NOTES

1. "In the beginning", means the beginning of creation of the heavens and the earth, and not the beginning of eternity. This also marks the first recorded break in the past endless eternity. Prior to this creation event, we have had no indication of the beginning of time, or that "time" even existed.

2. "God", is the Hebrew word Elohim. It is a plural word. It is also a generic name, or term for deity, as well as a proper name for our true God.

3. The verb create is rarely found in the Hebrew text.. It is found more often in Genesis 1 than anywhere else in the Old Testament. It means “to bring into existence out of nothing” ‘. The word make is frequently used in the Old Testament and means “to construct out of the materials already in hand.”

4. Pentateuch is the Greek for the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible. pente, meaning "five", and teuxos which roughly means "case", a reference to the cases containing the five scrolls of the Laws of Moses.
a. Moses is credited for the Pentateuch. These books cover creation to his own death at the end of Deuteronomy. It's been suggested that another person, who took over the spiritual leadership of the Israelites, completed Deuteronomy.

5. There is a theory that places an indeterminate period of time between verses 1 and 2. It is called "the gap theory". It is used to explain the apparent differences between that which is spoken of in the Bible, and what most scientists say is the life of the earth and its creatures. Proponents of the gap theory translate the beginning of verse 2, "And the earth became", rather than "And the earth was".

6. We don't have to bend Scripture to conform to the scientific. The Bible is not a scientific book; it's a spiritual book. There is no specific time period listed for Genesis l 2, and the creation could have taken some time. This understanding still allows the use of the correct word, "was". The earth was simply formless and void for some undetermined period of time. And there is nothing to indicate one way or the other that God had to create in any specific way. He could just as likely have created the heavens and the earth in their "aged" form.

7. (Isa 45:18) For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created1 it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

8. At this point in God's creation (Genesis 1:1-2), the earth simply had not been completed. It was yet unfashioned and uninhabited. For "the gap theory" to be functionally correct, the heavens and the earth would have had to have been in their completed states, which they were not. Therefore the answer must lie somewhere else.

Scofield’s Notes on Genesis 1:3 Neither here nor in Gen1:14-18 is an original creative act implied. A different word is used. The sense is, made to appear; made visible.

Darkness can have two spiritual meanings: the first refers to our ignorance of the truth (to shed light on a subject, brings out the truth), and the other refers to the sin in our lives. Neither ignorance or sin can exist in the presence of God.

INTERESTING THOUGHT BY FRANK HOFFMAN, COMMENTATOR
In verse 4 we see that God said that the light was good and separated the light from the darkness.

This passage clearly indicated that the light source was apart from the earth. For if God's light were part of the earth the whole earth would be lit. This, I believe, also dispels those religious beliefs that state that God is in everything, for if He was, then there would have been no darkness. He created everything, but He Himself is not part of everything. Since Jesus is the light of the world, and God is light without darkness, then if God were an actual part of the world, the world would glow, and it doesn't. It only reflects light, as should each of us.

God has thus divided time between light and darkness, because He would daily remind us that this is a world of mixtures and changes. In heaven there is perfect and perpetual light, and no darkness at all; in hell, utter darkness, and no gleam of light. In that world

Since our God is a logical God, we also can assume that at this time gravity and magnetism was also created, or had previously been created, and that the rotation of the earth brought them into effect.

The term "one day". Where ever in the Pentateuch that the word "day" is used, it means a single solar day, and not an age. But, at the same time we are told in 2 Peter 3:8.” But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

In the naming of the light and darkness, God seemed to have been seeing the future concern over this creation process so He carefully selected His terms. The word used for day, "yom", literally seems to mean the light portion of the day. In other words, without light, there is no day, or God.

On the first day the earth was predominantly a watery mass. Here as we enter the second day we hear God's command, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters".

Verse 6 tells us that this expanse was formed in the midst of the waters, for there was water both above and below the expanse.

In verse 7 we see that God separated the waters from below the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse.

The existence of these two groupings of waters will play a very important role in our understanding of the Flood.

It is also important to our understanding of this phase of creation to point out that there was no rain yet on the earth. See Genesis 2:5-6.

Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground.

But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground.

Now let's assume that what we have just said is true, then we would also expect the following conditions to exist:

The atmospheric pressure would be much greater than it is now, perhaps several times as great, for the weight of the water would be added to the weight of the air.

The air would be more dense, as the weight of the waters above would compress the atmosphere.

