A Skeptic Analyses, Interprets and Provides Commentary on the Holy Bible: GENESIS Chapter 1
GENESIS Chapter 1
1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The word created is interesting. We can create a chair from a tree, or a smart phone from resources we found within the Earth. We can even create an idea through the amalgamation and abstraction of impressions left on our mind through the human experience. But, creating something then implies making something from materials that already exist. I wonder if the Creation spoken of in this opening verse refers to the creation of something from that which already existed, or the creation of something from nothing.
Also, when I hear the word "beginning" I think of the word "end." I wonder what had to end in order to establish this beginning.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
*Note: Earth is an anagram of heart.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
There seemed to be no need to Create the darkness, suggesting it preexisted the light.
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.
This interesting to me only because it carries the notion that evening is the first part of the day, and morning the latter portion, which is counter to how we tend to think of things.
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
Supposing God isn't talking out loud to Himself just to sate his boredom, the fact that it is expressing the words as being spoken seems very relevant. If the world is formed of vibrating particles as they tell us, then it does make perfect sense to use the metaphor of speaking to characterise the Creation of the universe. It might also invite a curiosity as to the potential power that vibrational energy, sound and speaking have to effect the world around us.
7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters 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.
These verses seem possibly to be implying that heaven is the sky and the atmosphere, as we're told that outer space is made of plasma.
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.
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.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
Flat Earther's must very much appreciate this verse, for if the previous observation about what is heaven is accurate, then this verse appears to be attempting to assert that the sun and the moon are in the sky, as opposed to in outer space.
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.
How was there a evening and a morning on the first few days if the sun and moon had not yet been created? What before then was defining a day or a night?
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.
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.
There is little doubt now that heaven is referring to the sky when mentioned in this chapter. Whether this will be the case in future chapters and books is yet to be ascertained.
21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
The repeated mentioning of "after their kind" supports the Gnostic theory that the material Earth is a copy of the spiritual realm. Where else is the original kind that the new creation is being modelled after?
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.
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 in our image, after our likeness: and let them 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.
In our image is an interesting series of words. I've seen it argued that although this is plural, it refers to one God, while others may see it as a direct contradiction to monotheism. What I think, is that even if it refers to a singular God, who embodies characteristics that ought to be spoken of in a pluralised form, that it speaks to man adopting this same breath of characteristics. Whether that be male and female, or good and bad, or something else entirely, I do not yet know, but hope to find out as this journey continues.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Now it is back to saying "his" rather than "our."
28 And God blessed them, and God 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 fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Is replenish the Earth a poetic means of saying "die?"
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.
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.
So at this point, the diet of man, and of animals, is said to have been solely plant-based. I know this will become relevant later in Genesis.
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.
Very interesting! Genesis is a tough one! Bless you for digging into the deeper truths to be found there. I am following and look forward to see how your story unfolds!
Thanks. There's not much of interest in this first page for me to speculate upon. But I am certain as I continue there will be a lot more to comment upon. I hope to see you sharing your own insights as the journey progresses.
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STOPYou're ignorant. Get a Bible commentary so you can learn something.
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