by Jim Schicatano

THE FIRST DAY

The first verse of the Holy Bible, “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth,” reveals the origin of our universe and the beginning of time. This revolutionary statement was issued at a time when it was not known that our universe, and time itself, had a beginning. The Bible neither explains nor describes the creation event; it only declares that it was achieved by the will of God.

Today, the scientific community widely embraces the concept of a birth to our universe. It is believed that between ten and twenty billion years ago the universe exploded into existence from a single point of infinite space-time density, in an enormous explosion known as the Big Bang. This initial explosion was of unparalleled magnitude, and it contained such a tremendous reservoir of energy that it would produce the entire universe (the pure energy that existed in those initial seconds would eventually cool into matter). The universe continues to expand today because of that explosion.

The Earth was formed by a process called “accretion.” Matter that revolved around the young sun soon began to accumulate into a distinct body. As the Earth’s mass slowly grew its gravity increased, and it attracted the smaller matter that remained from the nebular cloud. Meteors, comets, asteroids, and small planetesimals pummeled our turbulent world. The constant bombardment by the nebular debris, and the radioactivity released from the Earth’s core, produced a planet that was a fiery ball of molten metals. Volcanoes exploded everywhere, spewing forth lava, steam, and toxic gasses. About 4.5 billion years ago, our world finally became a distinct planet; it was also uninhabitable.

The primordial Earth had a hot, dense, toxic atmosphere, that was produced primarily by outgassing and the introduction of gasses that were contained in the extraterrestrial debris that battered our world. Carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, methane, and ammonia were some of the gasses that comprised our atmosphere. The impenetrable atmosphere blanketed the Earth, enveloping the planet in prolonged darkness and trapping the heat from the sun via the Green House effect.

The Bible describes the early conditions of the Earth as “formless and empty” of life. This is a description that we now know to be accurate, for no life could exist in such hostile conditions.

Around four billion years ago, the Earth cooled to the point where steam could liquify. This precipitated a great deluge.¹ For millions of years, torrential rains poured down upon the surface of the Earth, eroding the volcanic mountains and cutting valleys. Stable mountain ranges as we recognize them today did not exist at that time, because the process of plate tectonics had not yet begun. The surface of the Earth was relatively smooth, and was soon covered by a global ocean.² The Bible’s depiction of a young Earth shrouded in darkness, and engulfed by water (“darkness was over the surface of the deep”) has been confirmed.

The precursors to life – and maybe the first simple life – appeared at about that time, possibly extending as far back as 3.85 billion years ago.³ Science has been unable to duplicate the natural mechanisms that initiated life on our world. The Bible, however, may provide us with some clues. The enigmatic phrase “and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” may be the author’s subtle way of providing an answer to the puzzle of life’s origin. Here, God is described as intermingling or providing energy to the waters at about the time that life first appeared on our world. Although the definitive interpretation of this mysterious verse remains elusive, the time of the event parallels the scientific time-frame that life originated. This may give some credibility to the belief that it was God that initiated life on planet Earth.

As the torrential rains continued to fall upon the Earth, the atmosphere slowly dissipated, and light reached the watery surface of our world for the first time. Without the light from the sun, our planet would be a barren ball of rock and ice, and life as we know it could not be sustained. This important event was highlighted in the Bible, when God spoke His first recorded words: “Let there be light.” With that command, the Earth’s surface received illumination from the sun. God declared the light to be good, and named the light “day” and the darkness “night.” It was His final act of the First Day.

The author of the Creation Story lived thousands of years ago when scientific knowledge was minuscule and in its infancy. Yet, consider what he declared:

1. The universe had a beginning.
2. Time had a beginning.
3. The young Earth was desolate and void of life.
4. The surface of the Earth was blanketed in darkness.
5. The Earth was covered by water.
6. Light finally illuminated the surface of the Earth, but only after all of the above had occurred.

The scientific validity of all of these statements has been confirmed. If we were to disregard divine inspiration, we could not begin to explain how an author living so long ago could have acquired such knowledge.

A CREATION DAY

Science has learned that the creation of the universe, and the formation and development of life on planet Earth, was not confined to six 24-hour days. Even the events described on the First Day of Creation spanned the passage of billions of years – from the explosive birth of the universe to the dissipation of the Earth’s primordial atmosphere. Because of this scientific knowledge, it is tempting to dismiss the Biblical account of creation. This rejection primarily centers around one point of contention. After an initial reading of Genesis 1:1 through 2:4, most readers are convinced that the Biblical Creation Days were twenty-four hours.

