Genesis 1 -- A Phenomenological Perspective

Introduction

The first two chapters of Genesis have a literary purpose in the Hebrew Bible as a whole that has nothing to do with modern ideas of geology and astrophysics.  It is, in fact, an etiology (description of beginnings), but it is completely different from all other etiologies of the ancient world.  In all of the other etiologies, creation is accomplished through a combination of sexual generation and conflicts between spiritual essences, or “gods,” and most of the material things produced have their own spiritual essence.  According to these other etiologies rocks, trees, earth, and sea all have their own spirit, and the sun, moon, stars, and planets all represent different gods.

The text of the Hebrew bible recognizes that this perception exists among essentially all other peoples on earth, but it has no point of contact with the God of creation as described in Genesis 1 and 2.  Here the sea, the dry ground, the sky, the sun, moon, stars and planets are just things without spiritual essence, not gods, and not the product of sexual activity among the “gods.”  All of these either take their present form or come into existence in response to God’s spoken word.  Similarly, all living things except Adam and Eve are described as being created directly through the word of God, not from some form of sexual generation.  Breathing animals are described as having soul (נפש) and spirit (רוח), but they are not extensions of God’s being.  Additionally, as creator God has by right ownership over the earth and everything in it as well as the right and power to control the sun, moon, and stars outside the earthly realm.  Now, if we accept these as the primary purposes of the creation narrative, then the details take on a different significance than that some people try to ascribe to it now.

Phenominological InterpretatioN

As mentioned above, the narrative in Gen 1 and 2 is not a treatise on geology or astrophysics, and it was never intended to be so.  Much of the text especially in Genesis 1 takes the form of ancient Hebrew poetry, and the only cause-effect relation present consists of ‘and God said’ followed by the content of God’s statement immediately coming into existence.  After each stage of creation God’s assessment of the result is טוב – that is, the aspect of creation just manifested is exactly in accordance with God’s intention for it, and that it is good.

In my opinion, the greatest mistake sincere bible believers have made is trying to force the poetic couplets in this chapter into the naturalistic concepts that have become so dominant in the western world of today.  Many of the descriptions are primarily phenomenological – that is things are described on the basis of the way a person might observe them rather than literal physical relationships.  All of the events described in the six days of creation are designed to be subservient to the primary purposes of the biblical narrative as a whole.  To lose sight of this is to miss the whole point of the narrative.

Day One of Creation

Verses 1 through 5 of Genesis 1 are marked as a single paragraph in the Hebrew text.  Clearly verse 1 serves as an introduction to the creation narrative, but no creative act takes place within it.  Before the idea of evolution rose to prominence, the most common interpretation of verse 1 was to understand it as a kind of summary statement for the entire chapter – In the beginning God created…  This was the interpretation of the LXX, the Vulgate, and essentially all other translations until relatively modern times.  After the idea of biological evolution became dominant, the verse was reinterpreted by some to emphasize the idea that creation was a long process – When God began to create… The difference between these interpretations is determined primarily by one’s presuppositions and not the details of Hebrew grammar, so I will adopt the earlier interpretation without further comment. 

Verse 2 states ‘The earth was formless and void and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the water.’  Since this statement is in the same paragraph as the creative act on day one, I understand it to be part of the activities on that day.  Before moving on, there are several points to note in this verse:

·      הארץ – This word has several meanings – earth (entire planet), land, ground, the land of Israel.  Every time the word appears in the Hebrew bible, a reader must assess which meaning is intended in the present context.

·      ובהו תהו – translated here formless and void.  This combination occurs a total of seven times in the Hebrew bible, and each time it is used to describe something that is without structure or substance.

·      There was nothing but darkness present.

·      תהום – translated here deep.  For the most part the ancient Israelites were not a sea fairing people.  For them both the sea and the deep were places of mystery and fear.

·    מרחפת – This is a piel participle from the root רחף.  This verb occurs just one other time in the Hebrew bible (Deut 32:11) where it describes an eagle hovering protectively over her nest containing her young.  I suggest that the reader is to perceive this as God’s attitude toward the material creation he is about to accomplish.

The creative act of this day was creating light and separating the time of light from the time of darkness.  Interpreters who try to reconcile this narrative with current geological ideas concerning the formation of the earth go to great lengths to explain how light is present before the luminaries were formed on the fourth day.  However, there is an alternative that does not require this discussion.  The Hebrew and corresponding Greek terms involved are אור, φως (light) and חושך, σκοτος (darkness).

