Session 4 - Verse 2: Introducing Ruach Elohim
The Second Verse
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. (KJV)
“And the earth was…”
It is significant that every verse in the first chapter of Genesis (except verse one) begins with the conjunction “and” (Hebrew vav). This clearly means that each statement is sequentially and chronologically connected to the verses before and after. Each action follows directly upon the action described in the verse preceding it. The verb “was” is the regular Hebrew verb of being hayah, not the word used to denote a change of state haphak (equivalent to the English word “became”). This refutes the “Ruin- Restoration” gap theory, which teaches that there was some form of “fall” or problem with creation or perhaps really corrupted created beings that forced God to destroy life and start creation over with an older Earth. Proponents for the Ruin-Restoration gap theory believe this phrase should be “And the earth became without form…” The text simply does not support this attempt to explain an older Earth.
“Without form and void”
This phrase in Hebrew is tohu vavohu or tohu vav bohu. The word tohu can carry various shades of meaning. It occurs twenty times in the Old Testament and is translated in the King James Version no less than ten different ways (ie. vanity, confusion, empty place, nothing, etc.) Its proper translation depends on the specific context and the best translation in the context of Genesis 1:2 is exactly as the King James scholars rendered it “without form” (also shared by most English translations).
The word bohu does not mean a desolation, but simply “emptiness.” When initially created the Earth was at first unformed and uninhabited. The elements that were to be formed into the planet Earth were at first just elements, not yet formed but yet comprising the basic matter. Using a Biblical vernacular the “dust” of the earth.
“Darkness upon the face of the deep”
The idea that God, being Light, could not create a world in darkness is invalid, God Himself said: “I form the light, and create darkness…” (See Isaiah 45:7). The physical universe, though created, was not yet formed or energized, and light is a form of energy. The absence of physical light means darkness, just as the absence of form and inhabitants means a universe in elemental form, not yet completed. No evil is implied in either case, merely incompleteness. Although this does bring up a question about when did Satan rebel and take one-third of the angels? And while we are on the subject when did God create the angels? The Creation account in Genesis does not answer either question. We will explore both of these questions later in our study.
The word “face” is the Hebrew word panim and is used primarily to refer to “presence” (such as “in the face of danger”). It is often translated as “presence.” Meaning here in verse two that wherever the “deep” was, there also was darkness. The “deep” (Hebrew tehom) refers later to the waters of the ocean. Initially the earth had no form so this state must apply to the waters also (Read 2 Peter 3:4-7; Proverbs 8:23-27). The Septuagint (LXX) translated the word as abussos (abyss).
“The face of the waters”
This term is synonymous with “the face of the deep.” Again the word “face” means “presence,” and the thought is that the formless waters, like the formless earth, were essentially a “presence” rather than a cohesive body.
Although the universe had been called into existence by the omnipotent Creator it had not yet been infused with energy and set into motion. This must await the energizing action of the Spirit of God and the activating power of the Word of God.
“The Spirit of God moved”
The word “Spirit” is the Hebrew Ruach, which is also the word for “wind” and “breath.” The context determines which is the correct meaning in any given instance. Here there is no doubt that the creative activity requires not a wind but the person of God Himself. Since the universe was everywhere in need of “activation,” that person of the Godhead who is both omnipresent and energizing is appropriately mentioned as working in the creation at this point.
This activity of the Holy Spirit is called that of “moving” in the presence of the waters. The word “moved” (Hebrew rachaph) occurs only three times in the Old Testament, the other two being translated “shake” (tremble) in Jeremiah 23:9 and “fluttereth” (hover) in Deuteronomy 32:11. Some commentators relate the word particularly to the hovering of a mother hen over her chicks. In any case, this idea seems to be mainly that of a rapid back and forth motion.
In modern scientific terminology, the best translation would probably be “vibrated.” If the universe is to be energized, there must be an Energizer. If it is to be set in motion, there must be a “Prime Mover.”
There are two fundamental types of forces found in science today, they are gravitational forces and electromagnetic forces. Energy is transmitted through electromagnetic forces such as light waves, heat waves, sound waves, etc. Waves are typically a form of a back and forth movement produced by a vibratory action of some kind. Therefore it seems most appropriate that the first impartation of energy to the universe is described as the vibratory movement of the Holy Spirit!
Six Days or “Six Days”
The first two verses of Genesis describe the first two events of the first day of creation namely the creation of the basic elements of the physical universe and its initial energizing by the Spirit of God.
Before we can continue we come face to face with another controversial issue particularly among Christian faiths. We must first decide whether the term “days” in Genesis chapter one is to be understood as 24-hour days or as symbolic terms for long ages. Many sincere and competent Bible scholars have felt it so mandatory to accept the geological age system they have prematurely settled on the “day-age theory” as the recommended interpretation of Genesis 1. The theory tries to equate the days of creation with the ages of geology.
