the privation of light;

that it was good - Very pleasant and delightful, useful and beneficial; that is, he foresaw it would be good, of great service. This good refers to it being good for man, that He created it as good for the benefit of man, according to several commentators. It provides a counter part to the tragedy in chapter 3, where mankind falls from grace. God made something good for us, and mankind abused that, disobeyed God and fell into sin. God, who knows good from evil, provided us with good. Mankind, in its folly, desired that knowledge too. Mankind was rebellious, sinful, and foolish. God creates, sees that this is good. Compare to Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate where the woman sees something as good. How incorrect is her view. Compare the wisdom of God to the limited foolish wisdom of mankind (woman here) in what she viewed as good.

and God divided the light from the darkness: according to one commentator, refers to the alternation or succession of the one to the other, produced by the daily revolution of the earth round its axis. The Lord has so divided one from the other that they are not together at the same place and time; when light is in one hemisphere, darkness is in the other; and the one by certain constant revolutions is made to succeed the other; and by the motion of the one, the other gives way; as well as also God has divided and distinguished them by calling them by different names. Basically it is believed by this commentator that here is where the earth was set to rotate on its axis.

Gen 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Called to the light, day - It is the right of the maker, owner, or other superior to give a name; and hence, the receiving of a name indicates the subordination of the thing named to the namer. Name and thing correspond: the former is the sign of the latter; hence, in the concrete matter-of-fact style of Scripture the name is often put for the thing, quality, person, or authority it represents.

Then was evening, then was morning, day one. – The day is described, according to the Hebrew mode of narrative, by its starting-point, “the evening.” The first half of its course is run out during the night. The next half in like manner commences with “the morning,” and goes through its round in the proper day. Then the whole period is described as “one day.” The point of termination for the day is thus the evening again, which agrees with the Hebrew division of time Leviticus 23:32 It shall be to you a sabbath of rest, and you shall humble your souls. In the ninth of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your sabbath. The Jews begin their day from the preceding evening.

Day one - It is the first day of creation; it is the first day of the week; it is the day of the resurrection of the Messiah; and it has become the Christian Sabbath.

The word "day" is used in Scripture in three ways:
1) that part of the solar day of twenty-four hours which is light (Gen_1:5); (Gen_1:14); (Joh_9:4); (Joh_11:9).
2) such a day, set apart for some distinctive purpose, as, "day of atonement" (Lev_23:27); "day of judgment" (Mat_10:15).
3) a period of time, long or short, during which certain revealed purposes of God are to be accomplished, as "day of the Lord."

Note a pattern in this chapter, in that first God speaks it, then He makes it, then He names it.

Gen 1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

expanse; - “spread out by beating, as leaf gold.” This expanse was not understood to be solid, as the fowl is said to fly on the face of it Gen_1:21. It is also described as luminous Dan_12:3, and as a monument of divine power Psa_150:1. This is that interval of space between the earth on the one side and the birds on the wing, the clouds and the heavenly bodies on the other, the lower part of which we know to be occupied by the air. This will appear more clearly from a comparison of other passages in this chapter Genesis 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, Genesis :20 And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens. To stretch, spread out, then beat or tread out, means expansum, the spreading out of the air, which surrounds the earth as an atmosphere. According to optical appearance, it is described as a carpet spread out above the earth (Psa_54:2), a curtain (Isa_40:22), a transparent work of sapphire (Exo_24:10), or a molten looking-glass (Job_37:18); but there is nothing in these poetical similes to warrant the idea that the heavens were regarded as a solid mass.

And let it be dividing between water and water. - It appears that the water in a liquid state was in contact with another mass of water, in the shape of dense fogs and vapors; not merely overhanging, but actually resting on the waters beneath. The object of the expanse is to divide the waters which are under it from those which are above it. Hence, it appears that the thing really done is, not to create the space that extends indefinitely above our heads (which, being in itself no thing, but only room for things, requires no creating), but to establish in it the intended disposition of the waters in two separate masses, the one above, and the other below the intervening expanse. This we know is effected by means of the atmosphere, which receives a large body of water in the state of vapor, and bears up a visible portion of it in the form of clouds. These ever-returning and ever-varying piles of mist strike the eye of the unsophisticated spectator; and when the dew is observed on the grass, or the showers of rain, hail, and snow are seen falling on the ground, the conclusion is obvious - that above the expanse, be the distance small or great, is laid up an unseen and inexhaustible treasury of water, by which the earth may be perpetually bedewed and irrigated.

