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Genesis One and Two

A Commentary

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Introduction

We can give three reasons why we believe that Moses wrote Genesis (Gr., which means original or generation ): (1) Jewish tradition;  (2) Jesus himself taught it (John 5:46); (3) the Scriptures teach it (Exodus 17:14; 24:4; 31:24; Acts 7:22). It was probably written after forty years in the wilderness (1440 BC)

And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. (Exodus 17:14)

We shall divide this article into two: (1) The Order of Creation which speaks of the sequence of God’s creation from Day One to Day Seven (Genesis 1:1-Genesis 2:6); (2) The Pinnacle of Creation: Man will give us some more details of the first chapter: Order of creation (Genesis 2:7-25).

All Scripture quotes are from the King James Version (1611) of the Holy Bible.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)

The Order of Creation, B.C. 4004

Epitome

Genesis 1:1  ¶In the beginning [Heb., tyvarb] God [Heb., Elohim (pl.) = Mighty God] created [out of nothing] the heaven and the earth. [Take note of the phrase “in the beginning”—the beginning of time and space for God neither had beginning nor an end. Here we are taught that in the VERY beginning God created the heaven which can also be called the “second heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2) and the formless earth. This is an epitome’ or an abstract of this chapter and this article. This is an independent clause, ex nihilo as it is commonly called, “creation out of nothing”. See Psalm 33:6]

The First Day

Genesis 1:2  And the earth was [Heb. htyh, rendered “was” not “became” as speculated in the Gap Theory] without form, and void; [Heb., tohu and bohu; chaos was the first matter[2] See also the vision of Jeremiah (4:23) and Job 10:22] and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God [See also Psalms 33:6; Job 26:13] moved upon the face of the waters.[the Trinity working together in unity: the Father wills, the Word creates, the Spirit moved upon the face of the waters]

3  ¶And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. [Where did the light come from? (Job 38:19) The sun, moon and the stars were not yet created here. In Revelation 22:5, we learn that God will again make no use of the sun or the stars as light, so we should have no problem here.]  Genesis 1:4  And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5  And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. [Observe the light came from a singular source; the earth hangs upon nothing (Isaiah 40:22, B.C. 700[3]); that the earth is round (Job 26:7, B.C. 1520, technically speaking in a 3-D space it is a sphere), its only natural that only “one side” of the round earth will be day while the other side will be night. Now to think of the word “day” (Heb., yom) as an age is a great error. Notice also the phrase “the evening (obviously it was dark before the light was created) and the morning (that is when the light was created) the first day.” Lastly, the Hebrews or the orthodox Jews continue to reckon the days from sunset to sunset. Here we are learn how God defined time.]

The Second Day

Genesis 1:6  ¶And God said, Let there be a firmament[4] in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7  And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters [Heb. mabbul, it could be a massive vapor canopy that acted as a protective greenhouse effect for a time; watery clouds; cloud of mists] which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8  And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. [Here we learn that the “first heaven” (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:2) called the firmament was created—we call it the atmosphere (which now in its present state spans approximately 560 km from the earth’s surface). We cannot be sure for now about the composition of the “water” (Heb., mayim) above the firmament. We can only but guess for now whether this can be considered literal water[5] or not. Think about this though, just look up into the sky and what do you see? Isn’t it as blue as the water of the seas?]

The Third Day

Genesis 1:9  ¶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. 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. [Here we are told that there is a body of water called Seas was gathered in one place and the dry land called Earth began to appear. It is interesting to note that Psalm 8:8 speaks of paths in the Seas, true to its word, Matthew Maury, a U.S. Naval officer proved it to be true![6]]

Genesis 1:11  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. 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. 13  And the evening and the morning were the third day. [After the appearance of the dry land, the grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit (whose seed was in itself) was brought forth. Take notice of the word “after his kind,” it speaks of variation among the same kind (a law of genetics of sort) contrary to the Darwin’s doctrine on Macro Evolution.]

The Fourth Day

Genesis 1:14  ¶And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven [Now this firmament of the heaven seems different to the firmament that divided the “waters” in the Second Day] to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15  And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 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. 17  And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 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. [Here we learn that only on the Fourth Day did God create the sun, the moon and the stars. Most of the modern scientists contend that light travels at a constant speed, given the distance of the stars, how could a man see the stars if the universe is not 20 Billion years old? Our answer here is simple, if God created the universe and the light out of nothing, how difficult would it be for God to stretch the speed of light for the benefit of man? Isn’t it with God, all things are possible? (Matthew 19:26). There is another point why the word “day” should be considered a literal 24-hour day—photosynthesis—the grass, the herb yielding seeds and the trees will be needing it to sustain themselves.].

