Genesis 1
1
The Story of Creation.#This section, from the Priestly source, functions as an introduction, as ancient stories of the origin of the world (cosmogonies) often did. It introduces the primordial story (2:4–11:26), the stories of the ancestors (11:27–50:26), and indeed the whole Pentateuch. The chapter highlights the goodness of creation and the divine desire that human beings share in that goodness. God brings an orderly universe out of primordial chaos merely by uttering a word. In the literary structure of six days, the creation events in the first three days are related to those in the second three.
The seventh day, on which God rests, the climax of the account, falls outside the six-day structure.Until modern times the first line was always translated, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Several comparable ancient cosmogonies, discovered in recent times, have a “when…then” construction, confirming the translation “when…then” here as well. “When” introduces the pre-creation state and “then” introduces the creative act affecting that state. The traditional translation, “In the beginning,” does not reflect the Hebrew syntax of the clause. 1In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth#Gn 2:1, 4; 2 Mc 7:28; Ps 8:4; 33:6; 89:12; 90:2; Wis 11:17; Sir 16:24; Jer 10:12; Acts 14:15; Col 1:16–17; Heb 1:2–3; 3:4; 11:3; Rev 4:11.—2#This verse is parenthetical, describing in three phases the pre-creation state symbolized by the chaos out of which God brings order: “earth,” hidden beneath the encompassing cosmic waters, could not be seen, and thus had no “form”; there was only darkness; turbulent wind swept over the waters. Commencing with the last-named elements (darkness and water), vv. 3–10 describe the rearrangement of this chaos: light is made (first day) and the water is divided into water above and water below the earth so that the earth appears and is no longer “without outline.” The abyss: the primordial ocean according to the ancient Semitic cosmogony. After God’s creative activity, part of this vast body forms the salt-water seas (vv. 9–10); part of it is the fresh water under the earth (Ps 33:7; Ez 31:4), which wells forth on the earth as springs and fountains (Gn 7:11; 8:2; Prv 3:20). Part of it, “the upper water” (Ps 148:4; Dn 3:60), is held up by the dome of the sky (vv. 6–7), from which rain descends on the earth (Gn 7:11; 2 Kgs 7:2, 19; Ps 104:13). A mighty wind: literally, “spirit or breath [ruah] of God”; cf. Gn 8:1. and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—#Jer 4:23.
1. | light (day)/darkness (night) | = | 4. | sun/moon |
2. | arrangement of water | = | 5. | fish + birds from waters |
3. | a) dry land | = | 6. | a) animals |
b) vegetation | b) human beings: male/female |
3Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.#2 Cor 4:6. 4God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.#In ancient Israel a day was considered to begin at sunset.
6Then God said: Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other. 7God made the dome,#The dome: the Hebrew word suggests a gigantic metal dome. It was inserted into the middle of the single body of water to form dry space within which the earth could emerge. The Latin Vulgate translation firmamentum, “means of support (for the upper waters); firmament,” provided the traditional English rendering. and it separated the water below the dome from the water above the dome. And so it happened.#Prv 8:27–28; 2 Pt 3:5. 8God called the dome “sky.” Evening came, and morning followed—the second day.
9Then God said: Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear. And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.#Jb 38:8; Ps 33:7; Jer 5:22. 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the basin of water he called “sea.” God saw that it was good. 11#Ps 104:14. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. And so it happened: 12the earth brought forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw that it was good. 13Evening came, and morning followed—the third day.
14Then God said: Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the seasons, the days and the years,#Jb 26:10; Ps 19:2–3; Bar 3:33. 15and serve as lights in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth. And so it happened: 16God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night, and the stars.#Dt 4:19; Ps 136:7–9; Wis 13:2–4; Jer 31:35. 17God set them in the dome of the sky, to illuminate the earth, 18to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19Evening came, and morning followed—the fourth day.