The word “day” in the Creation Story is the translation of the Hebrew word “yom.”⁴ Like “evening,” “morning,” and virtually every word in the English language, “day” possesses more than one definition. The Hebrew word “yom” is actually similar to the English word “day” in the ways it may be used. It may consist of twenty-four hours, the daylight portion of a day, an era, or a unit of work.

In general, the Hebrew word “yom” represents a period of time, the length of which is determined by its context in the sentence. While it is most often interpreted as a 24-hour day, the word “day” need not be restricted to exactly twenty-four hours. It may be no less than the daylight portion of a day, but it may span many years. While this does not substantiate the passage of millions or billions of years required for scientific corroboration, the flexibility of “yom” does allow us some latitude in our interpretation of the Creation Story.⁵

THE SECOND DAY

On the Second Day, God created “an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.” He named the expanse “sky.” The NIV translates the Hebrew word “rakia” as an “expanse.”⁶ Many people have misinterpreted the events of the Second Day, and believe that the author was describing a thin, hammered-out, metal canopy that ancient people believed was suspended over the Earth. This metal canopy was thought to store a repository of water that was the source of rainwater.

If this were the only definition of rakia then the passage would clearly contradict established science. It is our atmosphere that separates us and protects us from space, not a metal canopy. However, rakia also possesses other meanings that do not necessarily imply a stretched-out, metallic substance. It can also mean “an expanse” or “thinned out.”^7,8

The “expanse” or “firmament” (the word used in the KJV) is the area between the surface of the Earth (water under the expanse) and the clouds (the water above it). This is an area of the atmosphere that we call the troposphere. It supplies the air that we breathe, and the clouds that yield the rain.

The author has also indirectly revealed to us that on the Second Day God created the hydrologic cycle (or water cycle). The sun is the catalyst of the hydrologic cycle, and light was finally visible on the surface of the Earth when the Second Day began. Since the deluge of the First Day, water existed in both its liquid and gaseous states. Science tells us that a stable water cycle began at that time.

SUMMARY OF THE FIRST AND SECOND DAYS

The first two Creation Days consist of several highlights. God initially created an entire universe from nothing. From an unformed, barren world, He brought forth a planet that received light. He also created the sun, which provided the energy needed to maintain the life that He would create. A stable atmosphere and the hydrologic cycle were formed out of the Earth’s turbulent beginnings.

With each passing verse and with each passing day, we learn that God created order from that which previously had no order. Each of His actions brought greater stability to the Earth, and virtually all of His creations were dependent on His prior creations.

There were no other gods present at the beginning of time, as other ancient cultures believed. The Bible tells us of no great battles between gods seeking supremacy. Instead, the Bible departed from the common cultures of that time and declared that there was only one omnipotent God, and He created all that we see around us.

THE THIRD DAY

On the Third Day, God called forth the land to rise from beneath the oceans (“let dry ground appear”). God named the dry ground “land” and He called the waters “seas.”

Around the same time that light first reached the Earth’s watery surface, and the hydrologic cycle was just beginning, the reign of bombardment from small planetesimals, meteors, and comets was coming to an end.⁹ In addition, the interior of our world – which had consisted of thick, swirling, molten metals – was slowly cooling. It was also around this time that tectonic plates began to form.

About four billion years ago the continents were only about one-tenth of their size today.¹⁰ The cornerstones of the continents, granitic rock called “cratons,” began to buoy out of the water at that time.¹¹ While the seafloor mostly consists of dark, heavy, basaltic rock, the land is composed of lighter, granitic rock, which tends to rise above sea level like an object floating on water.¹² Initially, the young Earth was too turbulent to support the horizontal process that we recognize as plate tectonics. The interior of the Earth was still very hot and the process was more vertical and more violent. As more cratons formed, they were thrust violently upward and moved quickly and freely above the Earth’s watery surface. The moving cratons often collided, merged, and formed large landmasses. Eventually, the Earth’s interior cooled and the craton’s vertical movement subsided. It was then, some 2.5 billion years ago, that the horizontal, or sliding, process we understand as plate tectonics truly began, and the continents began to form.¹³

The Bible does not explain how the dry land formed. It only reveals the land’s subterranean origin. In fact, even science did not understand the basic process of tectonic plate formation until the last few decades. Today, science is convinced that the origin of land on this planet came from beneath the sea. This is something that the Bible had explicitly claimed thousands of years ago.

