The Beginning – Meaning of the Beginning of Genesis

Introduction

In the Bible, the beginning of Genesis—specifically chapters 1 through 11—forms a distinct section. A section that gives rise to much debate: about a young or old earth, creation theory versus evolution, faith versus science, whether or not there was a Big Bang, and many other aspects. Where was paradise? Was the flood global? These discussions, however, can distract from the most important question. For the real question should be: what is the meaning of this part of the Bible? Why is it included in Scripture, and what does it want to tell us?
This article aims to contribute to answering that question. It draws heavily on the insights of a contemporary (literary-orthodox) Jewish scholar—particularly Jonathan Grossman (Creation, the Story of the Beginnings). To understand the meaning of this part of Scripture, it is essential to pay attention to the language and literary structure. And that is what this article attempts to do.

An independent part

From Genesis 12 onward, we read the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the history of the origins of the nation of Israel. The text has the content and style of an ancient Eastern historical narrative. However, the first eleven chapters have a completely different content and style, distinguishing this part of Genesis from the rest. This also means that we must engage with the text differently. The meaning of the text extends beyond the historical narrative. It invites us to search for the meaning of the symbols and human characters.

The Creation

The creation narrative is a carefully structured text, as seen in the following overview:

day 1	And God said:	“Let there be light.”	And God saw that the light was good.
day 2	And God said:	“Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters…”
day 3	And God said:	“Let the waters under the sky be gathered to one place, and let the dry ground appear.”	And God saw that it was good.
	And God said:	“Let the land produce vegetation…”	And God saw that it was good.
day 4	And God said:	“Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky…”	And God saw that it was good.
day 5	And God said:	“Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly…”	And God saw that it was good.
day 6	And God said:	“Let the land produce living creatures…”	And God saw that it was good.
	And God said:	“Let Us make man in Our image…”
	And God said:	“Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant…”	And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.

Nine times we read, "And God said." Six times, this is followed by the statement, "And God saw that it was good." This statement is missing the second time, presumably because the separation of water and water, as literally stated, is only complete when the earth and the sea are separated. It is also striking that when humans are created, God also does not say that it was good. The remark at the end of the creation story that God saw everything He had made, "and behold, it was very good," does not refer to the creation of humankind, but to creation as a whole. God created humankind with free will, and whether humankind is good must be revealed by what it does. This distinguishes humankind from all other things God has created. In short, the question is whether humankind is indeed good, and that question arises already at the time of creation.

The unique status of humanity becomes even clearer when we group the nine divine statements into pairs based on keywords:

1	And God said, "Let there be light!" (…) and God separated the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.	5	And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night; (…) And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.”
2	And God said, “Let there be a vault in the midst of the waters, and let it separate water from water!” And God made the vault and separated the water that was under the vault from the water that was above the vault. And it was so. And God called the vault Heaven.	6	And God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens!”
3	And God said, “Let the water under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry ground appear!” And it was so. And God called the dry ground Earth, and the gathered waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good.	7	And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: (…)” And God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creeping creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.
		8	And God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; (…)”
4	And God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees that bear fruit according to their kinds, with seed in them, on the earth!” (…) And the earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their kinds.	9	And God said, “Behold, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.”

This division shows that for every moment God says something, there is a parallel—except for the creation of humans. This highlights the unique position of humanity.

Additionally, the six days of creation are structured in two groups of three:

On the first and fourth days, there are light and darkness, day and night. On the first day, light is created, and on the fourth day, the sun, moon, and stars.
On the second and fifth days, there are water and air. On the second day, "water and water" are separated, and on the fifth day, God creates the birds and sea creatures.
On the third day, God separates the earth from the sea. On the sixth day, He creates the inhabitants of the earth, namely the land animals and humankind.

The structure of the creation account makes it clear that God made the heavens and the earth—but above all, it emphasizes the special role of humanity: created with free will.

f we consider the structure of the creation story, it is clear that it aims to demonstrate that God created heaven and earth, but above all, it emphasizes the special position of humanity. Humanity is the only one created with free will.

