Genesis 1
Genesis 1 tells how God created the heaven and the earth in six days by speaking: light on day one, the firmament on day two, land, seas and plants on day three, the sun, moon and stars on day four, sea creatures and birds on day five, and land animals and mankind on day six. God made man in his own image, male and female, and saw that everything he had made was very good.
Genesis 1 (KJV)
In the beginning v. 1-2
1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Days one and two: light and the firmament v. 3-8
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Day three: dry land, seas and plants v. 9-13
9And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
10And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
13And the evening and the morning were the third day.
Days four and five: lights, fish and birds v. 14-23
14And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
15And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.
17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
19And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
Day six: animals and man in God's image v. 24-31
24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 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.
29And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing 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 you it shall be for meat.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
31And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
What Genesis 1 means
The Bible's first sentence names its main character: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." God is not introduced or explained. He is simply there before everything else. Verse 2 describes the earth as without form and void, dark, with the Spirit of God moving upon the face of the waters.
Creation happens by God's word. Again and again the text says And God said, and then and it was so. The pattern is steady: God speaks, it happens, God names or blesses it, God sees that it is good, and the evening and the morning mark another day. The first three days give shape to the world (light, sky and sea, land); the next three fill those spaces (sun, moon and stars, fish and birds, animals and people).
Day six is the high point. God says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." Verse 27 repeats the word created three times and adds "male and female created he them." Being made in God's image sets people apart from the rest of creation, and God gives them a task: be fruitful, multiply, and have dominion over the fish, the birds and every living thing.
Six times God sees that what he made is good. At the end of day six he looks at everything together and it is "very good." The chapter closes there, and the rest on the seventh day follows in Genesis 2:1-3.
Christians agree that Genesis 1 teaches that God alone made everything and that people bear his image. They read the length of the days in different ways, and the chapter itself is more interested in who created and why than in how long it took.
Background and context
Genesis is traditionally attributed to Moses, along with the other four books of the Law. Its opening chapter stands as the introduction to the whole Bible.
The account continues into Genesis 2:1-3, where God ends his work and blesses the seventh day. Exodus 20:11 points back to these six days as the pattern for the sabbath.
Key verses
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1 · KJV
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
Genesis 1:27 · KJV
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
Genesis 1:31 · KJV
Cross references
- Genesis 2:1-3 The seventh day: God ends his work, rests, and blesses the day.Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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 that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
- John 1:1-3 John opens with the same words, In the beginning, and says all things were made by the Word.In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
- Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand the worlds were framed by the word of God.Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
- Psalm 33:6 The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, as in each And God said.By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
- Colossians 1:16 All things in heaven and earth were created by him and for him.For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
- Exodus 20:11 The fourth commandment grounds the sabbath in the six days of creation.For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
- Matthew 19:4 Jesus quotes verse 27: he which made them at the beginning made them male and female.And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 Paul compares God commanding light out of darkness to his light shining in our hearts.For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
How well do you know Genesis 1?
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Common questions
What happened on each day of creation in Genesis 1?
Day one, light; day two, the firmament dividing the waters; day three, dry land, seas and plants; day four, the sun, moon and stars; day five, sea creatures and birds; day six, land animals and mankind.
What does it mean that man is made in God's image?
Genesis 1:26-27 says God made people in his image and likeness and gave them dominion over the earth. Christians have long read this as the root of human dignity: every person bears something of God that no animal does.
What is the first verse of the Bible?
Genesis 1:1: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."
Where is the seventh day of creation?
It is not in Genesis 1. The chapter ends with the sixth day, and the seventh day of rest is in Genesis 2:1-3.
Who wrote Genesis 1?
The text does not name its author. Jewish and Christian tradition attribute Genesis to Moses.
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