NOTES ON GENESIS 1

     Genesis is the seed-plot of the whole Bible.  It is essential to the true understanding of its every part.  It is the foundation on which Divine Revelation rests; and on which it is built up.  It is not only the foundation of all Truth, but it enters into, and forms part of, all subsequent inspiration; and is at once the warp and woof of Holy Writ.

     The Introduction to Genesis (and to the whole Bible) 1:1 – 2:3, ascribes everything to the living God, creating, making, acting, moving and speaking.  A total of forty-six times everything is ascribed to direct acts and volitions on the part of God as the Creator.  There is no room for evolution without a flat denial of Divine revelation.  One must be true, the other false.  All God’s works were pronounced “good” seven times, viz. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31.  They are “great”, Psalms 111:2; Revelation 15:3; “wondrous”, Job 37:14; and “perfect”, Deuteronomy 32:4.

CHAPTER 1

THE CREATION

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

In the beginning:  first in time or dignity; that which is first, the first state; commencement, entrance into being, beginning of time; creation.  God:  name of the Supreme Being; “strong”, “mighty”; Hebrew Elohim, a plural of majesty, as being Himself the great worker, separating the Worker from His work.  created:  1) to make out of nothing, to bring into being from nothing; to cause to exist; to bring out of non-entity; to produce; to cause to exist; perfection implied.  2) This Hebrew word carries the thought of the initiation of the object involved.  It always connotes what only God can do and frequently emphasizes the absolute newness of the object involved; also carries implication that the physical phenomena came into existence at that time and had no previous existence in that form in which they were created by divine fiat.  3) This verb is used exclusively with God as its subject.  It refers to the instantaneous and miraculous act of God by which He brought the universe into existence.  Thus, the Genesis account of Creation refutes atheism, pantheism, polytheism, and evolution.  4) To create is to cause something to exist which did not exist before, as distinguished from mala, to reform something already existing.  The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world.  The word create (bala), is used of three things in Genesis 1:  (i) as to the origin of matter; (ii) as to the origin of life; and (iii) as to the origin of man’s soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts ascribed to God.  All other things are said to be made.(also 1:21, 27, 27, 27; 2:3)  the heaven and the earth:  space and matter; the universe; that is, the world, including the whole frame and furniture of the universe; the visible part of creation; used for the substance and common matter of all sensible creatures; the totality of creation.

GOD.  Creator, Psalms 148:3-5; Proverbs 16:4; Isaiah 45:7, 66:2; Jeremiah 51:19; Amos 4:13; Mark 13:19; Acts 7:50; Romans 1:20; 1 Corinthians 11:12; Hebrews 2:10, 3:4; Revelation 4:11.  Of the earth,  Genesis 1:1-2, 9-10, 2:1-4; Exodus 20:11; 1 Samuel 2:8; 2 Kings 19:15; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 38:4, 7-10; Psalms 24:1-2, 89:11, 90:2, 95:5, 102:25, 104:2-3, 5-6, 24, 30, 119:90, 121:2, 124:8, 136:5-9, 146:5-6; Proverbs 3:19, 8:26-29; Isaiah 37:16, 40:28, 42:5, 44:24, 45:12, 18, 48:13, 51:13, 16; Jeremiah 10:12, 27:5, 32:17, 51:15; Jonah 1:9; Acts 4:24, 14:15, 17:24-25; Revelation 10:6, 14:7.  Of the heavens, Genesis 1:1, 6-8, 2:1-4; Exodus 20:11; 2 Kings 19:15; 1 Chronicles 16:26; Nehemiah 9:6; Job 9:8-9, 37:16, 18; Psalms 8:3, 19:1, 4, 96:5, 102:25, 104:2-3, 5-6, 24, 30, 121:2, 124:8, 136:5, 146:5-6; Proverbs 3:19, 8:26-28; Isaiah 37:16, 42:5, 44:24, 45:18; Jeremiah 32:17; Amos 5:8; Acts 4:24, 14:15; Revelation 10:6, 14:7.  Of the sun, moon and stars, Genesis 1:14-19; Psalms 136:7-9.  Of the seas,  Genesis 1:9-10; Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 95:5, 146:5-6; Proverbs 8:26-29; Jonah 1:9; Acts 4:24, 14:15; Revelation 10:6, 14:7.  Of vegetation, Genesis 1:11-12.  Of animals, Genesis 1:20-25; Job 12:7-9; Jeremiah 27:5.  Of man, Genesis 1:26-28, 2:7, 5:1-2, 9:6; Exodus 4:11; Deuteronomy 4:32, 32:6, 15, 18; Job 10:3, 8-9, 11-12, 31:15, 33:4, 34:19; Psalms 94:9, 95:6, 100:3, 119:73; 149:2; Proverbs 20:12, 22:2; Ecclesiastes 7:29, 12:1; Isaiah 17:7, 42:5, 43:1, 7, 15, 44:2, 24, 45:12, 51:13, 64:8; Jeremiah 27:5; Zechariah 12:1; Malachi 2:10; Mark 10:6; Acts 17:24-29; 1 Corinthians 12:18, 24-25; Hebrews 12:9; 1 Peter 4:19.  Through Christ, Romans 11:36; 1 Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 3:9; Hebrews 1:1-2.  By His word, Psalms 33:6-7, 9; 2 Corinthians 4:6; Hebrews 11:3; 2 Peter 3:5.  By His will, Revelation 4:11.

