Genesis

Genesis 1-2

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.  And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’ So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.  And God said, ‘Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.’ And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.  And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.  And God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.’ So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.  And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.  Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.’  So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  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 birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation.  These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created.  In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow 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 the knowledge of good and evil.  A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Cush. The name of the third river is Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.  The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.’  Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, ‘This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.’  Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Take-Aways

These very first chapters of the Bible have a great deal to say about God, humanity, and creation.  To begin with the beginning, they introduce God as Creator.  Before we know anything else about God, we know God is the one who creates.  Humanity is shown to be the pinnacle of creation and God is solicitous of humanity’s needs by providing us with the benefits of creation.  Humanity’s nobility and dominion over creation must be balanced, however, by our responsibility to the Creator and our purpose to “till and keep” (2:5, 15).  John Calvin repeatedly underscores humanity’s need for moderation, and for our need to remember our identity as nobly created beings who are yet still subject and responsible to our Creator.  Given the honor of being the pinnacle of creation, it would show ingratitude indeed for humanity to abuse God’s gift, especially when it is evident that God cares deeply for all of creation (cf. Lk 16:10-11, Matt. 6: 25-31).  Eerdmans’ Commentary points out that humanity was given dominion over creation in the manner ancient kings were understood to have dominion over their subjects, so that they might rule for their subjects’ benefit.  Lastly, these chapters place a special emphasis on rest by having the act of creation end with the Sabbath being sanctified and hallowed.  Part of creation, then, is the act of not creating, the act of not acting, and of letting everything be at rest (cf. Lev. 25:4-7; 26: 34-35 where God provides a Sabbath for the land specifically).  The pre-eminence of Sabbath in the creation story should prompt special reflection in a culture that values production and consumption.

John Calvin -  Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis.

Arugment:  And that declaration of David is most true, that the heavens, though without a tongue, are yet eloquent heralds of the glory of God, and that this most beautiful order of nature silently proclaims his admirable wisdom (Ps. 19:1).  This is the more diligently to be observed, because so few pursue the right method of knowing God, while the greater part adhere to the creatures without any consideration of the Creator himself.  For men are commonly subject to these two extremes; namely, that some, forgetful of God, apply the whole force of their mind to the consideration of nature; and others, overlooking the works of God, aspire with a foolish and insane curiosity to inquire into his Essence.  Both labour in vain.  To be so occupied in the investigation of the secrets of nature, as never to turn the eyes to its Author, is a most perverted study; and to enjoy everything in nature without acknowledging the Author of the benefit, is the basest ingratitude.  Therefore, they who assume to be philosophers without Religion, and who, by speculating, so act as to remove God and all sense of piety far from them, will one day feel the force of the expressions of Paul, related by Luke, that God has never left himself without witness (Acts 14:17).  For they shall not be permitted to escape with impunity because they have been deaf and insensible to testimonies so illustrious.  And, in truth, it is the part of culpable ignorance, never to see God, who everywhere gives signs of his presence.  But if mockers now escape by their cavils, hereafter their terrible destruction will bear witness that they were ignorant of God, only because they were willingly and maliciously blinded.  As for those who proudly soar above the world to seek God in his unveiled essence, it is impossible but that at length they should entangle themselves in a multitude of absurd figments.  For God – by other means invisible – (as we have already said) clothes himself, so to speak, with the image of the world, in which he would present himself to our contemplation.  They who will not deign to behold him thus magnificently arrayed in the incomparable vesture of the heavens and the earth, afterwards suffer the just punishment of their proud contempt in their own ravings.  Therefore, as soon as the name of God sounds in our ears, or the thought of him occurs to our minds, let us also clothe him with this most beautiful ornament; finally, let the world become our school if we desire rightly to know God (p59-60).

Chapter 1:  v. 11.  Let the earth bring forth grass . . . What therefore we declare God to have done designedly, was indispensably necessary; that we may learn from the order of the creation itself, that God acts through the creatures, not as if he needed external help, but because it was his pleasure.  When he says, ‘Let the earth bring forth the herb which may produce seed, the tree whose seed is in itself,’ he signifies not the same time, both were endued with the power of propagation in order that their several species might e perpetuated.  Since, therefore, we daily see the earth pouring forth to us such riches from its lap, since we see the herbs producing seed, and this seed received and cherished in the bosom of the earth till it springs forth, and since we see trees shooting from other trees; all this flows from the same Word.  If therefore we inquire, how it happens that the earth is fruitful, that the germ is produced from the seed, that fruits come to maturity, and their various kinds are annually reproduced; no other cause will be found, but that God has once spoken, that is, has issued his eternal decree; and that the earth, and all things proceeding from it, yield obedience to the command of God, which they always hear (p83).