·      The Hebrew root אור is used in both nominal and verbal forms.  The nominal form occurs a total of 120 times in the Hebrew bible; of these 19 occurrences are obviously figurative.   Verbal forms of this root occur 44 times, and of these 14 occurrences are obviously figurative.  The most common figurative use refers to direct impartation of understanding (illumination) about YHWH to his creation.  Those who receive this impartation become illuminated, and they “walk in the light” to use an expression from the New Covenant writings.

·      The Hebrew root חשך occurs in a verbal form and two nominal forms (חושך and חשכה).  The verbal root occurs a total of 18 times with 8 obviously figurative occurrences.  The two nominal forms occur a total of 91 times with 52 obviously figurative occurrences.  In general, the figurative uses of this root are the exact opposite of those for אור.

·      In the Christian scriptures, the term φως occurs a total of 57 times with 41 of these being obviously figurative.  The figurative uses of the term are essentially identical to those of אור.

·      The term σκοτος occurs a total of 30 times in the Christian text with 16 occurrences being obviously figurative.  Again, the figurative uses are essentially identical for those of חושך.

Taking this approach to the terminology then, the separation of light from darkness during day one is fundamentally about God’s self disclosure through the material creation.  Throughout both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, the creation is understood as the most fundamental revelation of God’s power, majesty, and wisdom, but men preferred darkness, because their deeds were evil.  The term torah (תורה) really means instruction not law, so the creation is the most fundamental instruction about God himself.   see Romans 1:18-20.

יום אחד The word אחד is the term for the cardinal number one rather than the ordinal term first (ראשון).  All of the other creative days are designated by ordinal numbers.  The syntactical construction is not emphatic in any way.  Note that the term יום has two meanings in this passage.  First, it is the name for the time of light; second, it is also the term for the period of light followed by the period of darkness.  Most words in every language have more than one use, so an interpreter must carefully distinguish between the uses that are present in any given text.

Second Day of Creation

The second day of creation is another description that produces a wide diversity of opinion.  In my opinion, the significance of the whole description depends on the meanings of רקיע ,שמים ,מים below, and מים above.

The Problem with the Term רקיע

The Hebrew term רקיע is frequently translated by the terms firmament, expanse, or vault of heaven in modern English translations when it refers to the natural creation, the sky, or heaven(s).  The description of the second day of creation states that God put the רקיע within the מים in order to separate the מים above the רקיע from the מים below the רקיע, and then he named the שמים רקיע.  Now, depending on the translation, the term מים may be translated as water or waters, and the term שמים may be translated as heaven or heavens.  In point of fact, both forms are duals, i.e. two waters and two heavens.  The dual forms for these words are the only forms attested in biblical Hebrew, and this usage continues today in modern Hebrew.  In classical Hebrew the fixed dual form (-ayim) may be attached to any noun regardless of gender, and it normally refers to two of the base noun.  In modern Hebrew the dual form is restricted to fixed forms like מים and שמים and to natural pairs (e.g., two hands, two feet, etc.).  So how should we understand the term רקיע as it is used in the creation narrative versus the new cosmology following the flood?

Root רקע

This root is attested a total of 27 times in the Hebrew bible – one verb and two masculine nouns.  Meanings associated with these words are summarized below.

Verb רקע is attested in the qal, piel, pual, and hiphil stems for a total of 11 occurrences:

·     The qal stem is attested in the active participle, infinitive construct, imperative, and imperfect forms.  Meanings listed for this stem are beat, stamp, beat out, spread out.  The fundamental idea is that something is spread out to form a thin sheet.

·      The piel stem is attested in the imperfect and participle forms.  This stem is more intensive, and it expresses the action of beating out a lump of material (often gold) into thin sheets.

·      The pual stem is attested once in the participle form, and it expresses the passive of the piel stem.

·     The hiphil stem is attested once (Job 37:18) in the imperfect.  Here it refers to spreading clouds across the sky.

Noun ריקוע occurs once in Num 17:3 (16:38).  Here it refers to bronze sensors that were hammered out into broad plates.

Noun רקיע occurs a total of 15 times with two different significations.

·      The first of these refers to a surface or expanse, presumably flat (i.e., for whatever material, the length and breadth are significantly greater than its thickness).  So, for example, the base platform on which Ezekiel saw the throne of YHWH was called רקיע (Ez 1:22, 23, 25, 26, 10:1).

·      All of the other occurrences refer to the separation between the surface of the earth and whatever is above – what we now call the atmosphere.  Most common English translations are vault of heaven and firmament.  This final use is the one that is relevant for the present context -- it appears flat and spread out.