JESUS.  Creator, John 1:3, 10; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:2, 10; Revelation 3:14.

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

And:  Note the Figure of Speech Polysyndeton [or, Many Ands, i.e., the repetition of the word “and” at the beginning of successive clauses, each independent, important, and emphatic, with no climax at the end], by which, in the 34 verses of this introduction, each one of 102 separate acts are emphasized; and the important word “God” in verse 1 is carried like a lamp through the whole of this introduction (1:1-2:3). the earth:  this globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste.  was [= became] without form: a vast desert, waste and barren, a void place; in confusion; as an unformed lump, without determinate shape.  void:  empty, emptiness; vacant, not occupied with visible matter; without any creature in it; without inhabitants and furniture.  without form and void:  unformed and without life.  darkness:  absence or want of light; opposite of light; disorder; a dark turbid chaos, without any light or motion.  was upon [i.e., covered the deep waters, for the waters covered everything] the face [i.e., surface or top of] of the deep:  lower waters, mass of waters covering the earth at creation; the deep, primeval ocean at creation; matrix of water; the whole fluid mass of earth and water mixed together; an abyss, i.e., a bottomless gulf.  the Spirit of God:  1) An immaterial, intelligent Being; the Holy Ghost; indivisible divine power manifesting itself.  2) This is a clear reference to the creative activity of the Holy Spirit.  John 1:3 indicates that Christ actually created all things for the Father.  Thus, all three Persons of the Trinity are active in the Creation.  This undoubtedly accounts for the plural pronouns us and our in verse 26 which take singular verbs in expressing the tri-unity of God.  3) The Scriptures assign to the Holy Spirit the works of creating the world (Psalms 33:6), of brooding over the waters (verse 2), of garnishing the heavens (Job 26:13), of renewing the earth (Psalms 104:30), and of sustaining life (Psalms 104:29).  The Holy Spirit’s work in Creation results in order (Isaiah 40:12, 14; Genesis 1:2); life (Job 33:4); beauty (Job 26:13); and renewal (Psalms 104:30).  The work of the Holy Spirit in Creation is one of the biblical proofs of His deity.  moved upon the face of the waters [i.e., uppermost part of the abyss (the deep)]:  1) to brood over; hover over with a gentle wavering or fluttering motion, as of a bird (hen, eagle) over her young; vibrate in the presence of the waters.  2) Waves of gravitational energy and electromagnetic energy began to pulse forth from the great “Breath” of God, the Prime Mover of the universe.  The unformed “earth” material, as well as the “waters” permeating it quickly coalesced into spherical form under the new force of gravity and the first material body (planet earth) had been formed at a point in space.  3) Literally, continued brooding over it, as a fowl does, when hatching eggs.  The immediate agency of the Spirit, by working on the dead and discordant elements, combined, arranged, and ripened them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new creation.  4) Which covered the earth, (Psalms 104:6) the earthy particles being heaviest sunk lower, and the waters being lighter rose up above the others.  That is, the third Person in the blessed Trinity, who was concerned in the creation of all things, as in the garnishing of the heavens, so in bringing the confused matter of the earth and water into form and order; see Job 26:13; Psalms 33:6, 104:30.  This same Spirit “moved” or brooded upon the face of the waters, to impregnate them, as a hen upon eggs to hatch them, so He to separate the parts which were mixed together, and give them a quickening virtue to produce living creatures in them.   

The First Day:  Light

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

God said:  1) To utter as a command (also 1:6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26, 28, 29); to will and command with efficacy; to say authoritatively; decreed, willed, appointed; and the determining will of God was followed in every instance by an immediate result.  2) Expressive of the will, power, authority, and efficacy of the Divine Being; whose word is closed with power, and Who can do, and Who does whatever He will, and as soon as He pleases.  His orders are always obeyed.  3) This is the first of a highly structured series of succinct and formulaic sentences expressing the creative commands of God.  Thus, Creation is accomplished by His word.  Each command consists of (i) an announcement, “God said”; (ii) a creative command, “Let there be”; (iii) a summary word of accomplishment, “And it was so”; (iv) a descriptive word of accomplishment, “The earth brought forth”; (v) a descriptive blessing, “God blessed”; (vi) an evaluative approval, “It was good”; and (vii) a concluding temporal framework, numbering each day.  Let there be:  to exist; become; appeared at once.  light:  1) that subtle fluid called into existence the first day of creation before the sun and moon were created.  2) The first of all visible beings was light, the great beauty and blessing of the universe.  Of all visible beings, most resembles its great parent in purity and power, brightness and beneficence. 3) Light, the energizing of the vast cosmos through the electromagnetic force system which maintains all structures and processes in matter.  Light was not created, since God Himself dwells in light.  Different from the sun, a more glimmering light; which gathered into and perfected in the body of the sun.  4) Or, a small lucid cloud, which by its circular motion from east to west made day and night; perhaps somewhat like the cloudy pillar of fire in the wilderness, which had heat as well as light.  5) Not the sun which was created on the fourth day (verse 16), but some fixed light source outside of the earth.  The earth passed through a day-and-night cycle in reference to this light.  there was light:  accomplished immediately as so purposed.

