NIV, Faithlife Study Bible | Page 56

6 | Genesis 1:9
9
And God said , “ Let the wa ter un der the sky be gath ered to one place , and let dry ground ap pear .” And it was so . 10 God called the dry ground “ land ,” and the gath ered wa ters he called “ seas .” And God saw that it was good .
11
Then God said , “ Let the land pro duce veg e ta tion : seed-bear ing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it ,
ac cord ing to their var i ous kinds .” And it was so . 12 The land pro duced veg e ta tion : plants bear ing seed ac cord ing to their kinds and trees bear ing fruit with seed in it ac cording to their kinds . And God saw that it was good . 13 And there was eve ning , and there was morn ing — ​the third day .
14
And God said , “ Let there be lights in the vault age of the earth . The first group includes the framework view , in which the days of creation are a literary device that structures the creation account . Also included in this group is the analogical day view , in which each day of creation represents God ’ s work day , but the length of this day might not equal a literal 24-hour period ( see 2Pe 3:8 ). Three main theories try to reconcile science with the days of creation . The punctuated activity view says that each day of creation was separated by a huge gap of time . The gap view argues for a gap of millions or billions of years between Ge 1:1 and 1:2 . Finally , the day-age view states that each day of creation represents a geological era . These three theories are all influenced by scientific conclusions that the earth is millions or billions of years old . 1:6 a vault The Hebrew word used here , raqia ’, refers to a dome-like structure that was thought to separate the sky from the heavens ( v . 8 ). In the ancient Near East , people conceived of the structure of the universe differently than the modern conception . People thought of a solid , dome-like structure encircling and enclosing the earth ( e . g ., Job 26:10 ; Pr 8:27 – 28 ; Job 37:18 ; compare Eze 1:22 ). God dwelled above this expanse ( Ps 148:1 ) as though the earth was his throne ( Am 9:6 ; Ps 29:10 ). The earth was thought to be surrounded by waters , so the seas were gathered together in one place ( Ge 1:9 ).
1:9 – 13 The third day of creation involves two more distinct acts of creation . Both are affirmed with the phrase , “ And God saw that it was good .” The first three days of creation are characterized by three acts of separation : God separates light from darkness ( v . 4 ), heaven from earth ( vv . 7 – 8 ), and land from sea ( vv . 9 – 10 ).
1:9 water under the sky The writer explicitly distinguishes the waters of the sea from the waters above the expanse because of the ancient Near Eastern view that the sky held back the waters above ( compare note on v . 6 ).
1:11 – 13 This passage refers to the creation of plant life , but it does not cover all botanical varieties . Similarly , the list of animals in vv . 20 – 25 does not represent all categories of animal life . Both lists are selective . Here , the seed-bearing plants and fruit trees likely represent only the plants designated for human consumption .
1:11 Let the land produce vegetation God ’ s command for vegetation to grow is the first indirect command in the creation sequence . seed-bearing plants The earth is to produce not only plants and fruit trees , but also plants and fruit trees that bear seeds .
1:14 – 18 God creates the sun and moon on the fourth day . The sun , moon and stars provide the daily and seasonal cycles required for agriculture that , combined with land and water , sustain life .
DAY 1 Waters DAY 2
DAY NIGHT
NIGHT above the heavens
Vault of heaven
NIGHT

The Days of Creation

Ocean / abyss Ocean
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . And God said , “ Let there be light ,” and there was light . God called the light “ day ,” and the darkness he called “ night .”
And God said , “ Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water .” God called the vault “ sky .”