THE STORY CONTINUES .....
INTRODUCTION
"In the beginning, I had a thought."
Seekers have been reading Genesis 1:1–2:3 the same way for centuries. Generation after generation has approached these thirty-four verses as a scientific account of how Yehovah created the physical universe—the cosmos, the planets, the stars, the earth beneath our feet.
But what if we've been reading it incorrectly?
I'm not a theologian. And I certainly don't have all the answers. But I've learned that the quality of our questions matters more than the confidence in our predetermined answers. And I've learned to go back to the source—to examine what the text actually says rather than simply accepting what tradition has always told us it means.
When a seeker chooses to accept traditional religious doctrine over scriptural fact, that is the end of his quest. Receiving or accepting traditional doctrine as scriptural fact derails the seeker.
So I asked myself: What did Moses actually observe?
The Question That Changes Everything
Consider what Scripture tells us: Deuteronomy declares that Yehovah would raise up a prophet like Moses. Yehoshua became that prophet. And how did Yehoshua teach? In parables. He spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them.
Since Yehoshua taught in parables, and Yehoshua taught like Moses, would it not be logical that Moses too taught in parables?
If Moses used parables, then what are we reading in Genesis 1:1–2:3?
What Moses Could Not Have Seen
Here's what we know with certainty: Moses was not present at the creation of the physical universe. He could not serve as a legal eyewitness to cosmic creation because he was not alive. He did not observe the formation of stars, the separation of land and water, or the appearance of the sun and moon.
So what creation did Moses witness?
What if the first thirty-four verses of Scripture are not describing the creation of the physical heaven and earth at all? What if Moses spoke of the creation of something other than the physical heaven and earth?
What Scripture Actually Is
Before we can understand what Moses wrote, we must first understand what Scripture is.
I view Scripture as the history of the salvation of man. Not a textbook on astronomy or geology. Not a scientific manual for how molecules and planets formed. Scripture is the unfolding story of redemption—the history of how Yehovah is saving humanity.
And this salvation comes through a bloodline that stretched from Adam to Yehoshua, the Last Adam. From beginning to end, Scripture traces this lineage. The genealogies are not filler—they are the backbone of the entire narrative. They show us the thread of promise, the seed of the woman, the line through which salvation would come.
If Scripture is the history of salvation through a bloodline, then what is Genesis 1 actually describing?
Consider this: Genesis 5:1 declares, "This is the book of the generations of Adam." The genealogy—the documented bloodline—begins in chapter 5. So what are chapters 1 through 4? What precedes "the book of the generations"?
A Different Blueprint
In my opinion, "heaven and earth" in Genesis 1:1–2:3 refers to the relationship between Yehovah, Adam, and the descendants of Adam—specifically, the nation of Israel. The creation Moses describes in these opening verses is the birth, the formation, the creation of the nation of Israel.
This is a creation Moses did witness. He participated in it. He led it. He documented it.
The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy contain his observations—forty years of data collected during the formation of this new nation, and the history of the first generation. These are not abstract theological concepts. These are Moses' field notes from a creation he observed with his own eyes.
The Bookends of Scripture
If Genesis 1 marks the beginning of the old creation—the formation of Israel as Yehovah's covenant people—then what marks the end?
Revelation 22 describes a new creation, or rather, a restoration of the garden. Complete with a forest of trees of life. Access restored. Relationship renewed.
Genesis 1: Old creation begins. Revelation 22: Old creation ends, new creation realized.
Both accounts use the language of creation. Both describe the establishing of relationship between Yehovah and his people. And neither, in my opinion, is primarily about the physical formation of rocks, water, and sky.
Scripture opens with a creation and closes with a new creation. Between these bookends lies the entire history of salvation through the promised bloodline—from Adam to the Last Adam, from the first Israel to the final generation.
The Story Continues
There is no blank page between Malachi and Matthew. The story simply continues, similar to Genesis, with a genealogy.
The narrative flows from Exodus through the crucifixion without interruption. Matthew opens by tracing the lineage of Yehoshua—connecting him directly to Abraham, to David, to the entire history that came before. It's the same method Moses used: showing continuity, demonstrating that this is one unbroken story.
