2
Now the earthוְהָאָרֶץwasהָיְתָהformlessתֹהוּand empty,וָבֹהוּand darkness wasוְחֹשֶׁךְover the surfaceעַל פְּנֵיof the deep,תְהוֹםand the spiritוְרוּחַof Elohimאֱלֹהִיםwas hoveringמְרַחֶפֶתover the surfaceעַל פְּנֵיof the waters.הַמָּיִם
Genesis 1:2
Study it in the app“Now the earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of Elohim was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
The book opens with God creating: he says "Let there be light," and there is lightCreationFrom the first chapter, God's spirit is already there, hovering over the watersThe Holy Spirit
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 1:2, word by word
- Now the earthאָרֶץarets
earth
The whole world, everything under the sky.
Where else “arets” appears- wasהָיְתָהhayta
be
To be: "I will be their Elohim".
Where else “hayta” appears- formlessתֹהוּtohu
formlessness
Without form or order, like the earth at first, or a desolate place.
Where else “tohu” appears- and emptyבֹהוּvohu
void
Empty, void, with nothing and no one. It appears with the previous word ("formless and void") to describe the earth before God set it in order and filled it with life.
Where else “vohu” appears- and darkness wasחֹשֶׁךְchoshech
darkness
The absence of light, night.
Where else “choshech” appears- over the surfaceפְּנֵיpene
surface
The surface: "the face of the earth".
Where else “pene” appears- of the deepתְהוֹםtehom
the deep
The deep waters: the deep sea, the ocean, and the waters under the earth. In the Hebrew Bible it is not a place of punishment or the place of the dead.
Where else “tehom” appears- and the spiritרוּחַruach
Spirit of God
The spirit of Elohim or YHWH: his presence and power.
Where else “ruach” appears- of Elohimאֱלֹהִיםelohim
Elohim
The one true God, the Creator; the word is plural but means one.
Where else “elohim” appears- was hoveringמְרַחֶפֶתmerachefet
hover
To move gently above something, like a bird over its nest.
Where else “merachefet” appears- of the watersמָּיִםmayim
water
Water: for drinking, of rivers or seas.
Where else “mayim” appears
The context
1In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the earth.
2 · This verse (above)
3And Elohim said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
To study Genesis 1 in a group
1. What it says
What did Elohim say about everything he had made at the end of the sixth day (v. 31)?
2. What it means
What does the text say about human beings when it says they were created in the image of Elohim (v. 27)?
3. How I live it
How can you treat the people around you today, remembering that every one of them was created in the image of Elohim?