Genesis 1:1-2
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” We will stop here. There are a few items to point out right away. Please remember this text was written a very long time ago in a language called Hebrew which did not use any vowels to start with. The Hebrew language didn’t get vowels to much later. So, there are sometimes different translations. This being said, the Jewish publication society has another way to translate the Hebrew phrase “Bere’shith”. “When Elohim began to create the heavens and the earth,” I find this interesting in the fact that this would lead the local readers of this text in their time would have in their mind that there was this ball of rock and water already floating around in space and the creator decided to get to work on it. Does this change the story? No… God still created it. But I want you to get used to how we study the bible. We need to take the time to look at the text as it was written for the audience it was written for. The authors of the bible did not think, “I better write this in a way the Jennings clan will understand it in the year 2023. They wrote with the thought of what their readers of their time would understand it. We need to approach study this way. Take the time to investigate various words in the original language. The second point of interest in this first verse is the word that is used for “God”. In the Hebrew language it is “Elohim”. This word is used often in the bible and to the Hebrews this word is used for any being not of this world. This word is used for angles, God, demons, spirts and anything in the spiritual realm. When used for God, it is capitalized. Just keep this in mind as we move forward. Another interesting fact about the word ‘elohim’ is that it is plural. The Jewish people actually believed in a dual Godhead before the second temple period. We will get into this later, but I want it to be floating around in your mind. This word is used more than 2000 times in the bible. This verse just keeps going. The Hebrew word “bara” is used in the Old Testament as a way to describe a divine activity. Meaning that only Yahweh could ‘create’ in this way, not man. So, the writer is using words that his audience would understand and take to heart and fully comprehend what he is driving at. As you can see, we can lose much in our translations of the bible if we don’t take the time to study and understand. Our language sometimes simplifies words where other languages will use various words to describe in detail what one of our words has. A great example of this is our word for love. Our word love can be used in a multitude of variations where the Greek language will use 6 to 7 different words to actually describe various ways to love. One last point on this verse… I know, right? What do we have – 10 words? It’s amazing gang what a little time spent studying can reveal if you just take a moment and reflect. And with all our tech out there, it is so much easier to study this way. The phrase “the heavens and the earth” refers to the entirety of creation. The Old Testament often uses the phrase to refer to a totality. To the reader of this time period there is the earth they live on and everything else – the heavens – a ‘total’. Verse 2: ‘The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’ So let us tackle this second verse together. How do you, the new reader ‘study’ this verse? Well, first read it as it is. We have a planet that was void and without form. There was darkness – so no light. There were deep places and water. Easy enough, but let’s get a deeper understanding of the text. The word ‘form’ in Hebrew is Tohu and means wilderness, wasteland, emptiness, desert, and nothing. Wow! That is a lot of meaning for one word. But does that not paint an image in your mind? The word void or ‘bohu’ means emptiness and wasteland. So, the writer is really hitting home that the place is inhabitable for human life. A human being could not exist in such a place. The word deep in Hebrew is ‘tehom’ and means flood, deluge, primaeval ocean – the cosmic waters of chaos. This indicates to us that the entire planet is covered by water. Again, the language of the Hebrews often uses this term to once again describe a place that man cannot survive. We will see this terminology used again and again as we move forward. The English translation gave us a pretty good idea that the place was not habitable, but when we study the Hebrew of it, we really get a vivid picture of a planet that this was a place I wouldn’t even think of visiting even if I had all the right gear. Moving on… Now to one of my most favorite Hebrew words – Ruach. Make sure you say it with a little flehm coming up from your throat. Roo – ahk. Your tongue needs to roll the r and then you cough up a loogie…lol. This word in our language is translated as ‘spirit’. Again, I find that our English language is lacking. In Hebrew this word means many awesome things. Ruach means: Yahweh’s essence. His power. It also means wind or mighty wind. It is also referred to as life. So, when we see the word spirit our modern mind drifts to our world view, does it not. You start thinking of Halloween, of ghosts or those behind the grave. We see how the people of this time envision this word as a psalmist writes in Psalms 104:29-30: “When you hide your face (he is speaking about Yahweh), they are dismayed; when you take away their breath (the word is ‘ruach’), they die and return to their dust. When you send forth your Spirit (‘ruach’), they are created, and you renew the face of the ground.” The intended readers of this text knew very much what this word meant. It was the breath of life. Without it a living thing dies and with it was the power to bring forth life. It is God’s creative essence – a part of himself. His very personal sustaining power or energy. A breath, a wind, a moving animating force. Now imagine this – paint this picture in your mind. An awesome holy power… the most ethereal glowing form you can think of. The next word helps finish the image. In English the word is hover. In our modern world we might think of a helicopter or a floating ghost. But the word in Hebrew, ‘merahepet’ – means to tremble or flutter. The other times this word is used in the bible is to describe the flight of a bird. Cool. So, we have the most celestial glowing form slowly flapping Its wings over the dark, uninhabitable lump of rock that is covered by water. My mind sees a giant glowing phoenix hovering over the unformed earth. This is Yahweh’s creative power – a piece of Himself ready to act at the great King’s command. Let us re-translate what we have learned in verses one and two: “When Yahweh, the one true living creator God, began to create the heavens and earth (everything), the lump of rock was desolate and inhabitable by any creature. It was void of any light and covered with water. The essence of Yahweh, his creative power, hovered just above the dark waters, awaiting the King’s word to unleash his artistic force.” Well gang, we didn’t get far into the Word, but boy was there a lot to talk about. We have a long way to go, and I hope you y’all will keep with me on this incredible journey. We have a lot to learn together that just opens our mind to Yahweh’s will. Let me leave you with this. Read Genesis just like a novel. Just read it and let Yahweh’s Ruach fill you and expose what he wants you to see the first time around. Then follow along this journey and see why the bible is called the ‘living word’. Until next time.
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AuthorBradford Jennings. ArchivesCategories |