Genesis 1: 1 Commentary
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Genesis 1 verse 1 is part of The Old
Testament.All Bible Verses on VBVBC.org are taken from the King James Bible (KJV). 
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Loading ...In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
182 Bible Commentaries on Genesis 1: 1
In Genesis 1:1,the plural noun “God” (Elohim) is joined with singular verb “created” (bara).This verb is used in verses 1,21 &27.
Life, the Universe and Everything:
WHEN did God create the heaven and earth? In the beginning. There was no time before the creation. (Scientists theorize that time is related to gravity.) It is important to note that heaven and earth were created at the same time. Heaven did not come before earth. Also people assume that heaven is God’s home, however this verse states that only God has no beginning and no end. Another assumption is that anything that has a beginning also has an end, but heaven and earth are eternal (even though they both will be transformed).
WHO created the heaven and earth in the beginning? God. He alone is the Intelligent Designer. Just as a watch implies a watchmaker so to does the universe imply God. Also, a watchmaker implies a couple of watchmaker makers which in turn implies makers of the makers. Everything and everyone has a cause except God. He is the Uncaused Cause. It is true that the Hebrew word for God used in this verse is ‘Elohiym and is a plural noun that could be translated Gods. This begs the question: Why would an author who believes in one God use a plural noun? Keep in mind that the term is used throughout the Old Testament. It is even used in Deuteronomy 6: Hear, O Israel: The LORD [Yahveh] our God [‘Elohiym] is one LORD [Yahveh]. So the plural noun is used in this case to denote majesty and the fact that the Godhead is a Trinity.
HOW did God cause heaven and earth in the beginning? He created them. This is a divine creation that only God could do. Humans can just make things by mixing together pre-existing ingredients. Some scientists are trying to create life. They might be able to do that, but I bet they can’t pull the materials out of nowhere. I admit there is some confusion in this area: Some people say that creation was “something from nothing”, but it is also said that “nothing comes from nothing; nothing ever could”. There was always something – there was always God. By the way, humans don’t really have a grasp of nothing. For that, someone would have to leave the galaxy until no gravitational forces are at work.
WHAT did God create in the beginning? Heaven and earth - Everything. There are at least three types of heaven: The heaven of the sky where birds fly, the heaven of space where planets rotate, and the heaven of the spiritual realm. It is my belief that the third case of the spiritual realm is used in this verse, but that will change in future verses. Humans cannot perceive the spiritual realm unless our eyes are opened. It is a mistake to place forces such as energy and wind, or even space, in this category. These things help us understand heaven, but they are not that. The spirit realm can’t be detected (paranormal claims aside). Just as there are different types of heaven, so to are there different types of earth: The earth of the dirt where worms live, the earth which is the planet – the third rock from the sun – where every organism lives, the earth also known as the world as a system – the way things are - which will be cursed in a later verse, and the earth could also refer to everything in the universe. It is my belief that this verse refers to everything that humans can perceive. This is the physical world (body) but also could be mental abilities (soul – mind, will, emotions). A later verse (Gen 1:26) will discus humans being the image of God. Suffice it to state that heaven is spirit and earth includes both the body and soul. One key word to introduce here: B-A-L-A-N-C-E. Balance! On one extreme there are scientists who are atheists like Richard Dawkins. Their theory is that the universe is all there is and there is no heaven. If true, then humans are just talking bi-pedal animals. On the other extreme there are the philosophers who are the New Age-ers like Wayne Dyer. I admit that I like to hear Dr. Dyer talk and read some of his work. However, his theory is that the physical is temporary and that the spirit is all that really matters. (Spirit matters? Is that a contradiction?) If true, then humans are in fact a spirit with a body instead of vice versa. The truth is heaven and earth are both necessary. They do not contradict one another but rather compliment each other. (Think “you complete me”.) The sooner humans grasp balance, the better off we’ll be by the grace of God.
By
Terik Q
(wrote 65 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)
Posted on:
2/9/2009 14:54 pm 
1)In chapter of Genesis 1,we find God & the description of creation.Genesis 1:1 forms the broad base of a triangle.It is a foundation for the rest of the chapter.The simple statement contains the concept of Time,Space & Matter.
In the beginning——Time;
Heavens..————-Space;
Earth..—————Matter.
God created the material elements in Gen.1:1.
2)As the apex of the triangle,creation of man is described in Genesis 1:26-28.It is the high point of creation.Moses,the writer of Genesis,didn’t give full details of creation.He has written whatever has been revealed to him.
3)The earth is an unique planet.It is tailor made with conditions suitable for the existence of human beings.In the vast universe,the attention is focused to the earth.In the earth,the attention is focused to man.
