Genesis 1: History, Science, or Poetry?

Imagine a world without speech and written language.  One such world existed for the better part of 4 billion years.  But at some point, humanity slowly developed spoken language which thousands of years later led to written communication.  It's probably not a stretch to say that what led to the development of humanity's exceptionalism compared to the other great apes was the evolution of our big brains and the ability to use that computing power in conjunction with our voice boxes and mouths designed to articulate speech.  With words came communication.  With communication came meaning.  With meaning came understanding.  With understanding came humanity as we know it, created in the image of the God who spoke the world into existence.  

Words are meaningful.  Words have power.  In part, what gives words their meaning and power is their flexibility.  Words do not have to be rigid or static.  By rearranging their order, by slightly altering their tone, and by creating alternative genres of words both written and spoken, words can unleash an infinite possibility of...of...of anything!  Words are that powerful!

For thousands of years, the genre of poetry has inspired people in a way that adds an embellishment and flair to more traditional communication.  Poetry has the power to unleash imagination in ways that prose cannot.  So, it's only fitting that the editors of Genesis chose to start the narrative of scripture with a big bang that only poetry could provide. 

Poetry and Rhythm 

Biblical scholars tell us that Genesis 1:1-2:4a is Hebrew poetry.  There is a structure and a rhythm to how the author(s) of this text describe the making of the habitable world.  The days of creation hint at life's lived rhythm, structured around a seven-day week.  For the first three days of this poem, God is at work in creating a space that the creatures of the next three days of the poem will thrive in.  On day one, God speaks the concept of light into existence.  On day four, the sun, moon, and stars become the vehicles to emit this light out into the galaxies.  

On day two, God separates the waters of chaos from one another.  The bottom waters become the seas, and the top waters are held at bay above the earth by the firmament and the dome of the sky.  Yes, ancient near-eastern people believed that beyond what we call the atmosphere and near outer space there were waters in what we would today call far "outer space".  To grasp their concept of the cosmos, imagine a snow globe.  Their world was essentially what might be contained within a snow globe and beyond that globe were what they described as the "heavens".  What might fill the sea and the sky?  On day five, God provides the seas with fish and the sky with the birds of the air.  Do you see the pattern, structure, and rhythm of this poem?  Day four corresponds with day one.  Day five corresponds with day two.  So, that can only mean that day six will correspond with what has come before in day three.

On day three, YHWH creates land (earth) and then allows the earth to sprout vegetation.  The land and the vegetation will provide the space and sustenance for the land animals of day six.  The six days of God's work in creation leads to day seven, when God ceases from his work and enjoys the world's first Sabbath.  The two-by-two rhythm of the first six days of creation is broken with this one final and climactic day.  This creation poem reminds us that the order of the cosmos must include rest, restoration, and re-creation.  

Additionally, in its near eastern context, this poem echoes the description of the construction of a temple.  The final act of temple construction in the ancient world was to place a statue or idol of a god in the center of the building.  In God's temple of creation, there is no idol setup, rather humanity, made in the image of God, is placed at the pinnacle of creation.  Humanity is to reflect God's glory out into creation, while simultaneously calling forth and summing up creation's worship of God and offering it back to God as a sacrifice of praise.  This poem of creation captures these ideas and concepts in ways that prose, especially scientific prose could not.

Literalism Literally Gets It Wrong

By taking a poem "literally", we might actually misunderstand the meaning.  But understanding any writing in its correct literary genre allows us to better understand its actual or "literal" meaning.  Genesis does not describe for us how God created the cosmos, but rather that he did create it, and that it is not only good, but very good.  Science might reveal some of the mechanisms that God predesigned into the "system" of creation, but it doesn't come close to answering our "why" questions.  In the next couple of blog posts we'll explore the "whys" a bit further, until then, dig into the poetry of Genesis 1! - Shay