Let there be a firmament - Our translators, by following the firmamentum of the Vulgate, which is a translation of Septuagint, have deprived this passage its full sense and meaning. The Hebrew word rakia, to spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavilion, simply signifies an expanse or space, and consequently that circumambient space or expansion separating the clouds, which are in the higher regions of it, from the seas, etc., which are below it. This we call the atmosphere, the orb of atoms or inconceivably small particles; but the word appears to have been used by Moses in a more extensive sense, and to include the whole of the planetary vortex, or the space which is occupied by the whole solar system.

Gen 1:7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

Genesis 1:7 And God made (853) the firmament, and divided, the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above, the firmament: and it was so.

And divided the waters; the lower part of it, the atmosphere above, which are the clouds full of water, from whence rain descends upon the earth; and which divided between them and those that were left on the earth, and so under it, not yet gathered into one place; as it now does between the clouds of heaven and the waters of the sea.

Gen 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Gen 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

The work of creation on this day is evidently twofold, - the distribution of land and water, and the creation of plants. The former part of it is completed, named, reviewed, and approved before the latter is commenced.

Gen 1:10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Let the land grow. - The land is said to grow or bring forth plants; not because it is endowed with any inherent power to generate plants, but because it is the element in which they are to take root, and from which they are to spring forth.

Grass, herb yielding seed, fruit tree bearing fruit. - The plants now created are divided into three classes - grass, herb, and tree. In the first, the seed is not noticed, as not obvious to the eye; in the second, the seed is the striking characteristic; in the third, the fruit, “in which is its seed,” in which the seed is enclosed, forms the distinguishing mark. In these general expressions all kinds of vegetable productions are included. This division is simple and natural. It proceeds upon two concurrent marks - the structure and the seed. In the first, the green leaf or blade is prominent; in the second, the stalk; in the third, the woody texture. In the first, the seed is not conspicuous; in the second, it is conspicuous; in the third, it is enclosed in a fruit which is conspicuous.

After its kind. - This phrase intimates that like produces like, and therefore that the “kinds” or species are fixed, and do not run into one another. In this little phrase the theory of one species being developed from another is denied.

let the earth bring forth--The three great divisions of the vegetable kingdom here mentioned--were not called into existence in the same way as the light and the air; they were made to grow, and they grew as they do still out of the ground--not, however, by the slow process of vegetation, but through the divine power, without rain, dew, or any process of labor--sprouting up and flourishing in a single day.

Gen 1:12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Whose seed was in itself - Which has the power of multiplying itself by seeds, slips, roots, etc., ad infinitum; which contains in itself all the rudiments of the future plant through its endless generations.

Gen 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Gen 1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Lights. - The work of the fourth day has much in common with that of the first day, which, indeed it continues and completes. Both deal with light, and with dividing between light and darkness, or day and night. “Let there be.” They agree also in choosing the word “be,” to express the nature of the operation which is here performed. But the fourth day advances on the first day. It brings into view the luminaries, the light radiators, the source, while the first only indicated the stream. It contemplates the far expanse, while the first regards only the near.

For signs and for seasons, and for days and years. - While the first day refers only to the day and its twofold division, the fourth refers to signs, seasons, days, and years. These lights are for “signs.” They are to serve as the great natural chronometer of man, having its three units, - the day, the month, and the year - and marking the divisions of time, not only for agricultural and social purposes, but also for meeting out the eras of human history and the cycles of natural science. They are signs of place as well as of time - topometers, if we may use the term. By them the mariner has learned to mark the latitude and longitude of his ship, and the astronomer to determine with any assignable degree of precision the place as well as the time of the planetary orbs of heaven. The “seasons” are the natural seasons of the year, and the set times for civil and sacred purposes which man has attached to special days and years in the revolution of time.

Since the word “day” is a key to the explanation of the first day’s work, so is the word “year” to the interpretation of that of the fourth. Since the cause of the distinction of day and night is the diurnal rotation of the earth on its axis in conjunction with a fixed source of light, which streamed in on the scene of creation as soon as the natural hinderance was removed, so the vicissitudes of the year are owing, along with these two conditions, to the annual revolution of the earth in its orbit round the sun, together with the obliquity of the ecliptic.

The first day spreads the shaded gleam of light over the face of the deep. The fourth day unfolds to the eye the lamps of heaven, hanging in the expanse of the skies, and assigns to them the office of “shining upon the earth.”

