Genesis in Jewish Bible Explained
The purpose and the timing of the world Creation
by David ZephaniahGenesis World Creation Explained
By
David Zephaniah
The purpose and the timing of the world Creation
There are lots of arguments in the world about the sequence of creation in the Bible. The scientists and the faithless constantly torment the faithful people, and ridicule them about the Torah’s claim that the world was created 5774 years ago. Those people read the Bible sentences literally, and think that the Bible is written that way.
In reality, this book of enlightenment is a lot more sophisticated than any other book. It's written in a way that only the wisest of the wise can decipher it. The book uses the most poetic language, with no grammatical imperfection. Each dot, word, and sentence in it has a special meaning. For you to decipher it, you need an extensive knowledge not only of Hebrew, but of other Jewish sacred and mystical texts as well.
Let’s get to the chapter of Genesis. I will follow each verse (in bold) with explanation.
Genesis
1. in the beginning of G-d's creation of the heavens and the earth.
This verse calls for interpretation because, according to its simple interpretation, the sequence of Creation as written is impossible.
In the following verse it says, “Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of G-d was hovering over the face of the water.” That means that the earth already existed, and it was covered with water.
From here we can conclude that the Bible did not come to teach the sequence of the Creation, to say that these came first and these came after. For if it came to teach this, it should have written: “First He created the heavens and then He created the earth.”
One cannot say that Scripture indicates the order of creation, because the water already existed. The Torah did not disclose when the creation of water took place! From this, you learn that the water preceded the earth. Moreover, the heavens were created from fire and water. Thus, you must admit that Scripture did not teach us anything about the sequence of the earlier and the later acts of creation. Conclusion: The first sentence is sum-up of the story that follows.
2. Now the earth was astonishingly empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of G-d was hovering over the face of the water.
Astonishingly empty: Heb. תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ. The word תֹהוּ is an expression of astonishment and desolation that a person wonders and is astonished at the emptiness therein.
On the face of the deep: on the face of the waters which were on the earth.
And the spirit of G-d was hovering: The Throne of G-d’s Glory was suspended in the air and hovered over the face of the water, and with His word, like a dove, which hovers over the nest.
3. And G-d said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
We learn here that G-d creates things by His word. In this sequence G-d didn’t create the luminaries yet. So what was this light? It is the wondrous light that will exist after the end of the world, because G-d concealed it until then.
Through that light we will see the world the way it truly is.
4. And G-d saw the light that it was good, and G-d separated between the light and between the darkness.
And G-d saw the light that it was good, and G-d separated: Here too, we need the words of the Aggadah (Jewish sacred text): G-d saw it that it was not proper for the bad people and evil people, who will exist in the future, to use the light and to come out in the daytime, to do their crimes; so He separated it for the righteous in the future, and separated the darkness. According to its simple meaning: He saw it that it was good, and it was improper that light and darkness should serve in confusion; so He established for this one its boundary by day, and for that one its boundary by night.
5. And G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night, and it was evening and it was morning, one day.
One day: According to the sequence of the language of the chapter, it should have been written, “the first day,” as it is written regarding the other days, “second, third, fourth.” Why did Scripture write “one”? Because the Holy One was the only one in His world [i.e., יוֹם אֶחָד is understood as “the day of the only One” as explained in Genesis Rabbah (3:8)].
6. And G-d said, "Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, and let it be a separation between water and water."
Let there be an expanse: Let the expanse be strengthened, for, although the heavens were already created, they were still moist, and they solidified on the second day from the rebuke of the Holy One, when He said, “Let there be an expanse.” This is what Scripture says (Job 26:11): “The pillars of the heavens trembled” the entire first day, and on the second day: “They were astonished by His rebuke,” like a person who stands in astonishment because of the rebuke of the one who frightens him. [Genesis Raba 12:10]
In the midst of the water: In the middle of the water (Targum), for there is a separation between the upper waters and the expanse, as there is between the expanse and the waters that are on the earth. You have just learned that they are suspended by the word of G-d.
7. And G-d made the expanse, and it separated between the water that was below the expanse and the water that was above the expanse, and it was so.
And G-d made the expanse: He fixed it upon its base, which is what is meant by “making” it.
Above the expanse: It does not say, “On the expanse,” but “above the expanse,” because the waters (clouds) are suspended in the air (Mid. Ps. 19:4). Now why does it not say, “That it was good” on the second day? Because the work involving the water was not completed until the third day, although He commenced it on the second day, and an unfinished thing is not in its fullness and its goodness; and on the third day, when He completed the work involving the water and He commenced and completed another work, He repeated therein “that it was good” twice (sic): once for the completion of the work of the second day and once for the completion of the work of that [third] day. — [Gen. Rabbah 4:6]
8. And G-d called the expanse Heaven, and it was evening, and it was morning, a second day.
And G-d called the expanse heaven: Heb. שָׁמַיִם [This is a combination of words אֵשׁ וּמַיִם, fire and water. He mingled them with one another and made heavens from them (Chag. 12a).
9. And G-d said, "Let the water that is beneath the heavens gather into one place, and let the dry land appear,", and it was so.
Let the water…gather: Waters were spread out over the surface of the entire earth, and He gathered them in the ocean, [the Mediterranean], which is the largest of all the seas. — [from Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer, ch. 5; Gen. Rabbah 5:2]. Scientists now agree that many years ago there was only one continent, and one sea. At some point in history, the continents got separated.
10. And G-d called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas and G-d saw that it was good.
He called seas: But is it not one sea? However, the flavor of a fish that comes up from the sea in Acre differs from the flavor of a fish that comes up from the sea in Spain. — [from Ekev 39]
Conclusion of the story of the creation
Genesis doesn’t deal with the sequence of the creation of the world. It starts from the time that the Creator started His way of Torah. G-d created the world for the sake of the Torah, which is called (Prov. 8:22): “the beginning of His way,” and for the sake of Israel, who are called (Jer. 2:3) “the first of His grain.” That was the moment when G-d decided to create people, for His future purpose. That means that G-d had created the universe at much earlier time, when He conceived His long term plan.
In the beginning, it was His intention to create the humans with the Divine Standard of Justice, but when He went forward in time to check what would happen, He perceived that the world would not endure, because people would eventually get corrupted and destroy themselves; so He preceded it with the Divine Standard of Mercy, allying it with the Divine Standard of Justice, and that is the reason it is written, “On the day the Lord G-d made the earth and heaven.” In that sentence, earth meaning justice, and heaven meaning mercy. In other words, G-d realized that unless He chose certain people and nurtured them with His help and encouragement, His final plan wouldn’t work. Therefore, the beginning of the Bible has nothing to do with the creation of the universe itself because G-d had already created it many years earlier. What the Bible really means is that the whole universe and the earth were created for the righteous people many years earlier, when G-d conceived His original plan to establish His kingdom on earth many years in the future. Billions of years later, time came to create a man, and that is really when the Bible starts the story. The Bible begins with the beginning of the “Torah way”.
G-d is telling us not to be concerned with the timing of the creation right now. He wants us to concentrate on following His commandments, to create a beautiful society. That is the purpose of creation. When this purpose is realized, G-d will let us know all the secrets of the world.
To illustrate the point, let me give you an example. On the opposite spectrum are scientists, and people who believe in and trust science. A typical scientist might know the distance between the earth and the moon, but he would, without hesitation, neglect his family members. That is because scientists who disconnect themselves from G-d, lose sight of what’s important and have bad family relationships.
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