Naravist

The Torah · Old Testament

Genesis 1

Creation declared good

General context

The chapter begins with God creating the heavens and earth, then describes light, sky, dry land, vegetation, lights in the heavens and living creatures. The recurring pattern pairs God's speech with its fulfilment and repeated assessments of goodness. Humanity, male and female, is created in God's image and receives a blessing and responsibility over other living creatures. Plants are given as food for humans and animals. The sixth day closes with God seeing everything he has made as very good.

Cited passages: Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:3, Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:5, Genesis 1:6, Genesis 1:7, Genesis 1:8, Genesis 1:9, Genesis 1:10, Genesis 1:11, Genesis 1:12, Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:16, Genesis 1:20, Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:25, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:29, Genesis 1:30, Genesis 1:31

Genesis 1 (KJV)

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

2And 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.

3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

7And 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.

8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

11And 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.

12And 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.

13And the evening and the morning were the third day.

14And 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:

15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the 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: he made the stars also.

17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

20And 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.

21And 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.

22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24And 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.

25And 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.

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 fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

28And 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.

29And 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.

30And 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.

31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The account is set at the beginning, before any city, nation or individual human is named. Its setting is the whole created world: heavens and earth, waters and dry land, plants and creatures. The lights mark seasons, days and years. Sea creatures, birds and humans receive blessings to multiply. Humanity appears within this wider account of life and provision. The chapter gives a sequence of six days but supplies no calendar date or named earthly location for the creation of humans.

Cited passages: Genesis 1:1, Genesis 1:2, Genesis 1:9, Genesis 1:10, Genesis 1:11, Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:20, Genesis 1:22, Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:29, Genesis 1:30, Genesis 1:31

Literary context

Repeated speech, fulfilment and assessments of goodness organize the account. Evening and morning mark the days, and acts of separation distinguish light from darkness, waters above from waters below, and dry land from the seas. Later scenes describe the lights, birds, sea creatures and land animals associated with these spaces. The creation of humanity receives an extended statement about image, blessing and dominion. Repeated declarations of goodness culminate in the final assessment that everything God has made is very good.

Cited passages: Genesis 1:3, Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:5, Genesis 1:6, Genesis 1:7, Genesis 1:8, Genesis 1:9, Genesis 1:10, Genesis 1:12, Genesis 1:13, Genesis 1:14, Genesis 1:16, Genesis 1:18, Genesis 1:19, Genesis 1:20, Genesis 1:21, Genesis 1:23, Genesis 1:24, Genesis 1:25, Genesis 1:26, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 1:28, Genesis 1:31

Key moments

  1. Light is called into being (Genesis 1:3). God speaks, and light comes to be.
  2. Land and seas are named (Genesis 1:10). God names the dry land Earth and the gathered waters Seas, and sees that it is good.
  3. Humanity in God’s image (Genesis 1:27). Humanity is created in God’s image, male and female.
  4. Everything is very good (Genesis 1:31). The sixth day closes with God’s assessment of everything he has made.

For reflection

How do the repeated declarations of goodness shape your reading of humanity’s place and responsibility within creation?