---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Genesis 1"
description: "CHAPTER 1  Genesis 1:1;
Genesis 1:2. THE
CREATION OF HEAVEN
AND EARTH. 1. In the beginning—a period
of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/genesis/1"
---

![Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible](/images/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible.jpg)

 The Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
 
Include 66 books
 
Denomination: calvinism
 
 GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuth1 Samuel2 Samuel1 Kings2 Kings1 Chronicles2 ChroniclesEzraNehemiahEstherJobPsalmsProverbsEcclesiastesSong Of SolomonIsaiahJeremiahLamentationsEzekielDanielHoseaJoelAmosObadiahJonahMicahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiMatthewMarkLukeJohnActsRomans1 Corinthians2 CorinthiansGalatiansEphesiansPhilippiansColossians1 Thessalonians2 Thessalonians1 Timothy2 TimothyTitusPhilemonHebrewsJames1 Peter2 Peter1 John2 John3 JohnJudeRevelation 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738394041424344454647484950 

CHAPTER 1

[Genesis 1:1](../../../kjv/genesis/1/1);
[Genesis 1:2](../../../kjv/genesis/1/2). THE
CREATION OF HEAVEN
AND EARTH.

**1. In the beginning**—a period
of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages;
and so the phrase is used in [Proverbs 8:22](../../../kjv/proverbs/8/22);
[Proverbs 8:23](../../../kjv/proverbs/8/23).
**God**—the name of the
Supreme Being, signifying in *Hebrew,* "Strong,"
"Mighty." It is expressive of omnipotent power; and by its
use here in the *plural* form, is obscurely taught at the
opening of the Bible, a doctrine clearly revealed in other parts of
it, namely, that though God is one, there is a plurality of persons
in the Godhead—Father, Son, and Spirit, who were engaged in the
creative work ([Proverbs 8:27](../../../kjv/proverbs/8/27); [John 1:3](../../../kjv/john/1/3);
[John 1:10](../../../kjv/john/1/10); [Ephesians 3:9](../../../kjv/ephesians/3/9);
[Hebrews 1:2](../../../kjv/hebrews/1/2); [Job 26:13](../../../kjv/job/26/13)).
**created**—not formed from
any pre-existing materials, but made out of nothing.
**the heaven and the earth**—the
universe. This first verse is a general introduction to the inspired
volume, declaring the great and important truth that all things had a
beginning; that nothing throughout the wide extent of nature existed
from eternity, originated by chance, or from the skill of any
inferior agent; but that the whole universe was produced by the
creative power of God ([Acts 17:24](../../../kjv/acts/17/24);
[Romans 11:36](../../../kjv/romans/11/36)). After this preface,
the narrative is confined to the earth.

**2. the earth was without form and
void**—or in "confusion and emptiness," as the words
are rendered in [Isaiah 34:11](../../../kjv/isaiah/34/11).
This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and
broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of
this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to
arise.
**the Spirit of God
moved**—literally, continued brooding over it, as a fowl does,
when hatching eggs. The immediate agency of the Spirit, by working on
the dead and discordant elements, combined, arranged, and ripened
them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new creation. The
account of this new creation properly begins at the end of this
second verse; and the details of the process are described in the
natural way an onlooker would have done, who beheld the changes that
successively took place.
[Isaiah 34:11](../../../kjv/isaiah/34/11). THE FIRST
DAY.

**3. God said**—This phrase, which
occurs so repeatedly in the account means: willed, decreed,
appointed; and the determining will of God was followed in every
instance by an immediate result. Whether the sun was created at the
same time with, or long before, the earth, the dense accumulation of
fogs and vapors which enveloped the chaos had covered the globe with
a settled gloom. But by the command of God, light was rendered
visible; the thick murky clouds were dispersed, broken, or rarefied,
and light diffused over the expanse of waters. The effect is
described in the name "day," which in *Hebrew*
signifies "warmth," "heat"; while the name
"night" signifies a "rolling up," as night wraps
all things in a shady mantle.

**4. divided the light from
darkness**—refers to the alternation or succession of the one to
the other, produced by the daily revolution of the earth round its
axis.

**5. first day**—a natural day, as
the mention of its two parts clearly determines; and Moses reckons,
according to Oriental usage, from sunset to sunset, saying not day
and night as we do, but evening and morning.
. SECOND DAY.

**6. firmament**—an expanse—a
beating out as a plate of metal: a name given to the atmosphere from
its appearing to an observer to be the *vault* of heaven,
supporting the weight of the *watery clouds.* By the creation of
an atmosphere, the lighter parts of the waters which overspread the
earth's surface were drawn up and suspended in the visible heavens,
while the larger and heavier mass remained below. The air was thus
"in the midst of the waters," that is, separated them; and
this being the apparent use of it, is the only one mentioned,
although the atmosphere serves other uses, as a medium of life and
light.
. THIRD DAY.

