The earth was (A)without form, and void; and darkness [a]was on the face of the deep. (B)And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

(C)Then God said, (D)“Let there be (E)light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

And the earth was a (A)[a]formless and desolate emptiness, and (B)darkness was over the [b]surface of the deep, and (C)the Spirit of God (D)was hovering over the [c]surface of the waters. Then (E)God said, “[d]Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was (F)good; and God (G)separated the light from the darkness.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 Or waste
  2. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  3. Genesis 1:2 Lit face of
  4. Genesis 1:3 I.e., a command, not a request; and so throughout the ch

The earth was [a]formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. And God said, [b]“Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and [c]He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness.(A)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 1:2 The Hebrew text here has two rhyming words, tohu and bohu, which have similar meanings of “wasteness” and “emptiness.” The construction is a figure of speech called hendiadys, in which two words are used together to express the same idea. The meaning is that the earth had no clearly discernible features at this point in creation but essentially was a mass of raw materials. This proves to be very important from philosophical and scientific viewpoints, because it documents the fact that the raw matter of the earth—and by extension, of the universe—did not coexist eternally with God, but was created by Him ex nihilo (Latin “out of nothing”).
  2. Genesis 1:3 This is not in the imperative mood (the ordinary grammatical form for a command), but God willed these creative events into existence. It is the voluntative mood in Hebrew. This translates, “It is My will that this happen.” English does not have the voluntative mood, which includes the jussive and cohortative forms. When “let” is used in this way, it represents a command not in the imperative mood, but rather an expression of God’s will, the jussive form. God literally commanded (willed) the world into existence.
  3. Genesis 1:4 “He affirmed and sustained it” is understood (deduced) from the context. The italic “and” alerts the reader or student of Hebrew that the word or words that follow are amplifications not found in the Hebrew text itself, but implied by it or by contextual factors.

Now the earth was formless(A) and empty,(B) darkness was over the surface of the deep,(C) and the Spirit of God(D) was hovering(E) over the waters.

And God said,(F) “Let there be light,” and there was light.(G) God saw that the light was good,(H) and he separated the light from the darkness.(I)

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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.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

Read full chapter