PLANT LIFE OF THE THIRD DAY

Although the ancient Hebrews did not recognize plants as life (they do not possess souls¹⁴), the Bible declares that God’s next creation was vegetation. Two types of vegetation were described: “plants bearing seed” and “trees bearing fruit.” The Bible appears to say that plants first appeared on dry land (“the land produced vegetation”), yet it must have been evident to the author that plants certainly existed in the seas. This is not necessarily an omission – deliberate or otherwise – by the author. The Hebrew word for “land” generally refers to dry land, which may encompass a region, kingdom, something equivalent to a country, or simply the dry surface where man resides.¹⁵ However, this word may also represent land of all sizes, including the entire Earth. The Hebrew word used here, ha’arets, was also used in Genesis 1:1, and was translated as “Earth.”¹⁶ The author is revealing here that plants in general were God’s next creation.

Plants in the seas had been established long before animals appeared there. Evidence of seaweed and planktonic algae in the oceans dates back tens of millions of years before sea dwelling animals appeared.¹⁷ This was hundreds of millions of years before life of any type appeared on land.

The earliest that we are able to date any rudimentary plant life on land may be 476 million years ago.¹⁸ However, plants probably did not achieve prodigious success on land until the Devonian Period.¹⁹ This was a period that extended from 412 to 354 million years ago.²⁰ Soon after, animals followed the lead of the plants and also appeared on the land. In the seas and on the land, science has established that plants preceded animals.

Most readers would assume that the plants created on the Third Day consisted of complex vegetation, such as apple trees, flowers, and herbs. Such an interpretation is not necessarily mandated. It is acceptable to understand the Biblical references to vegetation as very primitive forms of plants.²¹

Plants may not have been considered living things at the time the Creation Story was written, but the ancient people must have recognized that plants occupied an integral position on the food chain. Without plants, animal life could not be sustained. It is here on the Third Day, that we begin to see logic in the order of life that God created. Each living creation of God was generally of greater intelligence than prior living creatures. Each creature generally held a higher place on the food chain than those before it. Finally, each creature became increasingly important to man, to the point where we are able to actually form relationships with the last “higher” animals created just before us. God continued to increase order and complexity with each passing day.

THE FOURTH DAY

The Fourth Day has caused tremendous confusion among many Biblical readers. This was the day that the sun, the moon, and the stars were believed to have been created. Yet simple reasoning provides us with an argument against such an interpretation. The very first verse of the Bible tells us that the universe was created, and that light from the sun appeared on our world during the First Day. Since the creation of the universe would certainly include the creation of the stars and galaxies, and the sun was shining light upon the Earth on the First Day, we have our first clues that these celestial bodies were not created on the Fourth Day.²²

The Hebrew word for “created” that we find in the first verse of the Bible was not used on the Fourth Day.²³ Instead, we are told that “God made two great lights” – the “greater light” being the sun, and the “lesser light” representing the moon. Although most translations of the Bible are satisfactory for the casual reader, the translation of this phrase is inadequate for a scientific investigation. It has been argued that a preferable translation of this verse should be: “God had made two great lights.”²⁴ This is additional evidence that these heavenly bodies were made sometime in the past, and not on the day in question.

But if God was not creating these astronomical bodies, what was being accomplished on the Fourth Day?

The primary purpose of the Fourth Day probably lies in the practical and theological implications it presents. These celestial bodies were to “serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years.” God gave us the sun, the moon, and the stars for calendrical purposes. The time to plant, the time to harvest, the seasons, and many religious holidays are still determined by these heavenly bodies.^25,26

These celestial bodies have also aided navigation. The position of the sun during the day, or even during the year, has directed mankind for thousands of years. Travelers at night, such as sailors and nomads, have been safely guided by the markers in the night sky.²⁷

An implicit purpose of the Fourth Day can be discerned by the names that the author used for the sun and the moon. Here they are only referenced as “greater light” and “lesser light.” Many ancient cultures worshiped the sun and the moon, believing they possessed some divine powers. But the author purposely did not address them by their proper names, so as not to grant them any unearthly power that they certainly did not possess.²⁸ These lights were creations of God, created for the expressed purpose of aiding mankind. They were meant to serve humanity and not to rule over anyone. It is implied here once again, that no other gods exist except the God of the Bible.

THE FIFTH DAY

With plants established on the Third Day, it was time for the animals to follow. The Bible tells us that the seas were the first place that God created living creatures (“so God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems”). Science agrees that animals first appeared in the seas and not the land. Sometime between one and two billion years ago the first multicellular organisms appeared. By 600 million years ago multicellular creatures were flourishing in the seas, but no life of any kind had appeared on the land. The Bible gives us a general description of the types of creatures that were created during the Fifth Day. This included creatures that lived in swarms, flying creatures, and the “great creatures of the sea.”

Some readers believe, mistakenly, that birds were the only flying creatures created during the Fifth Day. In fact, the Hebrew word that is used does not make such a distinction, and any creature capable of flight could be included.²⁹ This group might consist of birds, flying insects, bats, and even the extinct Pterosaurs.

The “great creatures” would include any of the large creatures that have ever dwelled in the Earth’s waters. The King James Version specifically states that “whales” were created, but that is much too restrictive of an interpretation. Whales, sharks, large fish, and extinct creatures such as the Plesiosaurs, Ichthyosaurs, and the giant Mesosaurs might all fall under the title “great creatures of the sea.”

Despite the fact that the Fifth Day seems to focus on sea life, we may also infer that life on the land was not excluded. The author was certainly aware that birds are primarily land creatures. This opens the possibility of expanding the types of life that were created.

Amphibians are animals that begin their lives in the water but when they mature they may live exclusively on the land. Frogs are amphibian creatures. Baby frogs are called tadpoles, and are confined to life in the water. They are only capable of dwelling on the land after they mature and become frogs. Since amphibians are associated with water, they might be included with life on the Fifth Day.

Insects are creatures that are not specifically mentioned in the Creation Story. The creation of land insects, which were among the earliest land animals, is sometimes placed on the Sixth Day. However, it is arguably more logical to group them with the “swarming” creatures of the Fifth Day.³⁰ As previously stated, flying insects could probably be included with the other flying creatures.

Dinosaurs and other reptiles are popular animals that the Bible does not specifically address. Some scholars place them with the land animals of the Sixth Day; other scholars group them with the great creatures of the Fifth Day. Once again, there is no consensus.

THE FIFTH DAY ZOOLOGICAL RECORD

There is an intriguing declaration in the Biblical text of the Fifth Day that may present us with additional evidence for scientific corroboration. God proclaimed: “Let the water teem with living creatures” and “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas.” God commanded His creations to multiply and to fill the seas by reproducing. Such a command implies a great surge in the diversity and multitude of life in the seas. This description may be the Biblical recording of a unique and pivotal period in the Earth’s history. Around 540 million years ago, there was a sudden and prodigious explosion of diverse marine life that science has named the Cambrian Explosion. Over the course of ten million years, every animal phyla that exists today abruptly appeared in the Earth’s waters.³¹ This tremendous eruption of life filled the seas with all manner of living creatures.

As the Bible correctly states, animal life began in the seas. The Cambrian Explosion introduced a tremendous diversity of life on our planet – although life was still confined to the water. By 530 million years ago, the seas literally teemed with all manner of life. The extinct trilobites were the most prevalent species of life that existed at that time, but primitive clams and snails had also appeared.³² By 520 million years ago, the first vertebrates made their appearance.³³ Jawless fish soon followed by the Ordovician Period – about 500 million years ago.³⁴ Jawed fish arrived by 460 million years ago.³⁵ Around 400 million years ago, larger marine creatures such as sharks followed them.³⁶ Amphibians would venture onto dry land during the Devonian Period (between 412 and 354 million years ago)^37,38 The Mesozoic Era – or the “Age of Dinosaurs” (250 million to 65 million years ago) – saw the rise of enormous marine creatures such as the Ichthyosaurs, Plesiosaurs, Mesosaurs, and giant crocodiles.³⁹

In the air, flying insects were the first to appear, about 300 million years ago.⁴⁰ The reptilian Pterosaurs filled the skies during the “Age of Dinosaurs,” while birds finally appeared some 150 million years ago. By the time the first bird took to the air, the creatures of the sea had increased in number and filled the waters – just as God had commanded. Soon the birds flourished and filled the sky.

The Fifth Day spanned nearly 500 million years – beginning with the Cambrian Explosion and ending, approximately, with the demise of the dinosaurs. By the time the dinosaurs went extinct, some sixty-five millions years ago, all of God’s commands for the Fifth Day had been fulfilled. The seas were literally teeming with life and the birds were the kings of the air.

THE SIXTH DAY

On the Sixth Day, God turned His attention to the land, and created the “living creatures.” These animals would be considered a higher order of creature, since their creation occurred later than any other animal, and just prior to man. They possessed superior intelligence to God’s previous creations, were exclusively mammalian, and were endowed with a living “soul” – which is not to be confused with the living spirit that God has bestowed to man. God created three types of “living creatures”: “livestock,” “creatures that move along the ground,” and the “wild animals.”

