Reference: Creation
American
(1.) the act by which God calls into existence things not previously in being-material or spiritual, visible or invisible, Ps 148:5; Re 4:11; (2.) the molding or reconstituting things, the elements of which previously existed; and (3.) the things thus "created and made," 2Pe 3:4; Re 3:14; 5:13. It is probably in the first of these senses the word "created" is to be understood in Ge 1:1, though some understand it in the second sense. In either case the idea of the eternity of matter is to be rejected, as contrary to sound reason and to the teachings of Scripture, Pr 8:22-31; Joh 1:1-3; Heb 11:3.
Creation is exclusively the work of God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are each in turn named as its author, Isa 40:28; Col 1:16; Ge 2:2. It is a work the mysteries of which no finite mind can apprehend; and yet, as it reveals to us the invisible things of God, Ro 1:20, we may and ought to learn what he reveals respecting it not only in revelation, but in his works. These two volumes are from the same divine hand, and cannot but harmonize with each other. The Bible opens with an account of the creation unspeakably majestic and sublime. The six days there spoken of have usually been taken for our present natural days; but modern geological researches have given rise to the idea that "day" here denotes a longer period. The different rocks of our globe lie in distinct layers, the comparative age of which is supposed to have been ascertained. Only the most recent have been found to contain human remains. Older layers present in turn different fossil remains of animals and plants, many of them supposed to be now extinct. These layers are deeply imbedded beneath the present soil, and yet appear to be formed of matter washed into the bed of some primeval sea, and hardened into rock. Above this may lie numerous other strata of different materials, but which appear to have been deposited in the same manner, in the slow lapse of time. These layers are also thrown up and penetrated all over the world by rocks of still earlier formations, apparently once in a melted state.
There are several modes of reconciling these geological discoveries with the statements of Scripture: First, that the six days of Ge 1.1-31 denote six long epochs-periods of alternate progressive formation and revolution on the surface of the earth. To the Lord "a thousand years are as one day," Ps 90:2,4; 2Pe 3:5-10; Re 20. Secondly, that the long epochs indicated in the geological structure of the globe occurred before the Bible account commences, or rather in the interval between the first and second verses of Ge 1. According to this interpretation, Ge 1:2 describes the state of the earth at the close of the last revolution it experienced, preparatory to God's fitting it up for the abode of man as described in the verses following. Thirdly, that God compressed the work of those untold ages into six short days, and created the world as he did Adam, in a state of maturity, embodying in its rocks and fossils those rudimental forms of animal and vegetable life which seem naturally to lead up to the existing forms.
The "Creature" and "the whole creation," in Ro 8:19-22, may denote the irrational and inferior creation, which shall be released from the curse, and share in the glorious liberty of the sons of God, Isa 11:6; 35:1; 2Pe 3:7-13. The bodies of believers, now subject to vanity, are secure of full deliverance at the resurrection-"the redemption of our body," Ro 8:23.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
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.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
For a thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was anointed from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth ever was. read more. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no springs heavy with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. before He had made the earth, or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep; when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep; when He gave to the sea its limit that the waters should not pass His command; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; even I was a workman at His side; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing in the world, His earth; and my delight was with the sons of men.
Also the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the cub lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
The wilderness and the desert shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the crocus.
Have you not known? Have you not heard, that the everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not grow weak nor weary? There is no searching of His understanding.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. read more. All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
For the unseen things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being realized by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, for them to be without excuse.
For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation was not willingly subjected to vanity, but because of Him who subjected it on hope read more. that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. And we know that the whole creation groans and travails in pain together until now. And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the firstfruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body.
For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.
By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.
and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.
And to the angel of the church of the Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Head of the creation of God, says these things:
O Lord, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and for Your will they are and were created.
And I heard every creature which is in the Heaven and on the earth, and under the earth, and those that are in the sea, and all who are in them, saying, Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever.