v. 14.   Let them be for signs . . . Moses commemorates the unbounded goodness of God in causing the sun and moon not only to enlighten us, but to afford us various other advantages fro the daily use of life.  It remains that we, purely enjoying the multiplied bounties of God, should learn not to profane such excellent gifts by our preposterous abuse of them.  In the meantime, let us admire this wonderful Artificer, who has so beautifully arranged all things above and beneath, that they may respond to each other in most harmonious concert (p85).

v. 26.  And let them have dominion . . . Here he commemorates that part of dignity with which he decreed to honour man, namely, that he should have authority over all living creatures.  He appointed man, it is true, lord of the world; but he expressly subjects the animals to him, because they, having an inclination or instinct of their own, seem to be less under authority from without.  The use of the plural number intimates that this authority was not given to Adam only, but to all his posterity as well as to him.  And hence we infer what was the end for which all things were created; namely, that none of the conveniences and necessaries of life might be wanting to men.  In the very order of the creation the paternal solicitude of God for man is conspicuous, because he furnished the world with all things needful, and even with an immense profusion of wealth, before he formed man.  Thus man was rich before he was born.  But if God had such care for us before we existed, he will by no means leave us destitute of food and of other necessaries of life, now that we are placed in the world.  Yet, that he often keeps his hand as if closed is to be imputed to our sins (p96).

v. 28.  And God blessed them . . . God could himself indeed have covered the earth with a multitude of men; but it was his will that we should proceed from one fountain, in order that our desire of mutual concord might be the greater, and that each might the more freely embrace the other as his own flesh.  Besides, as men were created to occupy the earth, so we ought certainly to conclude that God has marked, as with a boundary, that space of earth which would suffice for the reception of men, and would prove a suitable abode for them.  Any inequality which is contrary to this arrangement is nothing else than a corruption of nature which proceeds from sin.  In the meantime, however, the benediction of God so prevails that the earth everywhere lies open that it may have its inhabitants, and that an immense multitude of men may find, in some part of the globe, their home (p97-98).

Subdue it . . . He confirms what he had before said respecting dominion.  Man had already been created with this condition, that he should subject the earth to himself; but now, at length, he is put in possession of his right, when he hears what has been given to him by the Lord:  and this Moses expresses still more fully in the next verse, when he introduces God as granting to him the herbs and the fruits.  For it is of great importance that we touch nothing of God’s bounty but what we know he has permitted us to do; since we cannot enjoy anything with a good conscience, except we receive it as from the hand of God.  And therefore Paul teaches us that, in eating and drinking, we always sin, unless faith be present, (Rom. 14:23).  Thus we are instructed to seek from God alone whatever is necessary for us, and in the very use of his gifts, we are to exercise ourselves in meditating on his goodness and paternal care.  For the words of God are to this effect:  ‘Behold, I have prepared food for thee before thou wast formed; acknowledge me, therefore, as they Father, who have so diligently provided for thee when thou wast not yet created.  Moreover, my solicitude for thee has proceeded still further; it was they business to nurture the things provided for thee, but I have taken even this charge also upon myself.  Wherefore, although thou art, in a sense, constituted the father of the earthly family, it is not for thee to be over-anxious about the sustenance of animals (p98-99).

Chapter 2:  v. 15 And the lord God took the man . . . Moses now adds, that the earth was given to man, with this condition, that he should occupy himself in its cultivation.  Whence it follows, that men were created to employ themselves in some work, and not to lie down in inactivity and idleness.  This labour, truly, was pleasant, and full of delight, entirely exempt from all trouble and weariness; since, however, God ordained that man should be exercised in the culture of the ground and condemned, in his person, all indolent repose.  Wherefore, nothing is more contrary to the order of nature, than to consume life in eating, drinking, and sleeping, while in the meantime we propose nothing to ourselves to do.  Moses adds, that the custody of the garden was given in charge to Adam, to show that we possess the things which God has committed to our hands, on the condition, that being content with frugal and moderate use of them, we should take care of what shall remain.  Let him who possesses a field, so partake of it yearly fruits, that he may not suffer the ground to be injured by his negligence; but let him endeavour to hand it down to posterity as he received it, or even better cultivated.  Let him so feed on its fruits, that he neither dissipates it by luxury, nor permits to be marred or ruined by neglect.  Moreover, that this economy, and this diligence, with respect to those good things which God has given us to enjoy, may flourish among us; let every one regard himself as the steward of God in all things which he possesses.  Then he will neither conduct himself dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires to be preserved (p125).