There is general consensus that “livestock” were the domesticated animals.⁴¹ This group included cattle, goats, sheep, oxen, pigs, horses, donkeys, mules, camels, and possibly dogs. These are animals that can be controlled by man, and some are capable of forming relationships with man. In the animal kingdom, mammals are generally the only animals that are capable of domestication.

The “wild animals” were probably the large mammals that are wild in nature but cannot generally be controlled by man.⁴² This group included lions, elephants, leopards, tigers, hippopotamuses, bears, and other large animals. Some scholars place the dinosaurs with this group. However, it is not clear that dinosaurs are ever mentioned in the Creation Story or the Bible.

The “creatures that move along the ground” is the most debated of the three categories. Reptiles and insects are often included in this group, however, these inclusions are probably inaccurate. Reptiles are a modern scientific classification, and it is not clear that we could group such a diverse class with these Biblical creatures. Snakes, lizards, crocodiles, and even turtles might meet the Biblical text criteria, since they do seem to crawl along the ground. However, it is not clear that these animals would be of a “higher order” like the mammals in the first category. If we were determined to classify the insects, then a Fifth Day origin would be preferable – flying insects with the flying creatures, and non-flying insects with the swarming creatures. It is arguably better not to speculate the Creation Day origin of reptiles and insects, since they are not specifically addressed in the Bible, and they exist in such diverse types on our planet.

Consistency must also play a role in our analysis. We have already determined that the “livestock” was comprised exclusively of mammals, and mammals probably dominated the category called “wild animals.” Consequently, the “creatures that move along the ground” were also probably mammalian. Mice, rats, shrews, moles, and other rodents are small mammals that appear to fit the criteria, both thematically and theologically.⁴³ Despite the fact that only mammals may meet the criteria for the first category (livestock), it isn’t always best to group Biblical animals with modern scientific classifications – such as mammals. This uncertainty provides critics with (they believe) their best arguments against the validity of a Biblical creation.

It is particularly challenging to translate the animals mentioned in the Bible. Thousands of years have passed since the writing of the Old Testament, and many of the animals mentioned no longer inhabit the areas in which they were once found.⁴⁴ In addition, some of the terms used to describe animals can possess multiple meanings (as many as ten in some cases⁴⁵). When we view the Bible from this perspective, the challenge of deciphering the precise animal, or animals, described in the text is magnified. Many of the animals named in today’s Biblical translations are no more than educated guesses, and in some cases, the meaning of the animal names have been lost through the passage of time.⁴⁶ While there is occasional agreement on some animals – such as the “livestock” – more often there is tremendous disagreement in interpreting phrases such as “creatures that move along the ground.”

THE CREATION OF MAN

After nearly six days of preparation, the Earth was finally ready for the pinnacle of the Creation Story – the creation of man. The Biblical concept of man’s importance is a radical departure from other ancient religions. The prevalent view in the ancient world was that men and women were beasts of burden, sexual toys, and playthings for the whimsical gods that human beings created. The gods were believed to control the wind, the rain, the sun, the moon, fertility, war, love, hunting, fishing, farming, the sea, and much more. Natural disasters such as drought, earthquakes, and floods were all attributed to the anger of the gods. But in the Hebrew Bible there is only one preeminent God that created the entire universe. And the God of the Bible created human beings not for the purpose of subservience or sexual favors, but with the intention of forming a personal relationship with us.

Both the first man and the first woman were created on the Sixth Day (“male and female He created them”). Since representatives of both sexes were created at that time there is some confusion with the Creation Story and the story of Adam and Eve, which begins in Genesis 2. Many people cite a conflict between these two stories, or at least an inexplicable repetition of humanity’s creation. The issue of contradiction or reiteration is simply one of misunderstanding. The Creation Story contains a summary of the creation of human beings. It reveals that the first man and woman were created during the Sixth Day. In Genesis 2, the Bible returns to the Sixth Day and provides us with the details of that day, in the story of Adam and Eve. Humanity was not created twice, and a careful analysis of the two stories reveals that they do not contradict each other.

HOMO SAPIENS AND THE SCIENTIFIC RECORD

Perhaps the most enigmatic and pertinent omission from the Biblical Creation is the absence of the Hominids. Science theorizes that modern man is a descendant of primitive ape-like creatures called Hominids that date back millions of years. From the scientific perspective, human beings are just another animal that has descended from the same common ancestor as all other life on planet Earth.