Easton
In the beginning God created, i.e., called into being, all things out of nothing. This creative act on the part of God was absolutely free, and for infinitely wise reasons. The cause of all things exists only in the will of God. The work of creation is attributed (1) to the Godhead (Ge 1:1,26); (2) to the Father (1Co 8:6); (3) to the Son (Joh 1:3; Col 1:16-17); (4) to the Holy Spirit (Ge 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps 104:30). The fact that he is the Creator distinguishes Jehovah as the true God (Isa 37:16; 40:12-13; 54:5; Ps 96:5; Jer 10:11-12). The one great end in the work of creation is the manifestation of the glory of the Creator (Col 1:16; Re 4:11; Ro 11:36). God's works, equally with God's word, are a revelation from him; and between the teachings of the one and those of the other, when rightly understood, there can be no contradiction.
Traditions of the creation, disfigured by corruptions, are found among the records of ancient Eastern nations. (See Accad.) A peculiar interest belongs to the traditions of the Accadians, the primitive inhabitants of the plains of Lower Mesopotamia. These within the last few years have been brought to light in the tablets and cylinders which have been rescued from the long-buried palaces and temples of Assyria. They bear a remarkable resemblance to the record of Genesis.
Illustration: Clay Tablet with Assyrian Account of Creation
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.
By His Spirit the heavens were beautiful; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.
For all the gods of the nations are idols; but Jehovah made the heavens.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; and You renew the face of the earth.
O Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubs, You are He, God, You alone to all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured out the heavens with a span? And who has shut up the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the Spirit of Jehovah, and what man taught Him counsel?
For your Maker is your husband; Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall He be called.
So you shall say to them, The gods who have not made the heavens and the earth, they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by His judgment.
All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.
For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things; to Him be glory forever! Amen.
but there is to us only one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we by Him.
For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him.
For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
O Lord, You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power, because You created all things, and for Your will they are and were created.
Fausets
Science and revelation being from the same God cannot be mutually opposed. But either, or both, may be misinterpreted; and there have been as many false interpretations of the book of nature as of revelation. As the Copernican theory was ultimately found not to militate against, but to harmonize with, Scripture, when the language of the latter was better understood; so no real scientific discovery ever since has been found adverse to full belief in revelation, when the latter has been better understood. The full knowledge of both has ever advanced side by side. The Bible, having not scientific but religious truth for its object, speaks in phenomenal language, which in part even the scientific have to do, as in the phrases sunrise and sunset. Creation, in the strict sense of the first origination of being out of nothing, does not come within the scope of science.
It is by the Bible alone, and through faith we understand that the worlds were framed (fitly formed) by the word of God, so that not (as, from the analogy of things reproduced from previously existing and visible materials, one naturally would suppose) out of things which appear hath that which is seen been made" (Heb 11:3). No human being was witness of creation (Job 38:4). Geology traces ages ascending backward, marked by animal and vegetable existence, less and less highly organized the further back we go; but at last comes to a point beyond which it has no light, and I must fall back on revelation and faith for information. "In the beginning God created" the world, "the heaven and the earth" (Ge 1:1): "In the beginning the Word WAS" (Joh 1:1). Bara', "created," used of creating (1) the universe; (2) the sea monsters whose vastness causes amazement at God's power; (3) man, in the image of God (Ge 1:27).
Everywhere else God "makes" ('asah), as from an already created material, the firmament, sun and stars, and the brute (Ge 1:7,16,25), or "forms" (yaatsar) beasts out of the ground (Ge 2:19), and "builds up" (Ge 2:22 margin) the woman of the rib from man. The three verbs occur together (Isa 43:7). Bara' is confined to GOD's acts; the other two verbs are used also of man's acts. Though bara' extends to other acts of God besides the original creation, it is only in a secondary application, without reference to preexisting materials; still, except in the original creation, they are not excluded. Moreover, the contextual "in the beginning" can only mean an absolute beginning, in contrast to the previous nonexistence of the world and sole existence of the Creator.
