Genesis 1

10 Nov 2025 - Theology

Genesis 1 - Creation Story

Elohim / אֱלֹהִים

1. Creator (Genesis 1:1)
2. Spirit (2)
3. Said = Word (3)

Elohim is a plural name in the Hebrew language (Eloha being the singular form). However in verse 1 of Genesis we see that it is paired with the verb ‘created’ or bara, which is in the singular form in Hebrew meaning ‘he-created’.

Genesis 1:26 - “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness…”

Could this be evidence of the Trinity (a word not used in the Bible) being present “in the beginning”?

Talking about Jesus Christ:

John 1:1-2 - “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.”

Creation Story

Days of Creation:

1. Light / Dark
2. Sky / Waters
3. Land / Seas
4. Sun, Moon, Stars
5. Birds, Fish
6. Beasts, Humans
7. Rest

Notice in the first three days, Elohim God divides or separates. Then in days 4 through 6 He fills what He had divided. Each day 1-6 also corresponds to a related day.

• Days 1 and 4 - Light / Dark with the Sun, Moon, and Stars
• Days 2 and 5 - Sky / Waters with Birds and Fish
• Days 3 and 6 - Land / Seas with Beasts and Humans

You may have also noticed a pattern or similar phrasing for each day.

Creating … Resting:

• “evening and morning”
• “it was good”

This first phrase “evening and morning” may seem strange, as most non-Jewish readers would probably flip it to say “morning and evening”. However, the Jewish day actually starts in the evening and runs from sunset to sunset. The Jewish day starts with a period of rest (sleep) where as this story ends with a period of rest in day 7.

What is the light?

But how can there be an “evening and a morning” in days 1, 2, and 3 without the sun, moon, and stars to regulate the time and seasons? Let’s take a closer look.

Genesis 1:3-5 - “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

The word the author uses for ‘light’ here is Ôr, translated to mean ‘light, brightness, lightning, luminary, daylight, sunlight, illumination, enlightenment, happiness, cheerfulness’. Generally speaking, darkness is associated with death, failure, suffering, folly, and sin. Light is associated with life, salvation, prosperity, wisdom, and justice. This light here in these verses was distinct from the luminaries in space created in day 4.

Genesis 1:3 - “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

According to Jewish Kabbalistic teaching, wherever the word vayehi [and there was] is applied, that thing is in this world and the world to come.

Genesis 1:14-19 - “And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.”

The word for ‘light’ or ‘lights’ used in these verses is Ma’or. This word arises from the word Ôr, and means ‘a luminous body, a light, a luminary, a lamp’.

Talking about Jesus Christ:

John 1:4-9 - “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”

The word John uses for ‘light’ in the Greek is Phos. This is defined as ‘the light of the sun or of the day’. This is different from the light of the moon or stars as Phos is never kindled by the hands of another, and can therefore never be quenched.

Is Jesus Christ the Light that regulated the evening and the morning before the sun, moon, and stars were created?

Revelation 21:23 - “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

What is a Chiasm?

A chiasm is a literary technique commonly found in the Bible that presents a concept and then presents it back in the same or reverse order, without necessarily a repetition of the same words. In the middle of this structure is found a key focal point of the passage. In the Bible, the length of a chiasm can range from just one verse to a chapter or even an entire book.

Chiasmic Patterns:

• ABC ABC
• ABC CBA
• ABCDCBA

etc.

Genesis 1 Chiasm

You can often find a literary chiasm in the Bible with concepts that appear in an odd numerical value, with the focus being the middle.

For example, the Genesis 1 chiasm can be found in the number of days of creation, that being seven days.

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
  —— Day 4 ——
• Day 5
• Day 6
• Day 7

Day 4 - Sun, Moon, Stars

The middle word in Genesis 1 in the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible) is found in this day 4, and is ‘seasons’, or mo’edim in Hebrew (mo’ed in the singular form). This word is essential to the Jewish life, and is literally translated as a congregation, festive gathering, appointment, or signal. Since the Jewish festivals occurred at regular intervals, this word became closely identified with them, as well as with the Sabbath.

The focus of the chiasm is rest. God is trying to teach the readers that their value does not come from what they produce, but from who they are as children of God. We are human beings, not human doings. Jews today still honor the Sabbath and God given festivals throughout the year by resting and doing no work.

References

1. The Hebrew - Greek Key Study Bible (KJV Version)
2. The BEMA Podcast, Episode 1: Trust the Story
3. The Torah Portion-by-Portion by Rabbi Seymour Rossel (2007)
4. Zohar, The Book of Splendor. Basic Readings from the Kabbalah - Edited by Gershom Scholem (1987)
5. Rob Bell - Everything is Spiritual Tour