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

God saw [i.e., observed with approbation or approval (also 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)] the light, that it was good:  1) Beautiful; appealing and pleasant; useful and profitable; abundant and plentiful; kind and benevolent; proper and becoming. 2) Complete or sufficiently perfect in its kind; having the physical qualities best adapted to its design and use.  3) Very pleasant and delightful, useful and beneficial, of great service.  4) ‘Twas exactly as He designed it; and it was fit to answer the end for which He designed it. 5) Taken for that which is beautiful, pleasant, and agreeable; for something perfect in its kind.  6) The word contains less an aesthetic judgment than a designation of purpose and correspondence to God’s will, indicating the moral goodness of the Creation.(also verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 2:9, 9, 12, 17-18.)  divided the light from the darkness:  1) Separated, distinguished; parted, severed, put asunder. 2) Alternation or succession of one to the other, produced by daily revolution of the earth round its axis.

 

 

      

5.  And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  And the evening and the morning were the first day.

God called [i.e., named, denominated; demonstrating His sovereign dominion over His Creation (also 1:8, 10, 10)] the light Day:  1) Sunrise, the part of the 24-hours when it is light; the artificial day; the solar day.  2) Apart from the use of word day in verses 5, 8, 13, 23, and 31, where it describes the days of creation, it is used in at least four ways in the first two chapters of Genesis:  (i) the 12-hour period of daylight as opposed to night (verses 14, 16, 18); (ii) a solar day of 24 hours (verse 14); (iii) the period of light that began with the creation of light on the first day (verse 5, 1st); and (iv) the entire, six-day creative period (2:4).  Everywhere in the Pentateuch the word day when used (verse 5, 2nd) with a definite article or numerical adjective means a solar day or a normally calibrated, 24-hour day.  Thus, the biblical account of Creation clearly indicates that God created the world in six literal days (compare Exodus 20:11).  the darkness He called Night:  the part of the 24 hours when it is dark.  the evening:  when the day begins to be obscured, dusk; the fading of the day; the decline or fall of the day or sun.  the morning:  the first breaking forth of light, dawning, daybreak.  the evening and the morning:  1) put for a full day; the beginning and ending of anything is put for the whole thing.  2) Literally, “then there was dusk, then dawn, ending the first day.”  were the first day: 1) the natural day, 24 hours.  2) The word “day” may refer to a prolonged period when used without any qualifying words.  But when qualified with a numeral (cardinal or ordinal) it is defined and limited by it to a day of 24 hours.  It is further limited here by its boundaries, “evening and morning”, “first day”, etc.   

The Second Day:  Firmament

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

a firmament:  1) Expansion; the expanse, like a sheet spread or a curtain drawn, spread out over the earth, in which the stars appear as if they were fixed.  2) An expanse, i.e., of waters beneath and vapor above; the arch or vault of heaven overhead, in which the clouds and stars appear; the sky or heavens.  3) That circumambient fluid, the atmosphere, conveys the idea of stretching, extension.  4) The great arch or expanse over our heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed, and are really seen.  5) Stretched out thinness, space, a vapor canopy; water vapor is invisible, and thus would be translucent, allowing the stars to be seen through it.  6) Expanse of the sky or heaven; the space above the earth that holds visible objects:  clouds, planets, stars.  in the midst [i.e., in the middle; something being surrounded on all sides; that is, separated them] of the waters, and let it divide the waters [i.e., upper or superior waters] from the waters [i.e., lower or inferior waters]:  1) Literally, let it be separating, i.e., by a continued act.  2) Separate, distinguish, part, sever, put asunder.  3) To cause to separate; to keep apart by a partition.  4) That is, to distinguish between the waters that are wrapt up in the clouds, and those that cover the sea; the waters in the air and the waters in the earth. 

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

God made:  1) connoting primarily the fashioning of an object; to frame or fashion.  2) God by a word speaking, commanding it into being, producing it out of chaos (Also 1:16, 25, 31; 2:2, 2, 3).  the waters which were under the firmament:  those on the earth (yet to be distinctly formed into oceans, seas, lakes and rivers as in verse 9).  from the waters which were above the firmament:  1) Ocean, abyss of waters, or a great deep between the heavens and the heaven of heaven of heavens where the depth is laid up and from whence He brought out the waters which drowned the world at the universal deluge.  2) These waters extending far out into space eventually condensed and fell back to the earth at the time of the great deluge, providing the source of the worldwide rainstorm that contributed to the flood.  3) Most likely, approximately half of the waters upon the earth were supernaturally elevated above the atmosphere, perhaps in the form of an invisible vapor canopy.  This would have trapped the earth’s heat with a “greenhouse effect” and would have provided a uniformly tropical climate everywhere, until it collapsed upon the earth during the universal rainfall at the time of the great Flood (7:11).  This might explain the longevity described in Genesis 5, in addition to providing a water source for the Flood of chapters 6-9.  and it was so:  1) A summary word of accomplishment.  2) The firmament was accordingly made, and answered this purpose.  3) It was firm, stable, and durable; and so it has continued.  NOTE:  Each day’s work was called “good”, except the second, because nothing was created on that day:  only division made.   

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

Heaven:  Hebrew high, lofty; the air or atmosphere, the region of the air and all that is above us; the visible heaven.

