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  • From: Harold Holmyard <hholmyard AT ont.com>
  • To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 1:2 - And the earth was without form, and void
  • Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2006 17:19:01 -0500

Dear Doug,

> HH, I have a question here, when was water created? Also, Isa 45:18,
> God says He did not creat the earth formless and void, "a waste place"?


HH: You raise a good question. Why, in an account of creation, would God
start with many things already created? Why wouldn't the story just show
us how He created all things? I believe the Genesis 1 account does that
by saying that in the beginning He created the heavens and the earth.
Water was one of the things created in His creation of the basic heavens
and earth.


I thought 'Bara' as used in Genesis 1 means 'created from nothing'? And I understood that light existed in vs 1, and water. Am I wrong in this understanding.


HH: I think so. Why would we understand that light existed in verse 1 when God creates light in verse 3? There is a temporal progression throughout the chapter. It is natural to assume that it begins "in the beginning" and proceeds from there. Throughout Genesis 1 words like "Let there be" imply the creation of something. So I assume that in verse 3 they imply the creation of light, something that previously did not exist. You mention Isa 45:18, which talks about God not creating the earth "formless and void." I guess you are wondering how that fits with Gen 1:2, which says that the earth was formless and void. But Gen 1:2 is not the end of the creation process. All of Genesis 1 is describing God's work of creation. God could start by creating some basic materials and continue working from there. The ultimate result was a world for man to inhabit as Isaiah said, full and well-formed, but we should not expect that on day 1 of creation week.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard


Doug.
Rev. Doug Pickrel, Litt.D.
Tejas Valley
San Antonio, Texas






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