Unearthing Genesis 1:1 | Part 4
The Sapphire Review Vol. 2 | No. 19 • April 25, 2025
Genesis 1:1–13 • Line Upon Line Exposition
Our understanding of Genesis 1:1 is as a summary statement which succinctly encapsulates the whole beginning.1 As stated in Part 3, it may also be rightly understood as an introduction (or title), but we have preferred the word summary according to its classical, etymological usage to denote an abridged account or [brief, abbreviated] abstract containing the sum or substance [only] of a fuller account.2
This precisely represents our understanding of Genesis 1:1 in the context of the creation in six days as recorded in Genesis 1:2-31, the “bookends” of which are Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 2:1. The former is the account’s Introductory Summary (preparatory), whereas the latter is the Conclusory Summary (definitive). Genesis 2:4, then, is a SECOND Introductory Summary that is synonymous with Genesis 1:1. Furthermore, Genesis 2:4 also functions as the latter bookend to the record of creation week (in seven days) as given in Genesis 1:2–2:3.
We will now begin our line upon line, verse by verse exposition of Genesis 1:1-13.
Exposition (Genesis 1:1–13)
1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
The greater context of the narrative as a whole and the internal definitions of “the heaven” and “the earth” inform us that Genesis 1:1 must be a summary. The heaven is the firmament called Heaven3 and the earth is the dry-land called Earth.4 We will speak more to this later in this study.
“In the beginning” is not the start of the beginning, but rather encapsulates the WHOLE beginning from start to finish — the six days of “the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that [JEHOVAH] God made the earth and the heavens.”5 When we permit the narrative to define its own terms (i.e., the heaven, the earth, etc), we shall know on which of the six days that the heaven[s] and the earth were each made.
Exodus 20:11, which reads: “For in six days [JEHOVAH] made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,” — memorializes Genesis 1:1. It is written, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.”6 The word “finished” denotes the end7 of the beginning (six days) following the words, “And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”8
So then, if Genesis 1:1 isn’t the start of the beginning (but rather the whole beginning), where is the start of the beginning? Let’s find out.
2. And 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.
The earth was, then, “without form, and void” — it was not yet formed; not yet created; not yet made. The same phrase (without form, and void) is internally paralleled with “darkness” — which is not something to be accounted for, but is rather the absence of light and creation.
The earth was thus ABSENT; it was [as yet] nought; nothing (nonexistent) — and remains to be seen until it [first] appears on the third day.9 For “as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.”10 Thus, as established in Part 3, “appear”11 is the antithesis of “without form, and void”.
But this is the start [of the beginning] of the earth on the third day. The question has yet to be answered, when is the start of the first day? Let’s read Genesis 1:2-5 together to allow the whole context of the first day to inform us of its starting point.
2 And 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.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Genesis 1:2-5
The first day does not begin with the morning (or the light called “Day”), but rather, it begins with the evening (or the darkness called “Night”) — that is, the absence of light (called Day). Now because the start of the first day is darkness rather than light, where is the first mention of the darkness?
The first mention is in verse two: “and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The first day begins here, where the first event is recorded: the Spirit of God moves upon the deep, dark watery abyss, as the heavenly host await in eager anticipation of His first creative act (as pertaining to our world) by His word — the record of which we read in the following verse:
3. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
The light triumphs over darkness, and as the first of the creation is called into existence by the word of God, non-creation is overcome by creation through the wisdom, understanding, and power of God.
4. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
All things that God made, He saw and acknowledged as good. This is why He did not acknowledge the darkness as good, because He did not create it, nor is it a created thing. It’s nothing, from which the light is set apart and distinguished.
First, God spoke the light into existence, and at once it appeared. Then God saw it, and acknowledged its goodness. And not only this, but all things that God made follows this same sequence:
God speaks
Something new appears
God sees it
And acknowledges that “it was good”
5. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Here we have our first formally given names which ascribe definitions to the words “light” and “darkness” — the light is the Day (and morning) and the darkness is the Night (and evening). Together, the evening (time + absence of light) and the morning (time + presence of light) form the first day, or the “first light” — that is, the first cycle of light overcoming darkness. The light which God created had established the evening/morning day-cycle.
6. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
For the second time we read the words, “And God said,” which ought to immediately arrest our attention. Herein this verse is the record of the second creative act of God — the firmament:
7. And 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.
The firmament was first made by the word of God, and then His commandment was, “and let [the firmament] divide the waters from the waters.”
8. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Here we have another definition in a formally given name — and hereby we know that the heaven of Genesis 1:1 is the firmament which God called “Heaven”. Thus the firmament is synonymous with the heaven. Unless the context or language indicates otherwise, heaven is synonymous with the firmament.
9. And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
Once again, we see those anticipatory words, “And God said”. What did God say? Thus saith JEHOVAH, “Let the waters under the heaven” — that is, the firmament — “be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear”. Then it’s written, “and it was so.” God spoke, and at His commandment the dry-land was then formed.
Furthermore, if Genesis 1:1 is a summary statement, it must necessarily employ the very same terms of the narrative which it is summarizing — and that is exactly what we see here. In the previous verse, God Himself calls the firmament “Heaven”,12 and now He refers to it as “the heaven”, the exact wording that Moses used in Genesis 1:1.
10. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Once again, here we have definitions in formally given names. “Earth” is the name of the dry-land, whereas “Seas” is the name of the gathering together of the waters [under the heaven]. “For in six days [JEHOVAH] made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.”13
Even as “the heaven” of Genesis 1:1 is the firmament called Heaven, so is the “the earth” of Genesis 1:1 the dry-land called Earth. These are the only definitions given for “the heaven and the earth” in the entire creation account. We need not guess at nor theorize as to what they are. Scripture makes the matter perfectly plain.
In the words of the Psalmist, “In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.”14 And in the words of the prophet Jonah, “I am an Hebrew; and I fear [JEHOVAH], the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.”15
When did God make the Seas? And when did He make (form) the dry land? On day three when they were created, as recorded in Genesis 1:9. Thus the earth was formed at the word of God when He commanded it to appear — hence, at that time it ceased to be “without form, and void.”16
11. And 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.
Now that the firmament called Heaven, the dry-land called Earth, and the divided, gathered waters called Seas were made, God begins to fill His creation. First, He commands the dry-land to bring forth plant-life from itself, which life yields seed, herb, and fruit after its own kind.
The creation testifies of JEHOVAH and Jesus; Father and Son. For God, in the ages of eternity, brought forth His only begotten Son17 who He tore from His own bosom.18
12. And 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.
God commanded, and it was so.19 When He calls unto His creation, it stands up at His decree.20
13. And the evening and the morning were the third day.
“And the evening was, and the morning was, the third day” [margin].
Overview
Summary (Genesis 1:1)
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
Day 1 (Genesis 1:2-5)
God made the light called Day, and by His word overcame the darkness called Night.
Day 2 (Genesis 1:6-8)
God made the firmament called Heaven — the same heaven first mentioned in Genesis 1:1.
Day 3 (Genesis 1:9-13)
God made the gathering together of the waters called Seas and the dry-land called Earth — the same earth first mentioned in Genesis 1:1. He then caused the dry-land to bring forth plant life, which yields and bears after its own kind.
See Appendix A | The Record of Creation Week.
That concludes our exposition of the first thirteen verses of Genesis 1. We have permitted every word and every line its proper bearing upon the whole, allowing the context to interpret and exposit itself. We believe this reading to be a simple and natural understanding of the creation account. Nothing left unaccounted for, all in perfect harmony.
In Part 5, we will examine the key passages that have informed our understanding of the scriptural meaning of “without form, and void” in Genesis 1:2.
God bless,
Brandon