This creation of all things out of nothing distinguishes the Bible from all pagan cosmogonies and philosophical speculations, which make matter eternal. The Creator's mode of "creating" is not revealed, but simply the fact, that it was by the putting forth of His will. Two narratives of creation, the latter (Ge 2:4, etc.) the supplement to the former (Genesis 1-2:), appear at the forefront as the basis of the Bible revelation. That in Ge 2:4, etc., evidently continues and recapitulates that in Genesis 1-2:3, in order to prepare the way for the account of paradise and man's fall. The first gives a clear summary of creation, man included, down to the sabbath rest from creation. The second concentrates attention on man. Accordingly, in the first Elohim (from 'alah "strong"), the name for the mighty God of creation in general, appears. In the second Jehovah (Yahweh, the personal God in covenant relation to man, the unchanging "I AM."
To mark the identity of this personal Jehovah with the Elohim of the previous part, the two, the personal and the generic names, are joined, Jehovah-Elohim "the Lord God." The mighty Elohim who created all things is also the Jehovah, who from the days of paradise down to the days of Moses, the writer of the pentateuch, has been in personal and unchangeable covenant relation with His people. Moreover, Jehovah, being derived from hawah, the Syriac and Chaldee for the Hebrew hayah "to be," must have come down from a time prior to the separation of the Hebrew from the Aramaeans, i.e., prior to Abraham (for Syriac was soon after quite distinct from Hebrew, Ge 31:47). The accounts of creation and of the construction of the tabernacle resemble each other (the world being God's great tabernacle, Psalm 19); the general plan first (Genesis 1), then the actual creation of the first pair, Eden, etc., next.
Scripture's design being to unfold redemption, only so much of the natural world is set forth as is needed for that design. Genesis 1 is not so much a full narrative of details as a revelation of the scheme in the Creator's mind, the archetype of the actual (Ge 2:4-5; Gesenius, Targum, and Syriac). "Now no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted forth, for the Lord God had not caused it to ram," etc. The earth already had brought forth grass (Ge 1:11); but no cultivated land and no vegetables fit for man's use existed yet; "plant," "field," "grew," do not occur in Genesis 1. In the pattern of the tabernacle shown on the mount the description begins with the furniture of the tabernacle, then goes on to the priests, and ends with the sabbatical law. So, in creation, the process begins with the lower creatures, plants, and animals, then, man, creation's priest, Eden, and lastly the sabbath.
Ge 1:1 teaches the religious truth needed for a right knowledge of God, that the world is not eternal, that God created it in the beginning; when that beginning was it does not state. But the high antiquity of the earth is expressly taught in Ps 90:2, where God's formation of "the earth" in general is distinguished from that of "the (Hebrew tebel) habitable world," Greek oikoumenee (Ps 102:25; Pr 8:22). Geology shows that creation occupied immense ages, but that man's creation was its closing act and at a comparatively recent date. Two views are held as to Genesis 1: The one that between Gen.1:1 and Gen.1:2 intervened the vast geological periods, and that these are undescribed in Genesis 1; and that Ge 1:2 describes the chaotic state which succeeded the last geological period before the earth's preparation for man; and that the description of the six days refers to this preparation.
If the seventh day sabbath in Ge 2:2 be an ordinary day, then the six days must be ordinary days and this view is favored. But geology seems to oppose any such state of the earth intervening between the preceding age and that of man's creation as could be described as" without form (desolate) and void." No universal convulsion (IF these words are to be pressed literally) separates the present orders of life from those preceding. No one series of stratified rocks is void of traces of life. Thus, we seem led to the conclusion (2) that the stage in the earth's progress when it became surrounded with chaotic waters (how long after "the beginning" we know not), described in Ge 1:2, is that which existed before the arrangement of its surface took place. (But see below.) The sabbath of God is described in Hebrew 3-4, as not yet ended; it will last until He who sitteth on the throne shall say, "Behold I make all things new."
God's creating this dark and desolate state of the earth was not in vain, but that in due time it might be "inhabited" (Isa 45:18). It was no "fortuitous concourse of atoms," or "laws of nature" acting independently of the continually active divine will of their Author. "The Spirit of God" as the Giver of life "brooded ('moved') upon the waters." Then began organic life, at first in the lower types. Sir W. Jones (Asiatic Researches) states that the Indian philosophers similarly believed (doubtless from the primitive tradition) that water was the first element and work of the creative power. "The waters are called Nara, since they are the offspring of Nera or Iwara, and thence was Narayana named, because His first moving was upon them. THAT WHICH IS (the exact meaning of the I AM or JEHOVAH), the invisible Cause eternal, self-existing, but unperceived, is Brahma."