**9. let the waters under the heaven
be gathered together unto one place**—The world was to be
rendered a terraqueous globe, and this was effected by a volcanic
convulsion on its surface, the upheaving of some parts, the sinking
of others, and the formation of vast hollows, into which the waters
impetuously rushed, as is graphically described () [HITCHCOCK].
Thus a large part of the earth was left "dry land," and
thus were formed oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers which, though each
having its own bed, or channel, are all connected with the sea
([Job 38:10](../../../kjv/job/38/10); [Ecclesiastes 1:7](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/1/7)).

**11. let the earth bring forth**—The
bare soil was clothed with verdure, and it is noticeable that the
trees, plants, and grasses—the three great divisions of the
vegetable kingdom here mentioned—were not called into existence in
the same way as the light and the air; they were made to grow, and
they grew as they do still out of the ground—not, however, by the
slow process of vegetation, but through the divine power, without
rain, dew, or any process of labor—sprouting up and flourishing in
a single day.
. FOURTH DAY.

**14. let there be lights in the
firmament**—The atmosphere being completely purified, the sun,
moon, and stars were for the first time unveiled in all their glory
in the cloudless sky; and they are described as "in the
firmament" which to the eye they appear to be, though we know
they are really at vast distances from it.

**16. two great lights**—In
consequence of the day being reckoned as commencing at sunset—the
moon, which would be seen first in the horizon, would appear "a
great light," compared with the little twinkling stars; while
its pale benign radiance would be eclipsed by the dazzling splendor
of the sun; when his resplendent orb rose in the morning and
gradually attained its meridian blaze of glory, it would appear "the
greater light" that ruled the day. Both these lights may be said
to be "made" on the fourth day—not created, indeed, for
it is a different word that is here used, but constituted, appointed
to the important and necessary office of serving as luminaries to the
world, and regulating by their motions and their influence the
progress and divisions of time.
. FIFTH DAY.
The signs of animal life appeared in the waters and in the air.

**20. moving creature**—all
oviparous animals, both among the finny and the feathery
tribes—remarkable for their rapid and prodigious increase.
**fowl**—means every flying
thing: The word rendered "whales," includes also sharks,
crocodiles, c. so that from the countless shoals of small fish to the
great sea monsters, from the tiny insect to the king of birds, the
waters and the air were suddenly made to swarm with creatures formed
to live and sport in their respective elements.
. SIXTH DAY.
A farther advance was made by the creation of terrestrial animals,
all the various species of which are included in three classes: (1)
cattle, the herbivorous kind capable of labor or domestication.

**24. beasts of the earth**—(2)
wild animals, whose ravenous natures were then kept in check, and (3)
all the various forms of
**creeping things**—from
the huge reptiles to the insignificant caterpillars.

**26.** The last stage in the
progress of creation being now reached—**God said, Let us make
man**—words which show the peculiar importance of the work to be
done, the formation of a creature, who was to be God's
representative, clothed with authority and rule as visible head and
monarch of the world.
**In our image, after our
likeness**—This was a peculiar distinction, the value attached to
which appears in the words being twice mentioned. And in what did
this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man,
not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this
respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like
God, a past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral
dispositions of his soul, commonly called *original righteousness*
([Ecclesiastes 7:29](../../../kjv/ecclesiastes/7/29)). As the new creation
is only a restoration of this image, the history of the one throws
light on the other; and we are informed that it is renewed after the
image of God in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness ([Colossians 3:10](../../../kjv/colossians/3/10);
[Ephesians 4:24](../../../kjv/ephesians/4/24)).

**28. Be fruitful,** c.—The human
race in every country and age has been the offspring of the first
pair. Amid all the varieties found among men, some black, some
copper-colored, others white, the researches of modern science lead
to a conclusion, fully accordant with the sacred history, that they
are all of one species and of one family (). What power in the word of God! "He spake and it was
done. He commanded and all things stood fast" []. "Great and manifold are thy works, Lord God Almighty!
in wisdom hast thou made them all" []. We admire that wisdom, not only in the regular progress
of creation, but in its perfect adaptation to the end. God is
represented as pausing at every stage to look at His work. No wonder
He contemplated it with complacency. Every object was in its right
place, every vegetable process going on in season, every animal in
its structure and instincts suited to its mode of life and its use in
the economy of the world. He saw everything that He had made
answering the plan which His eternal wisdom had conceived and,
"Behold it was very good" [].

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