What if the Bible’s first verse isn’t actually the first act of creation?
Some Hebrew scholars argue that Genesis 1:1 is only the setup,
and the real beginning comes when God speaks light into the darkness.
This isn’t just grammar trivia. It’s a vision of God bringing order out of chaos,
a pattern that still shapes the world, and our lives, today.
Genesis 1:1 is iconic:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
It’s the first line of the Bible. The "Big Bang before the Big Bang. But here’s the plot twist: it might not be the first act of creation.
Yeah. Really.
Why This Verse Matters
The standard reading goes like this:
God creates everything (verse 1).
The earth is a formless void (verse 2).
Then light shows up (verse 3).
But Hebrew scholars say that isn’t how the text works.
The word bereshit (“in beginning”) doesn’t have the definite article “the.” That changes everything. Instead of a finished sentence, it could be a dependent clause:
“When God began to create the heavens and the earth…”
Now we’re in a different conversation. This isn’t about nitpicking translation. It’s about how Hebrew grammar actually functions.
Hebrew Grammar, Simplified
You already know this:
Independent clause: full sentence. “Jim studied for his exam.”
Dependent clause: fragment. “When Jim studied…”
The second one leaves you hanging.
Genesis 1:1 might be the same. Without the definite article, bereshit forms a construct chain. That means it reads:
“In the beginning of God creating…”
or
“When God began to create…”
It’s not a complete event. It’s a setup. A lead-in.
So What’s the First Act?
The first independent clause doesn’t arrive until verse 3:
“And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.”
That’s the first action in the Hebrew text.
Verses 1–2 aren’t about creation from nothing. They’re scene-setting:
A formless, chaotic world
Darkness covering everything
Waters without boundary
The Spirit hovering
Echoes of Chaos
This imagery wasn’t unique to Israel. In Babylonian and Canaanite myths, the sea—Yam, or Tiamat—was a hostile power the gods had to fight.
Genesis takes the same stage props but flips the script. Israel’s God doesn’t pick up a sword. He doesn’t wrestle with chaos. He simply speaks, and light breaks through.
The deep is still there, but it’s bounded, ordered, and turned into a stage where life can flourish.
Backed by Scholars
This isn’t just speculation.
The Jewish Publication Society translation:
“When God began to create the heavens and the earth…”
Michael Heiser: the first true act of creation in Genesis is light, not matter. He notes that the Hebrew vowel system (added in the Middle Ages) locks in bereshit, not bareshit, meaning no definite article. Translation: not “the beginning,” but “when.”
Dan McClellan: creation ex nihilo (from nothing) isn’t in Genesis at all. That idea came later, during 2nd-century debates with Greek philosophers. The Hebrew worldview was about God bringing form and function out of chaos, not pulling matter out of thin air.
Why It Changes Things
Genesis 1:1 isn’t the cosmic spark. It’s the opening setup.
The first act is God speaking light into darkness.
The earth is already there; formless, empty, chaotic.
Creation isn’t a one-time “poof” but God turning chaos into cosmos, disorder into order.
This doesn’t flatten theology. It deepens it. It makes Genesis more ancient, more Hebrew, less Western.
So What?
The opening of Scripture may not be about physics at all. It’s about hope. The same pattern still holds:
God brings light into darkness, order into the deep, hope into chaos.
It’s not only the beginning of creation, but a picture of how He continues to work today.
Turns out the beginning wasn’t the beginning. It was the beginning of something new.
Want to Go Deeper?
Watch Michael Heiser’s video lecture : Have we Translated Genesis 1 Wrong All this Time?!
Check Dan McClellan’s explainer on why ex nihilo doesn’t appear in the Hebrew Bible: Is Genesis 1:1 mistranslated in your Bible?
Compare translations for yourself:
Traditional reading: KJV, NIV, ESV, NASB — “In the beginning God created…”
Scene-setting reading: NRSVUE, NJPS — “When God began to create…”
For deeper study, see:
Claus Westermann, Genesis 1–11: A Commentary (1974)
O.H. Steck, Der Schöpfungsbericht der Priesterschrift (1975)
E.A. Speiser, Genesis, Anchor Bible (1964)
Ludwig Koehler, Walter Baumgartner, et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), p. 1169
📌 Important: Many Bibles that print “In the beginning” in the main text still include a footnote offering the alternate reading (“When God began to create…”). For example, the NRSV margin points back to the traditional “In the beginning,” while the NIV and NET Bible note that the Hebrew grammar allows both options.
Thanks for reading Berean Underground! Share this if it made you think, and subscribe for more reflections that refuse to settle for easy answers.
Disclaimer: This post was sharpened with the help of AI tools for clarity and flow.
Change Your Mind?
If you ever decide this content isn’t for you, you can unsubscribe with the link below at any time.
Or “When God began to create, the earth was chaotic” means that He first laid out all the materials that He would work with and it didn’t have much of a shape or order. Think of an artist throwing all his paints and brushes on the table before he starts to choose what will go on his palette and canvas. It doesn’t negate ex nihilo, which is itself more of a philosophical concept that seeks to not describe the universe or matter as eternal or emanating from God, which is an open door to pantheism.