Ancient Hebrew Poetry

A Response to Ellen Van Wolde on Genesis 1

Scholars are known to succumb to the temptation of suggesting that their findings are of revolutionary significance even if they are not. It’s an issue of framing. If the desire of your heart is to be a revolutionary, you will frame your findings in opposition to all previous interpretation. This appears to be the path that Ellen Van Wolde has chosen (note this press report; for a first reaction, see Doug Chaplin here). Based on her recent findings – most of which do not seem unusual – she asserts: “The traditional view of God the Creator is untenable now.” At the very least, saying something like that is a surefire way to attract attention.

Below the jump, text, translation, and commentary on Genesis 1:1-3. My thesis: the traditional view of God the Creator is as tenable as ever.

Creatio ex nihilo and Genesis 1

Creatio ex nihilo is the teaching that God created the universe out of nothing. The idea is compatible with the Big Bang theory as often presented: the universe started with a singularity of infinite density; before the Bang occured, there was no "matter" or "stuff." With the Bang, symmetry breaking occured, and matter came into existence.

Gen 1 does not teach creatio ex nihilo. It does not narrate the creation of an inchoate earth, the waters of the abyss, the darkness which covered the abyss, or the wind that hovered over said waters; all of the above pre-exist the first creative fiat the narrator recounts: "Let there be light!" (Gen 1:2-3). It does not explain the existence of divine beings apart from God and apart from creation, those included in the "Let us make man" of Gen 1:26. But Gen 1 does teach what creatio ex nihilo teaches: that the universe is, without remainder, the product of a sovereign infinite singularity, referred to as "God." In Gen 1, there is no place for a power in heaven or earth comparable to that of the sole deity described throughout as the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. 

Andersen and Forbes on Genesis 1:1-3

It is premature, in one sense, to discuss the Andersen-Forbes Phrase Markup Analysis (AFPMA) available through LOGOS, until the volume by the same authors, Biblical Hebrew Grammar Visualized, to be published by Eisenbrauns, becomes available. That volume will provide a full exposition of Andersen and Forbes’ approach to syntax. On the other hand, a discussion now may help readers who struggle with AFPMA to come to a better understanding of what it accomplishes, and provide Andersen and Forbes with feedback on their project.

Genesis 1:1-3: How It All Began

In a three-part series, I will review Genesis 1:1-3. The analysis of Gen 1:1-3 provided by Francis Andersen and Dean Forbes in AFPMA available through LOGOS, and Robert Holmstedt’s analysis of Gen 1:1 available in a 2008 Vetus Testamentum article, respectively serve as points of departure in the second and third parts. If you have a passion for the Hebrew of the Bible, you will enjoy this series. So far as I know, this series discusses features of the syntax of Gen 1:1-3 in greater depth than has been done before.