There would be no wind, or very little wind, except perhaps at the zone between light and darkness as the earth rotated, and consequently not dust particles in the air on which the moisture could condense, thus no rain.

The watering of the ground would be by mist, or dew, or from the ground itself by capillary action.

There would be very little radiation coming into the earth, thus less illness, and longer life.¹

What we are seeing is against the physical laws of nature, as they exist today. In the formation, an air layer could not exist in the midst of two water layers. The air would rise to the surface. Even if the water were in the form of vapor it would mix with the air, and would eventually condense or freeze into clouds at the appropriate altitude, which would in turn block the sun light. What we are seeing can only be the actual formation of the spiritual into the visible and physical world. It is being held in place by the power of God.

In verse 8 we see that God calls this expanse heaven. This is the first heaven which we discussed previously in our discussion of Genesis 1:1. It is not the land. It is the atmosphere.

Remember that since the waters above the expanse, or atmosphere, were still there, the effect of God's creation was a giant greenhouse.

The command given concerning them: Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven. God had said, Let there be light (Verse 3)and there was light; but this was, as it were, a chaos of light, scattered and confused: now it was collected and modeled, and made into several luminaries, and so rendered both more glorious and more serviceable. God is the God of order, and not of confusion; and, as he is light, so he is the Father and former of lights. Those lights were to be in the firmament of heaven, that vast expanse which encloses the earth.

And God said, Let there be lights, etc. - One principal office of these was to divide between day and night. When night is considered a state of comparative darkness, how can lights divide or distinguish it? The answer is easy: The sun is the monarch of the day, which is the state of light; the moon, of the night, the state of darkness.

There is also an interesting comparison between the fourth day and the first day.

In Genesis 1:3, God said, "Let there be light." The Hebrew word for light used here is "ohr".

In Genesis 1:14, God said, "Let there be lights...". The Hebrew word used here for lights is not the plural word for light, but the word, "m'oh-roht", which is the plural for "light-giver".

God has here separated His light [ohr] from those that physically generated or reflected visible light [mtohr].
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The rotation of the earth about its axis causes the days, and as it revolved completely around the sun, we get our years, but it is the tilt of the earth that causes the effect of seasons. So the tilt could not have come from some catastrophic occurrence, or there would be no seasons (verse 14). It is a creation of God.

The sun is the star at the center of the Solar System, the source of light. Energy from the sun—in the form of sunlight—supports almost all life on Earth via photosynthesis, and drives the Earth's climate and weather.

The moon is reflected light, receiving its light as reflected from the sun. …continued

Some stars are alone in the sky, others have companions and some are part of large clusters containing thousands to millions of stars. Not all stars are the same. Stars come in all sizes, brightnesses, temperatures and colors. Stars have a “life” and they die.

"In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is" (Exo_20:11). There is a wide difference between "creating" and "making": to "create" is to call into existence something out of nothing; to "make" is to form or fashion something out of materials already existing. A carpenter can "make" a chair out of wood, but he is quite unable to "create" the wood itself.

"In the beginning (whenever that was) God created the heaven and the earth"; subsequently (after the primitive creation had become a ruin) "the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is." This Exodus scripture settles the controversy which has been raised as to what kind of “days” is meant in Genesis 1, whether days of 24 hours, or protracted periods of time. In "six days," that is, literal days of twenty-four hours duration, the Lord completed the work of restoring and re-fashioning that which some terrible catastrophe had blasted and plunged into chaos.

Seen in this way, the first three days remedy the situation of formlessness described in Genesis 1:2. The 4-6 days deal with the state of ‘void’ or ‘emptiness’ of verse 2. There also seems to be a correlation between days 1 and 4, 2 and 5, 3 and 6. For example, the air and water receive corresponding life forms of fish and birds, though this should not be pressed too far.

Two other observations should be pointed out. First, there is a sequence to the six days. It is clear that this account is arranged chronologically, each day building upon the creative activity of previous days. Secondly, there is a process involved in the creation, a process involving the change from chaos to cosmos, disorder to order.

While God could have instantaneously created the earth as it is, He did not choose to do so. The clear impression given by the text is that this process took six literal days, and not long ages. Nevertheless, the eternal God is not nearly so concerned about doing things instantaneously as we are. The process of sanctification is only one of many examples of God’s progressive activity in the world.

The creation account describes the character and attributes of God. Negatively, Genesis One corrects many popular misconceptions concerning God. Positively, it portrays His character and attributes.