C.I. Scofield

Chapter 1:  v28, note 6 – The Edenic Covenant, the first of the eight great covenants of Scripture which condition life and salvation, and about which all Scripture crystallizes, has seven elements.  The man and woman in Eden were responsible:

(1) To replenish the earth with a new order – man; (2)  to subdue the earth to human uses; (3)  to have dominion over the animal creation; (4)  to eat herbs and fruits; (5) to till and keep the garden; (6) to abstain from eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; (7)  the penalty – death.  See, for the other seven covenants:  Adamic (Gen. 3.15); Noahic (Gen. 9.1); Abrahamic (Gen. 15.18); Mosaic (Ex. 19.25); Palestinian (Deut. 30.3); Davidic (2 Sam. 7.16); New (Heb. 8.8).  (p28-29)

Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible

Chapter 1-2:   v. 1-2:3 – 1:1-2:3 constitutes the prologue to Genesis, or, in Westermann’s phrase, a “festive overture” written in an elevated prose style that sometimes is almost poetic.  It describes six days of divine activity culminating in the creation of man, followed by a seventh day in which God rested from his work.  There are parallels between the first three days and the second three days:

Day 1:  Creation of light
Day 2:  Creation of sea and sky
Day 3:  Creation of dry land and plants
Day 4: Creation of “lights,” that is, sun, moon, and stars
Day 5: Creation of fish in the sea and birds in the sky
Day 6:  Creation of animals and man; plants given for food

The schematization of these parallels is clear, as is the repetitive use of various formulae, such as “And it was so,” “God saw that it was good,” and “There was evening and there was morning,” which occur a precise number of times.  Also evident in this account is the focus on those realms that have most impact on human existence:  as the days elapse, the description of God’s activity becomes fuller, because the things made later in the week tend to be the most vital for man.  The fullness of the description of the sixth day with the doubling of various formulae and especially the last comment, “God saw everything that . . . it was very good,” highlight the place of man in the divine program.  The creation of mankind is the climax of creation.

The goal of creation, however, is the seventh day of rest (2:1-3).  The isolation of the seventh day, which has no other day coupled with it, shows that it is unique.  The implication is patent:  if God the Creator rested on the seventh day, so should his creature man made in the divine image.  Thus this opening chapter is more than a prologue to the book, or even just an aetiology for the Sabbath; it gives the Sabbath a premier place in the divine blueprint for human life (p37-38).
. . .

Commentators and theologians have offered all sorts of explanations of the image of God as they have tried to identify those characteristics common to God and man.  It is now known that it was widely held in the ancient orient that kings were the image of God, that is, that they were the god’s representative on earth and governed the earth on his behalf.  This is clearly the idea here, with one great change, namely, that every human being, male and female, not just the king, is God’s representative who governs the rest of creation on God’s behalf.  This is clearly the idea here, with one great change, namely, that every human being, male and female, not just the king, is God’s representative who governs the rest of creation on God’s behalf.  This is not a mandate to exploit the earth but to manage the earth for the benefit of all creation, for kings in the ancient world were supposed to care for their subjects, not exploit them (cf. Psalm 72).  And more particularly God is always portrayed as solicitous for the welfare of his creation, so obviously his representative, man, should be too.  Though Genesis does not define what constitutes the image of God in man, it implies that it is those human characteristics that enable him to fulfill his duty of ruling the earth and filling it with his own kind.

2:1-3  Though the seventh day stands apart from the other six days, which go in pairs and are very formulaic, it is linked to the opening verses of the chapter by verbal echoes (e.g., 2:3 with 1:1), and thus rounds off the creation story neatly.  But it does more.  Nonbiblical creation stories often mention the gods resting after their work, but Genesis ties God’s rest to the seventh day.  It presents a pattern of six days of work followed by a day of rest.  While the seventh day is not called the Sabbath, perhaps to avoid confusion with the Babylonian shapattu day, it is both blessed and hallowed.  In the Bible blessing is usually restricted to animate beings, and it is paradoxical that here a day of rest is blessed:  inactivity is not usually seen as promoting fruitfulness and success.  Yet this is what the blessing of the seventh day implies.  Finally, the seventh day is hallowed, the first thing in Scripture to be called holy, that is, set apart for God and therefore sharing in his perfect life.