The Fall

The story of the Fall has a striking chiastic (mirror-like) structure:

> A. There were no bushes or plants of the field on the earth, for there was no man to till the land. God created humanity. In the east, a garden was planted in Eden. In its midst, God placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Humanity was placed in the garden to cultivate and maintain it. God commanded humanity not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
>> B God creates land animals and birds, and Adam names them. From Adam's rib, a woman is made. They were both naked, yet not ashamed.
>>> C The serpent convinces the woman to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The man also eats from the tree.
>>>> D A conversation between God and Adam and his wife. Adam and his wife hide because they are naked. The man accuses the woman, the woman accuses the serpent.
>>> C’ The serpent is punished (forced to eat dust), the woman is punished (will have difficulty conceiving), and the man is punished (will have to toil to till the earth).
>> B’ Adam names his wife Eve. God makes garments of skins for Adam and his wife.
> A’ Adam and Eve are banished from the Garden of Eden to keep them from the tree of life and from tilling the ground. Cherubim are placed on the east side.

The most striking aspect of this structure is that it's not the Fall itself that takes center stage, but the conversation between God and Adam and Eve. The conversation in which they run away from their own responsibility.
Now the question arises: what exactly constitutes sin? It is, of course, eating the forbidden fruit. But why does this lead to intellectual knowledge and the realization that they are naked? If we think carefully, it raises questions. What happens through eating the forbidden fruit bears a striking parallel to the normal development of a child into an adult. A newborn has no knowledge of good and evil. Nor is a small child ashamed of its nakedness. But as children grow up, they begin to understand that some things are good and others are evil. And there comes a time when they begin to be ashamed of their nakedness. Later, the children leave home and begin their own lives. We see that this life is not without difficulty. The earth will only yield its fruit through toil, and children will be brought into the world with pain.
What we learn from this history is that humanity is inclined to rebel against God. Growth toward maturity leads us to turn our backs on God. Our free will is not naturally directed toward God. And the key question is whether we are willing to be honest about this with ourselves and with God. This history also makes clear the consequence. We are separated from the tree of life. The way back is blocked. And that raises the question: what now?

False Starts

The history of humanity begins with a series of false starts. Adam and Eve are expelled from paradise. Then we read:
And to Adam He said, “Because you listened to the voice of your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17).
But the continuation of this history is also disappointing: Cain kills his brother Abel. New hope arises when Adam and Eve have a third son, Seth. When his descendant Noah is born, we read a message of hope:
And he named him Noah and said, “This one will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed” (Gen. 5:29).
However, disappointment follows again, and on the eve of the flood we read:
The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. The LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created... for I regret that I have made them” (Gen. 6:5-7).
At the end of the flood, we read again about hope:
The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done” (Gen. 8:21).
After the flood, there is a new beginning. It seems as if God accepts that humanity is wicked and will not destroy the earth again for that reason. This raises the question: what will be the plan to ensure that humans serve God? That story begins in Genesis 12, when God calls Abraham.

The Flood: Re-Creation

The story of the flood is the story of re-creation. This becomes clear through a comparison of the language used in Genesis 1 with that of Genesis 8. It is evident that the account of the flood is structured according to the pattern of the creation story.

And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.	And God sent a wind [the same word as “spirit”] over the earth, and the waters subsided.
And God made the expanse and separated the water that was under the expanse from the water that was above the expanse.	Also, the fountains of the deep and the windows of the heavens were closed, and the rain from the heavens was restrained.
Let the water under the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear.	And the waters continued to recede gradually (...). In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.
Fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind, with seed in it, on the earth.	And behold, there was a freshly plucked olive leaf in her beak.
Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night.	And the dove came to him in the evening
let birds fly above the earth, across the firmament of heaven	He sent out the dove, but it did not return to him.
And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and the beast of the earth after its kind.” And it was so. And God made the beasts of the earth after their kinds, the cattle after their kinds, and every creeping thing of the earth after its kind. En God schiep de mens naar Zijn beeld; naar het beeld van God schiep Hij hem; mannelijk en vrouwelijk schiep Hij hen.	Go out of the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you, of all flesh, the birds, the cattle, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth, that they may multiply abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful, and increase in number on the earth. So Noah went out, and his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives with him. Every living thing, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves upon the earth, according to its kind, went out of the ark.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because in it he rested from all his work which God created and made.	And Noah built an altar unto the LORD; and he took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled a sweet odor, and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imaginations of man's heart are evil from his youth; neither will I again smite every living thing any more, as I have done. All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.
En God zegende hen en God zei tegen hen: Wees vruchtbaar, word talrijk, vervul de aarde en onderwerp haar, en heers over de vissen van de zee, over de vogels in de lucht en over al de dieren die over de aarde kruipen	Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. And the fear and dread of you will be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on everything that moves on the ground, and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are given.”
En God zei: Zie Ik geef u al het zaaddragende gewas dat op heel de aarde is, en alle bomen waaraan zaaddragende boomvruchten zijn; dat zal u tot voedsel dienen.	Every moving thing, in which there is life, will be food for you; I have given you all of it, as well as the green plant.