The Fifth Day

Genesis 1:20  ¶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.[this open firmament of heaven seems to refer to the firmament that divided the “waters” in the Second Day] 21  And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters [why plural?] brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22  And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23  And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. [Take note again of the phrase “after their kind,” which speaks of variation among its kind which is not the same as Darwin’s doctrine on Macro Evolution]

The Sixth Day

Genesis 1:24  ¶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. 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.

26  ¶And God said,

Let us make man [take note that this is in singular form but it refers to mankind in general, though God created Adam and Eve, being the First Cause, God is still the creator of the offspring of Adam and Eve, in this sense God, through Bible, is telling us that it He is our maker, though unlike Adam and Eve since we have parents, God the First Cause is our maker] in our image, after our likeness [Pronouns “us” and “our” hint the sense of the plurality of the Godhead]: and let them [mankind in general] have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27  So God created man in his own image, [The “image” refers to goodness, holiness, personality, and reason, Ecclesiastes 7:29; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24] in the image of God created he him; [Pronouns “he” and “his” once again re-establishes the sense of unity of the Godhead] male and female created he them. [the male and the female] 28  And God blessed them, and God said unto them,

Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish [Although the usage of this word can either be (1) To fill or make complete again; (2) add a new stock or supply to, we prefer to second usage. That is, God said to them, … add new stock (procreate) to the earth.] the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. [Man was not exempted from work either: subdue the earth, have dominion, multiply, replenish, etc.]

29  ¶And God said,

Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. [from here we know the first generation of mankind onward until the after the Great flood (Genesis 9:3) was decreed to be vegetarians] 30  And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

31  ¶And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good [may also refer to the genetic richness before Man’s fall]. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

31  ¶And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. [Everything he had made was very good! Teach us of the zoological, agricultural, geological, ecological and meteorological harmony before the Fall.]

The Seventh Day

Genesis 2:1  ¶Thus the heavens [plural isn’t it? (2 Corinthians 12:2)] and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2  And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3  And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

4  ¶These are the generations [i.e., history] of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, [For every generation and culture we learn that a seven-day week is observed especially by the Jews who observe the Sabbath, if according to Theistic Evolutionists, a day is an age (say 1,000 years appealing to 2 Peter 3:8), would it be ridiculous if the Jews observe Sabbath only every 7,000 years. Our employers would love to have us enjoy our day-off only after 7,000 years of service!] 5  And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: [the herbs and the plants of the field are different to the grass and the herb yielding seed created by God on the Third Day, for these are grown by man after the Fall by tilling the ground] for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6  But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. [There was no rain but the ‘mist from the earth’ sustained the vegetation, which could be speaking of springs or underground fresh water. Different ecology, different geology.]

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The Pinnacle of Creation: Man

The First of Man Adam

Genesis 2:7  And the LORD [Pronounced as Yahweh or Jehovah] God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. [This teaches us of the dichotomy of man: (1) the tangible—the body of man which was made of the dust of the ground and (2) the intangible—God’s breath of life in man making him a living soul. If Darwinism is true, Man is…

But we are more than the dust of the ground, we are made in the image of our creator, with individual personalities, made good and holy (especially before the Fall), and with the ability to love and to reason.]

The Garden of Eden

8  ¶And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9  And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10  And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11  The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12  And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13  And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14  And the name of the third river is Hiddekel [the Tigris River]:  that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. [The detailed description of the Garden of Eden teach us that it is no allegory but a real place.] 15  And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

The Commandment of God

Genesis 2:16  ¶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,

Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Man a Social Creature

18  ¶And the LORD God said,

It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

The Naming of the Beasts and Fowls

Genesis 2:19  And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20  And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. [The order of creation on the Sixth Day was beasts; cattle; creeping creatures and man. However, God opted to create some more for Adam’s benefit: the beast of the field; every fowl of the air; the first woman Eve ]

The First Woman Eve

21  ¶And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, [“She was not made out of his head to surpass him, nor from his feet to be trampled on, but from his side to be equal to him, and near his heart to be dear to him.”[8]] and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22  And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

The Institution of Marriage

24  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25  And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Ecclesiastes 3:14  I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.