This address of Menu, Brahma's son, to the sages who consulted him concerning the formation of the world, evidently corresponds with the revelation i
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided between the light and the darkness.
And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided between the light and the darkness. And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God said, Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so.
And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the gathering together of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good.
And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the gathering together of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth tender sprouts (the herb seeding seed and the fruit tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself) upon the earth; and it was so.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth tender sprouts (the herb seeding seed and the fruit tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself) upon the earth; and it was so.
And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.
And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years. And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth. And it was so.
And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens 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 smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also.
And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also.
And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also.
And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth,
And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night; and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
and to rule over the day and over the night; and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens.
And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens. And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas and let the fowl multiply in the earth.
And God made the beasts of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and all creepers upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good.
And God made the beasts of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and all creepers upon the earth after their kind. And God saw that it was good. 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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.
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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth. And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female.
And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth.
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 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.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens. And every shrub of the field was not yet on the earth, and every plant of the field had not yet sprung up, for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.
And every shrub of the field was not yet on the earth, and every plant of the field had not yet sprung up, for Jehovah God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no man to till the ground.
but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
but you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. For in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.
And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every animal of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
And out of the ground Jehovah God formed every animal of the field and every fowl of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.
And Jehovah God made the rib (which He had taken from the man) into a woman. And He brought her to the man.
And Jehovah God made the rib (which He had taken from the man) into a woman. And He brought her to the man.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.
By these were the coasts of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
By these were the coasts of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.
These were the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
These were the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, and after their nations.
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, and after their nations.
And Laban called it in Syrian, Heap of the Testimony, and Jacob called it in Hebrew, Heap of Testimony.
And Laban called it in Syrian, Heap of the Testimony, and Jacob called it in Hebrew, Heap of Testimony.
Benjamin is a wolf that tears in pieces. In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Benjamin is a wolf that tears in pieces. In the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel.
When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when He separated the sons of Adam, He set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of Israel.
Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah shall live in safety beside Him, and shall cover him all the day long, yea he shall dwell between His shoulders.
Of Benjamin he said, The beloved of Jehovah shall live in safety beside Him, and shall cover him all the day long, yea he shall dwell between His shoulders.
who made the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;
who made the Bear, Orion, and Pleiades, and the chambers of the south;
He stretches out the north over the empty place, and He hung the earth on nothing.
He stretches out the north over the empty place, and He hung the earth on nothing.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell if you have understanding!
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell if you have understanding!
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting You are God.
For a thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
For a thousand years in Your sight are as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Of old You have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
Of old You have laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Your hands.
covering Yourself with light as with a robe; and stretching out the heavens like a curtain;
covering Yourself with light as with a robe; and stretching out the heavens like a curtain; He lays the beams of His upper rooms in the waters. He sets the clouds as His chariots; He walks on the wings of the wind;
He lays the beams of His upper rooms in the waters. He sets the clouds as His chariots; He walks on the wings of the wind;
You covered the deep as with a robe; the waters stand above the mountains. At Your rebuke they flee; at the voice of Your thunder they hurry away.
At Your rebuke they flee; at the voice of Your thunder they hurry away.
At Your rebuke they flee; at the voice of Your thunder they hurry away.
At Your rebuke they flee; at the voice of Your thunder they hurry away. They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them.
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them.
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them.
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them.
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them.
They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys to the place which You have founded for them. You have set a bound that they may not pass over, so that they do not turn again to cover the earth.
You have set a bound that they may not pass over, so that they do not turn again to cover the earth.
You have set a bound that they may not pass over, so that they do not turn again to cover the earth.
You have set a bound that they may not pass over, so that they do not turn again to cover the earth.
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
Jehovah possessed me from the beginning of His way, before His works of old.
Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was brought forth. before He had made the earth, or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world.
before He had made the earth, or the fields or the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep;
When He prepared the heavens, I was there; when He set a circle upon the face of the deep; when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep;
when He set the clouds above; when He made the strong fountains of the deep;
Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward?