Translations and Interpretations

The description as presented in Genesis 1 describes the רקיע as the physical separation between the water below (i.e., the surface of the earth) and the water above.  Water is heavy, so Ps 104:3 describes the elements above in terms of beams needed to support that weight.  Both the targum and the Peshitta use the Aramaic form for רקיע, and its range of use is similar to that of the Hebrew term.  In contrast both the Greek and the Latin translations emphasize the requirement for structural support of the water above:

·      Στερεωμα – Primary meanings listed for this term are support, foundation, firmness.

·      Firmamentum – Primary meanings for this term are support, prop, stay.

Both the LXX and the Vulgate translations emphasize the structural support idea presented in Ps 104, and the visual image presented in Gen 1 is completely lost.  One of the common modern interpretations of Gen 1 is that the earth was originally created with a water vapor canopy that moderated climactic conditions over the entire globe, but this entire canopy supposedly came down during the Noaic flood.  Among the problems with this view is that Ps 104, Ps 148, and other locations present the water above the רקיע as still present long after the flood had passed.  There are also a number of physical problems with this view that make it untenable, particularly a water vapor canopy would not necessarily be transparent, so the sky would not appear blue.

Verbal Picture

Assume you are in the midst of the מים below, and you can see no land in any direction.  The רקיע separates the מים below from the מים above, and the רקיע is named שמים.  You look off in the distance and the water below looks blue; you look straight up and the water above is the same color as the water below; you look off toward the horizon and there is an almost colorless separation between the water below and the water above.  But you are no fool.  You know that water is not blue but clear unless it is contaminated with something; also the air is not blue but normally clear.  Additionally, the water below is not always blue, but it reflects whatever color is in the sky directly above.  The רקיע is a spread out surface that separates the water below from whatever is directly above.  This was named שמים – heaven – and appears as the almost colorless separation seen at the horizon; this we now call the air, the atmosphere.

This is a phenomenological description; that is, it describes the blue water below and the blue sky above from the standpoint of appearances, not modern “laws” of physics.  Using this passage as the basis for a flat earth cosmology or a postulated water vapor canopy completely misses the point of the text.

Third Day of Creation

On the third creative day God separated the water below from the dry ground and filled the dry ground with plant life, including green herbs and trees, all of which produce their own seed.  Significant uses of terms in this context are listed below.

·     The text says, ‘Let the water beneath heaven be gathered together in one place, and let the dry ground appear…’  One flat earth interpretation of this description I have seen showed the water as a large body surriubsing the landmass that constituted the rest of the world.  A difficulty with this perception is that in the next verse God named the water below ימים, seas.  Whatever the original configuration of the land and the body of water, they were large and diverse enough for the water areas to be viewed as more than one sea.

·    The dry ground (יבשה) was named ארץ.  Whatever the configuration of this original landmass, paleogeology agrees with the biblical description at this point.

The last creative act poses a problem for anyone attempting to match this account with the ideas of biological origins.  No plant that performs photosynthesis can survive or grow without sunlight (particularly ultraviolet wavelengths) , and most types of plant require insect pollination to produce fruit or seed.  One answer to this objection is relatively simple.  The study of ecology has shown us that everything within any particular environment is interrelated.  No living thing can exist successfully without its total environment.  We see this most clearly with the loss of a species (plant or animal) due to loss of habitat.  Similarly, introduction of a foreign species or loss of a single species (e.g., wolves within a forest) can irrevocably change the ecology of an entire region.  We cannot so easily see how the moon, for example, affects life on earth.  However, in our present cosmology the moon controls the ocean tides, and the tides and the ocean currents along with the heat from the sun constitutes the primary weather-maker for the entire earth.  With this in mind, everything in the creation from this point on are intrinsically interconnected so that each component of an ecosystem interacts with every other element in the same ecosystem to one degree or another.  The narrative has merely grouped creative acts on the basis of similar kinds without dealing with these interrelationships.  This organization plan is the basis for the structure of the remaining three days of creation. 

Fourth Day of Creation

During this day God created the luminaries – the sun, moon, and stars (including the wandering stars or planets).  These luminaries were uniformly considered by ancient peoples to be gods that controlled their destiny.  According to this text, these luminaries are not gods, and they have no spiritual essence.  They have two specific purposes:

·      They separate daytime from nighttime.

·      They serve as signs for major events, distinguish seasons, and indicate appointed times.

