| Verse |
Commentary |
Lexicon |
| Gen 1:1 |
The beginning of the cosmological universe. Note it says "heavens", plural "and earth". Most English translations use the plural. This is the cosmos/space and the planet. |
? |
| Gen 1:2 |
This accurately depicts the state of the planet shortly after its creation, much like many lifeless planets today earth was once a mass of liquid & gases. |
? |
| Gen 1:3 |
God commands light to exist but it apparently is not light emitted from the sun, as the sun is not mentioned as being created until Gen 1:16. |
? |
| Gen 1:4 |
God's division of light from darkness here is apparently not the division of day and night but more in general, light from dark. Light and darkness have other sources than just the sun. |
? |
| Gen 1:5 |
This verse specifically defines the light as being day & darkness as being night, but this does not contradict the general definition of light & darkness of Gen 1:4 as day & night do not necessarily need to be defined by the rotation of the planet in relation to the sun -- even though eventually that is how it will be defined. |
? |
| Gen 1:6 |
Earth begins to have form. Perhaps this addresses cohesion of the gases into an atmosphere. |
? |
| Gen 1:7 |
Formation of oceans, seas under a vapor canopy above. No land yet existed. |
? |
| Gen 1:8 |
Interestingly "Heaven" is singular here as contrasted with the plural usage in Gen 1:1. The "Heaven" here is not the abode of God but rather the atmosphere surrounding earth -- the sky. |
? |
| Gen 1:9 |
Land begins to appear. It is significant to note that the word "land" does not actually appear, but literally it would be let "dryness" appear. This is further important because it is a direct distinction with the Hebrew word eretz used in Gen 1:1. Though eretz can be used to mean simply "land" or soil, comparing Gen 1:1 to Gen 1:9 should inform the reader that Gen 1:1 is not the creation of merely a localized landmass, but of the planet itself. |
? |
| Gen 1:10 |
Earth is defined as an actual planet wherein the entire dryness of land is considered "Earth" & the waters surrounding the dry land are considered seas or oceans. God considers the creation "good". Sometimes interpreters will attempt to use this verse to proclaim that even after the Fall, that the creation remained "good", whereas the "good" spoken of here is more of God being pleased in His own "good" work of creation. |
? |
| Gen 1:11 |
Plant life begins to flourish on the planet, apparently before the creation of the Sun & Moon which are mention in Gen 1:16. Could it be that God shows His ability in sustaining life even without what science would think is naturally required? It is interesting that even science depicts the order of life as first being plant life before animal life. Further, God shows that the propagation of life follows after its original & does not evolve into something different than the original. Micro-evolution within the same species is not negated. |
? |
| Gen 1:12 |
Plant life populates the planet. Once again God calls His creation work "good". This speaks not so much of the quality of creation & rather of God's ability to create. |
? |
| Gen 1:13 |
Once again the label of "day" is used even though apparently the Sun is not created until Gen 1:16. |
? |
| Gen 1:14 |
Apparently this is the creation of stars & other celestial bodies but not yet the Sun & Moon of the planet earth. This at first seems non-sensical since seasons are normally associated with the orbit of the Sun. It is possible that the Sun & Moon were actually created in Gen 1:3 but the details of that creation not mention until Gen 1:16. |
? |
| Gen 1:15 |
Further mention of lights within the "heavens" & that these lights emit to the earth/planet. |
? |
| Gen 1:16 |
This verse is the specific & detailed mention of the creation of the Sun, Moon, & stars whereas previous mention of light & darkness could either be a summary & thus the order of the creation of the Sun, Moon, & stars should be considered ordinally prior to the creation of plant life; or as previously stated, the original mention of light could have been emitting from God Himself rather than celestial bodies. Obviously the Moon does not actually emit light, but merely reflects light, but the Bible is not attempting to be a technical science book & need not be specific on these matters. The accuracy & order of the biblical creation account to scientific conclusions is amazingly similar which is especially significant since as stated, the Bible is not meant to be a technical science book. |
? |
| Gen 1:17 |
Detailing the purpose of the Sun & Moon |
? |
| Gen 1:18 |
Further detailing the purpose of the Sun & Moon & glorifying to God's "good" ability of creation. |
? |
| Gen 1:19 |
Yet another indication of a "day" passing. Debate continues whether these are meant as 24 hour periods or epics of unspecified time. Proponents of epics rather than literal 24 hour periods would point out that the Sun & Moon are not specifically mentioned as created until the "fourth day", however this does not negate that whether this is a summary or God emitted the light Himself for the passing of day & night, it could & has been understood as 24 hour days by the majority of historic Christianity. |
? |
| Gen 1:20 |
The creation of aquatic life and avian life. Interestingly enough this is the same order science often depicts life emerging on the planet. |
? |
| Gen 1:21 |
Further details about the creation of aquatic life & avian life. An interesting distinction of "winged birds" is put forth. God continues to show that offspring of a "kind" follow the pattern of its original almost as if to anticipate & pre-refute the contention of evolutionary theories. God is pleased with His "good" ability to create. |
? |
| Gen 1:22 |
Aquatic life & avian life are "blessed" by God to propagate in the earth. |
? |
| Gen 1:23 |
The fifth "day" passes, once again marked by day & night. |
? |
| Gen 1:24 |
Mammals & other land animals are created, again to propagate after their "kind". |
? |
| Gen 1:25 |
Further detailing the creation of land animals. Some interpreters who believe in some form of evolutionary creationism claim the mention of "beast" is a pre-Adamic humanoid primate. Whereas some interpreters see the "beast" as possibly dinosaurs. |
? |
| Gen 1:26 |
God specifically creates humans. Interesting the plurals "Us" & "Our" is used of God as if either God is embodied as more than one (often used as a proof-text for the concept of Trinityi) or God includes the assistance of angels in the creation of humans. Humanity is distinguished as being after the "image" or "likeness" of God rather than a part of the animal line. This is often used as a proof-text by evolutionary creationism to show that lower humanoid primates could have existed before the creation of "Adam". Humanity is distinguished as dominating all other life. |
? |
| Gen 1:27 |
Further mention of humanity being patterned after God. This could be a metaphor for saying humans have a soul/spirit whereas other life does not or it could be that in some sense humans have a physical resemblance to God. Interestingly, there is the summary mention of the creation of "female" as well as "male". This is significant to the possibility that the creation account need not to be taken technically ordinal, such as the earlier apparent discrepancy of the creation of the Sun & Moon. |
? |
| Gen 1:28 |
Further detailing humanity's dominion over the planet & all other creatures. God "blesses" humanity & commands humanity to multiply. Some interpreters see this as relating to general human population whereas others see it as a summary of Adam's specific lineage. |
? |
| Gen 1:29 |
God emphasizes general humanity's dominion over all other creatures. Interestingly, apparently humanity was initially an herbivore since God only speaks of plant life as being for food. |
? |
| Gen 1:30 |
It appears that even the animals may have all originally been herbivores. |
? |
| Gen 1:31 |
As sort of a capstone, God assesses His work of creation and considers it not just "good" but "very good". |
? |
