A verse by verse commentary on Genesis chapter 1 dealing with God and the six days of creation, and His making man in His own image.

1. GE ESIS 1 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
The Beginning
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.
BAR ES, " - Section I - The Creation
- The Absolute Creation
‫ראשׁית‬ rᐃshıyt, the “head-part, beginning” of a thing, in point of time Gen_10:10, or
value Pro_1:7. Its opposite is ‫אחרית‬ 'achărıyth Isa_46:10. ‫בראשׁית‬ rê'shıyth, “in the
beginning,” is always used in reference to time. Here only is it taken absolutely.
‫ברא‬ bārā', “create, give 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 Num_16:30. Any thing or event may also be said to be created by Him, who
created the whole system of nature to which it belongs Mal_2:10. 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.
‫אלהים‬ 'ĕlohıym, “God.” The noun ‫אלוה‬ 'elôah or ‫אלה‬ '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 Chaldee form ‫אלה‬ 'elâh occurs about seventy-four times in the
singular, and ten in the plural. The Hebrew letter ‫ה‬ (h) is proved to be radical, not only
by bearing mappiq, but also by keeping its ground before a formative ending. The Arabic
verb, with the same radicals, seems rather to borrow from it than to lend the meaning
coluit, “worshipped,” which it sometimes has. 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. 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

2. 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 votaries, and by others who had occasion to
speak of them. 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.
Its indirect applications point with equal steadiness to this primary and fundamental
meaning. Thus, it is employed in a relative and well-defined sense to denote one
appointed of God to stand in a certain divine relation to another. This relation is that of
authoritative revealer or administrator of the will of God. Thus, we are told Joh_10:34
that “he called them gods, to whom the word of God came.” Thus, Moses became related
to Aaron as God to His prophet Exo_4:16, and to Pharaoh as God to His creature Exo_
7:1. Accordingly, in Psa_82:6, we find this principle generalized: “I had said, gods are ye,
and sons of the Highest all of you.” Here the divine authority vested in Moses is
expressly recognized in those who sit in Moses’ seat as judges for God. They exercised a
function of God among the people, and so were in God’s stead to them. Man, indeed, was
originally adapted for ruling, being made in the image of God, and commanded to have
dominion over the inferior creatures. The parent also is instead of God in some respect
to his children, and the sovereign holds the relation of patriarch to his subjects. Still,
however, we are not fully warranted in translating ‫אלהים‬ 'ĕlohıym, “judges” in Exo_21:6;
Exo_22:7-8, Exo_22:27 (Hebrew versification: 8, 9, 28), because a more easy, exact, and
impressive sense is obtained from the proper rendering.
The word ‫מלאך‬ me
l'āk, “angel,” as a relative or official term, is sometimes applied
to a person of the Godhead; but the process is not reversed. The Septuagint indeed
translates ‫אלהים‬ 'ĕlohıym in several instances by ᅎγγελοι angeloi Psa_8:6; Psa_97:7; Psa_
138:1. The correctness of this is seemingly supported by the quotations in Heb_1:6. and
Heb_2:7. These, however, do not imply that the renderings are absolutely correct, but
only suffiently so for the purpose of the writer. And it is evident they are so, because the
original is a highly imaginative figure, by which a class is conceived to exist, of which in
reality only one of the kind is or can be. Now the Septuagint, either imagining, from the
occasional application of the official term “angel” to God, that the angelic office
somehow or sometimes involved the divine nature, or viewing some of the false gods of
the pagan as really angels, and therefore seemingly wishing to give a literal turn to the
figure, substituted the word ᅎγγελοι angeloi as an interpretation for ‫אלהים‬ 'ĕlohıym.
This free translation was sufficient for the purpose of the inspired author of the Epistle
to the Hebrews, inasmuch as the worship of all angels Heb_1:6 in the Septuagintal sense
of the term was that of the highest rank of dignitaries under God; and the argument in
the latter passage Heb_2:7 turns not on the words, “thou madest him a little lower than
the angels,” but upon the sentence, “thou hast put all things under his feet.” Moreover,
the Septuagint is by no means consistent in this rendering of the word in Similar
passages (see Psa_82:1; Psa_97:1; 1Sa_28:13).
With regard to the use of the word, it is to be observed that the plural of the Chaldee
form is uniformly plural in sense. The English version of ‫בר־אלהין‬ bar-'elâhıyn, “the Son of
God” Dan_3:25 is the only exception to this. But since it is the phrase of a pagan, the real

3. meaning may be, “a son of the gods.” On the contrary, the plural of the Hebrew form is
generally employed to denote the one God. The singular form, when applied to the true
God, is naturally suggested by the prominent thought of his being the only one. The
plural, when so applied, is generally accompanied with singular conjuncts, and conveys
the predominant conception of a plurality in the one God - a plurality which must be
perfectly consistent with his being the only possible one of his kind. The explanations of
this use of the plural - namely, that it is a relic of polytheism, that it indicates the
association of the angels with the one God in a common or collective appellation, and
that it expresses the multiplicity of attributes subsisting in him - are not satisfactory. All
we can say is, that it indicates such a plurality in the only one God as makes his nature
complete and creation possible. Such a plurality in unity must have dawned upon the
mind of Adam. It is afterward, we conceive, definitely revealed in the doctrine of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
‫שׁמים‬ shāmayım, “skies, heavens,” being the “high” (shamay, “be high,” Arabic) or the
“airy” region; the overarching dome of space, with all its revolving orbs.
‫ארץ‬ 'erets, “land, earth, the low or the hard.” The underlying surface of land.
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.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” Gen_1:1. This great
introductory sentence of the book of God is equal in weight to the whole of its
subsequent communications concerning the kingdom of nature.
Gen_1:1 assumes the existence of God, for it is He who in the beginning creates. It
assumes His eternity, for He is before all things: and since nothing comes from nothing,
He Himself must have always been. 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 κόσµος 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 its bosom
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 sentence Gen_1:1 assumes the being of God, and asserts the beginning of things.
Hence, it intimates that the existence of God is more immediately patent to the reason of
man than the creation of the universe. And this is agreeable to the philosophy of things,

4. for the existence of God is a necessary and eternal truth, more and more self-evident to
the intellect as it rises to maturity. But the beginning of things is, by its very nature, a
contingent event, which once was not and then came to be contingent on the free will of
the Eternal, and, therefore, not evident to reason itself, but made known to the
understanding by testimony and the reality of things. This sentence is the testimony, and
the actual world in us and around us is the reality. Faith takes account of the one,
observation of the other.
It bears on the very face of it the indication that it was written by man, and for man,
for it divides all things into the heavens and the earth. Such a division evidently suits
those only who are inhabitants of the earth. Accordingly, this sentence Gen_1:1 is the
foundation-stone of the history, not of the universe at large, of the sun, of any other
planet, but of the earth, and of man its rational inhabitant. The primeval event which it
records may be far distant, in point of time, from the next event in such a history; as the
earth may have existed myriads of ages, and undergone many vicissitudes in its
condition, before it became the home of the human race. And, for ought we know, the
history of other planets, even of the solar system, may yet be unwritten, because there
has been as yet no rational inhabitant to compose or peruse the record. We have no
intimation of the interval of time that elapsed between the beginning of things narrated
in this prefatory sentence and that state of things which is announced in the following
verse, Gen_1:2.
With no less clearness, however, does it show that it was dictated by superhuman
knowledge. For it records the beginning of things of which natural science can take no
cognizance. Man observes certain laws of nature, and, guided by these, may trace the
current of physical events backward and forward, but without being able to fix any limit
to the course of nature in either direction. And not only this sentence, but the main part
of this and the following chapter communicates events that occurred before man made
his appearance on the stage of things; and therefore before he could either witness or
record them. And in harmony with all this, the whole volume is proved by the topics
chosen, the revelations made, the views entertained, the ends contemplated, and the
means of information possessed, to be derived from a higher source than man.
This simple sentence Gen_1:1 denies atheism, for it assumes the being of God. It
denies polytheism, and, among its various forms, the doctrine of two eternal principles,
the one good and the other evil, for it confesses the one Eternal Creator. It denies
materialism, for it asserts the creation of matter. It denies pantheism, for it assumes the
existence of God before all things, and apart from them. It denies fatalism, for it involves
the freedom of the Eternal Being.
It indicates the relative superiority, in point of magnitude, of the heavens to the earth,
by giving the former the first place in the order of words. It is thus in accordance with
the first elements of astronomical science.
It is therefore pregnant with physical and metaphysical, with ethical and theological
instruction for the first man, for the predecessors and contemporaries of Moses, and for
all the succeeding generations of mankind.
This verse forms an integral part of the narrative, and not a mere heading as some
have imagined. This is abundantly evident from the following reasons: 1. It has the form
of a narrative, not of a superscription. 2. The conjunctive particle connects the second
verse with it; which could not be if it were a heading. 3. The very next sentence speaks of
the earth as already in existence, and therefore its creation must be recorded in the first
verse. 4. In the first verse the heavens take precedence of the earth; but in the following
verses all things, even the sun, moon, and stars seem to be but appendages to the earth.
Thus, if it were a heading, it would not correspond with the narrative. 5. If the first verse

