Judaism

Creation and Providence: God’s world

Although Genesis affirms divine creation, it does not offer an entirely unambiguous view of the origin of the universe, as the debate over the correct understanding of Genesis 1:1 discloses. (Was there or was there not a preexisting matter, void, or chaos?) The interest of the author, however, was not in the mode of creation—a later concern perhaps reflected in the various translations of the verse, “In the beginning God created,” which could signify what medieval philosophers designated creatio ex nihilo (“creation out of nothing”). He was concerned rather to affirm that the totality of existence—inanimate (Genesis 1:3–19), living (20–25), and human (26–31)—derived immediately from the same divine source. As divine creation, the universe is transparent to the presence of God, so that the Psalmist said, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims [that it is] the work of his hands” (19:1). Indeed, the repeated phrase, “And God saw how good it was” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 25, 31), may be understood as the foundation of this affirmation, for the workmanship discloses the workman. The observed order of the universe is further understood ... (200 of 86,975 words)