20#Jb 12:7–10. Then God said: Let the water teem with an abundance of living creatures, and on the earth let birds fly beneath the dome of the sky. 21God created the great sea monsters and all kinds of crawling living creatures with which the water teems, and all kinds of winged birds. God saw that it was good, 22and God blessed them, saying: Be fertile, multiply, and fill the water of the seas; and let the birds multiply on the earth.#Gn 8:17. 23Evening came, and morning followed—the fifth day.
24#Sir 16:27–28. Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal. And so it happened: 25God made every kind of wild animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the ground. God saw that it was good. 26#Gn 5:1, 3; 9:6; Ps 8:5–6; Wis 2:23; 10:2; Sir 17:1, 3–4; Mt 19:4; Mk 10:6; Jas 3:7; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10. Then God said: Let us make#Let us make: in the ancient Near East, and sometimes in the Bible, God was imagined as presiding over an assembly of heavenly beings who deliberated and decided about matters on earth (1 Kgs 22:19–22; Is 6:8; Ps 29:1–2; 82; 89:6–7; Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7). This scene accounts for the plural form here and in Gn 11:7 (“Let us go down…”). Israel’s God was always considered “Most High” over the heavenly beings. Human beings: Hebrew ’ādām is here the generic term for humankind; in the first five chapters of Genesis it is the proper name Adam only at 4:25 and 5:1–5. In our image, after our likeness: “image” and “likeness” (virtually synonyms) express the worth of human beings who have value in themselves (human blood may not be shed in 9:6 because of this image of God) and in their task, dominion (1:28), which promotes the rule of God over the universe. human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
27God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female#Male and female: as God provided the plants with seeds (vv. 11, 12) and commanded the animals to be fertile and multiply (v. 22), so God gives sexuality to human beings as their means to continue in existence. he created them.
28God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.#Fill the earth and subdue it: the object of the verb “subdue” may be not the earth as such but earth as the territory each nation must take for itself (chaps. 10–11), just as Israel will later do (see Nm 32:22, 29; Jos 18:1). The two divine commands define the basic tasks of the human race—to continue in existence through generation and to take possession of one’s God-given territory. The dual command would have had special meaning when Israel was in exile and deeply anxious about whether they would continue as a nation and return to their ancient territory. Have dominion: the whole human race is made in the “image” and “likeness” of God and has “dominion.” Comparable literature of the time used these words of kings rather than of human beings in general; human beings were invariably thought of as slaves of the gods created to provide menial service for the divine world. The royal language here does not, however, give human beings unlimited power, for kings in the Bible had limited dominion and were subject to prophetic critique. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth.#Gn 8:17; 9:1; Ps 8:6–9; 115:16; Wis 9:2. 29#According to the Priestly tradition, the human race was originally intended to live on plants and fruits as were the animals (see v. 30), an arrangement that God will later change (9:3) in view of the human inclination to violence. #Gn 9:3; Ps 104:14–15. God also said: See, I give you every seed-bearing plant on all the earth and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit on it to be your food; 30and to all the wild animals, all the birds of the air, and all the living creatures that crawl on the earth, I give all the green plants for food. And so it happened. 31God looked at everything he had made, and found it very good. Evening came, and morning followed—the sixth day.#1 Tm 4:4.
Currently Selected:
Genesis 1: NABRE
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Génesis 1
1
El relato de la creación
1En el principio, Dios creó los cielos y la tierra.#1:1 O En el principio, cuando Dios creó los cielos y la tierra... o Cuando Dios comenzó a crear los cielos y la tierra... 2La tierra no tenía forma y estaba vacía, y la oscuridad cubría las aguas profundas; y el Espíritu de Dios se movía en el aire sobre la superficie de las aguas.
3Entonces Dios dijo: «Que haya luz»; y hubo luz. 4Y Dios vio que la luz era buena. Luego separó la luz de la oscuridad. 5Dios llamó a la luz «día» y a la oscuridad «noche».
Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el primer día.
