Genesis — Chapter 1
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1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.”
7So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so.
8God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.
9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.
10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.
11Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so.
12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.
14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years.
15And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so.
16God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well.
17God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth,
18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every winged bird after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so.
25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”
27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food.
30And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2And 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.
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7And 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.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11And 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.
12And 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.
13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21And 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.
22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7And 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.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, [and] fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth: and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after their kind: and God saw that it was good.
13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years:
15and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16And God made the two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,
18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that moveth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.
23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24And God said, Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind: and it was so.
25And God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the ground after its kind: and God saw that it was good.
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them: and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food:
30and to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the heavens, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, [I have given] every green herb for food: and it was so.
31And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2Now the earth was without shape and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the watery deep, but the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the water.
3God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light!
4God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness.
5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.
6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water.”
7So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so.
8God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.
9God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place and let dry ground appear.” It was so.
10God called the dry ground “land” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” God saw that it was good.
11God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.” It was so.
12The land produced vegetation—plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.
13There was evening, and there was morning, a third day.
14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years,
15and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.” It was so.
16God made two great lights—the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.
17God placed the lights in the expanse of the sky to shine on the earth,
18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19There was evening, and there was morning, a fourth day.
20God said, “Let the water swarm with swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.”
21God created the great sea creatures and every living and moving thing with which the water swarmed, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.”
23There was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.
24God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: cattle, creeping things, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” It was so.
25God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the cattle according to their kinds, and all the creatures that creep along the ground according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.
26Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.”
27God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply! Fill the earth and subdue it! Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that moves on the ground.”
29Then God said, “I now give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the entire earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.
30And to all the animals of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has living breath in it—I give every green plant for food.” It was so.
31God saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness.
5God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.”
7God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
8God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so.
10God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good.
11God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth”; and it was so.
12The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.
13There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years;
15and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth”; and it was so.
16God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars.
17God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth,
18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good.
19There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
21God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good.
22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.”
23There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind”; and it was so.
25God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.
28God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food.
30To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
31God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
Summary
God creates the heavens, earth, and all living things in six days by the spoken word alone, forming the world (light, sky, land) across the first three days and filling it (sun, moon, stars, creatures, humanity) across the next three. Humanity alone is made in God's image and given dominion over creation (vv. 26-28). Each day's work is declared good, and the completed creation is called "very good" (v. 31), setting the stage for the Sabbath rest that opens chapter 2.
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Eden's exact location is debated, but the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern Iraq) are named in 2:10-14, placing the setting in ancient Mesopotamia.
- The creation account presents the entire earth as God's domain — no single location is emphasized because the scope is cosmic and universal.
Places on this map
- TigrisTurkey, Syria, IraqThe faster and shorter of Mesopotamia's two rivers, running about 1,150 miles from eastern Turkey to join the Euphrates near the Gulf. Nineveh, Calah and Asshur all sat on it, and Daniel received his last vision on its bank. Wikipedia
- EuphratesTurkey, Syria, IraqThe longest river in western Asia, running about 1,700 miles from eastern Turkey to the Persian Gulf. It is the northern limit named in the promise to Abraham and the boundary Assyria and Babylon crossed to reach the Levant. Wikipedia
- MesopotamiaIraq and eastern SyriaThe land between the Tigris and Euphrates, flat, hot and farmable only by irrigation, which forced early cities into large-scale cooperation. Abraham came from its southern end and Israel's exiles were taken to its middle. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Deep Dive
Setting: Genesis means "beginning," and it is the first of the five books of the Law, the Pentateuch. Jewish and Christian tradition, and Jesus himself (Mark 12:26; Luke 24:44), connect these books with Moses, writing for Israel after the exodus, around the 15th or 13th century BC depending on how the exodus is dated. Many scholars think the books were shaped and edited over a longer period from older sources, and most evangelical scholars hold that Moses stands behind them while allowing for later editorial touches. Either way, Genesis 1 was first heard by a people just out of Egypt, surrounded by nations who worshiped the sun, the moon, the sea, the Nile and the stars, and who told creation stories full of warring gods. Into that world this chapter says something astonishing in its calm: there is one God, he made everything, he made it by his word, and he made it good. The ESV treats 1:1–2:3 as one section, so the seventh day, the climax of the week, belongs with the first verses of chapter 2.