Gen 1:15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

Gen 1:16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

Genesis 1:16 And God made (853) two great lights; (853) the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

And God made two great lights - Moses speaks of the sun and moon here, not according to their bulk or solid contents, but according to the proportion of light they shed on the earth.

It is worthy of remark that on the fourth day of the creation the sun was formed, and that at the conclusion of the fourth millenary from the creation, according to the Hebrew, the Sun of righteousness shone upon the world, as deeply sunk in that mental darkness produced by sin as the ancient world was, while teeming darkness held the dominion, till the sun was created as the dispenser of light.

And God made two great lights – Please note that the things that man worships, the sun and moon, are made by God, mere creation.

A type is a divinely purposed illustration of some truth. It may be:
1) a person Romans 5:14 But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come;
2) an event 1Corinthians 10:11 And all these things happened to them as examples; and it is written for our warning on whom the ends of the world have come
3) a thing Hebrews 10:20 by a new and living way which He has consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;
4) an institution Hebrews 9:11 But when Christ had become a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building
5) a ceremonial 1Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For also Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

Types occur most frequently in the Pentateuch, but are found, more sparingly, elsewhere. The antitype, or fulfillment of the type, is found, usually, in the New Testament

Type seen here:
The "greater light" is a type of Christ, the "Sun of righteousness" Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise, and healing will be on His wings. And you shall go out and frisk like calves of the stall. He will take this character at His second advent. Morally the world is now in the state between; see Gen_1:3-16. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the world's rulers, of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Acts 26:18 in order to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. 1Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you might speak of the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; The sun is not seen, but there is light. Christ is that light John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John1:5-9 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it. There was a man sent from God; his name was John. This one came as a witness, to bear witness concerning the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. He was the true Light; He enlightens every man coming into the world but "shineth in darkness," comprehended only by faith. As "Son of righteousness" He will dispel all darkness. The Church is in place as the "lesser light," the moon, reflecting the light of the unseen sun. The stars (Gen_1:16) are individual believers who are "lights"; Philippians 2:15-16 so that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. Among these you shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of Life, so that I may rejoice with you in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain nor labored in vain. John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.

Gen 1:17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven - He not only ordered that there they should be, and made them that there they might be, but he placed them there with his own hands. The various expressions used seem to be designed on purpose to guard against and expose the vanity of the worship of the sun and moon; which being visible, and of such great influence and usefulness to the earth, were the first the Heathens paid adoration to, and was as early as the times of Job, Job_31:26 and yet these were but creatures made by God, his servants and agents under him, and therefore to worship them was to serve the creature besides the Creator,

Gen 1:18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

and God saw that it was good; or foresaw it would be, that there should be such lights in the heaven, which would be exceeding beneficial to the inhabitants of the earth, as they find by good experience it is, and therefore have great reason to be thankful, and to adore the wisdom and goodness of God;

Gen 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Gen 1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

living soul - nephesh, “breath, soul, self.” This noun is derived from a root signifying to breathe. Its concrete meaning is, therefore, “that which breathes,” and consequently has a body, without which there can be no breathing; hence, “a breathing body,” and even a body that once had breath Num_6:6. As breath is the accompaniment and sign of life, it comes to denote “life,” and hence, a living body, “an animal.” And as life properly signifies animal life, and is therefore essentially connected with feeling, appetite, thought, denotes also these qualities, and what possesses them.

Gen 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:21 And God created (853) great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God created great whales -Though this is generally understood by the different versions as signifying whales, yet the original must be understood rather as a general than a particular term, comprising all the great aquatic animals, such as the various species of whales, the porpoise, the dolphin, the monoceros or narwal, and the shark. God delights to show himself in little as well as in great things: hence he forms animals so minute that 30,000 can be contained in one drop of water; and others so great that they seem to require almost a whole sea to float in.

Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Genesis 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill (853) the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Gen 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Gen 1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

This day corresponds with the third. In both the land is the sphere of operation. In both are performed two acts of creative power. In the third the land was clothed with vegetation: in the sixth it is peopled with the animal kingdom. First, the lower animals are called into being, and then, to crown all, man.

cattle, and creepers, and its beasts of the earth - This branch of the animal world is divided into three parts. “Living breathing thing” is the general head under which all these are comprised.

Cattle - denotes the animals that dwell with man, especially those that bear burdens. The same term in the original, when there is no contrast, when in the plural number or with the specification of “the land,” the “field,” is used of wild beasts.