Who knows the spirit of man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward?
everyone who is called by My name; for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
everyone who is called by My name; for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.
For so says Jehovah the Creator of the heavens, He is God, forming the earth and making it; He makes it stand, not creating it empty, but forming it to be inhabited. I am Jehovah, and there is no other.
For so says Jehovah the Creator of the heavens, He is God, forming the earth and making it; He makes it stand, not creating it empty, but forming it to be inhabited. I am Jehovah, and there is no other.
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the desolating abomination set up, a thousand two hundred and ninety days shall occur.
And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the desolating abomination set up, a thousand two hundred and ninety days shall occur. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
Blessed is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
And it will be one day which shall be known to Jehovah, neither day nor night; but it will happen that at evening time it shall be light.
And it will be one day which shall be known to Jehovah, neither day nor night; but it will happen that at evening time it shall be light.
And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them male and female",
And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning "made them male and female",
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work.
But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work.
I must work the works of Him who sent Me, while it is day. Night comes when no man can work.
I must work the works of Him who sent Me, while it is day. Night comes when no man can work.
And He has made all nations of men of one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth, ordaining fore-appointed seasons and boundaries of their dwelling,
And He has made all nations of men of one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth, ordaining fore-appointed seasons and boundaries of their dwelling,
Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:
Therefore, even as through one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed on all men inasmuch as all sinned:
But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come;
But death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the type of Him who was to come;
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.
For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous.
So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
So that if any one is in Christ, that one is a new creature; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessly at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessly at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then there remains a rest to the people of God.
So then there remains a rest to the people of God. For he who has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His.
For he who has entered into his rest, he also has ceased from his own works, as God did from His.
By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.
By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.
But, beloved, let not this one thing be hidden from you, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
But, beloved, let not this one thing be hidden from you, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Hastings
One of the most convincing proofs of the composite authorship of the Pentateuch has always been found in the existence side by side of two independent and mutually irreconcilable accounts of the creation of the world. The first, Ge 1:1 to Ge 2:4 a, forms the introduction of the Priestly Code (Priestly Narrative), which was compiled, as is now generally acknowledged, in the 5th cent. b.c. The second, Ge 2:4 bff., opens the Jahwistic document (Jahwist), whose latest portions must be dated at least a century and a half earlier than the compilation of Priestly Narrative. These two narratives, while expressing the same fundamental religious ideas, differ profoundly in their concrete conceptions of the process of creation. The account of Priestly Narrative starts with a description (Ge 2:2) of the primeval chaos
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters. read more. And God said, Let there be light. And there was light.
And God said, Let there be light. And there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided between the light and the darkness. read more. And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God called the light, Day. And He called the darkness, Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God said, Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so.
And God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. And God called the expanse, Heavens. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
And God called the expanse, Heavens. And the evening and the morning were the second day. And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear; and it was so. read more. And God called the dry land, Earth. And He called the gathering together of the waters, Seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth tender sprouts (the herb seeding seed and the fruit tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself) upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth brought forth tender sprouts, the herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree producing fruit after its kind, whose seed was in itself. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day and the night. And let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years. And let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens 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 smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night; and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. And God said, Let the waters swarm with swarmers having a living soul; and let birds fly over the earth on the face of the expanse of the heavens. And God created great sea-animals, and every living soul that creeps with which the waters swarmed after their kind; and every winged fowl after its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters of the seas and let the fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creepers, and its beasts of the earth after its kind; and it was so.
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 heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth.
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.
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that Jehovah God made the earth and the heavens.
Morish
This word is principally applied to the act of bringing things into existence that did not exist before. This is expressed in Heb 11:3: "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." It is also applied to making new things out of material already in existence, thus, though man was 'made' of the dust of the ground, Ge 2:7, he is also said to have been created, the same Hebrew word, bara, being used in Ge 1:1 for the creation of the world, that is used in Ge 5:1-2, for the creation of man. The passage in Heb. 11 is important, because as men have no idea how anything can be brought into existence from nothing, they have talked of 'the eternity of matter;' the passage says it is 'by faith we understand' that the worlds were made by the word of God, so that seen things were not made of what is apparent.
