Genesis 1
The First Book of Moses, called Genesis.
1In the beginninga God created the heavens and the earth. 2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and a windb from God moved over the waters.
The First Day
3And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good, therefore God dividedc between the light and betweend the darkness. 5And God called the light "day", and the darkness he called "night". And there was morning and there was evening: day onee.
The Second Day
6And God said, Let there be a firmamentf in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament6f, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and between the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8And God called the firmament6f "heaven"; and there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
The Third Day
9And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one placeg, and let the dry land appear," and it was so. 10And God called the dry land "earth"; and the gathering together of the waters he called "seas"; and God saw that it was good.
11And God said, Let the earth bring forth green herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, with seeds inside, upon the earth; and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth green herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with seeds inside, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
The Fourth Day
14And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament6f of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them serve as signs, and for seasons, and for days and years, 15and let them serve as luminaries in the firmament6f of heaven to give light upon the earth;" and it was so. 16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night and the stars. 17And God set them in the firmament6f of heaven to give light upon the earth, 18and to govern over the day and over the night, and to divide between the light and between the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
The Fifth Day
20And God said, "Let the waters teem with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament6f of the heavens." 21And God created the great whales, and every living and moving creature, with which the waters teemed after their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply; fill the waters of the seas, and let the birds be multiplied upon the earth." 23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
The Sixth Day
24And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind," and it was so. 25And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that moves upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 26And God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens6f, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that moves upon the earth." 27So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28And God blessed them, and said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth; and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens6f, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth." 29And God said, "Behold, I have given you every green herb bearing seed upon the face of the earth, and every tree bearing fruit yielding seed; to you it shall be for food; 30Likewise to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens6f, and to everything that moves upon the earth, wherein there is the breath of lifeh, I have given every green herb for food;" and it was so. 31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth dayi.
Commentary
Goals of the Commentary Section
The goal of the commentary section is to twofold; to provide insight into the text in order to promote further study, and for myself to record and remember material I like to go over in the form of sermon notes. My commentary is not inspired, it is merely the work of someone who is interested in the Bible for what it is -- for what it claims to be, for what it appears to be -- the word of God. My aim is to approach the text as a learner, with respect and honesty in my studies.
In the Image of God
In this chapter we see the initial creation of Man, upon which three statements are made; One, that instead of 'after their kind,' Man is created 'after (our kind)' i.e. "in our image". This primarily refers to those qualities we observe in the first part of this chapter, but could be expended to other qualities of God expressed later (ex. ‘Be holy for I am holy.’). Therefore our first consideration is that human beings are not mindless animals but instead have a capacity and responsibility to act in accordance with discernment -- not to blindly seek hedonism and self-interest.
Part of the observed qualities of "in the image of God" are underlined by the act itself; instead of animals acting on instinct, God discusses the creation of man with the angels; this requires language, conscious thought, judgement, capacity, agency, patience, care and respect for others. All of these and more are the traits which separate man from the animals.
Thus we conclude that since humans were created with language, free-will, and the capacity to discern (ex. light from darkness). that even though Adam did not have an evil inclination, he was aware that it was better (proper) to follow God's commands than to immediately set out to fight against him; nevertheless he was able to be deceived (or tempted) as he had possession of free-will. The difference here is that Adam and Eve did not consciously choose to disobey God as the impetus for their actions; the impetus for their actions was some secondary or "other" idea, disconnected from the idea of willful disobedience.
Discussion questions
1. Humans were created in the image of God instead of "after the kind" of an animal. What are some of the differences between Humans and Animals?
2. What other qualities of God do we see revealed in Genesis?
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Secondly, we see that God has blessed us and commanded (said unto us) "be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion...' These statements are so important they are repeated twice, which may be taken as giving them extra significance (see Genesis 8:21).
This also reflects the image of God; He creates and creates (this is his nature in creation) and does not act in a destructive (or self-destructive) manner. This is an interesting command because we have been blessed to accomplish it, yet the command is not to be fruitful but to be fruitful and multiply. It is not enough to simply desire to do this commandment or to engage it in purely for pleasure. It is still a commandment, and the fruit of the commandment (to multiply) is equally as important to keeping it as to be fruitful. Thus we learn that God can lead us and guide us but it is ultimately up to us to make the right decisions and to keep his commandments in a proper, righteous manner. Also as God has a plan for his creation one must be mindful of the result's of one's actions and plan them carefully. In this instance as one's goal is to bring Children into the world (also teaching us that God's goal was to bring Man into the world) we must be mindful of the principals of family planning from the beginning.
Discussion
1. God said "be fruitful and multiply". He did not ask us to do it, it is not part of a covenant. How is God's commandment to be fruitful and multiply enforced upon us?
2. The commandment is to "be fruitful" and multiply; what aspect of this commandment is within our free will to accomplish?
3. In what ways can this commandment be violated under our free-will, despite our desire to accomplish it?
To have dominion over the earth
'To have dominion,' is another interesting statement. It is also phrased as a command. What is the mode of observance? We learn this from more specific passages later on, such as 2:15 ("to dress it and to keep it") but it also may be seen from the passage "after the likeness (in the image of) God". In what sense we are like God is the sense that we may know God from his actions, and in this sense we can get a clear picture of how God wants us to exercise dominion over the earth:
a. God first observed, and then separated between the good and the evil (day 2). God is careful, and decisive over the choice of good and evil. For example, do not play at evil; do not for example have friends that entice one into (even a mild) evil.
b. God creates and creates, which is his work, but does not destroy and destroy (for his good work). From this we learn that our goal here is not to destroy the earth or deplete it of resources for personal financial gain. We know then that we must protect the earth, but also the basic principles of social interaction with other peoples and cultures; we must be friendly and amicable in all our relationships, and seek friendship and not war whenever possible.
c. Being created in the image of God means that we are to act in accordance with God's approval. It would not make sense for us to be created in the image of God and as such desire to act opposite to his own nature. Instead, being in his likeness means our nature is similar to his nature. Thus, being given dominion over the earth, we already know this means to care for and protect God's creation, for his intention in creating it was to have it be created, and not destroyed.
Thus even without strong statements or commandments, much can be inferred by the statement that we have been created in the image of God. In every case where God makes a judgement or a statement deciding morality or practice, we are to assume that it is God's wish that we follow his example.
<blockquote> 44 For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. 45 For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”<cite>Leviticus 11:44-45</cite></blockquote>
This commandment is repeated twice; once for all men, "I am the LORD your GOD [Elohim; as used in Genesis 1]" and now again especially for the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai "I am the LORD who brought you out of Egypt..." Therefore we may take from this a clear meaning of Genesis 1. Also see: Leviticus 19:2, 20:7, and also NT 1 Peter 1:16 which quotes these passages. We may also see that the first time is given less of a commandment as the second time; the second time is a therefore; the first time is merely a 'should'! This is in line with what we expect from the statements in Genesis 1.
Discussion
1. As human beings, what is our responsibility towards the earth?
2. In what ways can we accomplish this responsibility as a group, and as individuals in our daily lives?
3. What are some ways in which people reject or go against this commandment?
Hedonism
Often given using the example of being fruitful without multiplying; to use the existing analogy.
May we spend our time on off-duty assignments, such as the pursuit of resources at the expense of the environment? Or to pursue a career in lieu of raising children? Or in the practice of idolatry? Even if we say, there is still time before the end of the day to get our work done? No we may not, because we do not know if there is still time, therefore the time is now, to be sure; this is reflected in that when God did work he did his work at the proper time, and did not rest from it until his work was finished. As God did not rest during work-time, neither should we, and this is of course just one of the many lessons we can learn from God's actions here. Thus, "no work, no food"; one must not put off until tomorrow the work that can be done today, one must finish his work before taking a holiday, and so forth.
Rashi
Selected commentary.
