I often thought in much similar ways as everyone else that the creation of the world happened as we read in Genesis, something similar to God spoke and there it was, but upon reading the Hebrew, viewing scientific research, and speaking with my fellow brothers, I realize that this is not what it really says in Genesis.
English:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Hebrew Direct Translation:
First Mighty Ones creates heavens (sky) land.
First:
This is translated "in the beginning," which is not necessarilly incorrect, but does cause problems in the natural course of thinking the VERY beginning. There are many different beginnings. This particular beginning concerns only the earth and not everything else in the universe. It is my assertion that this beginning concerns the creation of the earth but does not relate to the second verse. We do not know the passage of time between the first verse and the second verse.
Elohim:
The word translated "God" here is Elohim, but Elohim is a plural noun literally meaning Mighty Ones. It is most often translated gods and sometimes angels. The singular form is Eloha or El, often translated God or angel, depending on context and the translator's beliefs. The word "create" is a verb in the singular usage. In Chapter 1 to Chapter 2, Elohim is used and a singular verb is used with it.
This is why translators tend to just put God in for Elohim so that there is verb agreement. It does not make sense I suppose to say "the angels creates;" however, this is a poetic form symbolizing the many working as one (which agrees with the title of the Lord further down and the essense of Christ). This is pretty much saying the group creates. (In example, you would say the NRA shoots, the FBI arrests, the CIA examines, etc). The many angels working as one created the sky and the land.
This is not to say that God did not do it, but God working through the angels. Thus, the need for a passage of time between days rather than God spoke and there it was and then waiting for the next day. This also explains the resting on the seventh day, for the angels tire (mass creation over 6 days would make them exhausted I suppose).
There is a distinct change in 2:4, when the words Yahweh Elohim is used. The translators mistakingly translate Yahweh Lord throughout the Old Testament, but for some reason translated its personal usage correctly when He speaks to Moses saying "I am." Yahweh in its third person usage should be translated He who is (or who will be). Putting the two together, the Lord's title is He who is (or will be) the Mighty Ones.
English:
"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."
Hebrew Direct Translation:
Land became waste void darkness upon face the deep (sea) the wind (spirit) Mighty Ones hovered over upon the face water.
Became:
The word translated "was" is misleading. The word here is hayah which means "to become" or in essense "to be made." The earth became waste and void; not the earth was waste and void at the very beginning.
This reading will answer many theories and explain dinosaurs and the mass extinction and all of that. Something happened whether it was a meteor that fell from the sky or a great lava flow that enveloped the earth that caused the entire world to become a waste and to be void of life and to be plunged in utter darkness. This darkness I argue is from the clouds of carbon dioxide, ash, and etc. that would naturally be caused by such an event and would last for millions of years.
Waste and Void:
The words here are tohuw and bohuw. They exist in conjunction together in one other place: Jeremiah 4:23. "I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light" (RSV). Jeremiah 4 speaks of the destruction and desolation of Israel. The darkness or "no light" that comes is from the smoke caused by the flames that make the "heavens... black." This verse mimics Gen 1:2 in juxtaposing the desolation of Israel to the desolation of the entire world (further proving my arguement).
Sea:
Apparently there was nothing left on earth but the seas (the deep) and water. I will further make this case later on.
English:
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
The rest of these passages are accurate translations save for Elohim being translated God. Anywhere it says "let there be," the word is hayah meaning to become furthering my arguement above that the world became waste and void.
Meaning:
The entire world was pitch black because of this massive cloud, but the Lord through his angels caused this clouds to dissipate enough for light to shine through. This was not enough for the sun, the moon, and the stars to be seen though. Think of a cloudy day. You can still see everything around you but you do not see the sun. A cloudy night hides all of the stars and moon and everything is darkness.
English:
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Meaning:
The light penetrating through the clouds warmed the planet and caused the waters covering the earth to evaporate into the sky. Thus, there were water vapor clouds in the sky and water on the earth with a gap in between.
English:
"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. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 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. And 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. And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Meaning:
As the water evaporated into the sky, dry land started to appear. There was then a separation of land and water. Plants now had everything they needed for life. The air was still filled with that carbon dioxide cloud which plants need. Light was now shining through for photosynthesis. Land and soil formed for nutrients. And water vapor clouds in the sky sent forth rain. The Lord through the angels created all the grass and trees and fruit and vegetation in the world.
English:
"And 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: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And 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. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Meaning:
The plants started using up the carbon dioxide and giving forth oxygen. The cloud covering the earth was now gone revealing the Sun and the Moon as well as the stars. The word "made" here is asah. It means various things including to make but literally means to do, in essense to work. It is translated in different areas to do, to produce, to observe, to institute, and to offer. The word does not imply that these things were made right then and there. In context with the meaning I am presenting, asah would mean to observe or offer. The sun shined during the day and the moon and stars at night in the sky.