The discoveries made by geologists of the various strata of the earth, the fossils found therein, together with the time that would necessarily be required for the formation of those strata, raised a cry that scripture must be incorrect in saying all was done in seven days. This led Christians to compare these works of God in creation with His words in scripture; and the principal question resolved itself into this: where in scripture could be found the many thousands of years which were apparently needed under ordinary circumstances for the formation of the strata? Putting aside the theories of the geologists, the facts are undeniable. There are the various beds of different substances in layers, which any one can see for themselves.
There are two ways in which Christians who have studied the subject hold that all difficulties are overcome.
1. That a long gap, of as many thousands of years as were necessary for the formation of the earth's crust, may be placed between verses 1 and 2 of Gen. 1. That Ge 1:1 refers to the original creation of the heaven and earth out of nothing; that the different beds were formed with the varying objects that are found therein as fossils, occupying a very long period. Then in Ge 1:2 another condition is found: the earth by some means had become without form and void.* It was then ordered in view of the creation of man; and the various things were arranged and formed in the six days as detailed in Gen. 1, as they are now found in and on the earth.
*Some suppose this to have been the work of Satan.
The principal objection to this is, that though there had been upheavals, depressions, earthquakes, sudden deaths, as evidenced by the contortions of fishes, in some of the early strata, there is no appearance after the various beds had been formed of what would answer to Ge 1:2, which says "the earth was without form and void."
2. The other theory is that Ge 1:1 and Ge 1:2 refer to the formation of the earth as matter, or that Ge 1:1 refers to the creation of the earth, and that Ge 1:2 refers to its being disordered by some means, as in the above theory, but that the various beds were formed with the fossils found therein during the six days recorded in Gen. 1; and that the days were of any needed indefinite length. It has been shown that the first things named as on the earth were grass and herbs, and these are always found in the lowest beds; and the other things created are found exactly in the same order upwards from the lowest, until man appears. These, in short, form three divisions: plants in the lowest beds; reptiles in the middle; mammals in the highest, with man the most recent. It is also asserted that no break has been discovered, as would be the case if after the beds had been formed destruction had come in, and an entirely new work of creation had begun again in what is recorded in Gen. 1. Many of the existing species are contemporaneous with those that we know have ceased to exist. It is maintained that the term 'day' is often used for indefinite periods of time in scripture, and therefore may be so in Gen. 1; that they refer to God's days, and not to natural days, seeing that 'the evening and the morning' are spoken of before the sun, which naturally causes the evening and morning. Also that it is not consistent to hold that God's rest on the seventh day only alluded to 24 hours.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the earth was without form and empty. And darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters.
And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And Jehovah God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them. And He called their name man in the day when they were created.
For so says Jehovah the Creator of the heavens, He is God, forming the earth and making it; He makes it stand, not creating it empty, but forming it to be inhabited. I am Jehovah, and there is no other.
By faith we understand that the ages were framed by a word of God, so that the things being seen not to have come into being out of the things that appear.
Smith
Creation.
(The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The method of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The word create (bara) is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis-- (1) as to the origin of matter; (2) as to the origin of life; (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus ascribed to God. All other things are said to be made. The order of creation as given in Genesis is in close harmony with the order as revealed by geology, and the account there given, so long before the records of the rocks were read or the truth discoverable by man, is one of the strongest proofs that the Bible was inspired by God. --Ed.)