h.בראשית ברא IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED — This verse calls aloud for explanation in the manner that our Rabbis explained it: God created the world for the sake of the Torah which is called (Proverbs 8:22) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) way”, and for the sake of Israel who are called (Jeremiah 2:3) “The beginning (ראשית) of His (God’s) increase’’. If, however, you wish to explain it in its plain sense, explain it thus: At the beginning of the Creation of heaven and earth when the earth was without form and void and there was darkness, God said, “Let there be light”. The text does not intend to point out the order of the acts of Creation — to state that these (heaven and earth) were created first; for if it intended to point this out, it should have written 'בראשונה ברא את השמים וגו “At first God created etc.” And for this reason: Because, wherever the word ראשית occurs in Scripture, it is in the construct state. E. g., (Jeremiah 26:1) “In the beginning of (בראשית) the reign of Jehoiakim”; (Genesis 10:10) “The beginning of (ראשית) his kingdom”; (Deuteronomy [18]:4) “The first fruit of (ראשית) thy corn.” Similarly here you must translate בראשית ברא אלהים as though it read בראשית ברוא, at the beginning of God’s creating. A similar grammatical construction (of a noun in construct followed by a verb) is: (Hosea 1:2) תחלת דבר ה' בהושע, which is as much as to say, “At the beginning of God’s speaking through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea.” Should you, however, insist that it does actually intend to point out that these (heaven and earth) were created first, and that the meaning is, “At the beginning of everything He created these, admitting therefore that the word בראשית is in the construct state and explaining the omission of a word signifying “everything” by saying that you have texts which are elliptical, omitting a word, as for example (Job 3:10) “Because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb” where it does not explicitly explain who it was that closed the womb; and (Isaiah 8:4) “He shall take away the spoil of Samaria” without explaining who shall take it away; and (Amos 6:12) “Doth he plough with oxen," and it does not explicitly state, “Doth a man plough with oxen”; (Isaiah 46:10) “Declaring from the beginning the end,” and it does not explicitly state, “Declaring from the beginning of a thing the end of a thing’ — if it is so (that you assert that this verse intends to point out that heaven and earth were created first), you should be astonished at yourself, because as a matter of fact the waters were created before heaven and earth, for, lo, it is written, (v. 2) “The Spirit of God was hovering on the face of the waters,” and Scripture had not yet disclosed when the creation of the waters took place — consequently you must learn from this that the creation of the waters preceded that of the earth. And a further proof that the heavens and earth were not the first thing created is that the heavens were created from fire (אש) and water (מים), from which it follows that fire and water were in existence before the heavens. Therefore you must needs admit that the text teaches nothing about the earlier or later sequence of the acts of Creation.
h.ברא אלהים GOD [AS JUDGE] CREATED — It does not state 'ברא ה “The Lord (the Merciful One) created, because at first God intended to create it (the world) to be placed under the attribute (rule) of strict justice, but He realised that the world could not thus endure and therefore gave precedence to Divine Mercy allying it with Divine Justice. It is to this that what is written in (Genesis 2:4) alludes — “In the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven”.
h.תהו is estordison in old French.
h.בהו VOID — The word signifies emptiness and empty space.
h.על פני תהום ON THE FACE OF THE DEEP — i. e. the waters which were upon the earth.
h.ורוח אלהים מרחפת AND THE SPIRIT OF GOD WAS HOVERING — The throne of Divine Glory was standing in space, hovering over the face of the waters by the breath of the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, and by His command, even as a dove hovers over its nest. In old French acoveter.
h.בתוך המים IN THE MIDST OF THE WATERS — In the exact centre of the waters; because there is the same distance between the upper waters and the firmament as there is between the firmament and the waters that are upon the earth. Thus you may infer that they (the upper waters) are suspended in space by the command of the King (Genesis Rabbah 4:3).
h.מעל לרקיע ABOVE THE EXPANSE — It is not said here על הרקיע “upon the firmament״, but מעל “hanging from above”, because they (the waters) were suspended in space (Genesis Rabbah 4:3). Why is it not stated in reference to the work of the second day “that it was good”? Because the work associated with water was not completed until the third day — He only began it on the second — and anything that is not completed is not in a state of perfection and at its best (and so cannot be termed “good”). Therefore on the third day when He completed the work associated with water and another work was commenced and finished, the words כי טוב are repeated, once in reference to the completion of the work of the second day, and again in reference to the completion of the work of that day (Genesis Rabbah 4:10).
h.תדשא הארץ THE EARTH SHALL SPROUT FORTH [SPROUTS] — Let it be filled and covered with a garment of different grasses. In old French דשא is called herbaries; English herbage, meaning all species of herbs growing together collectively whilst each root by itself is called an עשב.
h.— מזריע זרע YIELDING SEED — that its seed should grow within itself, so that some of it may be sown in another spot.
h.עץ פרי FRUIT TREE — that the taste of the tree be exactly the same as that of the fruit. It did not, however, do this, but (v. 13) “the earth brought forth a tree yielding fruit” and the tree itself was not a fruit; therefore when Adam was cursed on account of his sin, it (the earth) was also visited (because of its sin) and was cursed also (Genesis Rabbah 5:9).