How Christians read Genesis 1
Faithful Christians who hold Genesis to be God's true word read the "days" in several ways:
- Six ordinary days: God created in six 24-hour days, fairly recently. This is the traditional reading of most of church history and is taught by Guzik.
- Day-age: each "day" is a long age, fitting the text with an old earth.
- Framework: the six days are a literary structure, two sets of three, telling that God made everything and in what order of meaning, not a timetable.
- Analogical days: God's workdays are described on the pattern of a human work week, so Israel could copy it (Exod 20:11), without fixing their length.
- Gap theory: a long gap lies between vv1 and 2. This was popular in the 19th and early 20th centuries and is allowed by JFB, but most scholars, including Guzik, now reject it on grammatical grounds.
Many scholars also stress that ancient readers cared most about function and order. On that reading, Genesis 1 is chiefly about God giving each part of the world its place and purpose, and it doesn't answer every modern scientific question. These views disagree about the days, but they agree on what matters most: God alone is Creator, the world is not divine, humans bear his image, and creation was very good.
The Creation of the World (vv1–31)
- "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (v1). The Bible's first sentence names its main character without argument or introduction: God. It doesn't try to prove him. It starts with him. "The heavens and the earth" is a Hebrew way of saying "everything." Most translations take v1 as a headline over the whole account. Some take it as the first act of creation, and a few as a time clause ("When God began to create…"), but the ESV's reading is the oldest and most common.
- "God" (v1). The Hebrew is Elohim, a plural form that normally takes a singular verb when it means Israel's God, as it does here ("God created," singular). Most Hebrew scholars take it as a plural of majesty or fullness. Many Christian readers, including JFB, have seen it as leaving room for the later revelation of the Trinity, though it doesn't prove it.
- "Created" (v1). Bara is used in the Old Testament only with God as the subject. No human ever does it. It is used of the universe (1:1), the great sea creatures (1:21) and humanity (1:27, three times). The lexicon shows it can also mean transforming something already there ("create in me a clean heart," Ps 51:10; "I create Jerusalem to be a joy," Isa 65:18). So the word itself doesn't mean "out of nothing," but the context and the rest of Scripture teach that God made everything from nothing (Heb 11:3; John 1:3; Rom 4:17).
- "Without form and void" (v2). Tohu wabohu, a rhyming phrase like "waste and wild." The earth isn't evil, just unfinished: unshaped and empty. The rest of the chapter fixes both problems. Days 1–3 form it and days 4–6 fill it. Jeremiah uses the same rare pair to picture the land undone by judgment (Jer 4:23), and Isaiah says God did not create the earth to be tohu (Isa 45:18).
- "Darkness was over the face of the deep" (v2). "The deep" is tehom, the primeval ocean. Some scholars link it to Tiamat, the sea-goddess the Babylonian god Marduk slew to make the world in the epic Enuma Elish. If the echo is there, Genesis empties it. The deep is no goddess and puts up no fight. It is just water waiting for God's word.
- "The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (v2). "Spirit" is ruach, which also means breath or wind, and some translate "a wind from God." "Hovering" (rachaph) is used again only in Deuteronomy 32:11, of an eagle hovering over its young. The picture is of the Spirit poised over creation, protective and ready to bring life. Christians have long seen the Spirit at work in creation here (Ps 104:30), just as he would later "overshadow" Mary (Luke 1:35) and give new birth (John 3:5).
- "And God said" (v3). This phrase comes ten times in the chapter. God makes the world by speaking. There is no struggle, no raw material wrestled into shape, no rival. "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made" (Ps 33:6). John opens his Gospel on purpose with "In the beginning was the Word… all things were made through him" (John 1:1–3).
- "Let there be light," and there was light (v3). Light comes on day one, before the sun on day four. Some say God himself was the light, as he will be at the end (Rev 21:23; 22:5). Others, like JFB, think the sun already existed and its light now broke through to the earth's surface. Either way, the order teaches that light comes from God, not from the sun, which Egypt worshiped as the god Ra. Paul draws on this verse for conversion: "God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts" (2 Cor 4:6).
