Unearthing Genesis 1:1 | Part 6
The Sapphire Review Vol. 2 | No. 24 • May 9, 2025
The Language of the Generations
In Part 5, it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that the meaning of the phrase “without form, and void” in Genesis 1:2 is nothingness and emptiness, and that the earth cannot have been created “without form, and void” on the first day of creation. In this article, we will examine the language employed in the narrative of the “generations of the heaven[s] and of the earth when they were created”.1
We have previously stated that Genesis 1:1, being an introductory summary, must necessarily employ the same terms of the narrative which it is summarizing and introducing. The same is true not only of Genesis 2:1, which is the conclusory summary, but also Genesis 2:4,—a SECOND introductory summary that is synonymous with Genesis 1:1:
Introductory Summary (1)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Conclusory Summary
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Genesis 2:1
Introductory Summary (2)
These are 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,
Genesis 2:4
Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 2:1 are the bookends of the creation (in six days), whereas Genesis 2:4, as a second introductory summary, serves as the latter bookend to creation week (in seven days). So within the six day creation narrative, we expect to see the very same language that is employed in these summary verses present within the “narrative proper”.
The Heaven
Summary (Introductory)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Narrative
6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
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.
8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:6–8
In verse one, Moses introduces “the heaven” to the reader. We can be certain that “the heaven” of verse one is the firmament based upon the language employed. But if it were not enough that God Himself called the firmament “Heaven” the first time, let us look to the succeeding verse:
Narrative
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.
Genesis 1:9
Directly following the creation of the firmament, by which God “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament”,2 God Himself refers to it as “the heaven”—harkening back to the first verse wherein Moses writes:
Summary (Introductory)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
The phrase, “the waters under the heaven” in Genesis 1:9 is synonymous with “the waters which were under the firmament” in Genesis 1:7. By this usage of “the heaven” as a synonym of “the firmament”, we know that the Genesis 1:1 Summary specially encapsulates the narrative of the generation of the firmament in Genesis 1:6-8.
Summary (Conclusory)
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Genesis 2:1
The Earth
Now because “the heaven” of Genesis 1:1 is the firmament, we should expect to see the same consistency of language concerning the earth.
Summary (Introductory)
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
Narrative
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.
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.
Genesis 1:9–10
Narrative
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.
Genesis 1:11
Once it is established in the account of the dry land3 that the subject at hand is indeed “the earth”, God speaks and refers to it as such, in exactly the same manner that Moses did when he first introduced it to the reader in Genesis 1:1-2.
Summary (Conclusory)
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Genesis 2:1
The Seas
So what about the Seas? Though not explicitly mentioned in the Genesis 1:1 Summary, the Seas are undoubtedly inferred. Let’s analyze the narrative together to see if we find the same consistency.
Narrative
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.
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.
Genesis 1:9–10
Narrative
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21 And 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.
22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
Genesis 1:20–22, margin
The Seas are exclusively the waters under the heaven which were “gathered together unto one place.” Genesis 1:22 confirms that the phrase, “the waters”, in this context (after the division in Genesis 1:6), refers exclusively to the waters (under the heaven) that are in the seas, and not the waters above the heaven.
Synonyms
When the whole beginning is considered, we find the following synonyms:
“Heaven”4 and “the heaven”5 are synonymous with “the firmament”6
“Earth”7 and “the earth”8 are synonymous with “the dry land”9
“Seas”10 and “the seas”11 are synonymous with “the gathering together of the waters”,12 “the waters under the heaven”,13 and “the waters”14 (after the division)
The Memorial
Now that we’ve established that there is consistency throughout the whole narrative as to what the heaven, the earth, and the seas are, let us look to the fourth commandment, wherein is contained the memorial of creation:
For in six days [JEHOVAH] made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore [JEHOVAH] blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exodus 20:11
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Genesis 2:1–3
These are 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,
Genesis 2:4
The GENERATIONS are the DAYS wherein the heaven and the earth had their BEGINNINGS. How many days are represented? “For in six days [JEHOVAH] made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is.”15 So what does the Sabbath memorialize? It memorializes “the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created”;—it is the memorial of:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
The beginning is the whole beginning comprised of the six days in which the heaven and the earth (and all that in them is) were created. JEHOVAH finished His work on the seventh day, and ended and rested from all His work which He had made.
It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days [JEHOVAH] made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exodus 31:17
The Sabbath is the MEMORIAL of the firmament called Heaven, the dry-land called Earth, the gathering together of the waters [under the heaven] called Seas, and all that is within them.
In Part 7, we will discuss the Sabbath as it pertains to recreation.
God bless,
Brandon