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. He moreover teaches by the word “created,” that what before did not exist was now made; for he has not used the term ruy, (yatsar,) which signifies to frame or forms but arb, (bara,) which signifies to create. 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, 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) in maintaining this gross error is absurd and intolerable. Let this, then be maintained in the first place, 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 matter was to be the seed of the whole world. Besides, this is the generally recognized division of the world.
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. 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, 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.
By
John Calvin
(wrote 19 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
10/20/2008 06:36 am 
In regards to the theory that millions of years transpired between Gen.1:1 and Gen.1:2, does anyone have any Scriture references that “hint” at this possiblity?
It is translated “In the beginning God created” because the word bara is not in the infinitive (i.e. -ing or to ___) but past tense. If you translation it “When God began creating” or “when God began to create” you are ignoring the grammar to suit a liberal theological agenda.
The opening word of the verse, b’reishit (or Bereishit), has a known meaning, though the precise meaning is open to interpretation, which is highly significant because it contributes to both biblical thought and subsequent religious doctrines.
The word b’reishit lacks the definite article (”the”). Various English translations put it as “in the beginning,” “in the beginning when,” “at the beginning,” “during the beginning,” or “when [God] began.” The root of the first word Bereishit בראשית is ראש “head” — being the central core word (ראש can be pronounced as rosh which is the Hebrew for “head”).
Furthermore, the first letter ב means “in” or “at”, and the last letters ית imply “of”. The use of the word “head” implies something “at the top”, as in “head” of something. In this case it is the “head” or “start” of Creation, which is possibly where the idea to translate it as “in the beginning” originates.
jk, obviously you don’t know the difference between evidence and proof. There is plenty of scientific evidence that the sun was here first. There is also strong evidence, and even proof in some cases, that many other Biblical accounts are also false.
The irony with you is that you require scientific proof for logical facts and yet you’re such a sucker for illogical accounts that were written without a shred of credible evidence. How sensible is that?
By
Charles Fiott
(wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
4/22/2008 00:47 am 
There is no scientific evidence that the sun existed before the earth. There is no scientific evidence that the earth existed before the sun. Neither statement is provable by science. Both are outside the realm of science altogether. Science can only explain what takes place within the laws of nature, and the origin of the universe did not take place within the laws that didn’t exist before it was made, meaning science cannot explain it.
So, JK, diatribes aside, answer my question: where can I find any evidence - any non-laughable evidence at all - that our planet was in existence prior to the sun?
By
Charles Fiott
(wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
4/21/2008 18:25 pm
“Jk, the scientific community has produced compelling and verifiable evidence…” such as some lame conjecture about dust? You can’t have verifiable evidence for something like that. Their views on this subject are as much religious as mine. When science tries to explain how the universe came to be they leave science altogether and delve into philosophy. Science can tell us how to build a TV, not how the world was made in the beginning. To assert that science can do that is to make science into a religion, which also makes it cease to be science. Your “scientific community” that produced these supposed proofs is not a scientific community at all, but a group of priests of the religion of atheism.
Jk, the scientific community has produced compelling and verifiable evidence that the sun preexisted our planet. Please tell me where I can find any compelling and verifiable evidence to the contrary.
By
Charles Fiott
(wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
4/19/2008 22:33 pm
“On the fourth day the luminaries were made; because God, who possesses foreknowledge, knew the follies of the vain philosophers, that they were going to say, that the things which grow on the earth are produced from the heavenly bodies, so as to exclude God. In order, therefore, that the truth might be obvious, the plants and seeds were produced prior to the heavenly bodies, for what is posterior cannot produce that which is prior.” (Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. II, Theophilus to Autolycus, Book II, Chapter XV.-Of the Fourth Day)
“Science” is nothing more than the follies of vain philosophers. In fact, it is interesting how much of modern science is just Greek paganism rehashed in less superstitious terms. Charles (#11) says that it is scientific fact that the sun was in existence before the earth. So the vain philosophers of ancient Greece would have asserted it to be fact that the sun was a divine being who gave birth to the earth. His doctrine and theirs are the same, only his is cleaned up with modern language. The superstition abides, however, which asserts that the things which are seen can only have come into existence from other things which are seen, and therefore nothing unseen exists. The ancient philosopher said that the sun gave birth to the earth, and the modern scientist says that debris floating around the sun formed into the earth. What’s the difference? It is the same vain philosophy that nothing exists but what is seen. But thank God that God created the heavens and the earth and that one day Christians will be on a new earth wherein righteousness (not vain philosophy) dwells.