In other words, the seventh day is not merely an appendage to the week of creation; rather it is its goal.  The implication of its being blessed and hallowed is that it provides the energy for another week of fruitful labor in the service of God.  Not that God needs to go on working in the way he did in creation, but man does.  Though the text does not make the point explicitly, God’s working for six days and resting on the seventh is a pattern for man made in God’s image.  Thus the whole creation story is a justification of Sabbath observance as well as a celebration of the power and wisdom of the Creator (p39).

Chapter 2:  vv. 10-15 – Eden may mean “well-watered place” (cf. 13:10; Tsumura 1989:  136) or delight.”  With it four great rivers (the Tigris and Euphrates are well known, but the identity of Pishon and Gihon is uncertain) Eden was certainly blessed with abundant water, which is both essential for life and associated with the presence of God (cf. Ezek 47:1-12).  Other features of Eden, it pure gold, onyx, and bdellium stones, its tress of life and knowledge, and its east-facing entrance, all prefigure the later tabernacle and temple.  In other words, Eden is depicted as an archetypal sanctuary, where God walks (3:8) and Adam acts like a priest (the words of 2:15, “tilling and keeping,” are used of the Levites in Num 3: 7-8).  (p40)

The Oxford Bible Commentary

Chapter 1-2:  v. 1 – 2:4a – This account contains no explicit statement about God’s purpose in creating the world; but this purpose is clearly implied in the great emphasis that is placed on the position of mankind in God’s plan:  the creation of mankind, the last of God’s creative acts, is evidently the climax of the whole account, and receives the greatest attention (1:26-30).  The creatures created on the previous days – light, day and night, dry land, heavenly bodies, plants and animals – are all by implication provided for mankind’s use and convenience; human beings are given the plants for food, and power over the animals.  Above all they are created in God’s image and likeness (1:26-7).  Whatever may be the precise meaning of that phrase – this question has been endlessly debated – it sets human beings apart from all the other creatures and puts them in a unique relationship with God himself.

A further clue to God’s intention when he created the world is to be found in the successive statements made at the conclusion of each act of creation, that ‘God saw that it was good’ (1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), culminating in the final comprehensive statement that he ‘saw everything that he made, and indeed, it was very good’ (1:31).  This is the craftsman’s assessment of his own work; and it says something about his intention as well as about his artistry.  A competently crafted artifact implies a good intention.  The word ‘good’ (tôb) here, however, refers more directly to the usefulness of the world – presumably primarily its usefulness to mankind.  It does not necessarily have an ethical connotation:  it is not mankind that is said to be ‘good’, but God’s work as craftsman.  The author was well aware of the subsequent catastrophic introduction of evil into the world (p42).

. . .

The meaning of the statement that mankind was created in God’s image (ṣelem) and likeness (děmût) (1:26,27) has always been a matter of discussion, as also has been the use of the plural form (‘Let us make’, ‘in our image’, 1:26, although in 1:27 the singular form ‘in his image’ is used).  The most probable explanation of the second point is that the plural is used to denote the court of heavenly beings who exist to do God’s bidding.  The terms ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ are probably not to be differentiated:  the double phrase is simply for emphasis.  It clearly defines human beings as resembling God in a way that is not the case with animals (cf. 1:28 and Ps 8: 3-8).  The nature of this resemblance is not apparent, however, and hypotheses abound.  Since God is often represented elsewhere in the OT as having bodily organs – hands, feet, eyes, etc. – and the world Selem is elsewhere used of images of gods, it has been supposed that the passage refers to a resemblance to God’s external form.   It is more probably, however, that some less material resemblance is intended:  that human beings, in distinction from the animals, possess the unique capacity to communicate meaningfully with God, or – particularly with reference to the animals – are God’s representatives or vicegerents on earth.

The ordinance that mankind is to rule over the animal kingdom (1:26, 28), like the statement that the sun and moon are to rule over the day and the night (1:16), determines mankind’s function in the world.  It does not imply exploitation, for food or for any other purpose; rather, it is a consequence of the gift to mankind of the image of God.  Mankind is, as it were, a manager or supervisor of the world of living creatures.  The blessing, accompanied by the command to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ (1:28) is, as with the animals (1:22), a guarantee that life is to continue.

God’s rest (šābat, 2:2) on the seventh day implies the Sabbath (šābbat – the word itself does not occur here – which is thereby ‘hallowed’ or made holy (2:3; cf. Ex 20:8).  The same reason for the observance of the Sabbath is given in the Decalogue (Ex. 20:11).  (p43)

The New Interpreters Bible Commentary

Chapter 1:  Humans share the sixth day with other land-dwelling creatures.