The Third Day:  Seas, Land and Vegetation

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

Let the waters under the Heaven be gathered together unto one place:  1) Collected.  2) The world was to be rendered a terraqueous globe, and this was effected by a volcanic convulsion [earthquakes?] on its surface, the upheaving of some parts, the sinking of others, and the formation of vast hollows, into which the waters impetuously rushed, as is graphically described in Psalms 104:6-9.  Thus a large part of the earth was left “dry land”, and thus were formed oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers which though each having its own bed, or channel, are all connected to the sea (Job 38:10; Ecclesiastes 1:7).  3) Which are before called the waters under the firmament; and which are either on the surface of the earth, or in the bowels of it, or mixed with it, which by the compressure of the expanse or air were separated from it; and these apertures and channels made, were caused to flow as by a straight line, as the word signifies, unto the decreed place or channel which now contains the waters of the ocean:  this was done by the word of the Lord; and when it seems there was a clap of thunder, and perhaps an earthquake, which made the vast cavity for the sea, as well as threw up the hills and mountains, and made the valleys, see Job 38:10; Psalms 104:6-8.  let the dry land appear [i.e., to show itself; to come or be in sight; to be in view or visible]:  1) The work of the third day began with the laying of the foundations of the earth by the power of God’s spoken word.  The waters “under the firmament” apparently still contained all the material elements of the earth in solution or suspension until the energizing word initiated a vast complex string of chemical and physical reactions, to precipitate, combine and sort all the rock materials and metals comprising the solid earth.  The “earth” thus formed was the same “earth” which had initially been “without form”, but now it was “dry land”, no longer mixed in the initial watery matrix.  2) That is, clear of the waters, dried by the expanded air and hardened by the fiery light, and as yet without any herb or tree upon it.  3) The Creator now descends to this lower world, designed for the children of men, both for their habitation and their maintenance.  And here we have an account of the fitting of it for both; the building of their house and spreading of their table.  and it was so:  1) A summary word of accomplishment.  2) Immediately done, the waters were drained off the earth, directed to their proper channels, and caused to run as by line to their appointed place; and the solid parts of the earth became dry and appeared in sight. 

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

Earth:  1) Taken for that gross and terrestrial element which sustains and nourishes His creatures.  In this sense it is taken in those passages where the earth is said to yield fruit, to be barren, watered, etc.  2) The whole chaos, that was a turbid fluid, a mixture of earth, and water, a rude unformed mass of matter, was called earth before; but now that part of the terraqueous globe, which was separated from the waters, and they from it, is called earth.  the gathering together of the waters [i.e., the element of water] called He Seas:  1) Collection of water, reservoir, ocean; is taken for that general collection of waters which encompasses the earth.  2) For though there was but one place into which they were collected, and which is the main ocean, with which all other waters have a communication; and so are one.  3) The waters which covered the earth were ordered to retire, and to gather in one place, viz. those hollows which were fitted for their reception.  4) The waters thus lodged in their proper place, He called Seas; for though they are many, in distant regions, yet either above ground or underground, they have communication with each other, and so they are one, and the common receptacle of waters, into which all the rivers run.  and God saw [i.e., to focus His attention on] that it was good:  that the two should be separate, that the waters should be in one place, and the dry land appear, and both have the names He gave them:  and this is here mentioned, because now the affair of the waters, the division and separation of them, were brought to an end, and to perfection.

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

Let the earth bring forth:  1) To spring up as new grass, to sprout; depicts the initial production of green vegetables or grass. 2) Which had been impregnated by the Spirit of God that moved upon it when a fluid; and though now become dry land, it retained sufficient moisture in it, and was juicy and fit to produce vegetables; sprouting up and flourishing in a single day.  3) The ability of the earth to begin immediately producing abundant plant life everywhere; on the very same day as the forming of the land surfaces, shows that the upper portions of the crust was a rich soil, fertile in chemical nutrients and retaining adequate moisture to sustain the lush vegetation.  This fact illustrates an important principle.  True creation necessarily involves the theory of a “creation of apparent age”, or better, “creation of functioning maturity”.  That is, the soil did not gradually form over hundreds of years.  It was readied instantaneously by divine command.  The plants did not develop from seeds; rather the herb was found “yielding seed”.  Similarly, the fruit trees were “yielding fruit”.  3) Observe how the earth was furnished for the support of man and beast.  Present provision was made, by the immediate products of the earth, which in obedience to God’s command was no sooner made but it became fruitful.  4) Genesis not only dates the creation of marine life (verse 20) as being after the creation of plants and fruit trees, but also reveals that fruit trees were created already bearing fruit “whose seed is in itself”.  God produced a functioning and mature Creation.  Plants were created full-grown, as mature and adult organisms, with a superficial appearance of age.  Similarly Adam and Eve were created as adults.   grass:  herbage in general; vegetation, sproutage, plants; grass just springing up, “tender grass”; new green vegetation which grows up of itself without being sown.  herb:  green plants, vegetation, plants and trees; for the use of man which yield seed which either falling from it sows itself again or is taken from it and sown on purpose to reproduce it, being useful and delightful.  yielding:  i.e., to bear fruit; to fructify, to render production; to scatter seed (verses 11, 1st; 12, 1st; and 29); to make, making (verses 11, 2nd and 12, 2nd).  seed: 1) Taken for that matter which in all plants and fruits is disposed for the propagation of that kind.  2) The product of plants and trees that produces its own seed in itself; that which propagates a species.  3) The substance which nature prepares for the reproduction and conservation of the species.  The “seed” was programmed for stable reproduction of each kind through a remarkable system known today as the “genetic code”, the complex information in the DNA molecule.  This system allows wide “horizontal” variation with the kind, but no “vertical” evolution from one kind into a more complex kind.  fruit:  produce, crops; the product of trees or plants.  fruit tree:  A tree cultivated for its fruit or a tree whose principal value consists in the fruit it produces, as the apple-tree, peach-tree, pear-tree, etc.  yielding fruit after his kind:  1) Toward, according to its species or nature; i.e., apple-trees produce apples.  2) The phrase “after his (or their) kind” is repeated 10 times in this chapter, and demands that adults of each “kind” would have to be created supernaturally to begin the life cycle.  Moses uses the word kind 30 out of the 31 times it appears in the OT.  This word may not require the separate creation of each species by God, but it does require at least the separate creation of families within orders.  whose seed is in itself:  1) Literally which its seed is in itself; Hebrew seeding seed.  2) First tree, then fruit.  Each of which produces seed according to the nature of them, which being sown produces the like, and so there is a continuance of them upon the earth.  3) Provision was made for time to come by the perpetuating of several species, every one having its seed in itself after his kind, that during the continuance of man upon the earth, food might be fetched for his use and benefit.  and it was so:  a summary word of accomplishment; as God commanded it should.  