Someone has said, “There was nothing and God made something - put it on top of nothing and made it stay there.” The Bible nowhere attempts to prove the existence of God. In fact the Bible doesn’t start off telling us where God comes from, just “In the beginning God …”
By
J. W. Elder
(wrote 314 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
1/5/2008 01:46 am 
DUH SAID”"”"Scientific fact: the sun was in existence prior to Earth”"”"
Science is something that can be observed and proven.
How do you proof that the sun came before the earth?
Are u so old that u observed it?
By
Ashton
(wrote 3 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
12/31/2007 20:52 pm 
Please visit drdino.com
By
Ashton
(wrote 3 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
12/31/2007 20:40 pm
So, duh, do you believe Earth came into existence before the sun did?
By
Charles
(wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
10/9/2007 12:41 pm
Scientific fact: the sun was in existence prior to Earth
Genesis 1:1: the earth was created “in the begninning”; the sun came later (on the fourth day of creation).
This is proof that the Bible is false right from its very first verse.
By
Charles
(wrote 1421 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
10/8/2007 16:25 pm
It is true that God created the earth and the rest in six days. That is what the word says. However, the Word does not specify how long each day was. Many assume because our days are roughly 24 hours long that God’s days were roughly 24 hours long. It is only an assumption. No scriptural proof for so many to be so dogmatic about it. Joshua’s long day was longer than 24 hours and was only one day. The days in the Tribulation period will be shortened [earth speeded up?] and they will be short days for three and a half years. With God, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as one day. So while 24 hours is the norm, two examples above show longer and shorter than 24 hours that we know about. The point is that making assumptions based on the way things are normally in our experience is not proof that that is the way they were out of man’s experience. Man assumed the earth was flat and Christians especially got dogmatic about the earth being flat because of the Word’s mention of the four corners of the earth. I guess they missed Isaiah’s mention of the circle of the earth. Since God did not mention how long each day was, and at any rate the sun was out of that equation until man came along, we have to be satisfied by what the Word does say. If one wants to insist those days were 24 hours, insist to your heart’s content. I don’t believe the days were that short given the actual creation narrative. In the scheme of things it is not that important. What is more important is the sorry condition of the Church in America. Jesus is kicked out, knocking on the door from outside. Now that would qualify as important, the way I reckon things.
PROOF OF THE SIX LITERAL DAYS THAT GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH OUT OF NOTHING.
I am one who believes that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 literal days. Although there are some passages that the word “day” is not a literal 24-hour period, I submit to you, that in the first Chapter of Genesis, that the “day” mentioned there, is indeed, a literal day as we now know it. Note that “…and the evening and the morning were the first day […second day”, etc.] “Evening” and “morning” are not plural in ANY of the original manuscripts. Although man cannot comprehend HOW God “created”, it is understood in the original manuscripts that He “created” something out of nothing by His WORD. He did not “make” the heavens and the earth, he “created it out of nothing”. If one would like to know exactly how powerful God’s WORD is, one only need read the Gospel of John, Chapter 1.
Genesis opens up with the earth already created. When Spielberg created Star Wars he did not start at the beginning either. God has not provided us with a prequeal. We are to walk by faith. God does not tell us everything. We are to walk by faith. Genesis 1:1 is not the heading of an outline or a thesis statement. Genesis 1:1 is the very start that we are privy to. In the beginning is not the real beginning either. The angels,Lucifer, arch angels and the host of heaven were created before. No matter which beginning you go back to there was God the Father, and the declared (not born, not created) eternal Son who is God and one with the Father and Holy Spirit. But in our beginning, that is of the earth, we see the earth enveloped in a massive amount of water like a baby in a womb. Then we see the earth grow, as it were, until it reaches maturity, a fit habitation for man. God has not revealed to us how he created the atom or how he created matter. Mysteries abound. We still don’t know how gravity works. The just shall live by faith. God has revealed enough for us to believe. The rest is in his department.
On the question of how long a day was in Genesis, the Bible does not say. There was no man alive who could tell us. There is a strongly expressed assumption given as pure fact that each day was 24 hours long. This is largely insisted on as a rebuttal to evolution, as if God needs help defending his truth. The truth is that we really don’t know how long those days were. However, there are some hints that would indicate that the days were not our standard day. On the third day God commanded the vegetation to sprout and grow. We know that by the time we get a human perspective, the trees were magnificent. Notice that in spring, everything that is practically dead, springs up alive and abundant? Does not take much time to see the spring foliage blossom. A matter of days. Now back on a perfect world, how fast did that vegetation grow naturally? It was a process but unhindered by a fallen world. Yet even so, it would seem the day was greater than our standard day. Day six cinches it. After lunch, as it were, Adam was created. God created the animals in the morning. So late in the day, Adam experiences the wonder of a brand new creation, names all the animals and has enough time to get lonely — all this in the waning hours of the sixth day? The earth is in the womb, as it were, when we come to Genesis. Then the process of readying the world for human habitation takes place. The process has the feel of a period of time elapsing that does not coincide with our feel of a 24 hour period. Light was created instantaneously; the vegetation sprouted and grew; and the day of
Adam seems like it would contain a month of exploring the world, another month of cataloguing all the animals, and a while to get lonely. Quite a day. The only thing we know for sure is that all this was created in 6 days.