English:
"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. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
Meaning:
With proper oxygen, vegetation, and water, animals were now able to sustain life and the Lord through his angels created the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. He did not yet create those things that walk on the earth.
English:
"And 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. And 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."
Meaning:
At this time, the Lord through his angels made all the beasts that walk or creep on the earth.
English:
"And 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."
Meaning:
The word "man" here is adam in Hebrew. This man is most likely the same Adam of Chapter 2 in conjunction with placing him over the animals. Some take this "man" to mean "men" in general, but it is not plural. This man is in its singular usage. Take notice how it says "our" and not "my" image. The translators could not reconcile the usage of Elohim here to make image and likeness singular personal. Man was made after the image of the angels and the Lord. For some reason they made the same word tselem or image third person "his own" in the next sentence.
English:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Meaning:
This is a confusing translation in the King James. It says roughly "Mighty Ones creates man image image Mighty Ones male female creates." A clearer translation is "The Mighty Ones creates man in image, the image of the Mighty Ones. They create male and female."
English:
"And 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."
Meaning:
Since this male and female were most likely Adam and Eve, it stands to reason that they could reproduce but the fall came before they ever did. Chapter 2 expounds on the first two and how they were created and everything.
English:
"And 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. And 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. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Meaning:
Everything was made according to the Lord's will through the angels and was good. At this time, the world must have been peaceful and beautiful. The soil would give up fruit without toil and beasts would not devour each other. All was calm and good.
English:
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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."
Meaning:
Does the Father need rest? I wouldn't think so since He is the source and energy of everything and is "always working." So who would need rest? The Elohim? The Mighty Ones? Mass creation in 6 days I would think could tire any of those that are not the Lord Almighty. The angels were tired and rested on the seventh day and thus the seventh day was made holy and sanctified.
English:
"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."
Meaning:
This is the transition from Mighty Ones to He who is (or will be) the Mighty Ones. It goes from the six day creation to this summary which supports all of my claims. The Lord (now mentioned by title) made everything but before that He had not caused it to rain. In order to cause it to rain and vegetation to grow, he had to separate the waters and the land and do everything stated above. Again, this summary sums up the entire six day creation in a nutshell focusing on the need for rain.
The next part of Genesis focuses on Adam and Eve and their fall from goodness, which would be another exceedingly long post. I did not mention any of the spiritual meanings behind the days or the events that occurred during that day. Suffice it to say, each day and event represents a thousand year period in human history. The seventh thousand years is the rest in Christ's reign upon his return.
I hope all of you have found this enlightening.
English:
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Hebrew Direct Translation:
First Mighty Ones creates heavens (sky) land.
First:
This is translated "in the beginning," which is not necessarilly incorrect, but does cause problems in the natural course of thinking the VERY beginning. There are many different beginnings. This particular beginning concerns only the earth and not everything else in the universe. It is my assertion that this beginning concerns the creation of the earth but does not relate to the second verse. We do not know the passage of time between the first verse and the second verse.
Elohim:
The word translated "God" here is Elohim, but Elohim is a plural noun literally meaning Mighty Ones. It is most often translated gods and sometimes angels. The singular form is Eloha or El, often translated God or angel, depending on context and the translator's beliefs. The word "create" is a verb in the singular usage. In Chapter 1 to Chapter 2, Elohim is used and a singular verb is used with it.
This is why translators tend to just put God in for Elohim so that there is verb agreement. It does not make sense I suppose to say "the angels creates;" however, this is a poetic form symbolizing the many working as one (which agrees with the title of the Lord further down and the essense of Christ). This is pretty much saying the group creates. (In example, you would say the NRA shoots, the FBI arrests, the CIA examines, etc). The many angels working as one created the sky and the land.
This is not to say that God did not do it, but God working through the angels. Thus, the need for a passage of time between days rather than God spoke and there it was and then waiting for the next day. This also explains the resting on the seventh day, for the angels tire (mass creation over 6 days would make them exhausted I suppose).
There is a distinct change in 2:4, when the words Yahweh Elohim is used. The translators mistakingly translate Yahweh Lord throughout the Old Testament, but for some reason translated its personal usage correctly when He speaks to Moses saying "I am." Yahweh in its third person usage should be translated He who is (or who will be). Putting the two together, the Lord's title is He who is (or will be) the Mighty Ones.
English:
"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."
Hebrew Direct Translation:
Land became waste void darkness upon face the deep (sea) the wind (spirit) Mighty Ones hovered over upon the face water.
Became:
The word translated "was" is misleading. The word here is hayah which means "to become" or in essense "to be made." The earth became waste and void; not the earth was waste and void at the very beginning.
This reading will answer many theories and explain dinosaurs and the mass extinction and all of that. Something happened whether it was a meteor that fell from the sky or a great lava flow that enveloped the earth that caused the entire world to become a waste and to be void of life and to be plunged in utter darkness. This darkness I argue is from the clouds of carbon dioxide, ash, and etc. that would naturally be caused by such an event and would last for millions of years.