The salvation history Moses began documenting continues right through to its fulfillment in the Last Adam.
The Logic of Interpretation
Let me be clear about what I'm proposing:
It is possible that I am right and you are wrong.
It is possible that I am wrong and you are right.
It is possible that we are both wrong—that Genesis 1 describes some other creation neither of us has correctly identified.
But it is not possible that we are both right.
Either Genesis 1:1–2:3 describes the creation of the physical cosmos, or it describes the formation of Israel, or it describes some other creation entirely. The text means what it means. Our task is to determine what Moses actually wrote, not to harmonize competing interpretations that cannot both be true.
The Language of Parable
Why would Moses use the language of cosmic creation to describe the formation of a nation?
Because parable represents the pinnacle of communication. A parable takes common, visible things and uses them to reveal what remains unseen. It creates a bridge between the familiar and the mysterious.
Yehoshua revealed the mysteries of the kingdom through parables about seeds, soil, treasures, and wedding feasts. What if Moses revealed the creation of Israel through a parable about light, darkness, separation, order, and the forming of heaven and earth?
This is not a diminishment of Scripture's truth. It is a recognition of Scripture's genius.
The Purpose of Scripture
What is Scripture meant to reveal? Persuasion requires both substance and evidence—the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Scripture does not present itself primarily as evidence for the visible universe. Rather, it offers substance and evidence of Yehovah himself, whom we cannot see.
I am persuaded that Yehovah created the entire universe.
I am persuaded that Moses authored the first five books of our Bible.
I am persuaded that Moses could not have been an eyewitness to the creation of the physical cosmos.
And I am persuaded that Genesis is not, in my opinion, a scientific record of physical creation—but rather a parable of a different creation, one that Moses observed and documented throughout the wilderness journey.
An Invitation to Question
The pages that follow will examine this proposal in detail. We will walk through each day of creation and explore how the elements correspond to what Moses actually witnessed during Israel's formation. We will trace the parallels between light and darkness, waters and separation, land and sea, sun and moon—examining whether these align with the historical events recorded in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
My explanations of the days should make the connections clear, or prove these statements false.
I may be wrong. Traditional interpretation may be correct. Or we may both be missing something Moses intended us to see.
But we cannot both be right.
So I invite you to set aside what we've always been told and examine what Moses actually wrote. Don't trust my conclusions. Question them. Test them against the text itself. Go back to the source.
Ask better questions.
Because if Moses wrote in parables, and we've been reading Genesis 1 as literal history, then we've been missing the very creation Moses wanted us to see—the creation he witnessed, the creation he led, the creation he documented for forty years in the wilderness.
The creation of heaven and earth: the nation of Israel.
The Structure Reveals the Method
Genesis itself signals this shift in literary form. Genesis 2:4 declares: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yehovah Elohim made earth and heaven."
The word "generations" marks a transition. Genesis 1:1–2:3 stands as Moses' eyewitness parable—his answer to "where it all began." Then Genesis 2:4 shifts to genealogical history: "These are the generations..."
From this point forward, Moses compiles oral traditions, genealogies, and received narratives. These accounts—Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, the Tower of Babel—are historical events. Moses did not witness them personally, but he faithfully recorded what was passed down through the generations.
And even within these historical accounts, Scripture continues to employ figures of speech, metaphor, and symbolic language. History and parable are not opposites. Moses can record true events while using literary devices to reveal deeper meaning. The question is not whether something happened, but how Moses chose to communicate what happened—and why.
How We Read Matters
Ancient Hebrew and Greek manuscripts had no punctuation, no distinction between upper and lower case letters, and no spaces between words. The text was continuous—one unbroken string of letters. Every period, comma, capital letter, paragraph break, chapter division, and verse number we see in modern Bibles was added millennia after Moses wrote the text by translators and editors reading through their own theological frameworks.
Consider John 14:5-6. Thomas asks Yehoshua: "Rabbi, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?"
Traditional punctuation reads Yehoshua's response as: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me."
But the original Greek had no punctuation. What if we punctuate it differently?
"I am the way. No man comes to the truth and the life of the Father, except through me."
