Gleanings From Genesis – Dr James Tabor & Ross Nichols – Episode #2
In Episode Two of Gleanings from Genesis, the details of ‘day one’ and the ‘second day’ are discussed. Working through the Transparent English Bible (Genesis 1:1-8), the rhythm and cadence of the original Hebrew are highlighted. What begins to emerge is an ancient story of the transformation of a desolate and waste planet into the habitable earth.
So far enjoying the series. We use” When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was a shapeless, chaotic mass with the Spirit of God brooding over the dark vapors” for the beginning of Genesis. We also use the phrasing in the JPS. This works well for college educated Christians( Catholic). with a scientific background.
Paul Dirkes Obl,SB
Louisiana
Very good, thank you
I relate this beginning of Genesis to the Big Bang theory of the creation of the Universe. I maintain the when God began to create , God and chaos were already present where God and chaos (Evil) came from is unknowable to us creatures of the Big Bang. There was a program running in the background when God began to create,.
Paul Dirkes Obl.SB
This translation is bringing life breath to the words!
Thank you for mentioning my name … the Kardashians used to start modestly to… hahahah. Now seriously, thanks for another very good program.EH!
I’d be interested in your understanding of what the parallels of days 1-3 and 4-6 tell us about creation of light & day/night separation. The suggestion I’ve heard is that day 1 consists of creating time, as in the basic time unit of day & night – then time is populated with years and seasons via inhabitants in day 4, in the same way as days 5 & 6 get inhabitants for sea/sky & land.
Appreciate the mention, I’m very much enjoying this series!
I remember years ago when I first read a sample of Dr. Tabor’s translation of Genesis, I was surprised to see a description of an expanse being created–with waters above it and waters below it. The visual which that created in my mind was of a layer of water hovering above the sky (as in, not the clouds but actually above the clouds), which then made me wonder if this was the same water that would later fall to the Earth during the time of Noah (along with the water rising up from below the ground).
Regardless of the legitimacy of this thought, I love how Dr. Tabor’s translation really helps readers think outside the box and allow the transparent scriptures to speak truths directly to their hearts without the filter of pre-existing notions getting in the way.
Excited to hear more as this series continues!
Shalom Jono, James and Ross. I really enjoyed the first episode of Gleanings from Genesis. I downloaded the Kindle edition in time for the first parsha of the year. Keep up the great work as you continue in the service of YHVH.
I stumbled upon this study, and I’m very glad I did. The creation account pertains to only our planetary home! Wonderful! I came to that conclusion on my own when I let “heaven and earth” be defined by the context that followed. But now I have your accurate translation from the Hebrew text.
I knew the KJV had some biases, especially since King James had a political motive for his new translation. It’s about time we got an updated version of the Bible that isn’t tainted by the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus Codices like every version since the Oxford movement.
Your beautiful rendition of Earth’s creation could stifle all the needless “old Earth”/”young Earth” controversy. I think your conclusion is that everything listed in Genesis 1 is “young”; but our sphere, which isn’t listed, is “old”. The Sun, Moon, and stars are “old” too.
When I look at Neptune I get a picture of the pre-creation Earth. It’s core is the same size as our planet it’s ocean of atmosphere is mostly water.
I think Earth was a giant gas, rogue planet that God chose to do miracles on. He took it’s water vapor atmosphere that was densest at the bottom and on day 2 further compressed it to the liquid we know today. Then He lifted the rest, compressing it into a canopy to filter out our future Sun’s damaging UV rays. Day 3 He lifted the tectonic plates to make land out of the void. And day 4 He moved us to our galaxy and planetary system. He put us near Sol and brought us a satellite 160,000 times smaller, situating us just right so that they would appear the same size.
Since Genesis 1 is no longer a true account of creating the universe, then it should be easier for some atheistic evolutionists to accept it, because a big obstacle removed is the unrealistic misconception that the universe was created in on day 1 at the snap of God’s finger.
And Psalm 11:3 no longer is a worry as applied to creationism being the foundation for salvation. With your in-depth, analytical source Bible, God can now more easily reach the hearts and minds of the analytical, scientific men and women, boys and girls.