God is sovereign and all-powerful. Distinct from the cosmogonies of other ancient peoples, there is no creation struggle described in Genesis one. God does not overcome opposing forces to create the earth and man. God creates with a mere command, “Let there be … ” There is order and progress. God does not experiment, but rather skillfully fashions the creation of His omniscient design.

God is no mere force, but a Person. While we must be awed by the transcendence of God, we should also be His immanence. He is no distant cosmic force, but a personal ever-present God. This is reflected in the fact that He creates man in His image (1:26-28). Man is a reflection of God. Our personhood is a mere shadow of God’s. In chapter two God provided Adam with a meaningful task and with a counterpart as a helper. In the third chapter we learn that God communed with man in the garden daily (cf. 3:8).

God is eternal. While other creations are vague or erroneous concerning the origin of their gods, the God of Genesis is eternal. The creation account describes His activity at the beginning of time (from a human standpoint).

God is good. The creation did not take place in a moral vacuum. Morality was woven into the fabric of creation. Repeatedly, the expression is found “it was good.” Good implies not only usefulness and completion, but moral value. Those who hold to atheistic views of the origin of the earth see no value system other than what is held by the majority of people. God’s goodness is reflected in His creation, which, in its original state, was good. Even today, the graciousness and goodness of God is evident

It seems that evolutionists like to think that since aquatic life has some similar features (tepods) to land animals, that these appendages apply to man also. They are constantly trying to find more links in fossil records to prove their somewhat 'shallow' conclusion that man, and even all animals evolved out of water life.

Notice that every creature is made 'after their kind', pointing 'each' to a specific genealogy or specie. Either you believe it, or you don't. One thing to consider though; is there any half and half creatures, crosses of evolution between species walking around today? I'm not talking about creatures that develop small changes to adapt to the environment, but something like, a 'reptile bird', etc.

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God is revealed through but distinct from his creation. Just as we can learn something about the artist by studying his art works, we can learn something about the Creator by studying his creation (Rom. 1:20 – power and intelligence). But if the canvas was burned up, the artist would remain. In the same way, God exists independently from his creation.

Therefore, pantheism(the doctrine that God is in all things) animism ( a type of religious belief that all components of the universe, including humans, animals, plant life, rocks, etc. contain some form of life force, soul or spirit) and polytheism (the worship of many gods.) (including nature worship and witchcraft) are false and dangerous, because they can lead you into involvement with evil spirits. Though Moses does not explicitly state this warning in this passage, it is implied and he does elsewhere (see Deut. 18).

This rulership is to care for nature, not rape or exploit it. The charge that the Bible gave western people to permission to exploit nature is untrue. Here and elsewhere, the Bible calls on humans to be humane in their treatment of animals, for example (Sabbath rest; ox and mule; muzzled threshing). Such exploitation (usually motivated out of monetary greed) is a fallen perversion of biblical dominion.

Yet this means that human life is of greater value than non-human life. It means that, within proper restraints, the rest of creation was given to humans to use and enjoy. Therefore, humans may domesticate animals, practice agriculture, use animals for medical research, exterminate roaches and termites from houses, kill viruses and bacteria that cause sickness, use trees for housing materials and furniture, etc.

It had been said, “Let there be light,” and “Let there be a firmament,” and “Let the earth, or waters, bring forth” such a thing; but now the word of command is turned into a word of consultation, “Let us make man, for whose sake the rest of the creatures were made: this is a work we must take into our own hands.” In the former he speaks as one having authority, in this as one having affection; for his delights were with the sons of men, Pro_8:31. It should seem as if this were the work which he longed to be at; as if he had said, “Having at last settled the preliminaries, let us now apply ourselves to the business, Let us make man.” Man was to be a creature different from all that had been hitherto made. Flesh and spirit, heaven and earth, must be put together in him, and he must be allied to both worlds. And therefore God himself not only undertakes to make him, but is pleased so to express himself as if he called a council to consider of the making of him: Let us make man. The three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, consult about it and concur in it, because man, when he was made, was to be dedicated and devoted to Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Into that great name we are, with good reason, baptized, for to that great name we owe our being. Let him rule man who said, Let us make man.

Formlessness Changed to Form			Emptiness Changed to Habitation
vv 3-5	Day 1	Light	vv 14-19	Day 4	Luminaries (sun, moon, stars)
vv 6-8	Day 2	Air (upper expanse) Water (lower expanse)	vv 20-23	Day 5	Fish, Birds
vv 9-13	Day 3	Dry land plants	vv 24-31	Day 6	Animals, Man