Genesis Book 1 – The Creation and 7 Days

I’ve got to say one of the more fascinating books I’ve read over and over. Absolutely full of potential interpretations… my journey begins; here I go:

What can be said about the first sentence: “In the beginning the Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” Even the non-religious are familiar with this phrase. It’s ambiguous and must be maddening to those of non-faith who want to know exactly how it happened.

Elohim begins to form creation and labels it in its various forms. Elohim creates the “firmament” aka heaven aka I interpret as the sky above. We believe there is water on the surface of the earth, Genesis says there is water above and below the firmament. On the lower surface (Elohim calls Earth) he separates the water on the surface to form land.

What about the waters above the firmament? How does that mesh with modern knowledge? Well it’s not hard to see, when it rains, water comes from above, hence the waters above. Also remember water can be 3 phases, liquid (like rain), solid (ice), vapor (mist). Is the reference to the water above reference to the moisture that is ever present in our atmosphere? The blue sky of the day which is reflected in the blue waters below?

For those not familiar, but who believe the words of the Bible, look up “Flat Earth” theory. This theory meshes with the bible description (and other global cultures BTW) that the earth sits on 4 corners and, be careful here, is NOT a spinning globe. Walk softly with this theory because it will bring a wrath upon you from the “globers.”

Genesis 1:11 – God asks the earth to put forth grass and herbs, fruit bearing trees. 1:12 “and the earth brought forth grass, herbs yielding seed… trees bearing fruit…” and the day was complete. My instant impression: We know that grass and trees do not seed and fruit in one day, it can take weeks if not months or, for some trees, years. This “one day” that is referenced, can it possible be referring to another time gauge, one that does not reference the day as defined by the rising and setting of the sun? Could it be that in these days the sun “day” was much longer than the 24 hours we know of? Or, did the plants, upon the command of God, fast forward their growth to put forth their seeds and fruit in one day as commanded. I’ve heard the argument that the days referenced in the Old Testament are different from the 24 hour days of today. I will look for more clues in upcoming verse.

Genesis 1:14 – God creates the lights in the firmament (stars and the two great lights: Sun and the Moon). “… let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years…” Much like today and among cultures around the world, the stars are used for horoscopes (constellation signs), seasons/days/years as sky watchers mapped the star patterns that would indicate to them changes in seasons and other portents that would include planting, harvesting, war, migrations and other important cultural events. Entire calendars can be based on the stars. This is important because I believe there are commands later on in the Bible that people do not participate in the foretelling of the future or portents, so I will be looking for that reference too. The 4th day is complete.

The 5th day: the Elohim create the animals in the water and in the sky. I like the “sea-monster” reference. Most would picture whales, but I wonder what other creature may be being referenced to here. The Leviathan? This day Elohim creates the animals of the sky and the waters and commands them to be fruitful and multiply.

The 6th day Elohim creates earth bound creatures, including man. 1:26: “And Elohim said, Let us make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness…” Key word here: OUR. Who was Elohim speaking to? Could there be other “gods”? Was he referring to the Angels that accompanied him during the creation? One thing is for sure, we look like Elohim and whoever else he was speaking to. Elohim is in our form… BUT WAIT! In future verses Elohim walks the earth as man, but when as Jehovah with the Israelites, he is in a form that has to have a container and shield around him. Where I go with this information will not be liked by many and will expound when I get there. For now, I understand we are made in Elohim’s image. Also it is here that Elohim gave man dominion over the rest of the creation, which by many modern humans has been their license to completely ravage Elohim’s creation by poisoning the air, water, food, and life around us. Truly difficult to come to terms with at times.

“And he rested on the seventh day” hence the Sabbath as defined in the Old Testament. When I first read this I wondered: Just what does ‘rested’ mean? We know what it means for us, we are exhausted, our bodies or minds tire, and we need to be in a state of sleep or relaxation to rejuvenate. Why would Elohim need rest if, by definition, Elohim is OMNIPOTENT? In a sense, I saw God as a machine that was shut down for a day. (BTW by machine I don’t mean an actual powered mechanism that runs on energy sources such as gasoline or electricity, though I have met some who interpret it so.) Or an energy force that no longer worked upon its creation and dissipated away. Fact of the matter, I believe there is more to “God rested” than what most people believe. More on that later.

Genesis Book 1 complete.

 

Prelude

I’ve been speed reading and am absolutely enthralled with my bible reading so far. I am at Leviticus 11 and will be turning around back to Genesis 1:1. This was one of my strategies in the past, read to a certain point, then turn around and start over to see what I missed or took out of context.

What my mind is computing from the imagery of the bible (ASV and KJV) is far different from what my young and innocent mind did when I first “read” the bible as a child. Far different from the church services and bible studies I participated in in the past. It’s a new world I’m seeing.

So it’s back to the beginning, where I will start my blog posts. My interpretations and impressions will not mesh with modern interpretations. I am not here to claim to know the truth, only to describe how my mind is envisioning the world of the Old Testament.

IMPORTANT!

It didn’t take very long into my *journey* when I realized there were parallel stories going on in some cases. Not only that, there were multiple names of deities which, at least in modern times, are attributed to one deity, aka God. This did not make sense to me because many of these stories were contradictory or running on parallel tracks, so I’ve decided to go back through my blog and use the proper Hebrew names for the deities each time they occur in the text. So, here’s what you will see mentioned:

• Every instance of the use of Elohim/Gods (plural)
• Every instance of the use of Jehovah/The Lord/Yahweh (singular)
• Every instance of the use of other “god” labels like El (generic term for god), El Shadday (God Almighty), El Elyon (God Most High) (singular)
• Look for a surprise regarding the term “Baal”

You may tell yourself that these are all names for the same deity but I leave it to the texts to make that decision FOR ME. Especially when you acknowledge that not only is the word Elohim plural, Genesis 1 CLEARLY mentions the word “our” in regards to creation, stating that there are multiple deities involved in creation. You CAN NOT DENY THIS. If you do you are denying the words of the Bible. Hence I will make this distinction instead of fogging up the text as modern translations do to this day in regards to god labels.