Thomas asked about the way (singular). Yehoshua answered about the way (singular). In this reading, Yehoshua identifies himself as the path to the Father—the mediator who leads us to the Father's truth and the Father's life. Truth and life belong to the Father. Yehoshua is the way to them.
Both readings are grammatically valid in the original Greek. The difference is not in the words themselves, but in how later editors chose to punctuate them—choices shaped by theological assumptions about who Yehoshua claimed to be.
This is not a minor point. How we format the text determines what we think it says. And what we think it says depends on the framework we bring to it.
When we approach Genesis 1:1-2:3, we must ask: Are we reading what Moses wrote, or are we reading what millennia of tradition have told us Moses wrote?
Tools for Truth Seekers
Some may object: "How can we investigate Greek and Hebrew if we're not scholars?"
This is a reasonable concern, but it mistakes the nature of the task. You don't need to become a Greek or Hebrew scholar to examine what the text actually says. You need access to tools that scholars have already created.
Strong's Concordance, lexicons, interlinear Bibles, and digital Bible software put the original languages at your fingertips. You can look up any Hebrew or Greek word, see how it's used throughout Scripture, and examine the range of meanings translators had to choose from. You can compare translations side by side. You can trace word usage across the entire biblical text.
The scholarship already exists. The resources are available. What's required is not years of language study, but the willingness to investigate—to look up words, trace patterns, ask questions, and test whether traditional interpretations actually align with what the text says.
When I say bereshit can mean "firstfruits" rather than only "in the beginning," I'm not inventing a translation. I'm pointing to how the same Hebrew word is translated elsewhere in Scripture. You can verify this yourself. Look it up. See where else reshit appears. Examine whether "firstfruits" fits the contexts.
When I suggest that "heaven and earth" represents a relationship rather than physical cosmos, I'm not asking you to trust my Hebrew expertise. I'm asking you to trace how these terms function throughout Scripture. Where are heaven and earth called as witnesses? How does Matthew use "kingdom of heaven" versus Mark's "kingdom of God"? What patterns emerge?
The original languages matter—not because they're secret knowledge requiring an academic degree, but because translation always involves interpretation. When we examine the source text, we can see where interpreters made choices, what options they had, and whether those choices align with the larger patterns of Scripture.
For example: John 12:25 - "He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal."
"Life" appears three times in English. But in Greek, there are two different words:
"He that loveth his psuche shall lose it, and he that hateth his psuche in this world shall keep it unto zoe eternal."
Psuche (ψυχή) = soul-life, natural life, animal life. This is what humans and animals share—mortal existence that will perish.
Zoe (ζωή) = resurrected life, life that never perishes. This comes only through being born from above.
English translation using "life" three times flattens this crucial distinction. A simple look at an interlinear Bible or Strong's Concordance reveals what the original said—two completely different kinds of life.
You don't need a theology degree to discover this. You need curiosity and readily available tools.
Go back to the source. Use the tools available. Don't accept my conclusions—test them. The text itself will either confirm or refute what I'm proposing.
Chapter 1: The Firstfruits
Genesis 1:1
Translation: "The firstfruits of elohim was the creation of heaven and earth"
Firstfruits, Not "In the Beginning"
The Hebrew word bereshit is traditionally translated "in the beginning." However, the root word reshit carries a broader meaning: "beginning, first, chief, best, firstfruits."
Scripture consistently uses reshit to mean "firstfruits" in offering contexts:
- Exodus 23:19; 34:26 -- "The reshit of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of Yehovah"
- Leviticus 23:10 -- "A sheaf of the reshit of your harvest"
- Numbers 18:12 -- "All the reshit of the oil, wine, and grain"
- Deuteronomy 18:4 -- "The reshit of your grain, wine, and oil"
- 2 Chronicles 31:5 -- "The reshit of grain, wine, oil, honey"
- Nehemiah 10:35, 37 -- "The reshit of our ground and fruit"
- Ezekiel 44:30 -- "The reshit of all firstfruits"
The most crucial parallel appears in Jeremiah 2:3: "Israel was holy to Yehovah, the reshit of His harvest."
The exact same word from Genesis 1:1 describes Israel as Yehovah's reshit---his firstfruits. This is not coincidental.
Elohim = Yehovah of Exodus 3
To understand Genesis 1:1, we must establish who Elohim is. Elohim is Yehovah, the name revealed in Exodus 3.