Watsons
CREATION, in its primary import, signifies the bringing into being something which did not exist before. The term is therefore most generally applied to the original production of the materials whereof the visible world is composed. It is also used in a secondary or subordinate sense, to denote those subsequent operations of the Deity upon the matter so produced, by which the whole system of nature, and all the primitive genera of things, received their forms, qualities, and laws. The accounts of the creation of the world which have existed among different nations, are called Cosmogonies. Moses's is unquestionably the most ancient; and had it no other circumstance to recommend it, its superior antiquity alone would give it a just claim to our attention. It is evidently Moses's intention to give a history of man, and of religion, and an account of creation. In the way in which he has detailed it, it would have been foreign to his plan, had it not been necessary to obviate that most ancient and most natural species of idolatry, the worship of the heavenly bodies. His first care, therefore, is to affirm decidedly, that God created the heavens and the earth; and then he proceeds to mention the order in which the various objects of creation were called into existence. First of all, the materials, of which the future universe was to be composed, were created. These were jumbled together in one indigested mass, which the ancients called chaos, and which they conceived to be eternal; but which Moses affirms to have been created by the power of God. The materials of the chaos were either held in solution by the waters, or floated in them, or were sunk under them; and they were reduced into form by the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters. Light was the first distinct object of creation; fishes were the first living things; man was last in the order of creation.
2. The account given by Moses is distinguished by its simplicity. That it involves difficulties which our faculties cannot comprehend, is only what might be expected from a detail of the operations of the omnipotent mind, which can never be fully understood but by the Being who planned them. Most of the writers who come nearest to Moses in point of antiquity have favoured the world with cosmogonies; and there is a wonderful coincidence in some leading particulars between their accounts and his. They all have his chaos; and they all state water to have been the prevailing principle before the arrangement of the universe began. The systems became gradually more complicated, as the writers receded farther from the age of primitive tradition; and they increased in absurdity in proportion to the degree of philosophy which was applied to the subject. The problem of creation has been said to be, "Matter and motion being given, to form a world;" and the presumption of man has often led him to attempt the solution of this intricate question. But the true problem was, "Neither matter nor motion being given, to form a world." At first, the cosmogonists contented themselves with reasoning on the traditional or historical accounts they had received; but it is irksome to be shackled by authority; and after they had acquired a smattering of knowledge, they began to think that they could point out a much better way of forming the world than that which had been transmitted to them by the consenting voice of antiquity. Epicurus was most distinguished in this hopeful work of invention; and produced a cosmogony on the principle of a fortuitous concourse of atoms, whose extravagant absurdity has hitherto preserved it from oblivion. From his day to ours, the world has been annoyed with systems; but these are now modified by the theories of chemists and geologists, whose speculations, in so far as they proceed on the principle of induction, have sometimes been attended with useful results; but, when applied to solve the problem of creation, will serve, like the systems of their forerunners, to demonstrate the ignorance and the presumption of man.
3. The early cosmogonies are chiefly interesting from their resemblance to that of Moses; which proves that they have either been derived from him, or from some ancient prevailing tradition respecting the true history of creation. The most ancient author next to Moses, of whose writings any fragments remain, is Sanchoniatho, the Phenician. His writings were translated by Philo Byblius; and portions of this version are preserved by Eusebius. These writings come to us rather in an apocryphal form; they contain, however, no internal evidence which can affect their authenticity; they pretty nearly resemble the traditions of the Greeks, and are, perhaps, the parent stock from which these traditions are derived. The notions detailed by Sanchoniatho are almost translated by Hesiod, who mentions the primeval chaos, and states ????, or love, to be its first offspring. Anaxagoras was the first among the Greeks who entertained tolerably accurate notions on the subject of creation: he assumed the agency of an intelligent mind in the arrangement of the chaotic materials. These sentiments gradually prevailed among the Greeks; from whom they passed to the Romans, and were generally adopted, notwithstanding the efforts which were made to establish the doctrines of Epicurus by the nervous poetry of Lucretius. Ovid has collected the orthodox doctrines which prevailed on the subject, both among Greeks and Romans; and has expressed them with uncommon elegance and perspicuity in the first chapter of his "Metamorphoses." There is so striking a coincidence between his account and that of Moses that one would almost think that he was translating from the first chapter of Genesis; and there can be no doubt that the Mosaic writings were well known at that time, both among the Greeks and Romans. Megasthenes, who lived in the time of Seleucus Nicanor, affirms, that all the doctrines of the Greeks respecting the creation, and the constitution of nature, were current among the Bramins in India, and the Jews in Syria. He must, of course, have been acquainted with the writings of the latter, before he could make the comparison. Juvenal talks of the writings of Moses as well known: