Genesis: The Old Testament Chapters

¶ … Genesis: The Old Testament

Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis are the first chapters of the first book (of five) from the Old Testament. The other four books of the Old Testament are: Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; and Deuteronomy. The first chapter of Genesis describes the seven days during which God first created the earth. On each day, something new about the earth is created, so that by the seventh day, it is the earth we know today. Before the creation of the earth, all was darkness. The first three lines of Genesis, Chapter 1 (Genesis 1:1-1:3) are:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

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.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-1:3, the Old Testament, p. 56)

In the fifth line, of the first chapter of Genesis, God creates the first distinction between day and night: "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:5, p. 56). Also, within the first six days, according to Genesis 1, God fills a series of empty spaces (i.e., darkness is replaced by light; water, and earth). Within this chapter, "Day" is defined through the presence of "light" and "night" is defined through the presence of darkness, rather than within the context of a 24-hour period, as we would define "day" and "night" now. Moreover, the words, "And the evening, and the morning were the first day (1:5) imply that the beginning of light, and then the beginning of darkness mark the boundaries of "Day."

In the first six days, according to Genesis 1, God made Day; Night; firmament; Heaven; Earth; Seas; grass; fruit, plants, stars, land and sea creatures, and Man.

On the first six days, God creates all the large and basic elements of the earth, such as light, darkness, the earth, and Heaven, and on the fifth day, creatures of the land, sea, and air.

In Genesis 2, God rested on the seventh day. Then, in Genesis 2, God creates the first man and the first woman. God created "a garden eastward in Eden" (Genesis 2:8, p. 58), where he put the first man he had formed (Adam). Then God created "every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil" (2:9, p. 58). God made a river to water the garden, and the river had four heads: Pison; Gihon; Hiddekel; and Euphrates. Then God said "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (2:18. p. 58). God then sent Adam into a deep sleep, and as he slept, formed a woman (Eve) from Adam's rib to be his companion in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden of Eden, the first man and woman have everything they need, and each other: "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed" (Genesis 2:25, p. 58).