In Exodus 3:14-15, when Moses asks what name he should tell the children of Israel, Elohim responds: "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh"---"I will be that which I will be." Immediately in the next verse, he identifies himself as Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey.
The connection between these two names is grammatical. Ehyeh is first person, "I will be," using the Hebrew root Hey-Yud-Hey in the qal conjugation---the simple, basic form of the verb "to be." The name Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey is formed from three tenses of this same root:
- Hayah = "he was"
- Hoveh = "he is"
- Yihyeh = "he will be"
Together: Yehovah.
The name Yehovah means "I was. I am. I will be." This is not the hifil (causative) conjugation that would mean "He causes to be" or "Creator." It is the qal conjugation.
Elohim: Definition
Elohim is plural in form---the -im ending is the standard Hebrew masculine plural marker. However, when referring to Yehovah, elohim consistently takes singular verbs and singular adjectives. In Genesis 1:1, bara (created) is singular, not plural, indicating that elohim functions as a singular subject despite its plural form.
The word elohim is used in multiple ways throughout Scripture:
- Yehovah himself (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 3:6; Deuteronomy 6:4)
- False gods/idols (Exodus 20:3; Judges 10:13-14)
- Judges or authorities (Exodus 21:6; 22:8-9; Psalm 82:6)
- Mighty ones or powerful beings (contextual usage)
Context determines which meaning applies.
In Genesis 1:1, elohim refers specifically to Yehovah. This identification is confirmed by the singular verb bara (created), the immediate context of Genesis 1-2 where elohim acts in relationship with humanity, and the parallel with Exodus 3 where the same elohim reveals his personal name as Yehovah.
Bara: Created
Bara means "created, shaped, formed." In the parabolic framework of Genesis 1:1, this is not physical creation but the birth of relationship using physical terms.
Bara describes the birth of relationship---Yehovah brought into existence the fellowship between himself and Adam. The creation is relational, not material.
Heaven and Earth: Representing Relationship
"Heaven and earth" represents the relationship between Yehovah and humanity throughout Scripture. Not the physical cosmos, but the relational categories - the two parties in relationship.
In Genesis 1:1:
- Heaven represents Yehovah
- Earth represents Adam (and his descendants)
The firstfruits was this Father-son relationship between Yehovah and Adam in Eden. Luke 3:38 traces the genealogy to "Adam, of Elohim," establishing Adam as son to Yehovah as Father.
Heaven as Yehovah's Name:
Jewish practice avoided speaking Yehovah's name directly, interpreting the third commandment as prohibiting pronunciation of the name. "Heaven" became an accepted substitute:
- Matthew uses "kingdom of heaven" exclusively
- Mark and Luke use "kingdom of God" in parallel passages describing the same events
- Same meaning, interchangeable terms
- "Heaven" represents Yehovah in Scripture's relational language
For example, the parable of the mustard seed:
Matthew 13:31 - "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed..."
Mark 4:30-31 - "With what can we compare the kingdom of God...? It is like a grain of mustard seed..."
Luke 13:18-19 - "What is the kingdom of God like?... It is like a grain of mustard seed..."
Same parable. Same event. Matthew uses "kingdom of heaven." Mark and Luke use "kingdom of God." The terms are interchangeable.
Called as Witnesses:
Throughout Scripture, heaven and earth are called as witnesses when Yehovah establishes relationship with His people:
- Deuteronomy 4:26 - "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today"
- Deuteronomy 30:19 - "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse"
- Deuteronomy 31:28 - "I may call heaven and earth to witness against them"
- Isaiah 1:2 - "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for Yehovah has spoken"
Physical sky and dirt cannot testify. These are the two parties in relationship - Yehovah (heaven) and His people (earth) - called to bear witness.
Heaven and Earth Passing Away:
Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away"
In context, Yehoshua speaks of "this generation" (Matthew 24:34) - the last generation under the Old Covenant. When He says "heaven and earth shall pass away," He describes the end of the Old Covenant relationship (AD 70), not the destruction of the physical planet.
Hebrews 12:26-27 - "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens... this phrase indicates the removal of things that are shaken... in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain"
The shaking and removal of heaven and earth = removing the Old Covenant relationship, establishing what cannot be shaken.