5. belongs to the narrative, order pervades the whole recital; whereas; if it is a heading, the
most hopeless confusion enters. Light is called into being before the sun, moon, and
stars. The earth takes precedence of the heavenly luminaries. The stars, which are
coordinate with the sun, and preordinate to the moon, occupy the third place in the
narrative of their manifestation. For any or all of these reasons it is obvious that the first
verse forms a part of the narrative.
As soon as it is settled that the narrative begins in the first verse, another question
comes up for determination; namely, whether the heavens here mean the heavenly
bodies that circle in their courses through the realms of space, or the mere space itself
which they occupy with their perambulations. It is manifest that the heavens here
denote the heavenly orbs themselves - the celestial mansions with their existing
inhabitants - for the following cogent reasons:
1. Creation implies something created, and not mere space, which is nothing, and
cannot be said to be created.
2. Since “the earth” here obviously means the substance of the planet we inhabit, so,
by parity of reason, the heavens must mean the substance of the celestial
luminaries, the heavenly hosts of stars and spirits.
3. “The heavens” are placed before “the earth,” and therefore must mean that reality
which is greater than the earth, for if they meant “space,” and nothing real, they
ought not to be before the earth.
4. “The heavens” are actually mentioned in the verse, and therefore must mean a real
thing, for if they meant nothing at all, they ought not to be mentioned.
5. The heavens must denote the heavenly realities, because this imparts a rational
order to the whole chapter; whereas an unaccountable derangement appears if the
sun, moon, and stars do not come into existence till the fourth day, though the sun
is the center of light and the measurer of the daily period.
For any or all of these reasons, it is undeniable that the heavens in the first verse mean
the fixed and planetary orbs of space; and, consequently, that these uncounted tenants of
the skies, along with our own planet, are all declared to be in existence before the
commencement of the six days’ creation.
Hence, it appears that the first verse records an event antecedent to those described in
the subsequent verses. This is the absolute and aboriginal creation of the heavens and all
that in them is, and of the earth in its primeval state. The former includes all those
resplendent spheres which are spread before the wondering eye of man, as well as those
hosts of planets and of spiritual and angelic beings which are beyond the range of his
natural vision. This brings a simple, unforced meaning out of the whole chapter, and
discloses a beauty and a harmony in the narrative which no other interpretation can
afford. In this way the subsequent verses reveal a new effort of creative power, by which
the pre-Adamic earth, in the condition in which it appears in the second verse, is
prepared for the residence of a fresh animal creation, including the human race. The
process is represented as it would appear to primeval man in his infantile simplicity,
with whom his own position would naturally be the fixed point to which everything else
was to be referred.
CLARKE, "God in the beginning created the heavens and the earth - ‫בראשית‬
‫הארץ‬ ‫ואת‬ ‫השמים‬ ‫את‬ ‫אלהים‬ ‫ברא‬ Bereshith bara Elohim eth hashshamayim veeth haarets; God in

6. the beginning created the heavens and the earth.
Many attempts have been made to define the term God: as to the word itself, it is pure
Anglo-Saxon, and among our ancestors signified, not only the Divine Being, now
commonly designated by the word, but also good; as in their apprehensions it appeared
that God and good were correlative terms; and when they thought or spoke of him, they
were doubtless led from the word itself to consider him as The Good Being, a fountain of
infinite benevolence and beneficence towards his creatures.
A general definition of this great First Cause, as far as human words dare attempt one,
may be thus given: The eternal, independent, and self-existent Being: the Being whose
purposes and actions spring from himself, without foreign motive or influence: he who is
absolute in dominion; the most pure, the most simple, and most spiritual of all essences;
infinitely benevolent, beneficent, true, and holy: the cause of all being, the upholder of
all things; infinitely happy, because infinitely perfect; and eternally self-sufficient,
needing nothing that he has made: illimitable in his immensity, inconceivable in his
mode of existence, and indescribable in his essence; known fully only to himself, because
an infinite mind can be fully apprehended only by itself. In a word, a Being who, from his
infinite wisdom, cannot err or be deceived; and who, from his infinite goodness, can do
nothing but what is eternally just, right, and kind. Reader, such is the God of the Bible;
but how widely different from the God of most human creeds and apprehensions!
The original word ‫אלהים‬ Elohim, God, is certainly the plural form of ‫אל‬ El, or ‫אלה‬
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.” See Ainsworth.
He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity,
and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words. The verb ‫ברא‬ bara, he created,
being joined in the singular number with this plural noun, has been considered as
pointing out, and not obscurely, the unity of the Divine Persons in this work of creation.
In the ever-blessed Trinity, from the infinite and indivisible unity of the persons, there
can be but one will, one purpose, and one infinite and uncontrollable energy.
“Let those who have any doubt whether ‫אלהים‬ 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.” - Parkhurst.
As the word Elohim is the term by which the Divine Being is most generally expressed
in the Old Testament, it may be necessary to consider it here more at large. It is a maxim
that admits of no controversy, that every noun in the Hebrew language is derived from a
verb, which is usually termed the radix or root, from which, not only the noun, but all

7. the different flections of the verb, spring. This radix is the third person singular of the
preterite or past tense. The ideal meaning of this root expresses some essential property
of the thing which it designates, or of which it is an appellative. The root in Hebrew, and
in its sister language, the Arabic, generally consists of three letters, and every word must
be traced to its root in order to ascertain its genuine meaning, for there alone is this
meaning to be found. In Hebrew and Arabic this is essentially necessary, and no man can
safely criticise on any word in either of these languages who does not carefully attend to
this point.
I mention the Arabic with the Hebrew for two reasons.
1. Because the two languages evidently spring from the same source, and have very
nearly the same mode of construction.
2. Because the deficient roots in the Hebrew Bible are to be sought for in the Arabic
language. The reason of this must be obvious, when it is considered that the whole
of the Hebrew language is lost except what is in the Bible, and even a part of this
book is written in Chaldee.
Now, as the English Bible does not contain the whole of the English language, so the
Hebrew Bible does not contain the whole of the Hebrew. If a man meet with an English
word which he cannot find in an ample concordance or dictionary to the Bible, he must
of course seek for that word in a general English dictionary. In like manner, if a
particular form of a Hebrew word occur that cannot be traced to a root in the Hebrew
Bible, because the word does not occur in the third person singular of the past tense in
the Bible, it is expedient, it is perfectly lawful, and often indispensably necessary, to seek
the deficient root in the Arabic. For as the Arabic is still a living language, and perhaps
the most copious in the universe, it may well be expected to furnish those terms which
are deficient in the Hebrew Bible. And the reasonableness of this is founded on another
maxim, viz., that either the Arabic was derived from the Hebrew, or the Hebrew from
the Arabic. I shall not enter into this controversy; there are great names on both sides,
and the decision of the question in either way will have the same effect on my argument.
For if the Arabic were derived from the Hebrew, it must have been when the Hebrew was
a living and complete language, because such is the Arabic now; and therefore all its
essential roots we may reasonably expect to find there: but if, as Sir William Jones
supposed, the Hebrew were derived from the Arabic, the same expectation is justified,
the deficient roots in Hebrew may be sought for in the mother tongue. If, for example,
we meet with a term in our ancient English language the meaning of which we find
difficult to ascertain, common sense teaches us that we should seek for it in the Anglo-
Saxon, from which our language springs; and, if necessary, go up to the Teutonic, from
which the Anglo-Saxon was derived. No person disputes the legitimacy of this measure,
and we find it in constant practice. I make these observations at the very threshold of my
work, because the necessity of acting on this principle (seeking deficient Hebrew roots in
the Arabic) may often occur, and I wish to speak once for all on the subject.
The first sentence in the Scripture shows the propriety of having recourse to this
principle. We have seen that the word ‫אלהים‬ Elohim is plural; we have traced our term
God to its source, and have seen its signification; and also a general definition of the
thing or being included under this term, has been tremblingly attempted. We should
now trace the original to its root, but this root does not appear in the Hebrew Bible.
Were the Hebrew a complete language, a pious reason might be given for this omission,
viz., “As God is without beginning and without cause, as his being is infinite and
underived, the Hebrew language consults strict propriety in giving no root whence his
name can be deduced.” Mr. Parkhurst, to whose pious and learned labors in Hebrew

8. literature most Biblical students are indebted, thinks he has found the root in ‫אלה‬ alah,
he swore, bound himself by oath; and hence he calls the ever-blessed Trinity ‫אלהים‬
Elohim, as being bound by a conditional oath to redeem man, etc., etc. Most pious minds
will revolt from such a definition, and will be glad with me to find both the noun and the
root preserved in Arabic. Allah is the common name for God in the Arabic tongue, and
often the emphatic is used. Now both these words are derived from the root alaha, he
worshipped, adored, was struck with astonishment, fear, or terror; and hence, he adored
with sacred horror and veneration, cum sacro horrore ac veneratione coluit, adoravit -
Wilmet. Hence ilahon, fear, veneration, and also the object of religious fear, the Deity,
the supreme God, the tremendous Being. This is not a new idea; God was considered in
the same light among the ancient Hebrews; and hence Jacob swears by the fear of his
father Isaac, Gen_31:53. To complete the definition, Golius renders alaha, juvit,
liberavit, et tutatus fuit, “he succoured, liberated, kept in safety, or defended.” Thus
from the ideal meaning of this most expressive root, we acquire the most correct notion
of the Divine nature; for we learn that God is the sole object of adoration; that the
perfections of his nature are such as must astonish all those who piously contemplate
them, and fill with horror all who would dare to give his glory to another, or break his
commandments; that consequently he should be worshipped with reverence and
religious fear; and that every sincere worshipper may expect from him help in all his
weaknesses, trials, difficulties, temptations, etc.,; freedom from the power, guilt, nature,
and consequences of sin; and to be supported, defended, and saved to the uttermost, and
to the end.
Here then is one proof, among multitudes which shall be adduced in the course of this
work, of the importance, utility, and necessity of tracing up these sacred words to their
sources; and a proof also, that subjects which are supposed to be out of the reach of the
common people may, with a little difficulty, be brought on a level with the most ordinary
capacity.
In the beginning - Before the creative acts mentioned in this chapter all was
Eternity. Time signifies duration measured by the revolutions of the heavenly bodies:
but prior to the creation of these bodies there could be no measurement of duration, and
consequently no time; therefore in the beginning must necessarily mean the
commencement of time which followed, or rather was produced by, God’s creative acts,
as an effect follows or is produced by a cause.
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 ‫ברא‬ 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, though it has some other
acceptations in other places. The supposition that God formed all things out of a pre-
existing, eternal nature, is certainly absurd, for if there had been an eternal nature
besides an eternal God, there must have been two self-existing, independent, and eternal
beings, which is a most palpable contradiction.
‫השמים‬ ‫את‬ eth hashshamayim. 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