The FACT that each name in each story has distinct characteristics that distinguish itself from the other names tell me they are NOT all the same and I will run with that until the TEXT TELLS ME OTHERWISE. After all, I have been told the Bible is inspired, factual, concrete and impermeable to criticism and contradictions (according to my Christian brothers). Sorry brothers, I let the text speak to me now, not you. It will say what it will say and it may offend some of you as I read it. All I can say is do your own research and leave all your prejudices and preconceived notions behind and let the text speak to you. You may be amazed at what you hear and read.

This is not an attempt to skew but to make more transparent and clear what the Bible is trying to say. Peace to you all in the name of Christ Jesus.

Disclaimer

I am a student of science, history, anthropology, archaeology and reason. These are what pay my bills, what secure the material items I need for daily life, and what have not meshed well with my early religious teachings. I have had what some would call supernatural experiences. I enjoy reading about others supernatural experiences and phenomenon. I am not a fan of the moral corruption seen in Hollywood, heard in modern pop music, or the hypocrisy of politics. There are days where I walk this world feeling like we have entirely abandoned God, where everywhere I turn there is corruption and greed.

But, one day I came across some information that made it all fall into place. The key to the puzzle. They key that provided AN answer to (note I’m not saying it is the absolute answer) and made much of the questions I have had lingering about science and religion suddenly have an answer I could explain.

• Did primitive peoples really build the megaliths all across the world, a feat we could not perform today even with modern power equipment?
• Why do we believe in ghosts and spirits? Are they really the spirits of our loved ones?
• Is every evil attributed to Satan or does he have minions/demons who work for him as well?
• Can demons really possess a body? Just who are these demons and why do they exist?
• How can the patterns of dictatorships, massacres, genocides cycle throughout the generations with little interruption? It’s like a broken record skipping over and over again the same lyrics.
• Why do people pray to Jesus and God asking for menial things like “please let us win our baseball game” or “please let me win the lottery” or attribute the smallest, unimportant events in our lives to God’s actions?
• How could some self proclaimed religious people be so evil?
• Just what in the world are flying saucers and aliens and why do some people believe they are one in the same with angels?
• Why do many ‘pagan’ religions have similar creation and end time stories?
• Why is the bible considered ‘hypocritical’?
• Just how many ‘end time’ events have occurred since creation?
• Is there math or astrology in the bible? How do the stars fit in?

These are just a few that I can think of for now. The clue to what has filled in the blanks for me will come soon in my blog posts. It is triggered in Genesis, and it led me on an adventure that opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities about our past both biblical and scientific.

It may bother some as I pepper in this information into translating scripture, but call it part of me putting the puzzle together in my own way. If the pieces truly do not fit, then I will not include those in the finished product. But it will be a learning process and an experiment, so I will be trying to fit these pieces in as they correlate.

 

 

Introduction

It all started after a tense but friendly discussion in which my counterpart was quoting and interpreting scripture in a way that seemed, in my opinion very non Christian. I was witnessing a Christian pick and choose Old Testament scripture to justify the annihilation of an entire group of modern peoples. It had been a long time since I had truly studied the bible, so I was unable to point out scripture that countered his arguments.

Ironically, that same week, I began to use an abandoned office at work. It was abandoned in the sense that the individual who used to use the office was laid off 5 years earlier and the office remained unused, so entering it was basically going back in time when this person received their pink slip, gathered their personal belongings and left the job site for good. Strewn all over the walls were memes, scriptures and quotes. Seek Jesus, the Lord is My Shepherd, 9/11 Never Forget, President Bush – My President, I am the way the truth the life, etc. As I began to organize and make space for my work equipment, I removed a small poster off of a cabinet only to find a hidden poster under it.

It was a printout of what a 5-day weather outlook would look like, and at the top, it said Afghanistan. Monday through Thursday showed generic weather predictions. Friday, however, was nothing but a mushroom cloud. Was putting up a poster indicating the nuclear assault of Afghanistan a Christian thing to do?

I said, “That’s IT!” The bible I read as a child, a teen, and a young adult, and the teachings I received through the church did not mesh, AT ALL, with what I was seeing from many war mongering, hate feeling, and egotistical people who called themselves Christians. Christians acting extremely non Christian is what chased me away from the church and group study to begin with. Suddenly it was coming full circle I was beginning to encounter them more and more in my daily life.

Disclaimer: I am not saying all Christians are like this, I have met many to the contrary, but for some reason I seem to be engaging the war mongering Christians more often and, because it’s been so long since I last studied scripture, I found myself unable to specifically counter their arguments with the only thing that they will listen to besides their pastor or a local questionable Christian radio station: Other Scripture.

So here I go, it’s back to the Bible. Testament by Testament, Book by book, Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse. This is going to be a long journey, I am going to be analyzing the King James Version verse by verse, adding my analysis, interpretation, and most of all, my questions. I am not claiming to be right in my translation, but I do pray to God in Jesus name to help me be wise in my reading and to seek out knowledge in the hopes I may share it, right or wrong, with other Christians and create a discourse that leads to better understanding for us all.

Let us begin…