Genesis 1-11, Part 4: Genesis 1b

Tuesday, 17 June 2008

Genesis 1.1-2.3: Breaking Down the Translation, Days 1-5

At the top when Elohim created the Skies and the Land,
     the Land was unordered and barren,
        Darkness was upon the face of the deep abyss,
          The breath-wind of Elohim fluttered like a mother eagle on the face of the waters.

"At the top" - The Hebrew word traditionally translated "beginning", ראשׁית, derives from the word for "head", "top", or "first" (Hebrew, rosh, ראשׁ) Rashi in the 11th century C.E. and others have read this as "When Elohim began creating . . ." Incidentally, this follows the idea of the beginning line of the Enuma Elish, "When on high heaven was not named . . ." (enuma eliš la na-bu-ú šá-ma-mu). However, ראשית is actually a noun and not an adverb, and other ancient versions including the Greek Septuagint translated it clearly as "In the beginning . . ." (Ἐν ἀρχη). I have attempted to settle for a middle-ground by using the phrase "at the top" and having the whole portion imply an unordered state of an already existing creation which Elohim now begins the process of ordering.

Elohim - Elohim (‏אֱלֹהִים) is actually the plural for gods (singular is El, ָאל), and it is actually used to represent the plural several times in the Psalms (Ps 82:6; 84:7; 86:8; 95:3; 96:4,5; Ps 97:7, 9; Ps 135:5; 136:2; 138:1). This has led some to speculate that Genesis 1 implies a "council of the gods" as in other Ancient Near Eastern creation stories. However, the emphasis in Hebrew sentences in on the verb, not on the subject (unlike English), and the verb here, bara (ברא), is 3rd person masculine singular. Elohim has been understood when used for God to imply the "plurality of majesty." Think in terms of the modern language of the Queen of England, who might ask for a cup of tea by saying, "We would like a cup of tea, please." Frequently in the Hebrew scriptures God is referred to as Elohim. In my translation I will always use the names of God from the Hebrew. Out of respect I will use YHWH (יהוה)when translating the Name of God, omitting the nouns likely used to pronounce that name. I feel that the common English practice of translating YHWH as LORD confuses the issue that a real name is being used in the text. Calling God by name has a very special significance, and generic terms "God" and "LORD" don't capture that.

the Skies and the Land - I have used capital letters for the major universal components/proto-types of the creation story. I've done this to capture the all inclusive aspect of the Hebrew on this point, and also because Adam (אדם), as a general reference to humanity in Genesis 1, is traditionally capitalized as well (see my later comment on my use of Earthling rather than Adam). Capitalizing also helps to recreate the ancient poetic/liturgic feel of the text. I have also used "Skies" rather than Heavens (Hebrew shamayim, שמים ) because that is the basic meaning of the Hebrew, and in our contemporary Western culture "heaven" also carries a Platonic/spiritualized religious meaning that removes the gritty aspect of the Biblical Hebraic world-view. I used "Land" instead of "Earth" because ha-aretz (ארץ) literally means "the land" (as in "promised land") and "Earth" carries the risk of implying a planetary view of the world that did not exist when the text was written.

unordered and barren - Hebrew tohu vebohu can mean "unordered chaos and emptiness". The idea of order was very important in ancient Israelite culture. In many ancient cultures, everything must have its place, and in the creation Elohim is ordering the chaos by both creating as well as separating and dividing those things which should not mix. The idea of kosher and non-kosher relies heavliy upon this idea, and we see examples in the Torah of the Israelites being told not to sow fields with two different types of seed, sow clothes with two different types of material, etc. This does not necessarily imply "good and bad" as some may suppose, but simply things being in their place. Think in terms of flowers...in your flower bed they are appropriate. In your yard, flowers are chaos. In an agricultural society, chaotic and barren land is wilderness and death.

abyss - the deep caverns of the earth

breath-wind - this one is hard to translate for a couple of reasons. First, it has obviously been translated "spirit of God" in English for a good while, and translating it otherwise runs the risk of being accused of denying the Trinity. I can assure you that I am not denying the Trinity! The problem is that the Hebrew word ruach primarily means "breath" or "wind," and the spirit of a person was closely associated with their breath. If you took away someone's breath, if they were not breathing, they were dead--the "spirit had left them." This also obviously closely ties together the idea of spirit/breath and life. Also, the Hebrew techncally reads "a wind/spirit of Elohim" not "the wind/spirit". Therefore from my pespective using "breath-wind" is more true to the possibilities of the Hebrew. Translating the Herbrew "breath" or "wind" does not deny the potential of also understanding it as "spirit," but translating it as "spirit" certainly rules out understandings of "breath/wind" which are inherent in the Hebrew.

fluttered like a mother eagle- The Hebrew merechephet is the same verb used to desribe a mother eagle gently hovering over the young in her nest, and the idea may be connected with brooding. "Hovered" just doesn't make that connection, so added "like a mother eagle" in order to describe clearly the meaning of the verb in the Hebrew. Argh! Now I'm going to be accused of making an amplified text!

on the face of the waters - Several ancient near eastern creation stories include references to a breeze upon the waters.

And Elohim said: “Light, be” and Light was.