6Entonces Dios dijo: «Que haya un espacio entre las aguas, para separar las aguas de los cielos de las aguas de la tierra»; 7y eso fue lo que sucedió. Dios formó ese espacio para separar las aguas de la tierra de las aguas de los cielos 8y Dios llamó al espacio «cielo».
Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el segundo día.
9Entonces Dios dijo: «Que las aguas debajo del cielo se junten en un solo lugar, para que aparezca la tierra seca»; y eso fue lo que sucedió. 10Dios llamó a lo seco «tierra» y a las aguas «mares». Y Dios vio que esto era bueno. 11Después Dios dijo: «Que de la tierra brote vegetación: toda clase de plantas con semillas y árboles que den frutos con semillas. Estas semillas producirán, a su vez, las mismas clases de plantas y árboles de los que provinieron»; y eso fue lo que sucedió. 12La tierra produjo vegetación: toda clase de plantas con semillas y árboles que dan frutos con semillas. Las semillas produjeron plantas y árboles de la misma clase. Y Dios vio que esto era bueno.
13Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el tercer día.
14Entonces Dios dijo: «Que aparezcan luces en el cielo para separar el día de la noche; que sean señales para que marquen las estaciones, los días y los años. 15Que esas luces en el cielo brillen sobre la tierra»; y eso fue lo que sucedió. 16Dios hizo dos grandes luces: la más grande para que gobernara el día, y la más pequeña para que gobernara la noche. También hizo las estrellas. 17Dios puso esas luces en el cielo para iluminar la tierra, 18para que gobernaran el día y la noche, y para separar la luz de la oscuridad. Y Dios vio que esto era bueno.
19Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el cuarto día.
20Entonces Dios dijo: «Que las aguas se colmen de peces y de otras formas de vida. Que los cielos se llenen de aves de toda clase». 21Así que Dios creó grandes criaturas marinas y todos los seres vivientes que se mueven y se agitan en el agua y aves de todo tipo, cada uno produciendo crías de la misma especie. Y Dios vio que esto era bueno. 22Entonces Dios los bendijo con las siguientes palabras: «Sean fructíferos y multiplíquense. Que los peces llenen los mares y las aves se multipliquen sobre la tierra».
23Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el quinto día.
24Entonces Dios dijo: «Que la tierra produzca toda clase de animales, que cada uno produzca crías de la misma especie: animales domésticos, animales pequeños que corran por el suelo y animales salvajes»; y eso fue lo que sucedió. 25Dios hizo toda clase de animales salvajes, animales domésticos y animales pequeños; cada uno con la capacidad de producir crías de la misma especie. Y Dios vio que esto era bueno.
26Entonces Dios dijo: «Hagamos a los seres humanos#1:26a O al hombre; en hebreo dice adán. a nuestra imagen, para que sean como nosotros. Ellos reinarán sobre los peces del mar, las aves del cielo, los animales domésticos, todos los animales salvajes de la tierra#1:26b Así aparece en la versión siríaca; en hebreo dice toda la tierra. y los animales pequeños que corren por el suelo».
27Así que Dios creó a los seres humanos#1:27 O al hombre; en hebreo dice ha-adán. a su propia imagen.
A imagen de Dios los creó;
hombre y mujer los creó.
28Luego Dios los bendijo con las siguientes palabras: «Sean fructíferos y multiplíquense. Llenen la tierra y gobiernen sobre ella. Reinen sobre los peces del mar, las aves del cielo y todos los animales que corren por el suelo».
29Entonces Dios dijo: «¡Miren! Les he dado todas las plantas con semilla que hay sobre la tierra y todos los árboles frutales para que les sirvan de alimento. 30Y he dado toda planta verde como alimento para todos los animales salvajes, para las aves del cielo y para los animales pequeños que corren por el suelo, es decir, para todo lo que tiene vida»; y eso fue lo que sucedió.
31Entonces Dios miró todo lo que había hecho, ¡y vio que era muy bueno!
Y pasó la tarde y llegó la mañana, así se cumplió el sexto día.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Santa Biblia, Nueva Traducción Viviente, copyright © 2010 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.