In the or a Beginning? Different Implications?

[SavedOnebyGrace]

I am going to use the conversation regarding this topic I literally tripped over today.

Source: In the or a Beginning

Possibly the most famous phrase in the Hebrew Bible is: "In the beginning." Anyone can recite it without ever having read the Hebrew Bible. But is that the accurate translation? With a background in Hebrew, I know that there is no "hey" (Hebrew letter = "the") nor vowel corresponding to the "hey" being assimilated into the "bet" (Hebrew letter = "In"). Thus, "beginning" is not a direct object, but actually an indirect object. So shouldn't it be translated as "In A beginning"? If so, what implications does this have? Does this mean that there are more than one beginning -- multiple beginnings? If so, what does that mean in regards to the creation, our existence, etc.?

Or do you think it was an ancient scribal error to neglect the "hey" or a Masoretic misplacement of the vowels?

Why do we always assume it's "In THE beginning"? Is it because we don't know how to explain it otherwise?

1st Comment

For one way of handling it, see this question and linked references. This is closely tied up with the issue of subordinating the first verse. (I don't understand what you mean by the direct/indirect object distinction here. Definite or not, רשאית is the object of a preposition.)

– Susan

2nd Comment

Please remember the context... This is poetry. You cannot disregard the author's intent, and writing style - and superimpose what we think should have been proper grammar. Fundamentally, you can even argue that "Beginning" and "Created" are the same words, with different morphologies - meaning that "IN [beginning]" might not be proper, but "Creating, God Created ..." ... The point is - IT'S POETRY. The author expects the reader to exercise their own discretion. There are all kinds of plays-on-words like this in Scripture. Throwing a "grammar book" at this won't solve it.

– elika kohen

Another writer responds:

3rd Comment

I agree with Elika Kohen. The way I see it, there could have been multiple beginnings (whether before, after, or both) but it is also not incorrect to say "In the beginning" because the phrase is referring to this particular beginning, but it is also not incorrect to say "In a beginning" either because I think it refers to the infinite complexity of God's creation. Then again I personally believe that an infinite God created an infinite amount of universes because everything God does is therefore by nature infinite.

"Yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end."~Ecc. 3:11; "Whatever exists is far off and most profound-- who can discover it?" ~Ecc. 7:24; "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it [You cannot take away or add to infinity]. God does it so that people will fear him."~Ecc. 3:14

The plurality of Elohim could also refer to the infinite amount of branches or subsections of Almighty God for each of these particular universes, if this theory is true. Of course, I am also trinitarian so therefore I believe that Elohim has multiple applications, including the inclusion of the family of God (i.e. "sons of God")

- Seth Hall

 

Edited November 7, 2021 by Saved.One.by.Grace

[teddyv]

That green text choice is not the best for easy reading.

[Guest]

18 hours ago, teddyv said:

That green text choice is not the best for easy reading.

Understood.  I'll use blue or brown in the future.  I just wanted to distinguish my thoughts from others.

[other one]

29 minutes ago, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Understood.  I'll use blue or brown in the future.  I just wanted to distinguish my thoughts from others.

This is my favorite.  But I think it depends on individual eyes and how our monitors are set up.

Personally, I can hardly see this to read because of the way my monitors are set up and my personal vision problems.

I have to highlight it which it makes it white on a blue background to see.

 

[Guest]

46 minutes ago, Josheb said:

Because multiple beginnings are not reported. In the absence of more than one the "the" is acceptable. I would also suggest the creation having a non-direct-object beginning is also indicative of a process beginning. That wouldn't be understood solely from an English reading of the single verse, but as we get through the six days and a day of rest..... followed by prophesy....  we have reason to understand that everything created in the firs six days of the day of creation was going to unfold over a much longer period of singularity .

Actually that's not true. 

The heavens are built in stories (Amos 9:6). Compare the heavens to the three stories on Noah’s ark (Genesis 6:16).

• The first heaven is the atmosphere or the atmospheric heaven. It is called the “open firmament of heaven” (Genesis 1:20) because it is the one we access and it is open to the heaven above it. It was created on the second day of the six days of creation (Genesis 1:6-8).
• The second heaven is the starry heaven or out space. It is called “the firmament of the heaven” (Genesis 1:14-19) and was created on the second day (Genesis 1:6-8).
• The third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:4) is simply heaven or God’s heaven (1 Thessalonians 4:16). It is sometimes called the “heaven of heavens” (Nehemiah 9:6); (Psalm 148:4) or “paradise” after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:4). It was created in Genesis 1:1 in the beginning. That is why Genesis 1:1 refers to “heaven” while Genesis 2:1 refers to the “heavens.”  Only one heaven had been created in the very beginning. There had been no separation between heavens as there it today. The heaven of Genesis 1:1
  must refer to God’s heaven—one that was not created during the six days of creation but had an earlier existence.  [David Reagan]

The Heaven referred to in Genesis 1:1, God's Heaven had an earlier existence.  The four Creations of the Bible:

Source: Four Creations and the Four Worlds

Source: The Bible, Genesis & Geology Ministry, Gaines R. Johnson, D.D., D.Th.

[Guest]

The Crowding of the First Day

If the first day included Genesis 1:1-2, the following events would all have occurred on that one 24-hour day.

1. The creation of God’s heaven           
2. The creation of the heavenly beings: angels, cheribum, serriphim, etc.
3. The creation of the earth
4. The song of the angels who sang at the creation of the earth (Job 38:4-7)
5. The creations of the waters that are upon the earth (Genesis 1:2)
6. The moving of the Spirit on the waters
7. The creation of light (with this order, the angels evidently sang in the dark)
8. The division of light from darkness

Although God can certainly do anything, this particular crowding is out of line with the remainder of the creation week when God only created one or two major categories in a day. It makes the story imbalanced.  [David Reagan]

Edited November 8, 2021 by Saved.One.by.Grace

[other one]

11 hours ago, Josheb said:

And I happen to be red-green color blind so some shades of green and read are indistinguishable from each other or the default text color. That's why I highlight scripture in blue. That I can see. Although I could read Saved.One's post. 

you would have fun driving in Purcell Oklahoma back in the 60s when I started to drive.    They had the stoplight handing in the middle of the street in two locations and one was flipped upside down.  People with your eyesight couldn't tell if it was red or green and they were different.   They swapped them ever couple of months and as I understand wrote a lot of tickets from people running the upside down one.  There were more people with the red/green problem that I would have thought.     It did help their city budget though.     State law later stopped them from doing that.

As for the OP, I don't need to inject my personal thoughts on this but I'm posting about colors because you two need a break.

[Guest]

Genesis 1:1 does not imply Gods existence.  God always was for He is the great "I am".  Genesis 1:1 just refers to the beginning of "The" or "A" of this creation.  In fact, Genesis 1:1 states God's eternal existence because God is the author of this creation.

[Alive]

Y'all really need to ease up--both of you. This is rediculous.