MCo:A Literal Reading of Genesis 1:1 to 2:3
This page was originally copied from the old MCo:Many Counsellors wiki in July, 2018. Please sign if you edit it.
What is a "literal reading"?
It has been claimed that Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 can be read literally — as a summary of what really happened. If this is true, then it should be possible to flesh out the literal summary with suggested details, building up a plausible step-by-step account.
A hallmark of literal readings of Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 is the belief that each day mentioned is One 24-hour Day.
Such accounts could include unprovable speculations and any number of miracles. Elements of the account could have symbolic meaning in addition to their literal historical meaning.
Why try to flesh out a literal reading?
Many people claim that the first chapter of the Bible can be read literally. For them, the objective is simply to show that a literal reading is possible by creating a single example of a coherent literal reading.
See Problems with Literal Readings of Genesis 1:1 to 2:3 for questions that will help keep a literal reading consistent with what Genesis actually says.
Some people not only insist that the first chapter of the Bible can be read literally, but require other people to do so. In their case, their credibility and even honesty depend on whether they can flesh out a plausible literal reading.
For other ways to read Genesis 1:1 - 2:3, see Non-Literal Readings of Genesis 1:1 to 2:3
The best literal reading of Genesis 1:1 - 2:3 so far
Using our imagination to overcome some of the challenges listed here, we can come up with something like the following:
Day 1: Genesis 1:1-5
When God began to create the heaven and the earth, the earth was formless and empty, with nothing but darkness on the surface of deep water. And God’s Spirit, a mighty wind, was blowing above the surface of the waters that covered the earth.
God said, [though human languages were to come much later] “Let there be light!” — and there was light.[1] And God saw the light, and saw that it was good [according to his own aesthetic and/or for his own purposes]: and God divided the light from the darkness [sequentially, apparently, as seen by a human observer] [2]. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. Darkness and morning come, completing the first day. [3]
Day 2: Genesis 1:6-8
On the First Day the mighty wind was blowing above the waters, but now God lifts up some of the water so that what we would call the atmosphere separates the ocean from the expanse [4] of waters above, which is named “the Sky”, or “heaven”, depending on translation. Darkness and daylight come again, though the Sun is yet to be created.
Day 3:
Day 4:
Day 5:
Day 6:
Day 7:
- This page begun by Emu 09:05, 15 May 2004 (EST)
- ↑ See The Four Sources of Light. Note that the Sun will not be created until the 4th Day.
- ↑ though the Hebrew day of darkness followed by light begins in the middle of v.5
- ↑ There is no suggestion of a rotating Earth.
- ↑ So JPS Tanakh. “Dome” is not justified by the Hebrew. The Jewish Study Bible Notes say:
The word translated 'expanse' refers to a piece of metal that has been hammered flat. Here, the function of the sky is to separate the waters above (which fall as rain) from the subterranean waters. . .