9. 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 (says Buxtorf, Talmudic Lexicon, sub voce) with the
cabalists is often mystically put for the beginning and the end, as α alpha and ω omega
are in the Apocalypse.” On this ground these words should be translated, “God in the
beginning created the substance of the heavens and the substance of the earth,” i.e. the
prima materia, or first elements, out of which the heavens and the earth were
successively formed. The Syriac translator understood the word in this sense, and to
express this meaning has used the word yoth, which has this signification, and is very
properly translated in Walton’s Polyglot, Esse, caeli et Esse terrae, “the being or
substance of the heaven, and the being or substance of the earth.” St. Ephraim Syrus, in
his comment on this place, uses the same Syriac word, and appears to understand it
precisely in the same way. Though the Hebrew words are certainly no more than the
notation of a case in most places, yet understood here in the sense above, they argue a
wonderful philosophic accuracy in the statement of Moses, which brings before us, not a
finished heaven and earth, as every other translation appears to do, though afterwards
the process of their formation is given in detail, but merely the materials out of which
God built the whole system in the six following days.
The heaven and the earth - As the word ‫שמים‬ 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, as it is very likely the
whole of this was created in these six days; for unless the earth had been the center of a
system, the reverse of which is sufficiently demonstrated, it would be unphilosophic to
suppose it was created independently of the other parts of the system, as on this
supposition we must have recourse to the almighty power of God to suspend the
influence of the earth’s gravitating power till the fourth day, when the sun was placed in
the center, round which the earth began then to revolve. But as the design of the inspired
penman was to relate what especially belonged to our world and its inhabitants,
therefore he passes by the rest of the planetary system, leaving it simply included in the
plural word heavens. 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. As therefore I suppose the whole solar system was created at
this time, I think it perfectly in place to give here a general view of all the planets, with
every thing curious and important hitherto known relative to their revolutions and
principal affections.
Observations On The Preceding Tables
(Editor’s Note: These tables were omitted due to outdated information)
In Table I. the quantity or the periodic and sidereal revolutions of the planets is
expressed in common years, each containing 365 days; as, e.g., the tropical revolution of
Jupiter is, by the table, 11 years, 315 days, 14 hours, 39 minutes, 2 seconds; i.e., the exact
number of days is equal to 11 years multiplied by 365, and the extra 315 days added to
the product, which make In all 4330 days. The sidereal and periodic times are also set
down to the nearest second of time, from numbers used in the construction of the tables
in the third edition of M. de la Lande’s Astronomy. The columns containing the mean
distance of the planets from the sun in English miles, and their greatest and least
distance from the earth, are such as result from the best observations of the two last

10. transits of Venus, which gave the solar parallax to be equal to 8 three-fifth seconds of a
degree; and consequently the earth’s diameter, as seen from the sun, must be the double
of 8 three-fifth seconds, or 17 one-fifth seconds. From this last quantity, compared with
the apparent diameters of the planets, as seen at a distance equal to that of the earth at
her main distance from the sun, the diameters of the planets in English miles, as
contained in the seventh column, have been carefully computed. In the column entitled
“Proportion of bulk, the earth being 1,” the whole numbers express the number of times
the other planet contains more cubic miles, etc., than the earth; and if the number of
cubic miles in the earth be given, the number of cubic miles in any planet may be readily
found by multiplying the cubic miles contained in the earth by the number in the
column, and the product will be the quantity required.
This is a small but accurate sketch of the vast solar system; to describe it fully, even in
all its known revolutions and connections, in all its astonishing energy and influence, in
its wonderful plan, structure, operations, and results, would require more volumes than
can be devoted to the commentary itself.
As so little can be said here on a subject so vast, it may appear to some improper to
introduce it at all; but to any observation of this kind I must be permitted to reply, that I
should deem it unpardonable not to give a general view of the solar system in the very
place where its creation is first introduced. If these works be stupendous and
magnificent, what must He be who formed, guides, and supports them all by the word of
his power! Reader, stand in awe of this God, and sin not. Make him thy friend through
the Son of his love; and, when these heavens and this earth are no more, thy soul shall
exist in consummate and unutterable felicity.
GILL, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. By the heaven
some understand the supreme heaven, the heaven of heavens, the habitation of God, and
of the holy angels; and this being made perfect at once, no mention is after made of it, as
of the earth; and it is supposed that the angels were at this time created, since they were
present at the laying of the foundation of the earth, Job_38:6 but rather the lower and
visible heavens are meant, at least are not excluded, that is, the substance of them; as yet
being imperfect and unadorned; the expanse not yet made, or the ether and air not yet
stretched out; nor any light placed in them, or adorned with the sun, moon, and stars: so
the earth is to be understood, not of that properly so called, as separated from the
waters, that is, the dry land afterwards made to appear; but the whole mass of earth and
water before their separation, and when in their unformed and unadorned state,
described in the next verse: in short, these words represent the visible heavens and the
terraqueous globe, in their chaotic state, as they were first brought into being by
almighty power. The ‫ה‬ prefixed to both words is, as Aben Ezra observes, 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: for in the Arabic language, as he also observes, the word for "heaven", comes from
one which signifies high or above (a); as that for "earth" from one that signifies low and
beneath, or under (b). Now it was the matter or substance of these that was first created;
for the word ‫את‬ set before them signifies substance, as both Aben Ezra and (c) Kimchi
affirm. Maimonides (d) observes, that this particle, according to their wise men, is the
same as "with"; and then 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; or all things in them were seminally together: for so he illustrates it by an
husbandman sowing seeds of divers kinds in the earth, at one and the same time; some

11. of which come up after one day, and some after two days, and some after three days,
though all sown together. These are said to be "created", that is, to be made out of
nothing; for what pre-existent matter to this chaos could there be out of which they
could be formed? And the apostle says, "through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things
which do appear", Heb_11:3. And though this word is sometimes used, and even in this
chapter, of the production of creatures out of pre-existent matter, as in Gen_1:21 yet, as
Nachmanides observes, there is not in the holy language any word but this here used, by
which is signified the bringing anything into being out of nothing; and many of the
Jewish interpreters, as Aben Ezra, understand by creation here, a production of
something into being out of nothing; and Kimchi says (e) that creation is a making some
new thing, and a bringing something out of nothing: and it deserves notice, that this
word is only used of God; and creation must be the work of God, for none but an
almighty power could produce something out of nothing. The word used is Elohimö,
which some derive from another, which signifies power, creation being an act of
almighty power: but it is rather to be derived from the root in the Arabic language, which
signifies to worship (f), God being the object of all religious worship and adoration; and
very properly does Moses make use of this appellation here, to teach us, that he who is
the Creator of the heavens and the earth is the sole object of worship; as he was of the
worship of the Jewish nation, at the head of which Moses was. It is in the plural number,
and being joined to a verb of the singular, is thought by many to be designed to point
unto us the mystery of a plurality, or trinity of persons in the unity of the divine essence:
but whether or no this is sufficient to support that doctrine, which is to be established
without it; yet there is no doubt to be made, that all the three Persons in the Godhead
were concerned in the creation of all things, see Psa_33:6. The Heathen poet Orpheus
has a notion somewhat similar to this, who writes, that all things were made by one
Godhead of three names, and that this God is all things (g): and now all these things, the
heaven and the earth, were made by God "in the beginning", either in the beginning of
time, or when time began, as it did with the creatures, it being nothing but the measure
of a creature's duration, and therefore could not be until such existed; or as Jarchi
interprets it, in the beginning of the creation, when God first began to create; and is best
explained by our Lord, "the beginning of the creation which God created", Mar_13:19
and the sense is, either that as soon as God created, or the first he did create were the
heavens and the earth; to which agrees the Arabic version; not anything was created
before them: or in connection with the following words, thus, "when first", or "in the
beginning", when "God created the heavens and the earth", then "the earth was without
form", &c (h). The Jerusalem Targum renders it, "in wisdom God created"; see Pro_3:19
and some of the ancients have interpreted it of the wisdom of God, the Logos and Son of
God. From hence we learn, that the world was not eternal, either as to the matter or
form of it, as Aristotle, and some other philosophers, have asserted, but had a beginning;
and that its being is not owing to the fortuitous motion and conjunction of atoms, but to
the power and wisdom of God, the first cause and sole author of all things; and that
there was not any thing created before the heaven and the earth were: hence those
phrases, before the foundation of the world, and before the world began, &c. are
expressive of eternity: this utterly destroys the notion of the pre-existence of the souls of
men, or of the soul of the Messiah: false therefore is what the Jews say (i), that paradise,
the righteous, Israel, Jerusalem, &c. were created before the world; unless they mean,
that these were foreordained by God to be, which perhaps is their sense.
HE RY, "
In these verses we have the work of creation in its epitome and in its embryo.

