What is Genesis 1 about?
Genesis 1 is the Bible's opening account of creation: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Over six days, God speaks and brings order out of formless darkness. He makes light, the sky, dry land and plants, then the sun, moon and stars, creatures of sea and air, and land animals. Again and again "God saw that it was good." On the sixth day God creates humankind "in his own image," male and female, blesses them, and gives them care of the earth (verse 27). At the end, "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (verse 31). Genesis 2 continues with the seventh day of rest.
What does Genesis 1 mean?
Genesis 1:1
The first sentence of the Bible tells us who made everything: God. It does not try to prove that he exists; it simply begins with him. "In the beginning" means time itself had a starting point, and God was already there. "Created" translates a Hebrew word used in the Bible only of God's activity, bringing something new into being. "The heaven and the earth" is a way of saying everything, the whole universe. The verse teaches that the world is not an accident and that God is distinct from what he made. Everything that follows in the Bible rests on this foundation: the Creator has a claim on his creation.
Genesis 1:27
On the sixth day of creation, God makes human beings, and this verse repeats the word "created" three times for emphasis. People are made "in his own image," which sets them apart from the rest of creation. Being made in God's image means humans reflect something of God's nature: they can think, love, create, choose, and relate to him, and they are given responsibility to care for the earth on his behalf. The verse also says "male and female created he them," so men and women equally bear God's image. This is why the Bible treats every human life, of every background, as precious and worthy of dignity.
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Tap Listen on the first screen to hear Genesis 1 read aloud, then keep listening into the next chapter. About the audio Bible