No need to force the 24 hour theory to combat evolution because evolution killed itself. All the half way this and half way that species, or the missing link, would have to be plentifully seen in the fossil record. Not there. Evolution is a fairy tale for those who don’t want accountability to a God who commands right living. The length of the creation days is anything the Lord says it is. He has not said; He has only hinted.
The Genesis account of the creation of the earth does not start at the actual beginning. Genesis opens up with the earth already created. It was empty and surrounded by an unbelievable amount of water. We are not privy to how it got to this stage. We must remember that the whole creation account was from God’s perspective. Man had no perspective at all until late on the sixth day when it was all over. Earth was birthed and developed step by step. First the food, then the habitation, and when it was all perfect, man.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 A statement inspired by the Holy Spirit, written by Moses between 1450-1410 B.C. that was purposed by God to show the beginning - God revealing his plan of salvation through history that originates here. By faith, as Christians we believe his word - he created all - our beginning hidden in him through the ages.
By
Sharon Corea
(wrote 5 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
6/6/2007 06:10 am 
Genesis 1:1 oes not start with “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” It actually reads “the gods” where you have placed “god.” The second version, by the Yahwists, have one of the gods ordering primordial matter; the first version has all of the gods using primordial water to create everything else out of. The myth, of course, came from Babylon.
By
Desertphile
(wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
6/3/2007 17:44 pm 
If we consider the speed of light and how long it takes for light of the edges of our universe to travel to the earth, I think indeed that we can’t say it was billions of years ago. I understand the Genesis “days” of creation in a non-literal manner. So, we don’t know exactly when God created everything.
By
H.Hilton
(wrote 3 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
6/3/2007 11:09 am 
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. . .
Then Verse 2 startes to talk about the earth, So it is very important that
we realize we have no idea how long the creation was before it mentions the Earth that is formless and void
What I am saying is we have no idea how long it was from verse one to
verse 2.
By the time we get to Gen 5 we can start to learn how long Creation as been on the earth.
By
Often Misty
(wrote 2 Bible Commentaries - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
6/3/2007 06:18 am 
On my computer I found some interesting remarks about this first verse of the Bible:
“The verse refers to the beginning of the world as we know it; it affirms that it is entirely the product of the creation of God. But there are two ways that this verse can be interpreted: (1) It may be taken to refer to the original act of creation with the rest of the events on the days of creation completing it. This would mean that the disjunctive clauses of v. 2 break the sequence of the creative work of the first day. (2) It may be taken as a summary statement of what the chapter will record, that is, verses 3-31 are about God’s creating the world as we know it. If the first view is adopted, then we have a reference here to original creation; if the second view is taken, then Genesis itself does not account for the original creation of matter [my remarks:”and does not account for the origin of God”]. To follow this view does not deny that the Bible teaches that God created everything out of nothing (cf. John 1:3) – it simply says that Genesis is not making that affirmation. This second view presupposes the existence of pre-existent matter, when God said, “Let there be light.” The first view includes the description of the primordial state as part of the events of day one. The following narrative strongly favors the second view, for the “heavens/sky” did not exist prior to the second day of creation (see v. 8 ) and “earth/dry land” did not exist, at least as we know it, prior to the third day of creation (see v. 10).”
By
B-Forscher
(wrote 1 Bible Commentary - permalink to this Commentary)Posted on:
6/2/2007 01:14 am 
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In the begining God! Oh! what a begining! When God begins, it is always good, for God is good.The Bible begins with God. It takes for granted that there is God and doesn’t require to prove that there is God.God is eternal and so there is nothing prior to Him. He is the begining and the end.” I the Lord the first, and with the last; I am He.”(Is. 41:4)I need not be fool by telling there is no God. God should be first in all that we do. In fact, let us begin each day with God.He is the creator of all and we therefore owe all to Him.When God begins a good work of redemption, he will perform it till the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6) He is our creator, he is our re-creator- making us a new creature in Christ.