Additional Notes
The Creation
Additional Notes on Genesis chapter 1
1
Genesis chapter one is a marvelous revelation from God, fully inspired and completely accurate, giving us certain facts about the origin of our world, of mankind and of all we see about us. We should all be very glad indeed to have this record of God’s creative activity. However, having the record and fully understanding it are two different matters. Actually, there are some major difficulties in our path when we try to understand all that God has revealed. Perhaps the principal difficulty is this: Some Hebrew words used there have more than one possible meaning and can be translated in various ways.
For example, the word translated “heaven” or “heavens” (NKJV) in verse 1 is the one word In Hebrew used to express everything from the air, the sky just above the earth, to the heavens of stars (and possibly galaxies - though galaxies are nowhere mentioned in the Bible). It is also the word used for Heaven, God’s dwelling place. In verse 26 this same Hebrew word is translated “air” (and in about 20 other places In the Old Testament). In Hebrew the word is always in the plural. The singular Is never used, even when the meaning is obviously singular, and so from the word itself we cannot always be sure whether singular or plural is meant. This is why some versions have “heaven” in verse 1, and others have “heavens”.
Also the word translated “earth” is the same word for “land” and is used very often for the land of Israel.
And the Hebrew word usually translated “made” in verses 7 and 16 also has more than one meaning - “made ready”, “prepared”, “brought forth”, “worked on”, “did”, as well as “made” or “created from existing material”. The word translated “set” (“appointed” in some versions) in verse 17 is a form of the Hebrew word for “gave” which has quite a variety of meanings.
The word “beginning” in verse 1 also gives scope for questions. Does it refer to the beginning of the whole universe? or only to the beginning of our galaxy, the Milky Way, with its stars that appear in our sky at night? or, for that matter, only to the earth and that part of the sky closest to earth? It is generally assumed that it refers to the beginning of the whole universe, and it may do so. But can this be proved beyond doubt from the Hebrew words used? Of course, God did create the whole universe (Eph 3:9; Col 1:16; Rev 4:11), but can we be absolutely certain that this is what He is saying here? Is It not possible that God is giving a revelation of what is of most concern to man on earth, that is, man’s immediate environment, the earth and sky just above the earth, and that outer space was already in existence long before the event spoken of in Gen 1:1? (One recognized expert on the Hebrew language whom I contacted believes this is the way we should look at it.) Perhaps the galaxies in far distant space were created long before the Milky Way. Can it be proved that they were not? According to evidence put forth by astronomers the formation of new galaxies in space still goes on.
It certainly seems possible to me that the phrase “In the beginning” means the beginning of our corner of the universe, that part which relates most directly to mankind. The earth is very special to God. This is where He created man made in His image, and this is where He planned for His Son to come and live among men and die for them. So the “beginning” may well mean the beginning of this spot that is special in the eyes of God.
We may also have difficulties in understanding all that is in Genesis chapter 1 because of assumptions that have been generally made about what is taught here. But assumptions are just that, and may not be the truth God has revealed.
There are also disputes among those who accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God (which it is) about the time periods involved in this chapter, and the manner in which God brought about all that is seen there.
This chapter, as the rest of the Bible, is God’s Word, and we should all be very careful about making pronouncements concerning the events revealed in It, and AVOID DOGMATISM ABOUT DOUBTFUL THINGS (this should apply also about other revelations in the Bible which seem to us to have two or more possible interpretations). And we should not fail to love our brothers in the faith who disagree with our views on certain details of God’s revelation.
As for the word translated “heaven”, since the Hebrew word has various meanings, we should be careful not to immediately rule out any of them as we look at the opening verse of the Bible. Is God really speaking here of the whole universe? Or only of that part of it which Is close to the earth? Should the word be translated “sky” or “skies? Are we to take the information given in verses 7 and 8 as the definition of the “heaven” in verse 1? The same Hebrew word is used in both verses. The language of verses 7 and 8, speaking of waters above the expanse (or firmament) and below the expanse, seems to indicate that the heaven spoken of in this chapter is related to the skies just above the earth, not to the far reaches of space.
