John 10:30
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
30 [a]The Father and I are one.”(A)
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Genesis 1:1-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Preamble. The Creation of the World
Chapter 1
The Story of Creation.[a] 1 In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth(A)— 2 [b]and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters—(B)
3 Then God said: Let there be light, and there was light.(C) 4 God saw that the light was good. God then separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” Evening came, and morning followed—the first day.[c]
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- 1:1–2:3
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.
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 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.
- 1:2 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.
- 1:5 In ancient Israel a day was considered to begin at sunset.
Job 28:12-27
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
12 As for wisdom—where can she be found?
Where is the place of understanding?(A)
13 Mortals do not know her path,
nor is she to be found in the land of the living.
14 The Deep says, “She is not in me”;
and the Sea says, “She is not with me.”
15 Solid gold cannot purchase her,
nor can her price be paid with silver.(B)
16 She cannot be bought with gold of Ophir,[a]
with precious onyx or lapis lazuli,
17 Gold or crystal cannot equal her,
nor can golden vessels be exchanged for her.
18 Neither coral nor crystal should be thought of;
the value of wisdom surpasses pearls.
19 Ethiopian topaz does not equal her,
nor can she be weighed out for pure gold.
20 As for wisdom, where does she come from?
Where is the place of understanding?
21 She is hidden from the eyes of every living thing;
even from the birds of the air she is concealed.
22 Abaddon[b] and Death say,
“Only by rumor have we heard of her.”
23 [c]But God understands the way to her;(C)
it is he who knows her place.(D)
24 For he beholds the ends of the earth
and sees all that is under the heavens.
25 When he weighed out the wind,
and measured out the waters;
26 When he made a rule for the rain
and a path for the thunderbolts,(E)
27 Then he saw wisdom and appraised her,
established her, and searched her out.
Footnotes
- 28:16 Ophir: cf. note on Ps 45:10.
- 28:22 Abaddon: cf. note on Jb 26:6.
- 28:23–27 In reply to the question of vv. 12, 20, these verses indicate that the creator (vv. 24–26) knows the “place” of wisdom and even “established” her, but the specifics are not given. For further development of this theme, cf. Sir 1:1–10 and Bar 3:9–4:4.
Proverbs 8:22-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
22 [a]“The Lord begot me, the beginning of his works,
the forerunner of his deeds of long ago;(A)
23 From of old I was formed,[b]
at the first, before the earth.(B)
24 [c]When there were no deeps I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
25 Before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
Footnotes
- 8:22–31 Wisdom is of divine origin. She is represented as existing before all things (vv. 22–26), when God planned and created the universe, adorning it with beauty and variety, and establishing its wonderful order (vv. 27–30). The purpose of the two cosmogonies (vv. 22–26 and 27–31) is to ground Wisdom’s claims. The first cosmogony emphasizes that she was born before all else (and so deserving of honor) and the second underscores that she was with the Lord during the creation of the universe. The pre-existence of Woman Wisdom with God is developed in Sir 24 and in New Testament hymns to Christ, especially in Jn 1 and Col 1:15–20.
- 8:23 Formed: since the other verbs of the origin of Wisdom in these verses describe birth, it is likely that the somewhat uncertain verb is to be understood of birth as in Ps 139:13.
- 8:24–26 Perhaps the formless mass from which God created the heavens and the earth; cf. Gn 1:1–2; 2:4–6.
Wisdom 9:1-2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 9
Solomon’s Prayer[a]
1 [b]God of my ancestors, Lord of mercy,(A)
you who have made all things by your word(B)
2 And in your wisdom have established humankind
to rule the creatures produced by you,(C)
Footnotes
- 9:1–18 The author presents his version of Solomon’s prayer (1 Kgs 3:6–9; 2 Chr 1:8–10).
- 9:1–2 The author identifies Wisdom with the word of God just as he again identifies Wisdom with the spirit of God in v. 17. All three are alternate ways of expressing God’s activity in relationship with the world and its inhabitants.
1 John 1:1-2
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I. Prologue
Chapter 1
The Word of Life[a]
1 What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life—(A)
2 for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—(B)
Footnotes
- 1:1–4 There is a striking parallel to the prologue of the gospel of John (Jn 1:1–18), but the emphasis here is not on the preexistent Word but rather on the apostles’ witness to the incarnation of life by their experience of the historical Jesus. He is the Word of life (1 Jn 1:1; cf. Jn 1:4), the eternal life that was with the Father and was made visible (1 Jn 1:2; cf. Jn 1:14), and was heard, seen, looked upon, and touched by the apostles. The purpose of their teaching is to share that life, called fellowship…with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, with those who receive their witness (1 Jn 1:3; Jn 1:14, 16).
Colossians 1:1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I. Address
Chapter 1
Greeting.[a] 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,(A)
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Colossians 1:15
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
II. The Preeminence of Christ
His Person and Work
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- 1:15–20 As the poetic arrangement indicates, these lines are probably an early Christian hymn, known to the Colossians and taken up into the letter from liturgical use (cf. Phil 2:6–11; 1 Tm 3:16). They present Christ as the mediator of creation (Col 1:15–18a) and of redemption (Col 1:18b–20). There is a parallelism between firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15) and firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18). While many of the phrases were at home in Greek philosophical use and even in gnosticism, the basic ideas also reflect Old Testament themes about Wisdom found in Prv 8:22–31; Wis 7:22–8:1; and Sir 1:4. See also notes on what is possibly a hymn in Jn 1:1–18.
- 1:15 Image: cf. Gn 1:27. Whereas the man and the woman were originally created in the image and likeness of God (see also Gn 1:26), Christ as image (2 Cor 4:4) of the invisible God (Jn 1:18) now shares this new nature in baptism with those redeemed (cf. Col 3:10–11).
Revelation 3:14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea,[a] write this:
“‘The Amen, the faithful and true witness, the source of God’s creation, says this:(A)
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- 3:14 Laodicea: ca. forty miles southeast of Philadelphia and ca. eighty miles east of Ephesus, a wealthy industrial and commercial center, with a renowned medical school. It exported fine woolen garments and was famous for its eye salves. It was so wealthy that it was proudly rebuilt without outside aid after the devastating earthquake of A.D. 60/61. The Amen: this is a divine title (cf. Hebrew text of Is 65:16) applied to Christ; cf. 2 Cor 1:20. Source of God’s creation: literally, “the beginning of God’s creation,” a concept found also in Jn 1:3; Col 1:16–17; Hb 1:2; cf. Prv 8:22–31; Wis 9:1–2.
Revelation 19:13
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
13 He wore a cloak that had been dipped in[a] blood, and his name was called the Word of God.(A)
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