God is into sharing power – “Let us make humankind in our image” – and therefore humans (in God’s image) should be into sharing power.

The involvement in the creative process of those created in the divine image takes the form of a command (1:28). These first divine words to human beings are about their relationship, not to God, but to the earth. They constitute a sharing of the exercise of power (dominion). From the beginning God chooses not to be the only one who has or exercises creative power. The initiative has been solely God’s, but once the invitation has been issues, God establishes a power-sharing relationship with humans. This initiative remains in the post-sin world as demonstrated in the use of God language in 5:1-3 and 9:6 as well as the use of these themes in Psalm 8. Hence, God appears less meticulously present in the life of the world; God serves as the supreme delegator of responsibility (for becoming like God in chap. 3, which bears negative connotations, see commentary on 3:22).

A study of the verb have dominion (דדה rāda) reveals that it must be understood in terms of care-giving, even nurturing, not exploitation. As the image of God, human beings should relate to the nonhuman as God relates to them. This idea belongs to the world of the ideal conceptions of royal responsibility (Ezek 34:1-4, Ps 72:8-14) and centers on the animals. The command to “subdue the earth” (כבש kābaš) focuses on the earth, particularly cultivation (see 2:5, 15), a difficult task in those days. While the verb may involve coercive aspects in interhuman relationships (see Num 32:22, 29), no enemies are in view here. More generally, “subduing” involves development in the created order. This process offers to the human being the task of intra-creational development, of bringing the world along to its fullest possible creational potential. Here paradise is not a state of perfection, not a static state of affairs. Humans live in a highly dynamic situation. The future remains open to a number of possibilities in which creaturely activity will prove crucial for the development of the world (pp345-346).

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible

God Separates the Earth from the Waters, and Makes it Fruitful

Chapter 1:  vv. 14-19 – The earth was emptiness, but by a word spoken, it became full of God’s riches, and his they are still. Though the use of them is allowed to man, they are from God, and to his service and honour they must be used. The earth, at his command, brings forth grass, herbs, and fruits. God must have the glory of all the benefit we receive from the produce of the earth. If we have, through grace, an interest in Him who is the Fountain, we may rejoice in him when the streams of temporal mercies are dried up.

God Forms the Sun, Moon, and Stars

vv. 20-25 – In the fourth day’s work, the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is accounted for. All these are the works of God. The stars are spoken of as they appear to our eyes, without telling their number, nature, place, size, or motions; for the Scriptures were written, not to gratify curiosity, or make us astronomers, but to lead us to God, and make us saints. The lights of heaven are made to serve him; they do it faithfully, and shine in their season without fail. We are set as lights in this world to serve God; but do we in like manner answer the end of our creation? We do not: our light does not shine before God, as his lights shine before us. We burn our Master’s candles, but do not mind our Master’s work.

Animals Created

vv. 26-28 – God commanded the fish and fowl to be produced. This command he himself executed. Insects, which are more numerous than the birds and beasts, and as curious, seem to have been part of this day’s work. The Creator’s wisdom and power are to be admired as much in an ant as in an elephant. The power of God’s providence preserves all things, and fruitfulness is the effect of his blessing.

Food Appointed

v. 31 – Herbs and fruits must be man’s food, including corn, and all the products of the earth. Let God’s people cast their care upon him, and not be troubled about what they shall eat, and what they shall drink. He that feeds his birds will not starve his babes.

The First Sabbath

Chapter 2:  vv. 4-7 – After six days, God ceased from all works of creation. In miracles, he has overruled nature, but never changed its settled course, or added to it. God did not rest as one weary, but as one well pleased. Notice the beginning of the kingdom of grace, in the sanctification, or keeping holy, of the sabbath day. The solemn observing of one day in seven as a day of holy rest and holy work, to God’s honour, is the duty of all to whom God has made known his holy sabbaths. At this time none of the human race were in being but our first parents. For them the sabbath was appointed; and clearly for all succeeding generations also. The Christian sabbath, which we observe, is a seventh day, and in it we celebrate the rest of God the Son, and the finishing the work of our redemption.

The Planting of the Garden of Eden

v. 15 – The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency. Nature is content with a little, and that which is most natural; grace with less; but lust craves every thing, and is content with nothing. No delights can be satisfying to the soul, but those which God himself has provided and appointed for it. Eden signifies delight and pleasure. Wherever it was, it had all desirable conveniences, without any inconvenience, though no other house or garden on earth ever was so. It was adorned with every tree pleasant to the sight, and enriched with every tree that yielded fruit grateful to the taste and good for food. God, as a tender Father, desired not only Adam’s profit, but his pleasure; for there is pleasure with innocency, nay there is true pleasure only in innocency. When Providence puts us in a place of plenty and pleasure, we ought to serve God with gladness of heart in the good things he gives us.