Many scientists, at present, with the evidence they think they have gleaned, say that the universe is many billions of years old. This has not been proved to everyone’s satisfaction, but assuming, for the moment, that it is true, it is not necessary to think that the earth is anywhere near that old. Its beginning might conceivably have been long after the creation of what we call outer space with its myriads of galaxies. If so, light from those far distant galaxies could have been streaming through this corner of space where the earth now is, before the earth was created. I am only suggesting possibilities, not making assertions.
There seems to be a good possibility that there was a gap between verses two and three of Genesis chapter 1, and perhaps a very long gap. It is not necessary to think that verse 1, the creation of the heaven and the earth, is to be included in the work of the first day. Verse one was the original creation. Verse 3 begins the revelation of what God did to prepare the earth for life and human habitation. We are not told when God sent light to the dark and empty earth. Only the bare fact is stated. Some scholars believe that this time period could have been millions or even billions of years. If the “beginning” in 1:1 was the beginning of the whole universe. Including earth, then the earth is very old, and it could have remained dark and empty for an immense period of time before God sent light and began to change things.
Someone may ask, Why would God wait such a long period of time before going to work on the earth to make it fit for man’s habitation? But we might just as well ask, why not? Why have a universe billions of years old (if that is what it is)? God does not regard time as we do (see Ps 90:4, where a thousand years to God is like a watch in the night - 4 hours). And He does not think as we do (Isa 55:8-9), and His judgments are unsearchable and His ways are past finding out (Rom 11:33). Of course, the appearance of man (homo sapiens) on earth was of recent origin, measured in thousands of years, not millions or billions.
We should look more carefully at Gen 1:14-18. The Hebrew word translated “made” in verse 16 is “asah”. This is not the same word used in verse 1, translated “created” (“bara”). Here “asah” may not mean “created”, but “to work on” or “to produce”, “to make ready”, “to prepare” (see Ps 74:16)”. The word “asah” is used over 2600 times in the Hebrew Old Testament (“bara” is used only 49 times), and has a wide band of meanings. In a few cases it is used with more or less the same meaning as “bara” (create), though it usually (perhaps always) seems to mean to make out of already existing material. In verse 26 God said “Let us make (asah) man in our image”, and in the next verse we have the words, “So God created (bara) man in His own image”. God “made” or created man out of previously existing material - the dust of the earth. In Gen 2:4 we have both verbs used again - “This is the history of the heaven and the earth when they were created (“bara”), in the day that the LORD God made (“asah”) the earth and the heaven”. So we cannot be absolutely sure that Gen 1:14-16 indicates that God actually created the sun and moon at that time, using pre-existing material, or whether He merely worked on them and caused them at that time to shine on earth, perhaps by more fully removing a cloud and water canopy surrounding the earth.
Another possibility that perhaps should not be ruled out is this: Let us suppose that Gen 1:1 is speaking only of the earth and its local “heaven” (that which surrounded the earth close in), and that the earth was actually created before the sun, the moon and the stars which appear to us on earth. Could not earth have been a special creation held in the hand of God on which He lovingly began His special work, giving it light from some source other than the sun (v 3), and afterwards actually creating the sun, moon and stars we read about in verses 14-16. But, someone will object, the earth needed to turn on its axis and needed to revolve around a heavenly body as it now does the sun. This is true if the only forces that exist are the physical forces of nature. But God the Creator is not limited to physical forces, and in creation may do as He pleases.
And there is another force operating in the universe, one which scientists cannot examine. See Heb 1:3 and Col 1:17, where we are told that all things are “upheld” by the powerful word of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that by Him all things “hold together”.
If, in fact, the sun and moon and visible stars came into existence after the earth was already here, then “asah” could mean that they were created out of already existing material (such as clouds of gas). If this is the way things came about, then the age of our solar system, and indeed our whole galaxy (but not the whole universe, and not necessarily the earth), would be measured in thousands of years, not billions. Light from the center of this galaxy, traveling at the rate of 186,000 miles per second, could reach the earth in about 28,000 years. But perhaps the words “the stars” means only the stars that appear in our night sky. In this case, the sun, moon, and these close stars could be younger than that.