Day-Age Theory
The theory has several concerns, some we already covered in the Gap Theories section of our first lesson. However something that most Christians fail to recognize is that this theory requires the existence of death before sin. (For review see Romans 5:12-21, 6:23, 8:18-21; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26; Genesis 3:6-24) This theory uses the argument that the Hebrew word yom can mean an undetermined period of time. That is true however the context of its use precludes any such meaning here. If the writer wanted to relate the concept of undefined eras then he could have chosen better words for clarification. The writer chose these words to be understood the way it is supposed to be understood. Let’s take a closer look.
What is a day?
The Hebrew word yom can mean either a natural 24 hour day or it can be used in the sense of an indefinite period of time for example “In the time of the Judges” or “In the day of the Lord” (See Isaiah 11). Without exception, in the Old Testament the word yom never means “period” when the text includes a specific beginning and end point as we will see in the following verses (example: “and the evening and the morning were…”) The word which means a long period of time in Hebrew is “olam.” It is important to note that even when the word yom is used in the indefinite sense, it is clearly indicated by the context that the literal meaning of the word “day” is not intended.
Some people say the word “day” in Genesis may have been used symbolically and therefore cannot be considered literally. However, an important point that many fail to consider is that the word can never be symbolic the first time it is used. A word can only be used symbolically when it has first had a literal meaning. In the New Testament we are told that Jesus is the “door.” We know what this means because we know what the word “door” means. Because we understand its literal meaning, we are able to apply the word in a symbolic sense to Jesus Christ, we certainly don’t believe Jesus is literally a door. The word “door” could not be used in this manner unless it first had the literal meaning we understand it to have. Therefore the word “day” cannot be used symbolically the first time it is used in the book of Genesis, as this is where God not only introduced the word “day” into the narrative, but also defined it as He invented it.
This is why the author of Genesis has gone to great lengths to carefully define the word “day” the first time it appears. In Genesis 1:4 (NIV) we read, “God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness He called ‘night.” In other words, the terms were being carefully defined. The first time the word “day” is used it is defined as “the light” to distinguish it from “the darkness” called “night.” Genesis 1:5 (NIV) then finishes with “And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.” This is the same phrase used for each of the other five days and shows there was a clearly established cycle of days and night.
A Day is Like a Thousand Years
Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 both tell us that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord. Neither verse refers to the days of creation in Genesis, for they are dealing with God not being bound by time. In 2 Peter 3, the context is in relation to Christ’s second coming, pointing out the fact that with God a day is just like a thousand years. He is outside of time. This has nothing to do with the definition of day or about the days of creation.
How Should We Interpret?
The proper way to interpret Genesis 1 is not to “interpret” it at all. We should accept the fact that it was meant to say exactly what it says. The days are literal days and the events happened in just the way described. The Bible itself tells us this again in Exodus 20:11 when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments: “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” (NIV) Here it is very clear God is referring to literal days since He is referring to literal 24-hour Sabbath day. He set up the model of a seven-day week the same week we use today.
Still not convinced? We will have more discussion on the six literal days of creation in future lessons! Including scientific evidence of a “young” earth.
Bible Study Tip #1
From time to time I will interject some practical Bible studying tips. Ideas that will help you understand more fully God’s Word and how to apply what you learn in your daily walk with Him.
In today’s lesson we saw a number of Hebrew words. You may have asked yourself “is this really something important for us to know?” Since God is the ultimate author the Bible is the ultimate book. As the ultimate author we know that He did not select the words and phrases in the Bible casually so each word is important to understand. Scholars have long recognized that the Bible uses what is called “expositional constancy” where the meaning of the word is generally defined by its first use in the Bible and that definition remains the same throughout the Bible. If we understand how the word was first used (context) and what the word means in that verse (definition) we will know what that word means when we see it later in the Bible.
Since it is impractical to learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek to study the original texts we need to know how to use practical tools. Our best and less expensive tool for that task is an Exhaustive Concordance. Not the brief concordance in the back of many Bibles but an exhaustive concordance. In these books you will find a complete list of the words found in the Bible and where that word is used. A cross-reference number is given for each word allowing you to look that word up in the dictionary usually provided in the back of the concordance. Some exhaustive concordances even have a lexicon that allows you see how that word is translated in different parts of the Bible.
Exercise: Using your exhaustive concordance look up a word and follow how the definition is used consistently throughout the Bible. Go to the first use of that word (not the English word, use the first time that Hebrew or Greek word was used) read the verses it first appeared and then read the other locations where it appears. Some words to try are: rock, shoe/sandals, loved, covenant, church, hyssop, sin, water and oil.