Creeping things - evidently denote the smaller animals, from which the cattle are distinguished as the large. The quality of creeping is, however, applied sometimes to denote the motion of the lower animals with the body in a prostrate posture, in opposition to the erect posture of man Psa_104:20.

beast of the land - or the field signifies the wild rapacious animal that lives apart from man. The word chayâh, “beast or animal,” is the general term employed in these verses for the whole animal kind. It signifies wild animal with certainty only when it is accompanied by the qualifying term “land” or “field,” or the epithet “evil” rā‛âh.

Creature - Nephesh, translated Soul in (Gen_2:7) and usually. In itself nephesh, or soul, implies self-conscious life, as distinguished from plants, which have unconscious life. In the sense of self-conscious life animals also have "soul."

Gen 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:25 And God made (853) the beasts of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and all creepers upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good.

Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Man - mankind; “be red.” ādām, A collective noun, having no plural number, and therefore denoting either an individual of the kind, or the kind or race itself. It is connected in etymology with 'ădāmâh, “the red soil,” from which the human body was formed Gen_2:7. It therefore marks the earthly aspect of man. The word Adam, which we translate man, is intended to designate the species of animal, as chaitho, marks the wild beasts that live in general a solitary life; behemah, domestic or gregarious animals; and remes, all kinds of reptiles, from the largest snake to the microscopic eel.

In our image, after our likeness - What is said here refers to his soul. This was made in the image and likeness of God. Now, as the Divine Being is infinite, he is neither limited by parts, nor definable by passions; therefore he can have no corporeal image after which he made the body of man. The image and likeness must necessarily be intellectual; his mind, his soul, must have been formed after the nature and perfections of his God. The human mind is still endowed with most extraordinary capacities; it was more so when issuing out of the hands of its Creator. God was now producing a spirit, and a spirit, too, formed after the perfections of his own nature. God is the fountain whence this spirit issued, hence the stream must resemble the spring which produced it. God is holy, just, wise, good, and perfect; so must the soul be that sprang from him: there could be in it nothing impure, unjust, ignorant, evil, low, base, mean, or vile. It was created after the image of God; and that image, Paul tells us, consisted in righteousness, true holiness, and knowledge, Ephesians 4:24 And you should put on the new man, who according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness. Colossians 3:10 and having put on the new, having been renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

And let them have dominion - Hence we see that the dominion was not the image. God created man capable of governing the world, and when fitted for the office, he fixed him in it.

Let Us make - It has been supposed by some that God speaks here to the angels, when he says, Let us make man; but to make this a likely interpretation these persons must prove, 1. That angels were then created. 2. That angels could assist in a work of creation. 3. That angels were themselves made in the image and likeness of God. If they were not, it could not be said, in Our image, and it does not appear from any part in the sacred writings that any creature but man was made in the image of God. The words are not spoken after the manner of kings, using the plural number as expressive of honor and majesty; since such a way of speaking did not obtain very early, not even till the close of the Old Testament: but they are spoken by God the Father to the Son and Holy Ghost, who were each of them concerned in the creation of all things, and particularly of man: hence we read of divine Creators and Makers in the plural number, being co-workers with God in creation. That man was made in the "image and likeness" of God. This image is found chiefly in man's tri-unity, and in his moral nature. Man is "spirit and soul and body" 1Thessalonians 5:23 And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessly at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Spirit" is that part of man which "knows" 1Corinthians 2:11 For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of man within him? So also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. and which allies him to the spiritual creation and gives him God-consciousness. "Soul" in itself implies self-consciousness life, as distinguished from plants, which have unconscious life. In that sense animals also have "soul" (Gen_1:24). But the "soul" of man has a vaster content than "soul" as applied to beast life. It is the seat of emotions, desires, affections Psalms 42:1-6 To the Chief Musician. A contemplation; for the sons of Korah. As the hart pants after the water brooks, so my soul pants after You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day, Where is your God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul on me; for I had gone with the multitude; I went with them to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping the feast. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and moan within me? Hope in God; for I shall praise Him for the salvation of His face. O my God, my soul is cast down within me; therefore I will remember You from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermons, from mount Mizar. The "heart" is, in Scripture usage, nearly synonymous with "soul." Because the natural man is, characteristically, the soulual or physical man, "soul" is often used as synonymous with the individual, for example Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gained in Haran. And they went forth to go into the land of Canaan. And they came into the land of Canaan. The body, separable from spirit and soul, and susceptible to death, is nevertheless an integral part of man, as the resurrection shows; John 5:28-29 Do not marvel at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have practiced evil to the resurrection of condemnation. 1Corinthians 15:47-50 The first man was out of earth, earthy; the second Man was the Lord from Heaven. Such the earthy man, such also the earthy ones. And such the heavenly Man, such also the heavenly ones. And according as we bore the image of the earthy man, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. And I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption; Revelation 20:11-13 And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. It is the seat of the senses (the means by which the spirit and soul have world-consciousness) and of the fallen Adamic nature. Romans 7:23 but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin being in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