Man is Placed in it

v. 16 – After God had formed Adam, he put him in the garden. All boasting was thereby shut out. Only he that made us can make us happy; he that is the Former of our bodies, and the Father of our spirits, and none but he, can fully provide for the happiness of both. Even in paradise itself man had to work. None of us were sent into the world to be idle. He that made our souls and bodies, has given us something to work with; and he that gave us this earth for our habitation, has made us something to work upon. The sons and heirs of heaven, while in this world, have something to do about this earth, which must have its share of their time and thoughts; and if they do it with an eye to God, they as truly serve him in it, as when they are upon their knees. Observe that the husbandman’s calling is an ancient and honourable calling; it was needful even in paradise. Also, there is true pleasure in the business God calls us to, and employs us in. Adam could not have been happy if he had been idle: it is still God’s law, He that will not work has no right to eat, 2Th 3:10.

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary

Chapter 1:  v28-31 – Verse 28 is tied closely to v 27b, repeating the command already given to the fishes/birds in v 22 to “Be fruitful and multiply.”  Subdue the earth:  The nuance of the verb is “to master,” “to bring forcefully under control.”  Force is necessary at the beginning to make the untamed land serve humans.  Humans nonetheless are to respect the environment; they are not to kill for food but are to treat all life with respect.  As the rest of v 28 shows, humans are the pinnacle of the created world; the world is made for man and woman.  The imperatives in v 28 are a biblical way of defining essence, like the imperatives in Exod 20:2-17; Lev 19:2; Deut 16:18-20, etc.  Plants will suffice for food for humans and animals; there will be no bloodshed.  The prohibition is modified in the renewal of creation after the flood (9:2-5) because of the disobedience and violence mysteriously present in the human heart.  31.  All creation tout ensemble, not only its component parts, is pronounced “very good,” the climactic seventh divine pronouncement.  There is no evil, only beauty, in the world that God makes.  2:1-3.  Heaven and earth and “all their hosts,” a word usually used of the heavenly population but here of the denizens of earth as well, are now completed.  The vb. “complete” fulfills “when God began” of creation in 1:1.  God keeps the Sabbath, establishing the divine order that Israel will observe by its Sabbath.  The day is hallowed because God made it so.

The [Gen. 1] account of creation differs from modern scientific conceptions, which typically focus on the formation of the planet in its solar system, and leave out of consideration animate life and human culture.  Ancient Near Eastern cosmogonies, on the contrary, are mainly interested in the emergence of a people; “nature” is only the environment for the human community.  Ancients frequently imagined creation as a conflict between beings endowed with will, e.g., god(s), and cosmic forces like sea or primordial night.  Reports of these conflicts are, not surprisingly, often in the form of narratives that vividly depict the battle and victory, from which emerges a defined human community (see R.J. Clifford “The Hebrew Scriptures and the Theology of Creation,” TS 46 [1985] 507-23).  Gen 1 stays within the categories of the “science” of its time and attempts to see in those categories divine power and purpose, and the unique place of humans.  Conflict between chaotic forces (sea, darkness), which characterizes many other biblical and ancient Near Eastern accounts, is absent.  There seems even to be a polemic against such conflict cosmogonies.  Creation follows effortlessly from God’s mere word.  Because Gen 1 is a portrait of what God intends, it is also an eschatological statement.  This serene, beautiful world, in which all is ordered to humans, and humans are ordered to God, is how it will be at the end.  The stories of human sin, which follow Gen 1, cannot permanently disfigure the original divine intent; God’s world will triumph.  Rev 21-22, the description of God’s new world, appropriately draws on this chapter (p11).

Take-Aways

The first task God gives Adam after he is created is to care for the garden.  Verse 5 describes the world before God caused anything to grow on it, noting “there was no one to till the ground.”  Humanity was created alongside the earth to care for it.  From the very beginning, God designated humanity to be stewards and entrusted us with creation.  Simply put, caring for the earth is a duty we owe our Creator.