- "God saw that the light was good" (v4). The phrase "it was good" comes six times, and the seventh time it becomes "very good" (v31). God takes pleasure in what he makes. Matter, bodies, food and the physical world are not bad or second-rate.
- "God called the light Day" (v5). In the ancient world, naming something showed authority over it. God names day, night, heaven, earth and seas. Later he lets Adam name the animals (2:19).
- "Evening and… morning, the first day" (v5). Hebrew days ran from sunset to sunset, which is why Israel's Sabbath still begins at evening. The word yom can mean daylight (as earlier in this verse), a 24-hour day, or a longer period ("in the day that the LORD God made," 2:4). The readings above differ on which is meant here.
- "An expanse in the midst of the waters" (vv6–8). "Expanse" is raqia, from a verb meaning to beat out or spread, as metal is hammered flat. The Greek translation rendered it stereōma, the Latin firmamentum, hence the KJV's "firmament." The lexicon describes it as the vault of heaven, which ancient Hebrews pictured as solid. Others, like JFB, take it as the atmosphere. Either way, Genesis describes the sky as it looks from the ground, as Scripture usually does (we still say "sunrise"). Day two is the only day without "it was good," probably because the work of separating the waters isn't finished until day three.
- "Let the dry land appear" (vv9–10). In the myths of Israel's neighbors the sea was a hostile power. Here God simply sets its limits. Job 38:8–11 and Psalm 104:9 celebrate those boundaries, and the flood (Gen 7:11) is creation briefly run in reverse.
- "Each according to its kind" (vv11–12). This phrase comes ten times in the chapter. Life is ordered, and plants and animals reproduce their own kind. The Hebrew min, "kind," is not the same as the modern "species," and Christians differ on how much variety it allows.
- "Lights in the expanse… for signs and for seasons" (vv14–19). On day four God fills the spaces of day one. The sun and moon aren't even named. They are "the greater light" and "the lesser light," almost certainly on purpose, since the Hebrew words for sun and moon were also names of gods. They are lamps hung by God, not gods to be feared. "Seasons" (mo'adim) is the word later used for Israel's appointed feasts (Lev 23:2), so the sky becomes Israel's calendar. "And the stars" is added almost as an afterthought, in a world where nations read the stars to know the future (Isa 47:13). God made them in half a sentence.
- "The great sea creatures" (v21). Tanninim are elsewhere sea monsters or dragons (Isa 27:1; Ps 74:13). In other ancient stories these were cosmic enemies. Here they are just creatures, made by God, and bara is used for them, as if to make the point. Psalm 104:26 even pictures Leviathan playing in the sea.
- "God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply'" (v22). This is the first blessing in the Bible. Fertility comes from God's word, not from the fertility rites of Baal and Asherah that would later tempt Israel.
- Days 1–3 and 4–6 (vv3–25). The two sets of days match. Light (day 1) is filled by the sun, moon and stars (day 4). Sky and sea (day 2) are filled with birds and fish (day 5). Land and plants (day 3) are filled with animals and people (day 6). The framework view builds on this pattern, though every reading recognizes it.
- "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" (v26). The rhythm changes. Instead of "Let there be," God speaks as if in deliberation, "Let us." Four main explanations are given: - The Trinity: Father, Son and Spirit speak together. This is the historic Christian reading, held by Henry and Guzik. - The heavenly court: God speaks to the angels around his throne (1 Kings 22:19–22; Isa 6:8). The Tyndale notes favor this. - A plural of majesty, like a king's "we." - Self-deliberation, like "let's see." - Against the second view, people are made in "our image," and Scripture never says angels share in creating. Against the first, the original hearers would not yet have known the doctrine of the Trinity. Many Christians hold that the verse is fully explained only by later revelation (John 1:3; Col 1:16).
- "Image" and "likeness" (v26). Tselem means a statue or image, often an idol (2 Kings 11:18). Demuth means a likeness or resemblance. The two words largely overlap. In the ancient world, a king set up his image in conquered lands to show who ruled there, and only kings were called the image of a god. Genesis gives that title to every human being. What the image is has been debated: - our reason, conscience and capacity for relationship with God (Henry, Guzik); - our role as God's representatives ruling his world (the next phrase, "and let them have dominion"); - our relationships, mirroring the relationship within God ("male and female"); - most likely, all of these together.