Waste and Void:
The words here are tohuw and bohuw. They exist in conjunction together in one other place: Jeremiah 4:23. "I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light" (RSV). Jeremiah 4 speaks of the destruction and desolation of Israel. The darkness or "no light" that comes is from the smoke caused by the flames that make the "heavens... black." This verse mimics Gen 1:2 in juxtaposing the desolation of Israel to the desolation of the entire world (further proving my arguement).
Sea:
Apparently there was nothing left on earth but the seas (the deep) and water. I will further make this case later on.
English:
"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
The rest of these passages are accurate translations save for Elohim being translated God. Anywhere it says "let there be," the word is hayah meaning to become furthering my arguement above that the world became waste and void.
Meaning:
The entire world was pitch black because of this massive cloud, but the Lord through his angels caused this clouds to dissipate enough for light to shine through. This was not enough for the sun, the moon, and the stars to be seen though. Think of a cloudy day. You can still see everything around you but you do not see the sun. A cloudy night hides all of the stars and moon and everything is darkness.
English:
"And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 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. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
Meaning:
The light penetrating through the clouds warmed the planet and caused the waters covering the earth to evaporate into the sky. Thus, there were water vapor clouds in the sky and water on the earth with a gap in between.
English:
"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. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 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. And 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. And the evening and the morning were the third day."
Meaning:
As the water evaporated into the sky, dry land started to appear. There was then a separation of land and water. Plants now had everything they needed for life. The air was still filled with that carbon dioxide cloud which plants need. Light was now shining through for photosynthesis. Land and soil formed for nutrients. And water vapor clouds in the sky sent forth rain. The Lord through the angels created all the grass and trees and fruit and vegetation in the world.
English:
"And 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: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And 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. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day."
Meaning:
The plants started using up the carbon dioxide and giving forth oxygen. The cloud covering the earth was now gone revealing the Sun and the Moon as well as the stars. The word "made" here is asah. It means various things including to make but literally means to do, in essense to work. It is translated in different areas to do, to produce, to observe, to institute, and to offer. The word does not imply that these things were made right then and there. In context with the meaning I am presenting, asah would mean to observe or offer. The sun shined during the day and the moon and stars at night in the sky.
English:
"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. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day."
Meaning:
With proper oxygen, vegetation, and water, animals were now able to sustain life and the Lord through his angels created the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. He did not yet create those things that walk on the earth.
English:
"And 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. And 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."
Meaning:
At this time, the Lord through his angels made all the beasts that walk or creep on the earth.
English:
"And 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."
Meaning:
The word "man" here is adam in Hebrew. This man is most likely the same Adam of Chapter 2 in conjunction with placing him over the animals. Some take this "man" to mean "men" in general, but it is not plural. This man is in its singular usage. Take notice how it says "our" and not "my" image. The translators could not reconcile the usage of Elohim here to make image and likeness singular personal. Man was made after the image of the angels and the Lord. For some reason they made the same word tselem or image third person "his own" in the next sentence.
English:
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Meaning:
This is a confusing translation in the King James. It says roughly "Mighty Ones creates man image image Mighty Ones male female creates." A clearer translation is "The Mighty Ones creates man in image, the image of the Mighty Ones. They create male and female."
English:
"And 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."
Meaning:
Since this male and female were most likely Adam and Eve, it stands to reason that they could reproduce but the fall came before they ever did. Chapter 2 expounds on the first two and how they were created and everything.
English:
"And 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. And 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. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."
Meaning:
Everything was made according to the Lord's will through the angels and was good. At this time, the world must have been peaceful and beautiful. The soil would give up fruit without toil and beasts would not devour each other. All was calm and good.
English:
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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. 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."
Meaning:
Does the Father need rest? I wouldn't think so since He is the source and energy of everything and is "always working." So who would need rest? The Elohim? The Mighty Ones? Mass creation in 6 days I would think could tire any of those that are not the Lord Almighty. The angels were tired and rested on the seventh day and thus the seventh day was made holy and sanctified.
English:
"These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground."
Meaning:
This is the transition from Mighty Ones to He who is (or will be) the Mighty Ones. It goes from the six day creation to this summary which supports all of my claims. The Lord (now mentioned by title) made everything but before that He had not caused it to rain. In order to cause it to rain and vegetation to grow, he had to separate the waters and the land and do everything stated above. Again, this summary sums up the entire six day creation in a nutshell focusing on the need for rain.
The next part of Genesis focuses on Adam and Eve and their fall from goodness, which would be another exceedingly long post. I did not mention any of the spiritual meanings behind the days or the events that occurred during that day. Suffice it to say, each day and event represents a thousand year period in human history. The seventh thousand years is the rest in Christ's reign upon his return.
I hope all of you have found this enlightening.
) I am not able to comment upon your translational choices except that I believe your wording is nice. I like your rendition, including these descriptions you've worked out which add depth and detail to the whole story. I especially enjoyed the description of light breaking through dark clouds.