And Elohim said: “Light, be” and Light was.

Elohim saw the Light, that it was good.

Elohim divided the Light and the Darkness.
Elohim called to the light, “Day!”
and to the darkness he called, “Night!”

And there was evening
and there was morning,
day one.

Elohim saw the Light, that it was good. - The rabbis noted in Genesis Rabbah that only in this case on the first day that Elohim only saw that one part, Light, and not everything in it was good.

And there was evening and there was morning, - In Judaism days are reckoned from sundown to sundown, not sunrise to sunrise, so the first part of the day is evening.

Elohim divided the Light and the Darkness - Elohim begins the process of ordering the creation.

day one. - Unlike the pattern of the following days, "day one" is used rather than "first day".

Elohim said “Let there be a Vaulted Dome in the middle of the Waters,
     and let it separate between Waters and Waters.
Elohim made the Vaulted Dome,
     and He divided the Waters under the Vaulted Dome
         from the Waters above the Vaulted Dome.

And it was so.

Elohim called to the Vaulted Dome: “Skies!”

And there was evening,
and their was morning,
second day.

Vaulted Dome - Hebrew raqia (רקאע). The root for raqia means basically means "pressed out" and can be used to refer to objects like pressed plates of clay or metal. It was considered solid in ancient cosmologies, and the the Septuagint (LXX) it is translated stereoma (στερέωμα), which means "firmament, firmness" and from it came the idea that the raqia was a "stone vault." Stereoma is used once metaphorically in the NT at Col 2:5 for "firmness." Both raqia and stereoma were used in common reference to bases or foundations of objects, and the emphasis here may be on the raqia holding up the waters above it. In Genesis Rabbah the rabbis discussed at some length the composition and thickness of the raqia. They also discussed the proximity of the Waters above and below to it, with several saying the gap above the raqia was the same as the gap (air) below.

And there was evening,and their was morning, second day. - Note that this is the only day in which Elohim does not declare something to be good. The rabbis had many explanations for this. One was that Elohim did not finish the work of this day until day three, where Elohim declares "it was good" twice. Another was that with the separating dissension was introduced into the world and Elohim did not want anyone to think that dissension was good, even though this even was to the world's benefit.

And Elohim said “Let the Waters from under the Skies gather

to one place and let dry-land be seen.”

And it was so.

And He called to the dry-land: “Land!”
And to the gathering of the Waters He called: “Seas!”

And Elohim saw that it was good.

Elohim said: “The Land will be green with green grass,
     Plants seeding seed,
         Fruit trees making fruit,
               according to its kind, whatever seed was in it.

And it was so.

The Land brought out the green grass,
     plants seeding seed,
           according to their kind,
                and trees making fruit matching whatever seed was in it,
                      according to their kind.

And Elohim saw that it was good.

And there was evening,
And there was morning,
third day.

gather to one place and let dry-land be seen - the Hebrew word root for gather here is the same as that for pools used to ritual cleanse or baptize, miqvah (מקוה).

The Land will be green with green grass - The Hebrew here reads literally something like "Green the land with greening new grass". It is difficult to capture in English.

according to its kind, whatever seed was in it. - The process of separating and organizing continues and is repeated through these phrases.

Elohim said “Let there be Lights in the Vaulted Dome of the Skies,
to cause to divide between the Day and between the Night,
And they will be for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years.

And there were Lights in the Vaulted Dome of the Skies,
to be light upon the face of the Land.

And it was so.

Elohim made two of the large Lights,
    the Large Light to rule the Day
        and the Small Light to rule the Night
            and the stars.

And Elohim set them in the Vaulted Dome of the Skies
    to be light upon the Land,
        to rule in the Day and in the Night,
           to cause to divide between the Light and between the Darkness

And saw Elohim that it was good.

And there was evening
and there was morning
fourth day.

And they will be for signs, for seasons, for days, and for years - The ancients clearly paid more attention to the "lights" in the skies than we do today and often were thought to contain divine signs as well as to regulate time. For example, the months in Israelite culture were entirely lunar--based upon the phases of the moon.

Elohim said, “Swarm the waters with Swarming Living Souls,
and Flyers flying on the Land,
on the face of the Vaulted Dome of the Skies.

And Elohim created the great Sea Monsters,
    all of the Living Souls,
        the Creeping and Crawling which swarm the Waters,
            and all the Flyers with wings
                according to their kind.

And Elohim saw that it was good.

And Elohim blessed them by saying,
“Bear fruit, become many, and fill the Waters in the Seas,
and the Flyers become many in the Land.”

And there was evening,
and there was morning,
fifth day

Living Souls - Hebrew nephesh chayah (נפש חיה). Many times this is translated "living beings" but the Hebrew word here is nephesh, soul. I have included souls here to be clear on that point. In the OT understanding, the soul is not a separate part of a being, but that being itself.

Flyers flying - not neccessarily birds only, but all flying animals.

the Creeping and Crawling - The Hebrew contains the particples for just like this in literal form.

And Elohim blessed them by saying, “Bear fruit, become many, and fill - The first blessing in the Bible. Elohim gives the creatures of the water the same blessing that he gives humans except for the instruction to subdue.

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