New Heaven and New Earth:
Isaiah 65:17 - "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered"
Isaiah 66:22 - "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says Yehovah, so shall your offspring and your name remain"
2 Peter 3:13 - "But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells"
If "heaven and earth" = relationship between Yehovah and humanity, then "new heaven and new earth" = restored relationship under the New Covenant.
The Pattern Throughout Scripture:
- Heaven and earth = relationship between Yehovah and humanity
- Calling heaven and earth as witnesses = appealing to the relationship itself
- Heaven and earth passing away = Old Covenant relationship ending (fulfilled AD 70)
- New heaven and earth = New Covenant relationship established
This reading is consistent throughout Scripture. "Heaven and earth" is relational language, not cosmological language.
The Meaning of Genesis 1:1
The firstfruits of the creation was the Father-son bond between Yehovah and Adam in Eden. Luke 3:38 traces the genealogy to "Adam, of Elohim," establishing Adam's relationship to Yehovah as son to Father.
This is a relational statement, not a chronological one. Bereshit does not mark sequential time---"in the beginning, then this happened, then that happened." It marks relational priority: the firstfruits, the chief thing, the most important creation.
The Theological Reversal
Typically, firstfruits are what men bring to Yehovah. The worshiper offers the first and best of the harvest to Yehovah---earth to heaven.
But in Genesis 1:1, the pattern reverses.
This firstfruits of creation was offered to Adam from Yehovah---heaven to earth.
The firstfruits of all creation was not material but relational: the Father-son bond between Yehovah and Adam in Eden. This was Yehovah's gift to humanity, not humanity's offering to Him.
From Eden to Egypt: The Progression of Genesis 1:1-2
Genesis 1:1 reveals the firstfruits - the Father-son relationship between Yehovah and Adam in Eden. This was the beginning of everything that follows.
But Genesis 1:2 shows us where that relationship led: "And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters."
The Earth Became Tohu Bohu
The Hebrew verb hayetah (הָיְתָ֥ה) can mean either "was" or "became." In context, "became" makes better sense. If verse 1 describes the establishment of relationship in Eden - order, life, fellowship - then verse 2 describes what happened to Adam's descendants: they became formless and void, covered in darkness.
The earth - Adam's descendants - descended from the garden into slavery in Egypt. What began in paradise became chaos. What began in light became darkness.
Moses' Eyewitness Account
Genesis 1:3 begins Moses' parable - his eyewitness account of the 40 years he observed. "Hayah light. Hayah light." (Become light! Became light!) This is Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3, commissioned by Yehovah to bring light (liberation) to those in darkness (slavery).
The structure of Genesis 1:1-2:3 follows this progression:
- Verse 1: The firstfruits (Yehovah-Adam relationship in Eden)
- Verse 2: The descent (earth/Adam's descendants became tohu bohu in slavery)
- Verses 3-34: The restoration (Moses' parable of Israel's formation from slavery to rest)
Moses is not describing cosmic creation. He's describing what he witnessed: Yehovah restoring Adam's descendants from the chaos of Egypt, following what was established with Adam in Eden. The Father initiating relationship with His children. Light breaking into darkness. Order emerging from chaos. Life replacing death.
Everything that follows in the seven days elaborates on this restoration - how Yehovah brought Israel from slavery to rest, from darkness to light, from death to life.
A Relational Story, Not a Chronological Story
Firstfruits not in the beginning: this is not a chronological story, but a relational story.
If we read Genesis 1 as a timeline of how the physical universe came into existence, we miss what the text actually says. Genesis 1:1 is a thesis statement. It establishes what matters most in all of creation: relationship between Yehovah and humanity.
Everything that follows in Genesis 1 elaborates on this central truth.
Methodological Precision
With a story so critical to understanding Scripture, precision is necessary, if not critical.
We will let Scripture create its own vocabulary and framework, and use that vocabulary throughout this book. Words like "divine" cannot be found or defined from Scripture, so they will not be used here.
This understanding does not align with tradition. That is intentional. Tradition has often obscured what the text plainly says when read carefully in Hebrew, within its own scriptural context.
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