Adam and Eve were commanded to be fruitful. At the beginning of the flood story, we read that humanity had multiplied, but that they were evil. Then Noah was again commanded to multiply. Thus, we see history repeating itself.

Noah's Drunkenness

The story of Noah's drunkenness also bears a striking parallel to the story of Adam and Eve. Once again, history repeats itself. Adam and Eve were cast out of Paradise and the serpent was cursed; the story of Noah's drunkenness led to Ham being cursed.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to it shall you be for food.	Then God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Fear and dread will be on every beast of the earth, on every bird of the air, on everything that moves on the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; into your hand they have been given. Every moving thing that has life will be food for you; I have given you all of it, as well as the green plant.
Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.	And Noah became a tiller of the ground [lit. man of the ground] and planted a vineyard.
and she took of its fruit, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.	He drank of the wine and became drunk
And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.	and he undressed himself in the middle of his tent.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.	And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren outside.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew [lit. came to know] that they were naked.	Then Noah awoke from his sleep and knew what his youngest son had done to him.
Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you.	He said: Cursed is Canaan
Your desire will be for your husband, but he will rule over you.	Let him be a servant of servants to his brothers
And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.	Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered their father's nakedness.
And he placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubims	Let God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem

The meaning is clear. The Flood was supposed to be a fresh start. But history repeats itself, and once again it seems to be a false start. This is not how God intended it.

Tower of Babel

History repeats itself. That's the refrain of Genesis 1-11. Humanity multiplies, but once again, people turn against God. This tension becomes clear when we consider the structure of the history of the Tower of Babel.

> A. The whole earth had one language and the same words.
>> B. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
>>> C. And they all said one to another, Go, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime for morter.
>>>> D And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.
>>>> D’ Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the children of men were building,
>>> C’ And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language. This is the beginning of what they are going to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them which they propose to do. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech."
>> B’ So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they left off building the city.
> A’ Therefore the name of it was called Babel; because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from thence the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

In the first four verses, we read about the people who want to build a tower; in the following four verses, in reverse order, we read about God's response. He causes humanity to spread across the earth. There is also a striking textual similarity between the end of the history of Paradise and the end of the history of the tower's construction.

Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, to know good and evil. Now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”	And the LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have one language. This is the beginning of what they will do; and now nothing that they have set their minds to do will be restrained from them."
Therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken.	So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth; and they left off building the city.

Abraham

In fact, the entire first part of Genesis is an introduction to the history of Abraham and his descendants.
God created humanity with a will of their own. However, this leads to humanity's resistance to God and separation from the tree of life. Instead of acknowledging their tendency to disobey God and seeking God's guidance, humanity drifts further and further away from God. This is the cause of the Flood. But that doesn't solve the problem. Even Noah's descendants ultimately go astray, and the construction of the Tower of Babel demonstrates their continued unwillingness to serve God. Then God comes up with a different plan. He chooses Abraham to raise up a nation from him that will serve Him. As an example for the rest of the world. Not to exclude the rest of the world, but precisely to make the rest of the world jealous so that they too would want to join God's people. That is the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The future

God created the world good. But because of human free will, God's purpose is not fulfilled. God sends people out of paradise. Then God starts over, as it were. God begins a new world. But the prospect of the fulfillment of God's original purpose remains. The tabernacle, and later the temple, are a picture of the fact that God wants people to one day walk with God. A picture we see fulfilled in Revelation 21:3: "And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.'"

Concluding remarks

Bas Krins