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

the earth brought forth grass:  in great abundance at once; the hills and valleys were clothed with it, and so a rich provision was made for the beasts and cattle of the earth, two or three days before they were created.  herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind:  wholesome and healthful herbs and plants, and delicious fruit to be food for man, ready prepared for him when created; see verses 29-30:  on this day, though after related, were made the garden of Eden, and all the trees in it, pleasant for sight, and good for food; and particularly the tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 

13.  And the evening and the morning were the third day.

The Fourth Day:  Heavenly Bodies

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

Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven:  1) Lightholders or luminaries; heavenly lights; the sun, moon, and stars.  2) Now great masses of materials (part of the “earth” elements created on the first day) were gathered together in the space beyond the waters above the space adjacent to the earth.  These great bodies were set burning in complex chemical and nuclear reactions, to serve henceforth as “light-givers” for the earth.  3) A chaos of light, scattered and confused (1:3); now was collected and made into several luminaries, and so rendered both more glorious and more serviceable.  4) That body of fire and light produced on the first day was now distributed and formed into several luminous bodies; lights produced from that light, or made out of it, or were instruments of communicating and letting down that light upon earth, which was collected and put together in them, especially the sun.  to divide the day from the night:  the distinction of day and night, summer and winter, times.  let them be for signs:  1) Things to come; for the direction of actions; to express or represent another thing; that which is used of good and bad weather, times of plowing, sowing, reaping, etc.  2) They represent the quality of the weather by the manner of their rising or setting, by their eclipses, conjunctions, etc.  3) Signs of the change of the weather that the husbandman may order his affairs with discretion.  let them be for seasons:  1) Appointed or determined times.  2) The establishment of climatological seasons (summer and winter, spring and fall).  let them be for days:  by a circular motion for the space of 24 hours.  let them be for years:  for 365 days. 

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

to give light upon the earth:  to brighten, causing light, to provide light or illumine.  and it was so:  a summary word of accomplishment; these lights were formed and placed in the firmament for their appropriate uses and served such purposes as God willed and ordered they should.

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

God made:  1) Placed to serve some purposes beneficial to men.  2) Constituted or appointed to the important and necessary office of serving as luminaries to the world, and regulating by their motions and influence the progress and divisions of time.  two great lights:  1) That is, the sun and the moon, and here He speaks as man judges by his eye.  From the standpoint of astronomy, the sun and moon are obviously not “the two great lights” of the universe.  This is the language of appearance as seen from man’s viewpoint.  2) The sun in size and brilliance, the moon in reflecting.  3) The most glorious and useful of the lights.  the greater light:  the sun; called greater, in comparison of the moon, not only in respect to its body or substance, but on account of its light which is far greater and stronger.  to rule the day:  1) To have dominion (under God); to have authority over, prevalence.  2) To preside over it, to make it, give light in it, and continue it to its proper length; and in which it rules alone, the moon, nor any of the other planets, then appearing.  the lesser light:  smaller in size; receiving its light from the sun; lesser in comparison to the sun.  to rule the night:  1) To have dominion (under God); to have authority over, prevalence.  2) To give light then in a fainter, dimmer way, by reflecting it from the sun, and is of great use to travelers and sailors.  3) Attends on the earth to give light by night, and which furnishes the fruits of the earth with moisture and juices that nourish them (Deuteronomy 33:14; Jeremiah 31:35).  He made the stars also:  1) Or, with the stars also, to rule the night (Psalms 136:9).  2)  All the heavenly bodies, constellations, planets, and all the luminaries except for the sun and moon.  3) Planets, stars, with which the heavens are bespangled, and which reflect some degree of light upon the earth.  4) These stars were scattered in tremendous numbers throughout the infinite recesses of the heavens (Isaiah 55:9).  The light energy emanating from them would henceforth travel across space to “give light upon the earth”, providing patterns and movements which would also enable men to keep records of time and history.  In order to serve this purpose, however, light energy trails would need to be established already in space between each star and earth.  Thus, men would have been able to see stars billions of light-years away at the very moment of their formation, in accordance with the principle of mature creation or creation of apparent age.