John Calvin – Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis

Chapter 2:  v. 15 And the lord God took the man . . . Moses now adds, that the earth was given to man, with this condition, that he should occupy himself in its cultivation.  Whence it follows, that men were created to employ themselves in some work, and not to lie down in inactivity and idleness.  This labour, truly, was pleasant, and full of delight, entirely exempt from all trouble and weariness; since, however, God ordained that man should be exercised in the culture of the ground and condemned, in his person, all indolent repose.  Wherefore, nothing is more contrary to the order of nature, than to consume life in eating, drinking, and sleeping, while in the meantime we propose nothing to ourselves to do.  Moses adds, that the custody of the garden was given in charge to Adam, to show that we possess the things which God has committed to our hands, on the condition, that being content with frugal and moderate use of them, we should take care of what shall remain.  Let him who possesses a field, so partake of its yearly fruits, that he may not suffer the ground to be injured by his negligence; but let him endeavour to hand it down to posterity as he received it, or even better cultivated.  Let him so feed on its fruits, that he neither dissipates it by luxury, nor permits to be marred or ruined by neglect.  Moreover, that this economy, and this diligence, with respect to those good things which God has given us to enjoy, may flourish among us; let every one regard himself as the steward of God in all things which he possesses.  Then he will neither conduct himself dissolutely, nor corrupt by abuse those things which God requires to be preserved (Vol. 1, p125).

Take-Aways

Genesis 3 is the starkest example of human sin being born out in the land, if only because it is the first.  It is here that the intended harmonious relationship between humanity and the rest of creation is first broken.  As long as Adam and Eve followed God’s commands, the earth provided for them in ease out of its great abundance.  Refer back to “Humanity’s Relationship to Creation” and Genesis 2:15.  Humanity was created to be in relationship with God and to tend and till the Garden.  When humanity’s relationship with God was fractured in the Fall, so too was its relationship with the land.  This passage need not be read as only describing what has happened, but what is happening.  When we disobey God’s ordinances, including those to care for the land, and for the poor and needy in our midst (see “Creation Care as Justice”), we continue to fracture our relationship with the land.  Consider that the current global food crisis, which is predicted only to get worse, is exacerbated by droughts and flooding caused by climate change.  Our abuse of the land is preventing millions worldwide from receiving their daily bread.  It is important to note that even as the ground is cursed because of human sin, our inextricable relationship to the land is reaffirmed.  Out of the ground we came, and to the ground we shall return.

John Calvin – Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis

Chapter 3:  v. 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth . . . Yet it is not our part to expostulate with the earth for not answering to our wishes, and to the labours of its cultivators, as if it were maliciously frustrating our purpose; but in its sterility let us mark the anger of God, and mourn over our own sins.  It has been falsely maintained by some, that the earth is exhausted by the long succession of time, as if constant bringing forth bad wearied it.  They think more correctly who acknowledge that, by the increasing wickedness of men, the remaining blessing of God is gradually diminished and impaired; and certainly there is danger, unless the world repent, that a great part of men should shortly perish through hunger, and other dreadful miseries (Vol 1, p174-175).

The New Interpreters Bible Commentary

Chapter 3:  “What, then, of the “Fall” as a metaphor for what happens in this text? At least two issues present themselves: (1) the congruence of this metaphor with the metaphors in the text, and (2) the idea of the sin of Adam and Eve as a decisive rupture in the history of the relationship between God and humans. I believe that we may speak of a fundamental disruption, though this specific metaphor finds no textual basis (Volume I, p367).

Other readers assume that human beings were not created as sinful or evil creatures. If they were “perfect,” how could they have failed? Rather, they were “good,” which entails considerable room for growth and the development of potentialities. By the way human responsibility for what happens is lifted up, the writer does not assign the problem of human sinfulness to God or consider it integral to God’s creational purposes. Certainly God creates the potential for such developments for the sake of human freedom. Especially important are the effects of this human decision, which range in an amazingly wide arch; it disrupts not only their own lives, but (given the symbiotic character of creaturely relationships) that of the entire cosmos as well, issuing in disharmonious relationships at every level. … Perhaps these themes allow a variation on the “Fall” metaphor–namely, a fall “out.” The primary images in the text are those of separation, estrangement, alienation, and displacement.” In those respects, the story is written not only to reflect a story of the past, but also to claim that in fundamental ways it reflects the character of human life in every age, which is filled with disharmonious relationships at all levels of life. Human beings always “reject their God-given vocation, scorn their permission modestly to enjoy the good gifts of the Garden, and break across in the area of prohibition outside the sphere of human competence (Volume I, p368).