12. I. In its epitome, Gen_1:1, where we find, to our comfort, the first article of our creed,
that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth, and as such we believe
in him.
1. Observe, in this verse, four things: -
(1.) The effect produced - the heaven and the earth, that is, the world, including the
whole frame and furniture of the universe, the world and all things therein, Act_17:24.
The world is a great house, consisting of upper and lower stories, the structure stately
and magnificent, uniform and convenient, and every room well and wisely furnished. It
is the visible part of the creation that Moses here designs to account for; therefore he
mentions not the creation of angels. But as the earth has not only its surface adorned
with grass and flowers, but also its bowels enriched with metals and precious stones
(which partake more of its solid nature and more valuable, though the creation of them
is not mentioned here), so the heavens are not only beautified to our eye with glorious
lamps which garnish its outside, of whose creation we here read, but they are within
replenished with glorious beings, out of our sight, more celestial, and more surpassing
them in worth and excellency than the gold or sapphires surpass the lilies of the field. In
the visible world it is easy to observe, [1.] Great variety, several sorts of beings vastly
differing in their nature and constitution from each other. Lord, how manifold are thy
works, and all good! [2.] Great beauty. The azure sky and verdant earth are charming to
the eye of the curious spectator, much more the ornaments of both. How transcendent
then must the beauty of the Creator be! [3.] Great exactness and accuracy. To those that,
with the help of microscopes, narrowly look into the works of nature, they appear far
more fine than any of the works of art. [4.] Great power. It is not a lump of dead and
inactive matter, but there is virtue, more or less, in every creature: the earth itself has a
magnetic power. [5.] Great order, a mutual dependence of beings, an exact harmony of
motions, and an admirable chain and connection of causes. [6.] Great mystery. There are
phenomena in nature which cannot be solved, secrets which cannot be fathomed nor
accounted for. But from what we see of heaven and earth we may easily enough infer the
eternal power and Godhead of the great Creator, and may furnish ourselves with
abundant matter for his praises. And let our make and place, as men, remind us of our
duty as Christians, which is always to keep heaven in our eye and the earth under our
feet.
(2.) The author and cause of this great work - God. The Hebrew word is Elohim, which
bespeaks, [1.] The power of God the Creator. El signifies the strong God; and what less
than almighty strength could bring all things out of nothing? [2.] The plurality of
persons in the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This plural name of God, in
Hebrew, which speaks of him as many though he is one, was to the Gentiles perhaps a
savour of death unto death, hardening them in their idolatry; but it is to us a savour of
life unto life, confirming our faith in the doctrine of the Trinity, which, though but darkly
intimated in the Old Testament, is clearly revealed in the New. The Son of God, the
eternal Word and Wisdom of the Father, was with him when he made the world (Pro_
8:30), nay, we are often told that the world was made by him, and nothing made without
him, Joh_1:3, Joh_1:10; Eph_3:9; Col_1:16; Heb_1:2. O what high thoughts should this
form in our minds of that great God whom we draw nigh to in religious worship, and
that great Mediator in whose name we draw nigh!
(3.) The manner in which this work was effected: God created it, that is, made it out of
nothing. There was not any pre-existent matter out of which the world was produced.
The fish and fowl were indeed produced out of the waters and the beasts and man out of
the earth; but that earth and those waters were made out of nothing. By the ordinary

13. power of nature, it is impossible that any thing should be made out of nothing; no
artificer can work, unless he has something to work on. But by the almighty power of
God it is not only possible that something should be made of nothing (the God of nature
is not subject to the laws of nature), but in the creation it is impossible it should be
otherwise, for nothing is more injurious to the honour of the Eternal Mind than the
supposition of eternal matter. Thus the excellency of the power is of God and all the
glory is to him.
(4.) When this work was produced: In the beginning, that is, in the beginning of time,
when that clock was first set a going: time began with the production of those beings that
are measured by time. Before the beginning of time there was none but that Infinite
Being that inhabits eternity. Should we ask why God made the world no sooner, we
should but darken counsel by words without knowledge; for how could there be sooner
or later in eternity? And he did make it in the beginning of time, according to his eternal
counsels before all time. The Jewish Rabbies have a saying, that there were seven things
which God created before the world, by which they only mean to express the excellency
of these things: - The law, repentance, paradise, hell, the throne of glory, the house of the
sanctuary, and the name of the Messiah. But to us it is enough to say, In the beginning
was the Word, Joh_1:1.
2. Let us learn hence, (1.) That atheism is folly, and atheists are the greatest fools in
nature; for they see there is a world that could not make itself, and yet they will not own
there is a God that made it. Doubtless, they are without excuse, but the god of this world
has blinded their minds. (2.) That God is sovereign Lord of all by an incontestable right.
If he is the Creator, no doubt he is the owner and possessor of heaven and earth. (3.)
That with God all things are possible, and therefore happy are the people that have him
for their God, and whose help and hope stand in his name, Psa_121:2; Psa_124:8. (4.)
That the God we serve is worthy of, and yet is exalted far above, all blessing and praise,
Neh_9:5, Neh_9:6. If he made the world, he needs not our services, nor can be benefited
by them (Act_17:24, Act_17:25), and yet he justly requires them, and deserves our
praise, Rev_4:11. If all is of him, all must be to him.
II. Here is the work of creation in its embryo, Gen_1:2, where we have an account of
the first matter and the first mover.
1. A chaos was the first matter. It is here called the earth (though the earth, properly
taken, was not made till the third day Gen_1:10), because it did most resemble that
which afterwards was called earth, mere earth, destitute of its ornaments, such a heavy
unwieldy mass was it; it is also called the deep, both for its vastness and because the
waters which were afterwards separated from the earth were now mixed with it. This
immense mass of matter was it out of which all bodies, even the firmament and visible
heavens themselves, were afterwards produced by the power of the Eternal Word. The
Creator could have made his work perfect at first, but by this gradual proceeding he
would show what is, ordinarily, the method of his providence and grace. Observe the
description of this chaos. (1.) There was nothing in it desirable to be seen, for it was
without form and void. Toho and Bohu, confusion and emptiness; so these words are
rendered, Isa_34:11. It was shapeless, it was useless, it was without inhabitants, without
ornaments, the shadow or rough draught of things to come, and not the image of the
things, Heb_10:1. The earth is almost reduced to the same condition again by the sin of
man, under which the creation groans. See Jer_4:23, I beheld the earth, and lo it was
without form, and void. To those who have their hearts in heaven this lower world, in
comparison with that upper, still appears to be nothing but confusion and emptiness.
There is no true beauty to be seen, no satisfying fulness to be enjoyed, in this earth, but

14. in God only. (2.) If there had been any thing desirable to be seen, yet there was no light
to see it by; for darkness, thick darkness, was upon the face of the deep. God did not
create this darkness (as he is said to create the darkness of affliction, Isa_45:7), for it
was only the want of light, which yet could not be said to be wanted till something was
made that might be seen by it; nor needs the want of it be much complained of, when
there was nothing to be seen but confusion and emptiness. If the work of grace in the
soul is a new creation, this chaos represents the state of an unregenerate graceless soul:
there is disorder, confusion, and every evil work; it is empty of all good, for it is without
God; it is dark, it is darkness itself. This is our condition by nature, till almighty grace
effects a blessed change.
2. The Spirit of God was the first mover: He moved upon the face of the waters. When
we consider the earth without form and void, methinks it is like the valley full of dead
and dry bones. Can these live? Can this confused mass of matter be formed into a
beautiful world? Yes, if a spirit of life from God enter into it, Eze_37:9. Now there is
hope concerning this thing; for the Spirit of God begins to work, and, if he work, who or
what shall hinder? God is said to make the world by his Spirit, Psa_33:6; Job_26:13;
and by the same mighty worker the new creation is effected. He moved upon the face of
the deep, as Elijah stretched himself upon the dead child, - as the hen gathers her
chickens under her wings, and hovers over them, to warm and cherish them, Mat_
23:37, - as the eagle stirs up her nest, and flutters over her young (it is the same world
that is here used), Deu_32:11. Learn hence, That God is not only the author of all being,
but the fountain of life and spring of motion. Dead matter would be for ever dead if he
did not quicken it. And this makes it credible to us that God should raise the dead. That
power which brought such a world as this out of confusion, emptiness, and darkness, at
the beginning of time, can, at the end of time, bring our vile bodies out of the grave,
though it is a land of darkness as darkness itself, and without any order (Job_10:22),
and can make them glorious bodies.
JAMISO , "Gen_1:1, Gen_1:2. The Creation of the Heaven and Earth.
In the beginning — a period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of
eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pro_8:22, Pro_8:23.
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 (Pro_8:27; Joh_1:3, Joh_1:10; Eph_3:9;
Heb_1:2; Job_26:13).
created — not formed from any pre-existing materials, but made out of nothing.
the heaven and the earth — the universe. This first verse is a general introduction
to the inspired volume, declaring the great and important truth that all things had a
beginning; that nothing throughout the wide extent of nature existed from eternity,
originated by chance, or from the skill of any inferior agent; but that the whole universe
was produced by the creative power of God (Act_17:24; Rom_11:36). After this preface,
the narrative is confined to the earth.
ELLICOTT, "THE CREATIVE WEEK (Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3).