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

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven:  literally placed, fixed; put in their particular locations and at the distances as to be proper and beneficial.

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

19.  And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

The Fifth Day:  Animal Life of Sea and Air

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

Let the waters bring forth abundantly:  1) To swarm with swarms; to abound with abundance; to swarm, abound or teem in respect to production; swarming with swarming creatures.  2) To teem in numbers and rate of birth and multiplication, prolific multitude.  the moving creature:  1) Oviparous animals; a swarm, i.e., active mass of minute or creeping animals; as fishes and worms which slide, swim or creep.  2) Reptile or any moving creature especially produced in great multitudes including fish.  3) Which is applied to fishes as well as creeping things, because in swimming their bellies touch the water, and are close to it, as reptiles on the earth: and as these creeping things in the seas are innumerable, Psalms 104:25.  that hath life:  1) Literally a living soul; animal life. 2) The first of this sort; the less perfect, or lower sort of these, were first produced.  3) The animal life or that principle by which every animal, according to its kind, lives.  and fowl [ i.e., every flying thing, all kinds of birds and insects; a flying or winged animal] that may fly above the earth:  1) Literally let fowl fly; to dart or fly about higher in place.  2) To move through the air by aid of wings.  open firmament of heaven:  literally the face of heaven; thus birds fly only in the lower reaches of the vast spaces of the heavens.  NOTE:  This text also implies that aquatic life and fowl appeared simultaneously, denying the evolutionary sequence of reptiles before birds.

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

God created:  1) To change the form, state and situation of matter, which is wholly indisposed for such a change, and requires as great a power as to make out of nothing.  2) The act of renovating, remodeling or reconstituting something already in existence.  3) To make or produce, by new combinations of matter already created, and by investing these combinations with new forms, constitutions, and qualities.  4) To shape and organize; though not out of nothing, yet was an extraordinary instance of Almighty power.  great whales:  1) Great sea creatures, large fish or sea monsters.  2) Or, rather any reptile or animal of large dimensions whether of the sea or land.  3) Marine or land monster; includes dragons, crocodile, leviathan.  every living creature:  1) Literally living soul; consciousness, animal life (as “that hath life” in verse 20); also 1:24; 2:19.  2) Every living creature that swims in the waters of the seas or in the rivers, whose kinds are many, and their numbers not to be reckoned.  that moveth:  1) To glide swiftly; i.e., to crawl or move with short steps; by analogy to swarm.  2) To move along (the ground or in the water).  3) Living beings that creep, crawl or wiggle in order to move.  4) Locomotion of small animals, especially reptiles, creeping things that creep on the ground.  every winged fowl:  1) Literally fowl of wing; having wings (of flying creatures); winged creatures in general.  2) Every flying thing, and the various sorts of them that fly in the air; these were all created by God, or produced out of the water and out of the earth by His wonderful power.  God saw [i.e., to focus His attention on] that it was good:  Or foresaw that these creatures He made in the waters and in the air would serve to display the glory of His perfections, and be very useful and beneficial to man, whom He designed to create.

 

       

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

God blessed them:  1) Spoke words invoking divine favor; to bestow divine favor and confer divine benefits.  2) To endue with power for success, prosperity, fruitfulness, longevity, etc.  3) To give power of procreation and fruitfulness, so as the creatures might multiply their kind; that is, by the virtue of His word He gave power to His creatures to reproduce.  [Note the threefold blessing at Creation (1:22, 28; 2:3).]  saying, Be fruitful:  to say authoritatively; to command, decree, or appoint that they be prolific and flourish in creation.  multiply:  to become many; increase exceedingly in number; make or become numerous.  fill the waters in the seas:  1) To occupy a vacant space with their kind, to be abundant and overflowing; to stock or supply with abundance.  2) The art of making that which was empty of a particular content no longer so.  3) To hold to capacity particular objects, i.e., to stock or supply fully the first time. 

23.  And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

The Sixth Day:  (1) Animal Life of Earth

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

Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind:  1) The Scripture indeed ascribes to beasts a soul, spirit, life, and respiration; in Hebrew, the living soul.  2) All sorts of living creatures that live and move upon the earth:  not that the earth was endued with a power to produce these creatures of itself, without the interposition of God:  for though it might be impregnated with a quickening virtue by the Spirit of God, which moved on it whilst a fluid, and had been prepared and disposed for such a production by the heat of the body of light created the first day, and of the sun on the fourth; yet no doubt it was the power of God accompanying His word, that these creatures were produced of the earth, and formed into their several shapes.  cattle:  1) The herbivorous kind, capable of labor or domestication.  2) Livestock or domestic animals; any large quadruped or animal (often collectively).  3) Tame cattle, and such as are for the use of man, either for carriage, food, or clothing, as horses, asses, camels, oxen, sheep, goats, swine, etc.  creeping thing:  1) Small creeping or moving things, i.e., small animals, reptiles, and beings that crawl, creep, move randomly.  2) The appropriate verb for the motion of smaller animals which creep along the ground; both of those that have four feet or more, and also of those without feet, which glide or drag themselves along the ground, as worms or serpents; aquatic or amphibious reptiles.  3) A reptile or any other rapidly moving animal; creatures that move along the ground or sea.  4) Small animals, creepers, are such as either have no feet, and go upon their bellies, or are very short, and seem to do, whether greater or lesser, as serpents, worms, caterpillars, ants. beast of the earth:  wild animals, whose ravenous natures were then kept in check; large non-domestic animals; wild beasts such as lions, bears, wolves.  and it was so:  a summary word of accomplishment; such creatures were immediately produced for the earth’s lithosphere and biosphere.  