- "Male and female he created them" (v27). This is the first poetry in the Bible: three lines, and bara three times. "Man" here is adam, humanity as a whole. The image belongs to both men and women equally. This is why murder is so serious (9:6) and why even cursing a person is wrong (Jas 3:9).
- "Fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion" (v28). Humanity is given a job: to spread over the earth, bring order to it and care for it as God's stewards, as royal representatives rather than owners. Dominion is not license to abuse. It is ruling the way God rules, and Psalm 8 marvels at it. Hebrews 2:5–9 says we don't yet see everything under humanity's feet, "but we see… Jesus."
- "Every plant yielding seed… You shall have them for food" (vv29–30). Plants are given as food for both people and animals. Meat is first explicitly permitted after the flood (9:3). Many read this as a world without violence or killing, and Isaiah's picture of the wolf and the lamb (Isa 11:6–9) looks back to it. Others think it simply highlights God's generous provision without ruling out that animals died before the fall. Christians who differ on the age of the earth tend to differ here.
- "Behold, it was very good" (v31). After people are made, the verdict rises to "very good." The word "behold" invites readers to look with God. Notably, the sixth day alone has "the" in Hebrew: "the sixth day," setting it apart as the high point.
- Commentators: Henry calls vv1–2 "the work of creation in its epitome and in its embryo," and writes of the Spirit, "Dead matter would be for ever dead if he did not quicken it." On v26 he says, "the word of command is turned into a word of consultation," and that "the three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, consult about it and concur in it." He places the image "in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness," adding that man reflects God "only as the shadow in the glass, or the king's impress upon the coin," and that dominion "is very much diminished and lost by the fall." JFB reads "in the beginning" as "a period of remote and unknown antiquity" and allows that the earth lay waste "for ages perhaps" before the six days, which it takes as natural days. It explains the sun and moon as "unveiled for the first time" on day four, not newly made, and the firmament as the atmosphere. It locates the image chiefly in "original righteousness." Guzik reads the days as ordinary days and rejects both the gap theory and the day-age view. He says bara means creating from nothing, though the lexicon shows the word can also describe transforming what already exists, so that point rests more on the context and other Scriptures than on the word. He sees the image of God in personality, moral conscience and spiritual capacity, and draws out its implication: every human life has dignity. The Tyndale notes say that Genesis 1 was first of all teaching Israel that the world was made by the one true God and not by the gods of the nations around them.
Pointing to Christ
The New Testament doesn't leave Genesis 1 behind. It goes back to it. John's Gospel starts with "In the beginning" and names the Word through whom "all things were made" (John 1:1–3). Paul calls Christ "the image of the invisible God… by him all things were created" (Col 1:15–16), the true image that humanity was made to be and failed to be. The God who said "Let there be light" shines in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor 4:6), and in him anyone is "a new creation" (2 Cor 5:17). The Bible that begins with a very good world made by the Word ends with that world made new by the Lamb (Rev 21:5).
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the creation account, the meaning of "created," the six days, the image of God, and the cultural mandate.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- Crossway: crossway.org How the creation account sets up the whole story of Jesus, read alongside John 1.
- BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: how its opening chapters work as literature and how they set up everything that follows.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Genesis -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- God as the Beginning (v.1) — Scripture opens with God already present, before time and matter existed, needing no explanation or origin of His own. Is God the starting point of how you think about your life, or an afterthought you fit in around your own plans?
- The Power of God's Spoken Word (vv.3-25) — Across the six days, God simply speaks and reality obeys instantly and completely. Do you give His word — Scripture — that same weight and authority when you're making decisions?
- Made in God's Image (v.26) — Humanity alone is described as bearing God's image, marking every person with inherent dignity and purpose. How does knowing you carry God's image shape the way you see yourself and treat others?
- The Call to Steward Creation (v.28) — God blesses humanity and commissions them to multiply, fill the earth, and rule over it responsibly. Where in your family, work, or community are you actively living out that calling?
- Very Good, Not Accidental (v.31) — God surveys everything He made, including humanity, and calls it very good rather than merely functional. Does your view of your body, your work, and the physical world reflect that original goodness?