1. In the ^abeginning ^1bGod ²created the heaven and the earth.

a. John 1:1

b. Deity (names of). Gen. 2:4,7. (Gen. 1:1; Mal. 3:18)

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¹ Elohim (sometimes El or Elah), English form “God,” the first of the three primary names of Deity, is a uni-plural noun formed from El = strength, or the strong one, and Alah, to swear, to bind oneself by an oath, so implying faithfulness. This uni-plurality implied in the name is directly asserted in Genesis 1:26 (plurality), 27 (unity); see also Genesis 3:22. Thus the Trinity is latent in Elohim. As meaning primarily the Strong One it is fitly used in the first chapter of Genesis.  Used in the Old Testament about 2500 times. See also Genesis 2:4, note; 2:7; 14:18, note; 15:2, note; 17:1, note; 21:33, note; 1^st Samuel 1:3, note.

² But three creative acts of God are recorded in this chapter: (1) the heavens and the earth, v. 1; (2) animal life, v. 21; and (3) human life, vs. 26, 27. The first creative act refers to the dateless past, and gives scope for all the geologic ages.

^אEarth made waste and empty by judgement (Jeramiah 4:23-26).

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^א See my notes in verse 1:2.  This statement is based on the assumption that the Earth physically existed at the time that God created the heavens.  It is important to understand that God created all the cosmos as a place to put the Earth.  God knew exactly where He was going to put the Earth in our cosmos well before He created the very first particle of His creation.  It could very well be that when God speaks of the Earth as being without form and void, in verse 2, that He meant that it did not yet exist, yet He had already designed it and had a place in our universe set aside for it.

Again, it is easy for us humans to jump to conclusions.  God simply does not give us enough information here to reach any verdict about the state of the Earth, before man trod upon it.

2. And the earth was ^בּּּ3without form, and ^גvoid; and darkness was upon the face of ^דthe deep. And ^cthe ^dSpirit of God moved upon the face of ^הthe waters.

^וB.C. 4004

c. Holy Spirit, Genesis 6:3. (Genesis 1:2; Malachi 2:15.)

d. Job 26:13. Psalm 104:30.

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³ Jeramiah 4:23-27, Isaiah 24:1 and 45:18, clearly indicate that the earth had undergone a cataclysmic change as the result of divine judgment. The face of the earth bears everywhere the marks of such a catastrophe. There are not wanting imitations which connect it with a previous testing and fall of angels. See Ezekiel 28:12-15 and Isaiah 14:9-14, which certainly go beyond the kings of Tyre and Babylon.

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^בּ The Hebrew word used for “without form” in the ancient manuscripts is “תֹהוּ” (to’hoo).   It is used 19 times in the Bible.  Most of the time its use is to indicate that something is a desolation.  However, there are times where it is used to depict that something is empty or not in existence.  Such is the case with Job 26:7 and Isaiah 29:21.  In Isaiah verses 40:17, 41:29, and 44:9, “תֹהוּ” (to’hoo) is used to describe idols and gods that are nothing (that do not really exist).

Moreover, in Isaiah 45:18, God states the following:

“God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited”

The Hebrew word used for “vain” here in Isaiah 45:18 is the word “תֹהוּ” (to’hoo).  God states quite plainly here that He did not create an Earth that was a desolate wasteland.

^ג The Hebrew word used for “without form” in the ancient manuscripts is “בֹהוּ” (bo’hoo).   It is used 3 times in the Bible. Strongs states the meaning of “בֹהוּ” (bo’hoo) as “(to be empty); a vacuity, i.e. (superficially) an undistinguishable ruin: emptiness, void.”  Thus, “בֹהוּ” (bo’hoo) can be interpreted as an Earth that is an undistinguishable emptiness or an Earth that is a vacuum.

^ד It is important to understand that it does not state that “the deep” is of the Earth.  God does not say, “the deep of the Earth.”  He simply says “the deep.”  Period!  If, indeed, the Earth was a vacuum, then “the deep,” as stated, would be referring to some other abyss within God’s creation.  Clearly, there would be a relationship between the vacuum of the Earth and this abyss that it speaks of.  However, we simply do not have enough information from God to ascertain what that could be.  Moreover, “the deep,” or the abyss, could be speaking of the vacuum of the Earth itself.  Therefore, there are three different possible interpretations of “the deep”: the featureless ocean(s) of the Earth, the vacuum of the Earth, or some other abyss in God’s creation.  The ultimate meaning depends on the meaning of the words “without form, and void.”  Yet since we cannot be certain what exactly is meant by the words “without form, and void,” we cannot be certain about the meaning of the words “the deep.”  Psalm 71:20 uses this same word to speak of Sheol (the netherworld).  Sheol is not a place of fire.  It is utter darkness, bottomless, and void.  See Proverbs 27:20.

^ה The same must be said about the words “the waters” as with the words “the deep.”  It does not state that “the waters” are of the Earth.  God does not say, “the waters of the Earth.”  He simply says “the waters.”  If the Earth was a vacuum, then “the waters,” as stated, would be referring to some other mass of waters within God’s creation.  Obviously, there would be a relationship between the vacuum of the Earth and these waters that it speaks of.  However, we simply do not have enough information from God to ascertain what that could be.  See verses 6-8.

^ו Keep in mind that this date is derived from Ussher’s dating system.  For the creation period, this date is established upon assumptions that cannot be confirmed.  This is not to say that Ussher’s work is invalid or that his system is without value.  Quite the contrary.  It is a very helpful tool.  Nonetheless, despite the millions of humans that have worked countless hours over thousands of years to try to understand the origins of our universe, man ultimately knows next to nothing about how everything was created or when it actually happened.  All that we think that we know is intrinsically supposition.  This is not information that God has given us.