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

every thing that creepeth on the earth:  all the reptiles of the earth (creeping things of 1:24).

The Sixth Day: (2) Man

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

God said, Let Us:  1) The Divine purpose is here stated.  The Divine act is not described till 2:7, 21-24.  2) Us, i.e., the three Persons of the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, consult about it and concur in it.  3) Signifying that God takes counsel with His wisdom and virtue purposing to make an excellent work above all the rest of His Creation.  God said, Let Us make man:  1) Words which show the peculiar importance of the work to be done, the formation of a creature who was to be God’s representative, clothed with authority and rule, a visible head and monarch of the world.  2) For whose sake the rest of the creatures were made.  Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made.  Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him, and he must be allied to both worlds. And therefore God Himself not only undertakes to make, but is pleased so to express Himself, as if He called a council to consider the making of him.  3) These words declare a plurality, and are expressive of others, being co-workers with God in creation:  and man being the principal part of the creation, and for the sake of whom the world, and all the things in it were made, and which being finished, he is introduced into it as unto a house already prepared and furnished for him, a consultation is held among the Divine Persons about the formation of him, not because of any difficulty attending it, but as expressive of his honor and dignity.  man:  1) Hebrew adam; denotes man or mankind in general (male and female).  NOTE:  With the article, it denotes the man, adam, though rendered “man” on 1:27; 2:7 (twice), 8, 15, 16, 19 (margin), 22 (twice).  2) The human race; the whole species of human beings; being distinguished from all other animals by the powers of reason and speech, as well as by their shape and dignified aspect. 3) This word for man has to do with man as being in God’s image, the crown of creation.  It should be distinguished from ‘ish (man as opposite of woman, or as man distinguished in his manliness), ‘enosh (man as weak and vulnerable), geber (man as mighty and noble) and metim.  ‘adam refers to generic man or is a personal name.  Hence in Genesis 1-3 it is the word usually used for man.  Here, man is distinct from the rest of creation in that: he was created by special and solemn Divine counsel (1:26); his creation was an immediate act of God; he was created after the Divine type; he was created with two distinct elements (2:7); he was placed in an exalted position (1:28); he was intended for a still higher (in the sense of a permanent a permanent and fulfilled) position.  Hence, man (as ‘adam) was the crown of creation.  Genesis 1 sets forth ‘adam as the goal and vice-regent of creation, while Genesis 2 shows how the creation was formed as the scene of man’s activity, i.e., it was formed around ’adam.  In the first three chapters there is a word play on man, mankind, and the first man “Adam”.  ‘adam connotes man in the image of God as to:  soul or spirit (indicating man’s essential simplicity, spirituality, invisibility, immortality), physical powers or faculties (the intellect and will with their functions), intellectual and moral integrity (true knowledge, righteousness, and holiness), body (as a fit organ of the soul sharing its immortality, and as the means through which man exercises his dominion), and dominion over the lower creation.  4) Man was, in his original state, a very noble and exalted creature; being placed as the head and lord of this world, having all the creatures in subjection to him.  The powers and operations of his mind were extensive, capacious, and perfect; capable of contemplating upon the works of God with pleasure and delight, and of performing his will without the least deviation.  But by sinning against his Creator, his mind is vitiated, corrupted, and debased; and he is in a ruined, lost, miserable, and wretched state.  image:  Resemblance; resemblance of God in righteousness and holiness or moral dispositions.  God’s image obviously does not consist in man’s body which was formed from earthy matter, but in his spiritual, intellectual, and moral likeness to God from whom his animating breath came.  likeness:  resemblance, form, external appearance.  in Our image, after [a marker of similarity or correspondence, i.e., according to] Our likeness:  1) Figure of Speech Hendiadys; or Two for One, i.e., two words used, but one thing meant.  One thing not two = “in the likeness of Our image”, viz. of Elohim (not Jehovah), the 2nd Person, who had taken creature form in order to create (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3; Revelation 3:14; compare Proverbs 8:22-31 and 1 Corinthians 11:3-11).  Refers only to the outward form, not to attributes.  In any case the “image and likeness” is physical, not moral.  Man fell and is a moral ruin, but some physical likeness to elohim still remains, compare Genesis 9:6; 1 Corinthians 11:7; James 3:9.  No indication that the similitude was ever lost, Genesis 5:3.  2) Two words to express the same thing, this was a peculiar distinction, the value attached to which appears in the words being twice mentioned.  3) These two words are totally interchangeable.  The word “likeness” rather than diminishing the word “image” actually amplifies it and specifies its meaning.  Man is not just an image but a likeness-image.  He is not simply representative but representational.  Man is the visible, corporeal representative of the invincible, bodiless God.  4) In contrast to animals in verses 20 and 24 where God said, “Let the waters bring forth” and “Let the earth bring forth”, He now says this concerning man.  All others reproduce after their “kind”, but man is the only one made in the image of God and reproducing in that image.  The terms image and likeness are used synonymously, and refer primarily to man’s spiritual resemblance (rationally and morally) to his Maker.  God placed a great chasm between man and the beast, for only man has the capacity for speech, fellowship, moral discernment, self-consciousness, eternal life and worship.  Even after the Fall, man retains the image of God (compare 9:6; James 3:9), though it had been marred.  The plural pronoun Us is most likely a majestic plural from the standpoint of Hebrew grammar and syntax.  let them have dominion over:  1) To rule or bear rule over; to subjugate; be above in authority, exercising domain; i.e., to use animals for food (after the fall), clothing, or carriage, and to make use of them as appropriate.  2) Word used to identify Adam’s and Eve’s God-ordained relationship to the created world around them.  Such dominion obviously was under God as a steward-ship, not as autonomous sovereign.  Man was to care for the earth and its creatures, developing and utilizing the earth’s resources, not to despoil and deplete them for selfish pleasure.  3) This term suggests intensive study of the earth and its creatures (that is “science”) and then application of that knowledge (that is, technology and commerce) for the optimum benefit of mankind and animals, and for the glory of God.  4)  To rule or have authority over, which was giving them a universal and an unlimited domain over all the creatures, of which see an enumeration in Psalms 8:6-8.  the fish of the sea:  a fish (as prolific); in the sense of squirming, i.e., moving by the vibratory action of the tail; mostly used collectively, so called as multiplying abundantly.  the fowl of the air:  all flying things in the heavens or air in which birds fly.  the earth:  = beasts of the earth (verses 24-25), so as to keep them in awe, and keep them from doing them any damage.         