h.אשר זרעו בו WHOSE SEED IS IN ITSELF — This refers to the kernels of each kind of fruit from which the tree grows when they are planted.
h.יהי מארת The word is written without the ו after the א (so that it may be read מארת, cursed), because it is a cursed day when children are liable to suffer from croup. In reference to this we read (in Taanit 27b): On the fourth day of the week they used to fast to avert croup from the children (Yerushalmi Taanit 4:3).
h.להבדיל בין היום ובין הלילה TO CAUSE A DIVISION BETWEEN THE DAY AND THE NIGHT — This took place after the primeval (divine) light was conserved for the righteous; but during the first seven [another reading is “three”] days of Creation the primeval light and darkness functioned together both by day and by night.
h.והיו לאותות AND THEY SHALL BE FOR SIGNS — When the heavenly luminaries are eclipsed it is a sign of ill-omen for the world, as it is written, (Jeremiah 10:2) “Be not dismayed at the signs of heaven” — when you carry out the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, you need apprehend no calamity (Sukkah 29a).
h.ולמועדים AND FOR SEASONS (FESTIVALS) — This is written with a view to the future when Israel would receive command regarding the festivals which would be calculated from the time of the lunar conjunction (Genesis Rabbah 6:1).
h.ולימים AND FOR DAYS — The sun functions half a day and the moon the other half — together a full day.
h.ושנים AND FOR YEARS — At the end of three hundred and sixty five days [another version: 365¼] they complete their course through the twelve signs of the Zodiac that attend them, and that is one year [another version: and this makes 365¼ days]; they then begin to revolve a second time in a circle similar to their first cycle.
h.ואת הכוכבים AND THE STARS — Because He diminished the moon, He increased its attendant hosts to mollify it (Genesis Rabbah 6:4).
h.שרץ Every living creature that does not rise much above the ground is called שרץ, e. g., of winged creatures — flies; of abominable creatures — ants, beetles and worms; of larger creatures — the mole, snail and others of the same kind, and all fishes.
h.נפש חיה — that have vitality.
h.פרו BE FRUITFUL — פרו is of the same root as פרי, and means bring forth fruit.
h.ורבו AND MULTIPLY — Had He said “Be fruitful” only, one creature might have brought forth a single one, and no more, therefore He added ורבו “and multiply”, implying that one should bring forth many.
h.נפש חיה — that have vitality.
h.ורמש — It means creeping swarms that creep low upon the ground; they appear as though they are dragged along, for how they move is not discernible. What we call רמש and שרץ in our (Hebrew) language, they call in old French mouvoir; English to move.
h.נעשה אדם WE WILL MAKE MAN — Although they did not assist Him in forming him (the man) and although this use of the plural may give the heretics an occasion to rebel (i. e. to argue in favour of their own views), yet the verse does not refrain from teaching proper conduct and the virtue of humbleness, namely, that the greater should consult, and take permission from the smaller; for had it been written, “I shall make man”, we could not, then, have learned that He spoke to His judicial council but to Himself. And as a refutation of the heretics it is written immediately after this verse “And God created the man”, and it is not written “and they created” (Genesis Rabbah 8:9)
h.בצלמנו IN OUR IMAGE — in our type.
h.כדמתנו AFTER OUR LIKENESS — with the power to comprehend and to discern.
h.וירדו בדגת הים AND THEY SHALL HAVE DOMINION OVER THE FISH … [AND OVER THE BEASTS] — The expression וירדו may imply dominion as well as descending — if he is worthy he dominates over the beasts and cattle, if he is not worthy he will sink lower than them, and the beast will rule over him (Genesis Rabbah 8:12).
h.בצלם אלהים ברא אותו IN THE IMAGE OF GOD CREATED HE HIM — It explains to you that the form prepared for him was the form of the image of his Creator.
h.זכר ונקבה ברא אותם MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM — And further on (Genesis 2:21) it is said: “and He took one of his ribs etc.” (The two passages appear to be contradictory.) But according to a Midrashic explanation, He created him at first with two faces, and afterwards He divided him. But the real sense of the verse is: here it tells you that both of them were created on the sixth day, but it does not explain to you how their creation took place; this it explains to you in another place (Genesis Rabbah 8:1 and see Eruvin [18]a).