According to both verse 15 and verse 17, God placed the luminaries in רקיע השמים.  This expression is often translated as the firmament of heaven, but according to Gen 1: 8 רקיע and שמים are different words for the same thing.  A better translation choice would be to understand שמים as an appositive – God placed the luminaries in the sky, that is in the heaven.  The remaining problem for a modern reader is that these luminaries are not in the sky or anywhere near it, that is just where they appear to be.  This again is phenomenological language.

Fifth Day of Creation

On this day God created four categories of creature:

·      היח נפש שרץ -- All swarming living creatures  in the sea. 

·    התננים הגדולים – the great sea monsters.  The identities of these creatures are not specifically defined, but as a minimum it would include all aquatic mammals and great fish.

·      עוף היעופף על הארץ – This is often translated birds flying over the land, but it really refers to all flying land creatures.  Their region of activity is described as על פני רקיע השמים – over the surface of the רקיע, that is the heaven.  This again is a phenomenological description, because they appear to fly across the blue expanse above the surface of the earth, but they really fly in the air above the surface of the earth.

This combination includes all aquatic creatures great and small and all creatures that fly in the expanse above the land and sea.

Sixth Day of Creation

During this day, God created three categories of land creature:

·      בהמה – This term is often translated as ox or cattle, but it may be used concerning any domesticated four-footed land animal.  There is no reference to anything that we would call wild beasts.  This is consistent with man’s original status of having dominion over all of the other creatures of the newly created world – that is, there were no wild beasts.  All creatures were put in subjection to man.  God put the fear of man into beasts after they departed from the ark, making them wild from our perspective.

·      רמש – creeping land creatures, bugs.  The corresponding type of sea creature was created along with the fish during the fifth day.

·      אדם – Man was the last creature created on earth by God, and his creation was different from that of all other life creatures.  They all came into existence in response to God’s word and nothing more.  Mankind was created in the image and likeness of God through personal interaction of God.  The first human pair were commanded to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, and to have dominion over all other life forms on the earth.  They were in short to be God’s personal representatives in this world.

Seventh Day – Shabbat

The earth, the luminaries, all plants, all animals, and mankind were created during these six days.  The seventh day began on the evening after the completion of the sixth day, and during the seventh day God rested from all his creative activities.  The bible records the start of the seventh day, but there is no record of its completion.  That is, from the biblical perspective the Shabbat of God has lasted from the end of the sixth day to the present time.  (See Ps 95:7-11 and Hebrews 3:7-4:7.)  The weekly Shabbats constitute a memorial of God’s Shabbat after completion of creation (Ex 20:8-11).  But this memorial is not equivalent to God’s Shabbat, because it comes to an end at sundown of that day, and we must resume work.

SUMMARY

The creation narrative as presented in Genesis 1 is ancient Hebrew poetry that uses separation as the basis for its thematic development.

• At the beginning everything is formless and void with complete darkness.  The first separation is the separation of light from darkness on day 1.
• On the second day the surface of the earth is separated from everything outside the earth by the שמים -- heaven, or what we now call the atmosphere.
• On the third day the dry land was separated from the water of the oceans, and plant life was placed on the dry land.  Note there is no mention here of aquatic plant life here.
• On the fourth day the great and small luminaries were placed outside the confines of the earth.  These appear to move across the surface above the earth, and their function is to supply light to the earth, provide signs, and mark days, seasons, and appointed times.
• On the fifth day aquatic life was separated from flying creatures of various types.  Note that creatures that traverse the sea are paired with those that traverse the sky.
• On the sixth day a division was created between three different types of land creature: four-footed beasts, swarming creatures (bugs), and man.  Each was separated from the other, but man was completely unique.  Man alone was created in the image and likeness of God, and man alone was created by means of the personal interaction of God.  Man was to be the personal representative of God, and as such all of the other creatures were in subjection to him.  On that basis, there was no such thing as "wild" animals until after the flood when God put the fear of Man into them.
• On the seventh day God rested from creation (God's Shabbat).  In as much as there has never been another first creating day, God's Shabbat persists to this day.

The literary purposes of this narrative within the bible as a whole are twofold: 1) The material creation is just that -- material without independent spiritual essence; 2)  The earth and everything in it or outside of it belong to God.  On this basis God has the right to grant specific regions to Israel and the 70 nations of peoples according to his own purposes.  This assertion appears in various placed of the Hebrew bible, and it constitutes the foundation for the right of the twelve tribes claim to the land called Israel.