27.  So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.

So God:  in accordance with the Godhead.  God:  The Hebrew accent (Pasek) places the emphasis on God, the Carrier-out of His purpose.  created He him:  i.e., when He did create.  The description of the act postponed till 2:7, 21-24.  So God created man in His own image:  Which consisted both in the form of his body, and the erect stature of it, different from all other creatures; in agreement with the idea of that body, prepared in the covenant for the Son of God, and which it was therein agreed He should assume in the fullness of time; and in the immortality of his soul, and in his intellectual powers, and in that purity, holiness, and righteousness in which he was created; as well as his dominion, power, and authority over the creatures, in which he was God’s vicegerent, and resembled Him.  NOTE:  1) Here the Hebrew adam has the article, and the demonstrative Hebrew eth, to indicate that the man Adam created in 2:7 was the “man” here purposed.  2) “Man” is here (and often in Scripture) used in a generic sense to include both man and woman.

So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him:  Man’s greatest excellency at first was a perfect conformity to the Divine pattern.  This includes,

    I.  The similitude of God in the substance of the soul, as it is an intelligent, free, spiritual, and immortal being.  This is assigned to be the reason of the law, that “whoso sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed:  for in the image of God made He man” (9:6).

     II.  A moral resemblance in its qualities and perfections.  Man was conformed to God in holiness; this the apostle insinuates, when he sets forth the sanctification of corrupt man, by the expression of “renewing him in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, after the image of the Creator” (Ephesians 4:23-24; Colossians 3:10); the renovation of things, being a restoring of them to their primitive state; and is more or less perfect, by its proportion to, and distance from the original.  Man’s understanding was enriched with knowledge, which was neither acquired by study, nor confined to that or the other particular creature, but reached through the whole compass of the creation.  Besides, he had such knowledge of the Deity as was sufficient for his duty and felicity.  He discovered almighty power, admirable wisdom, and infinite goodness, from their effects in creating the world.  The image of God was likewise resplendent in man’s conscience, the seat of practical knowledge, and treasury of moral principles.  The directive faculty was sincere and uncorrupt; it was clear from all prejudices, which might render it an incompetent judge of good and evil.  There was also a Divine impression on the will.  Spiritual reason kept the throne, and the inferior faculties observed an easy and regular subordination to its dictates.

     III.  The image of God consisted, though in an inferior degree, in the happy state of man, which was the consequent and accession to his holiness; and herein he resembled that infinitely blessed Being, as he is perfectly exempt from all evils which might allay and lessen his felicity, and enjoys those pleasures which are worthy of his pure nature and glorious state.  This happiness had relation to the two natures, which enter into man’s composition.  (1) The animal and sensitive, and this consisted both in the excellent disposition of his organs, and in the enjoyment of convenient objects.  His body being formed immediately by God was not liable to those defects which proceed from the weakness of the second causes; no blemish or disease, which are the effects and footsteps of sin were to be found in him; all his senses were quick and lively, able to perform with facility, vigor, and delight, their operations.  Not only were his organs excellently disposed, but there were also convenient objects to entertain his sensitive faculties; he enjoyed nature in its original purity, crowned with the benediction of God, before it was blasted with the curse.  The world was all harmony and beauty, becoming the goodness of the Creator; and was not as it is since the fall, disordered and deformed in many parts, the effect of his justice.  The earth was liberal to Adam of its treasures; the heavens of their light and sweetest influences.  And he was seated in Eden, a place of great beauty and delight.  But, (2) His chief happiness consisted in the exercise of his most noble faculties on their proper objects.  The highest faculties in man are the understanding an