15. (1) In the beginning.—Not, as in John 1:1, “from eternity,” but in the beginning of this
sidereal system, of which our sun, with its attendant planets, forms a part. As there
never was a time when God did not exist, and as activity is an essential part of His being
(John 5:17), so, probably, there was never a time when worlds did not exist; and in the
process of calling them into existence when and how He willed, we may well believe that
God acted in accordance with the working of some universal law, of which He is Himself
the author. It was natural with St. John, when placing the same words at the
commencement of his Gospel, to carry back our minds to a more absolute conceivable
“beginning,” when the work of creation had not commenced, and when in the whole
universe there was only God.
God.—Heb., Elohim. A word plural in form, but joined with a verb singular, except when
it refers to the false gods of the heathen, in which case it takes a verb plural. Its root-
meaning is strength, power; and the form Elohim is not to be regarded as a pluralis
majestatis, but as embodying the effort of early human thought in feeling after the Deity,
and in arriving at the conclusion that the Deity was One. Thus, in the name Elohim it
included in one Person all the powers, mights, and influences by which the world was
first created and is now governed and maintained. In the Vedas, in the hymns recovered
for us by the decipherment of the cuneiform inscriptions, whether Accadian or Semitic,
and in all other ancient religious poetry, we find these powers ascribed to different
beings; in the Bible alone Elohim is one. Christians may also well see in this a
foreshadowing of the plurality of persons in the Divine Trinity; but its primary lesson is
that, however diverse may seem the working of the powers of nature, the Worker is one
and His work one.
Created.—Creation, in its strict sense of producing something out of nothing, contains
an idea so noble and elevated that naturally human language could only gradually rise up
to it. It is quite possible, therefore, that the word bârâ, “he created,” may originally have
signified to hew stone or fell timber; but as a matter of fact it is a rare word, and
employed chiefly or entirely in connection with the activity of God. As, moreover, “the
heaven and the earth” can only mean the totality of all existent things, the idea of
creating them out of nothing is contained in the very form of the sentence. Even in
Genesis 1:21; Genesis 1:27, where the word may signify something less than creation ex
nihilo, there is nevertheless a passage from inert matter to animate life, for which
science knows no force, or process, or energy capable of its accomplishment.
The heaven and the earth.—The normal phrase in the Bible for the universe
(Deuteronomy 32:1; Psalms 148:13; Isaiah 2). To the Hebrew this consisted of our one
planet and the atmosphere surrounding it, in which he beheld the sun, moon, and stars.
But it is one of the more than human qualities of the language of the Holy Scriptures
that, while written by men whose knowledge was in accordance with their times, it does
not contradict the increased knowledge of later times. Contemporaneous with the
creation of the earth was the calling into existence, not merely perhaps of our solar
system, but of that sidereal universe of which we form so small a part; but naturally in
the Bible our attention is confined to that which chiefly concerns ourselves.
ELLICOTT, "EXCURSUS B: ON THE NAMES ELOHIM AND JEHOVAH-ELOHIM.
Throughout the first account of creation (Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3) the Deity is simply

16. called Elohim. This word is strictly a plural of Eloah, which is used as the name of God
only in poetry, or in late books like those of Nehemiah and Daniel. It is there an
Aramaism, God in Syriac being Aloho, in Ohaldee Ellah, and in Arabic Allahu—all of
which are merely dialectic varieties of the Hebrew Eloah, and are used constantly in the
singular number. In poetry EJoah is sometimes employed with great emphasis, as, for
instance, in Psalms 18:31 : “Who is Eloah except Jehovah?” But while thus the sister
dialects used the singular both in poetry and prose, the Hebrews used the plural Elohim
as the ordinary name of God, the difference being that to the one God was simply power,
strength (the root-meaning of Eloah); to the other He was the union of all powers, the
Almighty. The plural thus intensified the idea of the majesty and greatness of God; but
besides this, it was the germ of the doctrine of a plurality of persons in the Divine unity.
In the second narrative (Genesis 2:4 to Genesis 3:24), which is an account of the fall of
man, with only such introductory matter regarding creation as was necessary for making
the history complete, the Deity is styled Jehovah-Elohim. The spelling of the word
Jehovah is debatable, as only the consonants ( J, h, v, h) are certain, the vowels being
those of the word Adonai (Lord) substituted for it by the Jews when reading it in the
synagogue, the first vowel being a mere apology for a sound, and pronounced a or e,
according to the nature of the consonant to which it is attached. It is generally
represented now by a light breathing, thus—Y’hovah, ‘donai. As regards the spelling,
Ewald, Gesenius, and others argue for Yahveh; Fürst for Yehveh, or Yeheveh; and Stier,
Meyer, &c, for Yehovah. The former has the analogy of several other proper names in its
favour; the second the authority of Exodus 3:14; the last, those numerous names like
Yehoshaphat, where the word is written Yeho. At the end of proper names the form it
takes is Yahu, whence also Yah. We ought also to notice that the first consonant is really
y; but two or three centuries ago j seems to have had the sound which we give to y now,
as is still the case in German.
But this is not a matter of mere pronunciation; there is a difference of meaning as well.
Yahveh signifies “He who brings into existence;” Yehveh “He who shall be, or shall
become;” what Jehovah may signify I do not know. We must further notice that the
name is undoubtedly earlier than the time of Moses. At the date of the Exodus the v of
the verb had been changed into y. Thus, in Exodus 3:14, the name of God is Ehyeh, “I
shall become,” not Ehveh. Had the name, therefore, come into existence in the days of
Moses, it would have been Yahyeh, Yehyeh, or Yehoyah, not Yahveh, &c.
The next fact is that the union of these two names—Jehovah-Elohim—is very unusual. In
this short narrative it occurs twenty times, in the rest of the Pentateuch only once
(Exodus 9:30); in the whole remainder of the Bible about nine times. Once, moreover, in
Psalms 1:1, there is the reversed form, Elohim-Jehovah. There must, therefore, be some
reason why in this narrative this peculiar junction of the two names is so predominant.
The usual answer is that in this section God appears in covenant with man, whereas in
Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:3 He was the Creator, the God of nature and not of grace,
having, indeed, a closer relation to man, as being the most perfect of His creatures
(Genesis 1:26), but a relation different only in degree and not in kind. This is true, but
insufficient; nor does it explain how Jehovah became the covenant name of God, and
Elohim His generic title. Whatever be the right answer, we must expect to find it in the
narrative itself. The facts are so remarkable, and the connection of the name Jehovah

17. with this section so intimate, that if Holy Scripture is to command the assent of our
reason we must expect to find the explanation of such peculiarities in the section
wherein they occur.
What, then, do we find? We find this. The first section gives us the history of man’s
formation, with the solemn verdict that he was very good. Nature without man was
simply good; with man, creation had reached its goal. In this, the succeeding section,
man ceases to be very good. He is represented in it as the object of his Maker’s special
care, and, above all, as one put under law. Inferior creatures work by instinct, that is,
practically by compulsion, and in subjection to rules and forces which control them.
Man, as a free agent, attains a higher rank. He is put under law, with the power of
obeying or disobeying it. God, who is the infinitely high and self-contained, works also
by law, but it comes from within, from the perfectness of His own nature, and not from
without, as must be the case with an imperfect being like man, whose duty is to strive
after that which is better and more perfect. Add that, even in the first section, man was
described as created “in God’s image, after His likeness.” But as law is essential to God’s
nature—for without it He would be the author of confusion—so is it to man’s. But as this
likeness is a gift conferred upon him, and not inherent, the law must come with the gift,
from outside, and not from himself; and it can come only from God. Thus, then, man
was necessarily, by the terms of his creation, made subject to law, and without it there
could have been no progress upward. But he broke the law, and fell. Was he, then, to
remain for ever a fallen being, hiding himself away from his Maker, and with the bonds
of duty and love, which erewhile bound him to his Creator, broken irremediably? No.
God is love; and the purpose of this narrative is not so much to give us the history of
man’s fall as to show that a means of restoration had been appointed. Scarcely has the
breach been made I before One steps in to fill it. The breach had been caused by a subtle
foe, who had beguiled our first parents in the simplicity of their innocence; but in the
very hour of their condemnation they are promised an avenger, who, after a struggle,
shall crush the head of their enemy (Genesis 3:15).
Now this name, Y-h-v-h, in its simplest form Yehveh, means “He shall be,” or “shall
become.” With the substitution of y for v, according to a change which had taken place
generally in the Hebrew language, this is the actual spelling which we find in Exodus
3:14 : namely, Ehyeh ‘sher Èhyeh, “I shall be that I shall be.” Now, in the New Testament
we find that the received name for the Messiah was “the coming One” (Matthew 21:9;
Matthew 23:39; Mark 11:9; Luke 7:19-20; Luke 13:35; Luke 19:38; John 1:15; John 1:27;
John 3:31; John 6:14; John 11:27; John 12:13; Acts 19:4; Hebrews 10:37); and in the
Revelation of St. John the name of the Triune God is, “He who is and who was, and the
coming One” (Genesis 1:4; Genesis 1:8; Genesis 11:17). But St. Paul tells us of a notable
change in the language of the early Christians. Their solemn formula was Maran-atha,
“Our Lord is come” (1 Corinthians 16:22). The Deliverer was no longer future, no longer
“He who shall become,” nor “He who shall be what He shall be.” It is not now an
indefinite hope: no longer the sighing of the creature waiting for the manifestation of
Him who shall crush the head of his enemy. The faint ray of light which dawned in
Genesis 3:15 has become the risen Sun of Righteousness; the Jehovah of the Old
Testament has become the Jesus of the New, of whom the Church joyfully exclaims, “We
praise Thee as God: we acknowledge Thee to be Jehovah.”
But whence arose this name Jehovah? Distinctly from the words of Eve, so miserably
disappointed in their primary application: “I have gotten a man, even Jehovah,” or

18. Yehveh (Genesis 41). She, poor fallen creature, did not know the meaning of the words
she uttered, but she had believed the promise, and for her faith’s sake the spirit of
prophecy rested upon her, and she gave him on whom her hopes were fixed the title
which was to grow and swell onward till all inspired truth gathered round it and into it;
and at length Elohim, the Almighty, set to it His seal by calling Himself “I shall be that I
shall be” (Exodus 3:14). Eve’s word is simply the third person of the verb of which Ehyeh
is the first, and the correct translation of her speech is, “I have gotten a man, even he
that shall be,” or “the future one.” But when God called Himself by this appellation, the
word, so indefinite in her mouth, became the personal name of Israel’s covenant God.
Thus, then, in this title of the Deity, formed from the verb of existence in what is known
as the future or indefinite tense, we have the symbol of that onward longing look for the
return of the golden age, or age of paradise, which elsewhere in the Bible is described as
the reign of the Branch that shall grow out of Jesse’s root (Isaiah 11:4-9). The hope was
at first dim, distant, indistinct, but it was the foundation of all that was to follow.
Prophets and psalmists were to tend and foster that hope, and make it clear and definite.
But the germ of all their teaching was contained in that mystic four-lettered word, the
tetragrammaton, Y-h-v-h. The name may have been popularly called Yahveh, though of
this we have no proof; the Jews certainly understood by it Yehveh—“the coming One.”
After all, these vowels are not of so much importance as the fact that the name has the
pre-formative yod. The force of this letter prefixed to the root form of a Hebrew verb is
to give it a future or indefinite sense; and I can find nothing whatsoever to justify the
Assertion that Jehovah—to adopt the ordinary spelling—means “the existent One,” and
still less to attach to it a causal force, and explain it as signifying “He who calls into
being.”
Finally, the pre-Mosaical form of the name is most instructive, as showing that the
expectation of the Messiah was older than the time of the Exodus. The name is really
man’s answer to and acceptance of the promise made to him in Genesis 3:15; and why
should not Eve, to whom the assurance was given, be the first to profess her faith in it?
But in this section, in which the name occurs twenty times in the course of forty-six
verses, there is a far deeper truth than Eve supposed. Jehovah (Yehveh) is simply “the
coming One,” and Eve probably attached no very definite idea to the words she was led
to use. But here He is called Jehovah-Elohim, and the double name teaches us that the
coming One, the future deliverer, is God, the very Elohim who at first created man. The
unity, therefore, and connection between these two narratives is of the closest kind: and
the prefixing in this second section of Jehovah to Elohim, the Creator’s name in the first
section, was the laying of the foundation stone for the doctrine that man’s promised
Saviour, though the woman’s seed, was an Emmanuel, God as well as man.
COFFMAN, "This marvelous chapter is not history, for it provides information
concerning events that antedate all history. It is not myth, because it carries within it a
credibility that never belonged to any myth. It is not science, because it deals with the
BEGINNING, which no science has ever even attempted to describe. It is
INSPIRATION, a revelation from Almighty God Himself; and the highest and best
intelligence of all ages has so received and accepted it.
For the preposterous and irresponsible fulminations of critical enemies of the Bible, and
their utter futility and incompetence to cast any believable shadow upon the sacred truth

19. here revealed, reference is made to the Introduction to Genesis elsewhere. Suffice it to
say here that this chapter contains and presents to human intelligence the ONLY
believable account of creation ever to receive the serious attention of thoughtful minds.
In this series of commentaries, we are concerned with what the Bible says, because it is
the Word of God; and, a single syllable of it outweighs all of the vain speculations of
unbelieving and sinful men. If one would know the truth of how our universe began, and
of the origin and responsibility of human life upon our planet, let him read it here. He
will certainly not find it anywhere else!
THE FIRST DAY
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
There is absolutely nothing either unreasonable or hard to understand about this. That
there was indeed a beginning of our universe and the world we live in is absolutely
certain. No matter how far back into the mists of prehistoric time men may postulate the
point of origin for our universe, it is precisely THERE that they must confront God, the
omnipotent, eternal, all-pervading, omniscient First Cause, known to Christians as the
God of the Bible.
For example, if some theory regarding how our galaxy (the universe) began from the
explosion of a dense star, should be received as true, then how did the dense star begin?
The only intelligent answer to questions of this type appears in this verse.
"In the beginning ..." This says nothing at all of when the beginning occurred, but
declares emphatically that there was indeed a beginning, a fact which no reputable
science on earth has ever denied. The source of that beginning was in the will and the
power of the Eternal God. It was not merely a beginning of life, or of material things, but
a beginning of ALL THINGS.
"God created ..." The word for "God" here is "[~'Elohiym]," a plural term, and by far the
most frequent designation of the Supreme Being in the O.T., being used almost 2,000
times.[1] Despite the plurality of this name, it is connected with verbs and adjectives in
the singular. Thus, in the very first verse of the Bible there would appear to be embedded
embryonically in the very name of God Himself a suggestion: (1) of the Trinitarian
conception more fully revealed in the N.T., and (2) also a witness of the unity of the
Godhead. Some have questioned this, of course; but we have never encountered any
other adequate explanation of it.
"The heavens ..." There are three heavens visible in the Word of God, these being: (1) the
earth's atmosphere, where "birds of the heaven" fly (Jeremiah 15:3); (2) the heaven of
the galaxies and constellations (Isaiah 13:10); and (3) the heaven where God dwells
(Psalms 11:4). The heavens here include the first two and perhaps others of which we do
not know.
"And the earth ..." If our understanding of "the heavens" is correct, the earth and all the

20. planets would have to be included also, but the singling out of the earth and its specific
designation here would indicate God's special creation of it to be the repository of all life,
and of human life particularly. That such a special creation of the earth did indeed occur
appears to be absolutely certain, as attested by the utter failure of man to discover any
evidence whatever of life anywhere else except upon earth.
Many learned men have written extensively concerning the multitude of physical and
environmental factors which appear to be absolutely unique, found upon earth alone,
the sum total of which supports and sustains life on our planet. The gravitational
influence of the moon, the exact composition of atmospheric gases, the atypical behavior
of water when it freezes, the atmospheric mantle of protection, the exact inclination of
the earth upon the plane of its orbit giving the seasons, the exact distance of the earth
from the sun, etc., etc. - these and literally hundreds of other peculiar and necessary
factors come together to make life possible on earth. And, from this, it is mandatory to
conclude that the special mention of "the earth" in this verse indicates the special
creation of that essential environment without which life would be impossible, as is the
case, apparently, everywhere else in the sidereal universe.
K&D, "
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” - Heaven and earth have not
existed from all eternity, but had a beginning; nor did they arise by emanation from an
absolute substance, but were created by God. This sentence, which stands at the head of
the records of revelation, is not a mere heading, nor a summary of the history of the
creation, but a declaration of the primeval act of God, by which the universe was called
into being. That this verse is not a heading merely, is evident from the fact that the
following account of the course of the creation commences with w (and), which connects
the different acts of creation with the fact expressed in Gen_1:1, as the primary
foundation upon which they rest. ‫יח‬ ִ‫רשׁ‬ ְ (in the beginning) is used absolutely, like ᅚν ᅊρχሀ
in Joh_1:1, and ‫יח‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ֵ‫מ‬ in Isa_46:10. The following clause cannot be treated as
subordinate, either by rendering it, “in the beginning when God created ..., the earth
was,” etc., or “in the beginning when God created...(but the earth was then a chaos, etc.),
God said, Let there be light” (Ewald and Bunsen). The first is opposed to the grammar of
the language, which would require Gen_1:2 to commence with ‫ץ‬ ֶ‫ר‬ፎ ָ‫ה‬ ‫י‬ ִ‫ה‬ ְ ַ‫;ו‬ the second to
the simplicity of style which pervades the whole chapter, and to which so involved a
sentence would be intolerable, apart altogether from the fact that this construction is
invented for the simple purpose of getting rid of the doctrine of a creatio ex nihilo, which
is so repulsive to modern Pantheism. ‫יח‬ ִ‫אשׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬ in itself is a relative notion, indicating the
commencement of a series of things or events; but here the context gives it the meaning
of the very first beginning, the commencement of the world, when time itself began. The
statement, that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, not only
precludes the idea of the eternity of the world a parte ante, but shows that the creation
of the heaven and the earth was the actual beginning of all things. The verb ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ , indeed,
to judge from its use in Jos_17:15, Jos_17:18, where it occurs in the Piel (to hew out),
means literally “to cut, or new,” but in Kal it always means to create, and is only applied
to a divine creation, the production of that which had no existence before. It is never

21. joined with an accusative of the material, although it does not exclude a pre-existent
material unconditionally, but is used for the creation of man (Gen_1:27; Gen_5:1-2), and
of everything new that God creates, whether in the kingdom of nature (Num_16:30) or
of that of grace (Exo_34:10; Psa_51:10, etc.). In this verse, however, the existence of any
primeval material is precluded by the object created: “the heaven and the earth.” This
expression is frequently employed to denote the world, or universe, for which there was
no single word in the Hebrew language; the universe consisting of a twofold whole, and
the distinction between heaven and earth being essentially connected with the notion of
the world, the fundamental condition of its historical development (vid., Gen_14:19,
Gen_14:22; Exo_31:17). In the earthly creation this division is repeated in the
distinction between spirit and nature; and in man, as the microcosm, in that between
spirit and body. Through sin this distinction was changed into an actual opposition
between heaven and earth, flesh and spirit; but with the complete removal of sin, this
opposition will cease again, though the distinction between heaven and earth, spirit and
body, will remain, in such a way, however, that the earthly and corporeal will be
completely pervaded by the heavenly and spiritual, the new Jerusalem coming down
from heaven to earth, and the earthly body being transfigured into a spiritual body
(Rev_21:1-2; 1Co_15:35.). Hence, if in the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth, “there is nothing belonging to the composition of the universe, either in material
or form, which had an existence out of God prior to this divine act in the beginning”
(Delitzsch). This is also shown in the connection between our verse and the one which
follows: “and the earth was without form and void,” not before, but when, or after God
created it. From this it is evident that the void and formless state of the earth was not
uncreated, or without beginning. At the same time it is obvious from the creative acts
which follow (vv. 3-18), that the heaven and earth, as God created them in the beginning,
were not the well-ordered universe, but the world in its elementary form; just as
Euripides applies the expression οᆒρανᆵς καᆳ γαሏα to the undivided mass (οπφᆱµία),
which was afterwards formed into heaven and earth.
CALVI , "Verse 1
1.In the beginning. To expound the term “beginning,” of Christ, is altogether
frivolous. For Moses simply intends to assert that the world was not perfected at its
very commencement, in the manner in which it is now seen, but that it was created
an empty chaos of heaven and earth. His language therefore may be thus explained.
When God in the beginning created the heaven and the earth, the earth was empty
and waste. (35) He moreover teaches by the word “created,” that what before did
not exist was now made; for he has not used the term ‫,יצר‬ (yatsar,) which signifies to
frame or forms but ‫,ברא‬ (bara,) which signifies to create. (36) Therefore his meaning
is, that the world was made out of nothing. Hence the folly of those is refuted who
imagine that unformed matter existed from eternity; and who gather nothing else
from the narration of Moses than that the world was furnished with new ornaments,
and received a form of which it was before destitute. This indeed was formerly a
common fable among heathens, (37) who had received only an obscure report of the
creation, and who, according to custom, adulterated the truth of God with strange
figments; but for Christian men to labor (as Steuchus does (38)) in maintaining this
gross error is absurd and intolerable. Let this, then be maintained in the first place,
(39) that the world is not eternal but was created by God. There is no doubt that
Moses gives the name of heaven and earth to that confused mass which he, shortly
afterwards, (Genesis 1:2.) denominates waters. The reason of which is, that this

22. matter was to be the seed of the whole world. Besides, this is the generally
recognized division of the world. (40)
God. Moses has it Elohim, a noun of the plural number. Whence the inference is
drawn, that the three Persons of the Godhead are here noted; but since, as a proof
of so great a matter, it appears to me to have little solidity, will not insist upon the
word; but rather caution readers to beware of violent glosses of this, kind. (41) They
think that they have testimony against the Arians, to prove the Deity of the Son and
of the Spirit, but in the meantime they involve themselves in the error of Sabellius,
(42) because Moses afterwards subjoins that the Elohim had spoken, and that the
Spirit of the Elohim rested upon the waters. If we suppose three persons to be here
denoted, there will be no distinction between them. For it will follow, both that the
Son is begotten by himself, and that the Spirit is not of the Father, but of himself.
For me it is sufficient that the plural number expresses those powers which God
exercised in creating the world. Moreover I acknowledge that the Scripture,
although it recites many powers of the Godhead, yet always recalls us to the Father,
and his Word, and spirit, as we shall shortly see. But those absurdities, to which I
have alluded, forbid us with subtlety to distort what Moses simply declares
concerning God himself, by applying it to the separate Persons of the Godhead.
This, however, I regard as beyond controversy, that from the peculiar circumstance
of the passage itself, a title is here ascribed to God, expressive of that powers which
was previously in some way included in his eternal essence. (43)
On the plural form of the word he quotes from the Jewish Rabbis the assertion, that
it is intended to signify ‘Dominus potentiarum omnium,’ ‘The Lord of all powers’.
He refers to Calvin and others as having opposed, though without immediate effect,
the notion maintained by Peter Lombard, that it involved the mystery of the Trinity.
He repels the profane intimation of Le Clerc, and his successors of the oological
school, that the name originated in polytheism; and then proceeds to show that
“there is in the Hebrew language a widely extended use of the plural which
expresses the intensity of the idea contained in the singular.” After numerous
references, which prove this point, he proceeds to argue, that “if, in relation to
earthly objects, all that serves to represent a whole order of beings is brought before
the mind by means of the plural form, we might anticipate a more extended
application of this method of distinguishing in the appellations of God, in whose
being and attributes there is everywhere a unity which embraces and comprehends
all multiplicity.” “The use of the plural,” he adds, “answers the same purpose which
elsewhere is accomplished by an accumulation of the Divine names; as in Joshua
22:22; the thrice holy in Isaiah 6:3; and ‫אדנים‬ ‫אדני‬ in Deuteronomy 10:17. It calls the
attention to the infinite riches and the inexhaustible fullness contained in the one
Divine Being, so that though men may imagine innumerable gods, and invest them
with perfections, yet all these are contained in the one ‫אלהים‬ (Elohim).” See
Dissertations, pp.268-273.
It is, perhaps, necessary here to state, that whatever treasures of biblical learning
the writings of this celebrated author contains, and they are undoubtedly great, the
reader will still require to be on his guard in studying them. For, notwithstanding

23. the author’s general strenuous opposition to the and — supernaturalism of his own
countrymen, he has not altogether escaped the contagion which he is attempting to
resist. Occasions may occur in which it will be right to allude to some of his
mistakes. — Ed.
BE SO , " OTES O CHAPTER 1.
WITH a view to teach us the knowledge of God and his will, the only sure
foundation of genuine piety and virtue, and therefore of infinite importance to us,
the Holy Scriptures pursue that method, which, of all others, is the most convincing
and instructive, and the best calculated to answer the end intended: they present us
with a history of his mighty acts, and set before us the displays which he has made
of his nature and attributes in his wonderful works. In this way we learn, not only
what he is in himself, but what he is to us, and become acquainted, as well with the
various relations in which he stands to us, and our duty to him according to these
relations, as with his own inherent and essential perfections. And as his sustaining
the relation of a Creator must, in the nature of things, precede his bearing any
other, he is first exhibited to us in that character. As we proceed with the sacred
narrative, we behold him in his providence, preserving, superintending, and
governing the world he had made, and giving law to the intelligent part of his
creatures, as also predicting future events and accomplishing his predictions. We
likewise view him in his grace, redeeming and saving fallen man; and, last of all, in
his justice, judging, acquitting, or condemning, rewarding, or punishing his free,
accountable, and immortal offspring.
Verse 1
Genesis 1:1. In the beginning — That is, of this material, visible, and temporal
world, (which was not without beginning, as many of the ancient heathen
philosophers supposed,) and of time with relation to all visible beings. The creation
of the spiritual, invisible, and eternal world, whether inhabited by the holy or fallen
angels, is not here included or noticed. God — The Hebrew word ‫אלהים‬ Elohim, here
and elsewhere translated God, has been considered by many learned men as
signifying God in covenant, being derived from the word ‫אלה‬ Alah, he sware, or
bound himself by an oath. It is in the plural number, and must often, of necessity, be
understood as having a plural meaning in the Holy Scriptures, being a name
sometimes given to the false gods of the heathen, who were many, and to angels and
magistrates, who are also occasionally called elohim, gods. When intended, as here,
of the one living and true God, which it generally is, it has, with great reason, been
thought by most Christian divines to imply a plurality of persons or subsistences in
the Godhead, and the rather, as many other parts of the inspired writings attest that
there is such a plurality, comprehending the Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy
Spirit, and that all these divine persons equally concurred in the creation of the
world. Of these things we shall meet with abundant proof in going through this
sacred volume Created — That is, brought into being, gave existence to what had no
existence before, either as to matter or form; both making the substance of which
the different parts of the universe were formed, and giving them the particular
forms which they at present bear. How astonishing is the power that could produce

24. such a world out of nothing! What an object for adoration and praise; and what a
foundation for confidence and hope have we in this wonderful Being, who thus calls
things that are not as though they were! The heaven and the earth — Here named
by way of anticipation, and spoken of more particularly afterward.
The aerial and starry heavens can only be included here. For what is termed by St.
Paul the third heaven, 2 Corinthians 12., the place where the pure in heart shall see
God, and which is the peculiar residence of the blessed angels, was evidently formed
before, (see Job 38:6-7,) but how long before, who can say?
SBC, "I. What is meant by creation? The giving being to that which before was not. The
expression, "the heavens and the earth," is the most exhaustive phrase the Hebrews
could employ to name the universe, which is regarded as a twofold whole, consisting of
unequal parts. Writing for men, Moses writes as a man. The moral importance of the
earth, as the scene of man’s probation, is the reason for the form which the phrase
assumes. The truth of the creation governs the theology of the Old and New Testaments,
and may have influenced the formation of heathen cosmogonies, such as the Etruscan
and the Zendavesta. Creation is a mystery, satisfactory to the reason, but strictly beyond
it. We can modify existing matter, but we cannot create one particle of it. That God
summoned it into being is a truth which we believe on God’s authority, but which we can
never verify.
II. Belief in the creation of the universe out of nothing is the only account of its origin
which is compatible with belief in a personal and moral God.
Creation suggests Providence, and Providence leads the way to Redemption. If love or
goodness were the true motive in creation, it implies God’s continuous interest in
created life. By His love, which led Him to move out of Himself in creation at the first,
He travels with the slow, onward movement of the world and of humanity, and His
Incarnation in time, when demanded by the needs of the creatures of His hand, is in a
line with that first of mysteries, His deigning to create at all. Belief in creation keeps man
in his right place of humble dependence and thankful service. A moral God will not
despise the work of His own hands, and Creation leads up to Redemption.
H. P. Liddon, University Sermons, 2nd series, p. 38.
The Bible spoke in the language and through the knowledge of its time. It was content to
reveal spiritual truth, but left men to find out scientific truth for themselves. It is
inspired with regard to principles, but not as regards details of fact. The principles laid
down in this chapter are: (1) the unity of God; (2) that all noble work is gradual; (3) the
interdependence of rest and work; (4) that man was made in the image of God.
S. A. Brooke, Sermons, p. 222.

25. I. Man naturally asks for some account of the world in which he lives. The answer of the
text as to the creation of the heavens and the earth is: (1) simple; (2) sublime; (3)
sufficient.
If God created all things, then (a) all things are under His government; (b) the heavens
and the earth may be studied religiously; (c) it is reasonable that He should take an
interest in the things which He created.
II. Biblical theology teaches: (1) that creation is an expression of God’s mind; (2) that
creation may form the basis for the consideration of God’s personality and character; (3)
that God’s word is its own security for fulfilment; (4) that the word which accounts for
the existence of nature accounts also for the existence of man.
Parker, People’s Bible, vol. i., p. 118.
The whole Trinity, each in His separate office, though all in unity, addressed themselves
to the work of creation: (1) the Holy Spirit brooded over the watery chaos; (2) the Son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, was that power, or "Arm of the Lord," by which the whole work
was executed,—"In the beginning was the Word;" (3) the Father’s mind willed all,
planned all, and did all. God created only "the heaven and the earth." He provided a
heaven, but He did not provide a hell. That was provided, not for our world at all, but for
the devil and his angels. If we ask why God created this universe of ours, three purposes
suggest themselves: (1) it was the expression and out-going of His wisdom, power, and
love; (2) it was for the sake of His noblest work, His creature, man; (3) the heaven and
the earth were meant to be the scene of the exhibition of His own dear Son. Remember,
that marvellously grand as it was, that first creation was only a type and earnest of a
better.
J. Vaughan, Sermons, 15th series, p. 37.
References: Gen_1:1—H. P. Liddon, Penny Pulpit, No. 205 (see Old Testament
Outlines, p. 1); J. Van Oosterzee, The Year of Salvation, vol. ii., p. 320; H. Alford,
Quebec Chapel Sermons, vol. iv., p. 1; A. P. Peabody, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xii.,
p. 333; J. Cumming, Church before the Flood, p. 79; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p.
87, vol. iv., p. 420; Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xx., p. 19, vol. xxii., p. 82; S. Leathes,
Truth and Life, p. 1; J. E. Gibberd, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvii., p. 249; M. G.
Pearse, Some Aspects of the Blessed Life, p. 25; C. Kingsley, Discipline and other
Sermons, p. 112; C. Kingsley, The Gospel of the Pentateuch, p. 1; R. S. Candlish, The
Book of Genesis, Discourses, vol. i., p. 18; B. Waugh, The Sunday Magazine (1887),
p. 59. Gen_1:1-3—F. W. Robertson, Notes on Genesis, p. 1. Gen_1:1-5.—Spurgeon,
Sermons, vol. xi., No. 660.
Genesis 1:1-31
Genesis 1
It is possible that God made at first only one kind of matter, the germ of all the universe.
Indeed, Scripture seems to hint this in the sublime record of the origin of light: "And
God said, Let there be light, and there was light." Here light is evidently regarded as the
first of all sublunary things.
The principal agent in this work was the Son of God. He had made the third heaven. He

26. had created angels. The strong Satan himself was originally the workmanship of Christ.
It is no strange hand that moulded the worlds. Go wherever you may, the hand of Christ
has been before you, and He Who made all these strange suns, and all these mighty
systems, is the very Victim that suffered, bled, and died on Calvary.
I. The creation was a gradual process, a process probably extending over millions of
ages; not merely a process, but a procession of things and beings, from inferior to
superior, from the less to the more perfect. The reasons might be: (1) to show that God’s
works were not the offspring of hasty impulse, but that they were planned from
everlasting, and executed with minute and lingering care; (2) to discover the variety of
methods which a God infinitely rich in resources can employ in effecting His great
purposes. This gradual creative work occupied the Creator for millions of ages. This we
gather, not from the Bible, but from the discoveries of geology.
II. The creative process at last came to a point in man, who, amidst ten thousand other
animated forms, alone was made, in the full sense of that word, perfect, and who became
the best and highest work of God. From the Scripture statements about the creation of
man we deduce the following principles: (1) that man was formed by a direct act of
Omnipotence; (2) that he was made after the model of his Maker, and therefore perfect;
(3) that he was immeasurably superior to the lower animals, and entitled to dominion
over them; (4) that he was the object of God’s peculiar blessing; (5) that one main
purpose of his creation was to subdue and cultivate the earth; (6) that he consisted of
two parts—a body taken out of the dust of the ground, and an immaterial part breathed
into him by his Creator; (7) that although created a unit, he was potentially plural, too,
and was destined to be joined by a companion in his original state of innocence and
purity; (8) and that he was in a state of probation, and exposed to temptation and the
hazard of fall.
G. Gilfillan, Alpha and Omega, vol. i., p. 49.
NISBET, "THE BEGINNING
‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’
Genesis 1:1
I. What is meant by creation? The giving being to that which before was not. The
expression, ‘the heavens and the earth,’ is the most exhaustive phrase the Hebrews could
employ to name the universe, which is regarded as a twofold whole, consisting of
unequal parts. Writing for men, Moses writes as a man. The moral importance of the
earth, as the scene of man’s probation, is the reason for the form which the phrase
assumes. The truth of the Creation governs the theology of the Old and New Testaments,
and may have influenced the formation of heathen cosmogonies, such as the Etruscan
and the Zendavesta. Creation is a mystery, satisfactory to the reason, but strictly beyond
it. We can modify existing matter, but we cannot create one particle of it. That God
summoned it into being is a truth which we believe on God’s authority, but which we can
never verify.
II. Belief in the creation of the universe out of nothing is the only account of its origin
which is compatible with belief in a personal and moral God.

27. Creation suggests Providence, and Providence leads the way to Redemption. If love or
goodness were the true motive in creation, it implies God’s continuous interest in
created life. By His love, which led Him to move out of Himself in creation at the first,
He travels with the slow, onward movement of the world and of humanity, and His
Incarnation in time, when demanded by the needs of the creatures of His hand, is in a
line with that first of mysteries, His deigning to create at all. Belief in creation keeps man
in his right place of humble dependence and thankful service. A moral God will not
despise the work of His own hands, and Creation leads up to Redemption.
Canon Liddon.
Illustration
(1) ‘What sacredness the thought that God is the Creator should stamp on every object in
nature!
I go forth amid all the glories and the beauties of the earth, which He has so
marvellously framed. He is there; it is with Him I walk; in His works I see something of
Himself. Thus there is a tongue in every breeze; there is a voice in the song of every bird;
there is a silent eloquence in every green field and quiet wood. They speak to me about
my God. In a measure they reveal and interpret Him. He made them; He made them
what they are; He made them for me. Thus the sights and sounds around me should be
means of grace.
And, if He is Creator, I must be careful how I use nature’s gifts and bounties. The wheat,
the corn, the vine, this piece of money, this brother or sister, He formed them, and
formed them for gracious and holy ends. My hand should be arrested, my mouth should
be shut, my spirit should shrink back in awe, if ever I am tempted to abuse and wrong
them. Let me tell myself: ‘They came from God, and they are meant to be employed for
God; for His pleasure they are, and were created.’ I move through a world mystic,
wonderful.’
(2) The keynote of the whole chapter is struck in its first verse: ‘In the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth.’ As Professor Elmslie well says, ‘The concern of the
chapter is not creation, but the character, being and glory of the Almighty Maker. If we
excerpt God’s speeches and the rubrical formulas, the chapter consists of one continuous
chain of verbs, instinct with life and motion, linked or in swift succession, and, with
hardly an exception, the subject of every one of them is God. It is one long adoring
delineation of God loving, yearning, willing, working in creation. Its interest is not in the
work, but the Worker. Its subject is not creation, but the Creator. What it gives is not a
world, but a God. It is not geology; it is theology.’ It matters little to this writer whether
the birds or fishes come first in the scale of creation; it matters everything that his
readers see, behind and above all, God. ‘And God said’—let the intermediary stages be as
many as they may, we come to that at last. Let science take all the æons of time it needs
for the great creative processes it is slowly unravelling before our eyes; let it go on
adding link after link to the mighty chain of created being; sooner or later the question
must be asked, ‘On what shall we hang the last?’ And when that question is asked, the