(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— (3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day. (6) God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.” (7) God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. And it was so. (8) God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. (9) God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. (10) God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good. (11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. (12) The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good. (13) And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. (14) God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; (15) and they serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. (16) God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. (17) And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, (18) to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good. (19) And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. (20) God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” (21) God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good. (22) God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” (23) And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. (24) God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.” And it was so. (25) God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that this was good. (26) And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” (27) And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (28) God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.” (29) God said, “See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. (30) And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. (31) And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
(1) The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. (2) On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done. (4) Such is the story of heaven and earth when they were created. When the LORD God made earth and heaven—
Rava said, and some say it was Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi who said: Even an individual who prays on Shabbat evening must recite the passage: “And the heavens and the earth were finished [vaykhullu]” (Genesis 2:1–3), as Rav Hamnuna said: Anyone who prays on Shabbat evening and recites the passage of vaykhullu, the verse ascribed him credit as if he became a partner with the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the act of Creation. As it is stated: “And the heavens and the earth were finished [vaykhullu].” Do not read it as: Were finished [vaykhullu]; rather, as: They finished [vaykhallu]. It is considered as though the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the individual who says this become partners and completed the work together. Rabbi Elazar said: From where is it derived that speech is like action? As it is stated: “By the word of God the heavens were made, and all of their hosts by the breath of His mouth” (Psalms 33:6).
Summary of the above from Shmoop :
The Opening Line Isn't "In the Beginning..." for Nothing
- This is the first creation story. God creates, establishes, and puts everything into motion, and then rests. And he does it all in seven days. Not bad for a week's work.
- You lovers of trivia will want to note the not-so-trivial fact that the Hebrew word for God used throughout this story of creation is 'elohim. Typically, the LORD (in all capital letters) is reserved as a translation for YHWH, which is God's proper name.
- Before creation, God's breath is hovering over a "formless void" (1:2 NRSV) or in Hebrew, tohu wabohu, which are two words that denote pure emptiness, blankness, and in some contexts, even futility and meaninglessness.
- On day one, God first separates light from darkness.
- On day two, God creates the Heavens or the Sky as well as the oceans by fastening a huge wedge between them.
- How would you draw that?
- On day three, God herds all of the water into one place so that there can appear dry land as well as everything else that comes with fertile soil, such as trees, plants, seeds, and all kinds of vegetation.
- The first three days set the pattern for what turns out to be a highly repetitive and very well-structured story.
- Key ingredients for each day of creation include: (1) God's declaration of what is about to be created, (2) its successful completion, and (3) God's own review of the handiwork, which God thinks is fabulous.
- God is usually pretty impressed with himself, for several times "he saw that it was good" (1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31)—not to brag or anything.
- On day four, God orders the lights in the sky, the stars, sun, and moon. These make it possible to keep track of time so that the sacred calendar is built into very fibers of creation itself.
- On day five, God generates creatures of the sea and air, including "the great sea monsters." Nessie?
- God commands the creatures to "be fruitful and multiply" (1: 22). Translation: the animals are supposed to have lots of babies.
- On day six, God creates the land creatures, cattle, crawling things, wild animals, and humankind.
- Notice that in the first creation account, God creates "humankind" (1:26-27 NRSV). The KJV's "God created man" (1:26-27) is misleading.
- The first creation story assumes that women are created at this point as well. How else are they supposed to be fruitful and multiply?
- Why is God speaking in the plural in 1:26 ("let us […] our")? Is God the top dog in a court of many otherworldly beings, or what?
- God grants humankind "dominion" (1:28) over the sea, air, and land creatures. "Dominion" means not only that they will rule all of this, but also that they are responsible for taking care of it. That's a nod to all of you lovely Tree Huggers out there.
- God commands humanity to "be fruitful and multiply" (1:28). Again, more babies.
- On day seven, God's so pleased with all that he's made that he decides to take a rest.
- The seventh day is set apart as unique and holy. Go and check out Exodus 20:8-11, where God's rest after creation is cited as a precedent for the command to keep the Sabbath.
An animated version of Bereshit