in Our image, after Our likeness –
In his nature, not that of his body, for God has not a body, but that of his soul. The soul is a spirit, an intelligent, immortal spirit, an active spirit, herein resembling God, the Father of spirits, and the soul of the world.
In his place and authority. Let us make man in our image, and let him have dominion. As he has the government of the inferior creatures, he is as it were God's representative on earth. Yet his government of himself by the freedom of his will, has in it more of God's image, than his government of the creatures.
And chiefly in his purity and rectitude. God's image upon man consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness, Ephesians 4:24 And you should put on the new man, who according to God was created in righteousness and true holiness. Colossians 3:10 and having put on the new, having been renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, He was upright, Ecclesiastes 7:29 Lo, this only I have found, that God has made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions.
In our image, after our likeness--This was a peculiar distinction, the value attached to which appears in the words being twice mentioned. And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, a past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral dispositions of his soul, commonly called original righteousness Ecc_7:29. As the new creation is only a restoration of this image, the history of the one throws light on the other; and we are informed that it is renewed after the image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness (Col_3:10; Eph_4:24).

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Genesis 1:27 So God created (853) man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Genesis 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (853) the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

and God said unto them, be fruitful, and multiply: if this is not an express command, as the Jews understand it, for marriage and procreation of children, it seems to be more than a bare permission; at least it is a direction and an advice to what was proper and convenient for the increase of mankind, and for the filling of the earth with inhabitants, which was the end of its being made, Isaiah 45:18 For so says Jehovah the Creator of the heavens, He is God, forming the earth and making it; He makes it stand, not creating it empty, but forming it to be inhabited. I am Jehovah, and there is no other This shows that marriage is an ordinance of God, instituted in paradise, and is honorable; and that procreation is a natural action, and might have been, and may be performed without sin,

and subdue it. And have dominion – Man is given the right to have dominion over the earth and all within it, given to us by God. Not to abuse but as proper stewards.

And let them rule. - The relation of man to the creature is now stated. It is that of sovereignty. Those capacities of right thinking, right willing, and right acting, or of knowledge, holiness, and righteousness, in which man resembles God, qualify him for dominion, and constitute him lord of all creatures that are destitute of intellectual and moral endowments.

Gen 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

Genesis 1:29 And God said, Behold, I have given you (853) every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

I have given you every herb - It seems from this that man was originally intended to live upon vegetables only. It may also be inferred from this passage that no animal whatever was originally designed to prey on others; for nothing is here said to be given to any beast of the earth besides green herbs. Before sin entered into the world, there could be, at least, no violent deaths, if any death at all. Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herb. In Genesis 9:3 we are given the right to eat meat.

Gen 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

Genesis 1:30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given (853) every green herb for meat: and it was so.

and it was so; every creature, both man and beast, had food suitable to their nature and appetite, and a sufficiency of it. From Romans 5:12 Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned: it is certain that up until the fall no animal ate other animals, otherwise there would have been death before Adam's first sin, which is said to be the cause of death.

Gen 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Genesis 1:31 And God saw (853) every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

And the evening - The word ereb, which we translate evening, comes from the root arab, to mingle; and properly signifies that state in which neither absolute darkness nor full light prevails. It has nearly the same grammatical signification with our twilight, the time that elapses from the setting of the sun till he is eighteen degrees below the horizon and the last eighteen degrees before he arises.

And behold, it was very good; here the expression is stronger upon the creation of man, the chief and principal work of God, that it was "very good"; he being made upright and holy, bearing the image of his Creator upon him, and in such circumstances as to be happy and comfortable himself, and to glorify God: the phrase may be expressive not only of the goodness of everything God had made, as it was in itself, and in its use; but of his complacency, and delight therein, every thing being made for himself and for, his pleasure, Rev_4:11.

And it is a notion that obtains among the Jews, that, answerable to the six days of creation, the world will continue six thousand years. It is a tradition of Elias, an ancient Jewish doctor, that "the world shall stand six thousand years, two thousand void, two thousand under the law, and two thousand, the days of the Messiah.''