Hebrew Bible · Genesis 1:1–2

Without form, and void

ReferenceGenesis 1:1–2

Writtenc. 550–450 BCE (priestly source)

SetThe beginning

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

Translation: KJV

Read it literally

Read with the gap theory, Genesis starts with a world that already existed and had been wrecked. Creation week is a rebuild.

What scholars say

'Without form and void' is Hebrew tohu wa-bohu, 'waste and empty'. The 'gap theory' (Thomas Chalmers, 1814) reads a ruined earlier world between verses 1 and 2.

Strange time

Quick answers about Genesis 1:1–2

Where is Genesis 1:1–2 found?

Genesis 1:1–2 (Hebrew Bible). Translation quoted: King James Version (1611; standard 1769 text), with Apocrypha.

When was Genesis 1:1–2 written?

c. 550–450 BCE (priestly source).

What do scholars say about Genesis 1:1–2?