If, on the other hand, it can be proved that this galaxy is many millions or billions of years old (and some scientists think they have proved this), that should not trouble us. It should not affect the conviction that the present earth, prepared for mankind’s habitation, is much, much younger than that, however old the original earth and this galaxy might be.
We should look at the sentence ‘He made the stars also”. Perhaps this means that He made them appear from the earth’s point of view - that is, made conditions ready so that their light would reach earth. However, it would not be contrary to the Hebrew here to translate this “He had made the stars also” - referring to a work done long before. Notice that the words “He made” or “He had made” are in Italics, indicating that they are not in the original Hebrew. Or the expression might be a simple statement which means this: He who did all these other things is the One who also made the stars. Or it could even mean that at that time He actually took preexisting material and made the stars which now appear to us on earth.
One last theory should be put in the list of possibilities - some Christian scholars insist that the entire universe, all the heavens with their myriads of galaxies, together with the original earth, was made only some thousands of years ago, and that six literal days of creation followed immediately after that. To me there seems to be scientific evidence against this view that makes it very doubtful indeed. If in the future this scientific evidence proves to be invalid, then this interpretation could seem much more likely than it does at present. But it is not necessary to accept this interpretation as the best explanation of the language of Genesis chapter 1, as I have tried to show in these notes. And since the language of the Bible itself does not demand such an interpretation, what is the value of trying to establish it?
To the author of these notes, in his present state of knowledge, these seem to be the possibilities. When I say “possibilities” I mean things that seem possible from the use of Hebrew words and phrases, and not necessarily scientifically possible, or possible from God’s point of view. Actually, from God’s point of view there is only one “possibility” - that which He actually did back there “in the beginning” and during the time following that.
In any case, trying to determine the age of the universe or of the present earth (or the earth as it was originally) is not my chief concern. Of what spiritual benefit would the knowledge of that be to anyone? We should be much more concerned with the God who created and made them and us, and with His later revelation of Himself, and with what He has done for us and what He wants us to be and do.
In the above notes I have set forth these theories, suggestions and possibilities which give some idea of the diversity of opinions held by believers about God’s activities in regard to the heavens and the earth. What do I myself believe? I believe, as I said above, that we should be very cautious in our interpretation of the details of God’s revelation here, and not express our opinions as if they were the absolute truth of God.
Further, I believe that what we call outer space with its myriads of galaxies, etc is probably some billions of years old; that the condition of the earth from Gen 1:3 onward is quite young in comparison, its age to be measured in thousands, not billions, of years; that it is possible that the earth before God prepared it for man’s habitation is older than that, and perhaps much older than that. If the beginning stated in 1:1 was the beginning only of our Milky Way galaxy then that might have taken place long after the creation of outer space with its galaxies. In this case, our galaxy and our earth need not be very ancient compared to the rest of the universe. We would have not merely a young earth, but a comparatively young galaxy as well. If, on the other hand, Gen 1:1 refers to the beginning of the whole universe and the earth along with it then the original earth could be very ancient indeed. If this is the way we should understand that verse, then we might well consider that there was a huge gap in time between verses 2 and 3, God waiting a very long time before He sent light onto the earth and went to work on it again. In this case, the physical earth, desolate and void, was very old, but the earth made ready for life and man is a great deal younger. And since this prepared earth is comparatively young, then the days mentioned in this chapter could well be days of 24 hours. If Gen 1:1 is speaking only of the earth and its local “heaven”, the “air”, then the earth and the sun, moon, and stars spoken of in verses 14-16 could be young, and the days of this chapter would be days of 24 hours.
Faced with all these possibilities, I would state again my conviction that it is not wise to be unduly dogmatic. God knows what He did and when He did it, and He knows also that His revelation of what He did, when properly understood, will be in complete harmony with any real truth science can ever discover. Let us indeed be dogmatic in teaching that God is the great Creator, and earth is a special creation made for a special purpose and that man too is a special creation of God. But the various interpretations of some of the details of His creation, at present, surely should not be put forward with the same certainty as these great truths.