The concern for the relationship between the human and nonhuman, often neglected, pervades these texts. This connection ranges from the deep concern evident in the detail regarding God’s creating of the various creatures, to the assignment of the human to the further development of and care for the human world. The naming of the animals, while not finally solving human loneliness, establishes a “by name” relationship between the human and the nonhuman. God’s continuing concern for the animals in the story of Noah’s ark shows that God’s delegation of responsibility does not issue in a deistic perspective regarding the divine care for the world. The symbiotic relationship among the creatures, in which humans participate, remains a prominent theme throughout the OT (see Lev 18:24-28; 26:14, 20; Hose 4:1-3; Rom 8:19-23) (Volume I, p369-370).

The New Jerome Biblical Commentary

Chapter 3:  vv. 12-19 – The punishment of the man, the central actor in the sotry, is climactic by its third position in the series and by its length.  The man is not cursed, but the earth is cursed because of the man’s misdeed; his tilling and tending of it will be laborious.  18.  Thorns and thistles will grow on the ground but man must still find his sustenance therefrom, enduring a hard life till he returns to the earth whence he came. (p 12-13)

Take-Aways

As began with the Fall, humanity’s continued sinfulness corrupts not only our souls, but the earth, and all of creation bears the burden of our iniquity (see Take-Aways for Genesis 3:17-19).  In the time of Noah, humanity’s sinfulness had become so pervasive that God was “sorry that he had made humankind on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.”  Scripture takes great pains to emphasize that humanity’s actions have consequences for the land.  Notice the number of times the earth is referred to in these few short verses and how often the adjective “corrupt” is used.  What does it say that God would rather destroy God’s beloved creation (see “God Cares for and Sustains Creation”) than let humanity continue to despoil it.

New Interpreters Bible Commentary

The basic character of the human heart is set alongside the response of the divine heart. God appears, not as an angry and vengeful judge, but as a grieving and pained parent, distressed at what has happened. God “regrets” having proceeded with the creation in the first place, given these tragic developments. We may discern divine consternation and disappointment, since God’s vision for what the world might have been has been dashed by a narrow and self-centered human vision (Volume I, p389).

The author focuses on what has happened to the earth, a word repeated six times. God deems the earth to be corrupt (vv11a,12a) because it is filled with violence. Corruption (Hebrew sahat) involves ruin, decadence, or decay, the effect of violence; it stands over against the “good” God saw in chap. 1. The earth (not just the creatures) has not continued as it was created to be (on defiling or polluting the earth, see 4:10-12; Num 35:33-34; Isa 24:5-7; Jer 3:1-3) (Volume I, p390).

Take-Aways

The story of Noah and the Ark is a familiar one.  It is a powerful example of how human behavior is connected with creation.  In the brief five chapters of the Bible previous to this one, twice already human disobedience has altered the earth from the state in which it was originally created (see Gen 3:17-18, 4:12-14 and section “Human Sin and Creation”).  Prior to flooding the earth, God takes special care to save not only Noah, but all the animals.  Humanity has despoiled creation, but God’s plans are to wash that stain away and begin anew.  It is not just humanity, through Noah, that God is saving, but all of creation.

New Interpreters Bible Commentary

There are significant ecological dimensions in the text. Human behavior had had a deeply adverse impact on the created order. The growth of thorns and thistles in the wake of human sin (3:18) has here grown to cosmic proportions. A close relationship exists between moral order and cosmic order, a point needing little argument in the modern world. Positively, it is striking that God puts such stock in the saving of the animals; indeed, God’s remembrance of the animals belongs to the same initiative as God’s remembering Noah. The lives of animals and humans are so interconnected that our future on this planet is linked to one another’s well-being. Although human sin has had significant negative consequences for the earth, if humans assume appropriate responsibility we may anticipate significant potential for good (Volume I, p396-397).

Take-Aways

After the flood, God’s covenant is established not just with Noah, or humanity, but with “every living creature that is on the earth.”  It is not just all of humanity that God promises not to destroy again, but “all flesh.”  What is the significance of God promising to be faithful and preserve creation alongside Noah? Considering that the flood was humanity’s sinfulness being born out on the earth (see Take-Aways for Gen 6: 18-21), does God’s covenant with “every living creature” have any implications for our relationship with creation?

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible

God Blesses Noah, and Grants Flesh for Food
Chapter 9 – The blessing of God is the cause of our doing well. On him we depend, to him we should be thankful. Let us not forget the advantage and pleasure we have from the labour of beasts, and which their flesh affords. Nor ought we to be less thankful for the security we enjoy from the savage and hurtful beasts, through the fear of man which God has fixed deep in them. We see the fulfilment of this promise every day, and on every side. This grant of the animals for food fully warrants the use of them, but not the abuse of them by gluttony, still less by cruelty. We ought not to pain them needlessly whilst they live, nor when we take away their lives.