the text of the first story of creation

*The Text of the First Story of Creation

Gn. 1:1 “ In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,”

* Gn. 1:1 “ In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,”

*“Creation of the World and Man. The most majestic of the contributions of P, this creation hymn gives evidence of a prehistory. For example, the liturgical…device “God saw that it was good,” marking each great creation event, was seemingly added primitively at the end of each work.” (JBC 2:15)


*The direct Hebrew translation of the first words of Genesis are, “When God began to create heaven and earth…” (Genesis: Translation and Commentary; Robert Alter; W.W. Norton and Co., NY 1996 p. 5)


*“The traditional English translation reads: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” This rendering construes the verse as an independent sentence complete in itself, a solemn declaration that serves as an epitomizing caption to the entire narrative. (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5)


*It takes the initial word bere’shit to mean “at the beginning of time” and thus makes a momentous assertion about the nature of God: that He is wholly outside of time, just as he is outside of space, both of which He proceeds to create. (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5)


*In other words, for the first time in the religious history of the Near East, God is conceived as being entirely free of temporal and spatial dimensions.” (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5)


* “In the Beginning” – “the moment when time and space burst into existence by a creative act of God. The date of the event cannot be ascertained from the biblical data. Created – The Hebrew expression hints at God’s unique ability to create…out of nothing, without reliance on preexisting materials. This is how creation came to be understood in Jewish…and Christian theology.” (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Commentary, Notes and Study Questions; Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch; Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA 2010 p.17)


*Scripture Passages that indicate the understanding of God’s creative acts out of nothing



*2 Macc. 7:28



*Rom. 4:17

* Gn. 1:1 “ In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the

earth,”

*CCC 290 “"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth": three things are affirmed in these first words of Scripture: the eternal God gave a beginning to all that exists outside of himself; he alone is Creator (the verb "create"—Hebrew bara—always has God for its subject). The totality of what exists (expressed by the formula "the heavens and the earth") depends on the One who gives it being.”


*God


*God*Genesis exhibits no

interest in the question of God’s origins.


*God* The preference for the use of

‘elohim in this chapter rather than the sacred divine name YHVH, may well be conditioned by theological considerations; the term ‘elohim connoting universalism and abstraction, is most appropriate for the God of Creation.” (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5)


*Create בGIרGא*(Bara)


*Create*The Hebrew stem b-r-‘a is

used in the Bible exclusively of divine creativity. It signifies that the product is absolutely novel and unexampled, depends solely on God for its coming into existence, and is beyond the human capacity to reproduce.

בGIרGא*(Bara)


*Create* if bara’ is used only of God’s

creation, it must be essentially distinct from human creation. The ultimate distinction would be creation ex nihilo (creation out of nothing), which has no human parallel and is thus utterly beyond all human comprehension.” (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5)

בGIרGא*(Bara)


* Bara’ used in the Old Testament



* Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth




* Genesis 1:21 God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of swimming creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw how good it was





* Genesis 1:27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.





* Genesis 1:27 God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.

* Genesis 2:3-4 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation. Such is the story of the heavens and the earth at their creation. At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens -



* Genesis 5:1-2 This is the record of the descendants of Adam. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them "man."




* Genesis 6:7 So the LORD said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them."




* Genesis 6:7 So the LORD said: "I will wipe out from the earth the men whom I have created, and not only the men, but also the beasts and the creeping things and the birds of the air, for I am sorry that I made them."

* Exodus 34:10 "Here, then," said the LORD, "is the covenant I will make. Before the eyes of all your people I will work such marvels as have never been wrought in any nation anywhere on earth, so that this people among whom you live may see how awe-inspiring are the deeds which I, the LORD, will do at your side.



* Numbers 16:30 But if the LORD does something entirely new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them alive down into the nether world, with all belonging to them, then you will know that these men have defied the LORD."




* Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them;




* Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them;

* Isaiah 4:5 Then will the LORD create, over the whole site of Mount Zion and over her place of assembly, A smoking cloud by day and a light of flaming fire by night.



* Isaiah 40:26 Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these: He leads out their army and numbers them, calling them all by name. By his great might and the strength of his power not one of them is missing!




* Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know or have you not heard? The LORD is the eternal God, creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint nor grow weary, and his knowledge is beyond scrutiny.





* Isaiah 41:20 That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.





* Isaiah 41:20 That all may see and know, observe and understand, That the hand of the LORD has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

* Isaiah 42:5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it:



* Isaiah 43:1 But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, and formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine.




* Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is named as mine, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.





* Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.





* Isaiah 43:15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.

* Isaiah 45:7-8 I form the light, and create the darkness, I make well-being and create woe; I, the LORD, do all these things. Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above, like gentle rain let the skies drop it down. Let the earth open and salvation bud forth; let justice also spring up! I, the LORD, have created this.



* Isaiah 45:12 It was I who made the earth and created mankind upon it; It was my hands that stretched out the heavens; I gave the order to all their host.




* Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD, The creator of the heavens, who is God, The designer and maker of the earth who established it, Not creating it to be a waste, but designing it to be lived in: I am the LORD, and there is no other.





* Isaiah 48:7 Now, not long ago, they are brought into being, and beforetime you did not hear of them, so that you cannot claim to have known them;





* Isaiah 48:7 Now, not long ago, they are brought into being, and beforetime you did not hear of them, so that you cannot claim to have known them;

* Isaiah 54:16 Lo, I have created the craftsman who blows on the burning coals and forges weapons as his work; It is I also who have created the destroyer to work havoc.



* Isaiah 57:19 I, the Creator, who gave them life. Peace, peace to the far and the near, says the LORD; and I will heal them.




* Isaiah 65:17-18 Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;




* Isaiah 65:17-18 Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight;

* Jeremiah 31:22 How long will you continue to stray, rebellious daughter? The LORD has created a new thing upon the earth: the woman must encompass the man with devotion.



* Ezekiel 28:13 In Eden, the garden of God, you were, and every precious stone was your covering (carnelian, topaz, and beryl, chrysolite, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, garnet, and emerald); Of gold your pendants and jewels were made, on the day you were created




* Ezekiel 28:15 Blameless you were in your conduct from the day you were created, Until evil was found in you,





* Amos 4:13 Him who formed the mountains, and created the wind, and declares to man his thoughts; Who made the dawn and the darkness, and strides upon the heights of the earth: The LORD, the God of hosts by name.





* Amos 4:13 Him who formed the mountains, and created the wind, and declares to man his thoughts; Who made the dawn and the darkness, and strides upon the heights of the earth: The LORD, the God of hosts by name.

* Malachi 2:10 Have we not all the one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with each other, violating the covenant of our fathers?


*Heaven and earth


*Heaven and earth

*The word as it is used in the Biblical Hebrew specifies the observable universe.

* (The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis; Commentary by Nahum M. Sarna; The Jewish Publications Society, Philadelphia, PA 1989 p.5-6)


*Heaven and earth

*The totality of creation, which includes all things seen and unseen, material as well as spiritual. (Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: Commentary, Notes and Study Questions; Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch; Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA 2010 p.17)


*Heaven and earth

*Nehemiah 9:6


*Heaven and earth

*Nehemiah 9:6 * Then Ezra said: "It is you, O

LORD, you are the only one; you made the heavens, the highest heavens and all their host, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the heavenly hosts bow down before you.


*Heaven and earth

*Col. 1:16


*Heaven and earth

*Col. 1:16* For in him were created

all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him.

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