The Bible is mysteriously silent on the subject of the Hominids. These creatures should have been created on the Sixth Day, just prior to man. Instead, the order of creation on the Sixth Day moves directly from the higher order of mammals to human beings. Mankind is recorded as God’s final and most important creation.

The omission of the Hominids might be no more significant than the exclusion of many creatures in the Creation Story. It is simply pointless for the Bible to record every animal that has ever existed on our world. However, these ape-like creatures have certainly added an intriguing element to the debates between religion and science during the past century. The religious community has been baffled by the existence of these creatures, particularly since science is convinced that they are man’s ancestors – something that clearly contradicts our Biblical origin. Yet, it just may be that the Bible did not include the Hominids because their existence is inconsequential to man. Whether the Bible purposely excluded these creatures is unknown, but certainly the existence of the Hominids in the distant past plays no role in man’s current attempts to attain eternal salvation. If the Hominids were merely additional creatures that were not part of man’s special creation, then they would not have been created in the image of God; consequently, they were not spirit beings and their existence holds no special theological relevance.

Science and the Bible are in agreement on one fundamental aspect of man’s creation. Modern man made a very late appearance on planet Earth. Hundreds of millions of years, and countless millions of creatures of the air, land, and sea would come and go, before man – Homo Sapiens – finally arrived. This Biblical fact should not be minimized. This is the one claim that the Bible made about man’s creation that can be scientifically verified – and it has been confirmed.

THE SEVENTH DAY

The Seventh Day stands apart from the previous six days of Creation. On the Seventh Day, God “rested from all his work.” We should not think of God as actually resting or sleeping during this time; God does not require physical rejuvenation. It is preferable to understand the verse to mean that He had “ceased” to work.⁴⁷ God “blessed the seventh day and made it holy.” Perhaps this was done because it was the final day or because no work was done. But just as likely, God blessed the final day to set an example for mankind. The Sabbath day probably owes its origin to the Seventh Day. God set three precedents with this final day: the seven-day week, one day of rest in seven, and the Holy Day or Sabbath Day. All three of these traditions continue today.

The final phrase of the Creation Story, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created” is generally regarded as a heading or title for the entire story preceding it, rather than a summary or concluding phrase that we would expect.⁴⁸ “Heavens and earth” is a phrase that encompasses all of God’s creations, including everything that was not recorded in the story.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Creation Story is a carefully crafted, organized account of the creation of the universe, the Earth, and the life that exists here. There is an abundance of duality contained in its passages: day and night, light and darkness, dry land and the sea, water above the expanse and water below the expanse, male and female, and the greater light (the sun) and the lesser light (the moon). There is also increasing order and complexity with each passing day. A universe was created from what was once nothing. The Earth was transformed from a fiery ball of molten materials into a planet capable of sustaining life. Life arose from lifelessness. Simple organisms appeared at first but over time organisms became more complex. The foundation of the food chain was created first; the pinnacle of the food chain was created last. Light illuminated the Earth before plants took root. Plants appeared before animals. Life in the sea flourished long before there was life on the land. The higher mammals were among the last creatures created, followed only by human beings, which were God’s final creation. Intelligence, design, and purpose are all evident and increasing with each passage.

Within its verses also exist many implied or subtle inferences. There is only one God in the Creation Story (and the Hebrew Bible). His existence is assumed, His power is infinite, His life is eternal, His authority is unchallenged, His creativity is boundless, and His wisdom and knowledge are immeasurable. The author was careful not to indirectly reference other deities that were believed to exist at that time – even referencing the sun and the moon as “the greater light” and “the lesser light.”

Natural processes, such as the sun’s production of light, the hydrologic cycle, plate tectonics, the Cambrian Explosion, and the reproduction of life all owe their origin to God. The initiation of these processes were captured for posterity in the Creation Story, and continue in some form today.

The Bible may not be very specific or explanatory in its scientific statements. It may not satisfy the demands of science in its explanations, its reasoning, or its methodology. This is because the Bible’s primary objective is to reveal God’s message to humanity, and not to answer the riddles of science. The Bible is not a scientific textbook, although it does contain many verses that are scientific in nature. Its mission is primarily spiritual salvation, and not scientific conjecture or solutions. This makes the science of the Bible very difficult to assess and discern. And yet, throughout the Creation Story the theme is indisputable. Every natural process, every natural system, every law of science, and all life, matter, and energy that exists within our universe today are derived from one, omnipotent source – and that is the Hebrew God of the Holy Bible. Not even modern science has been able to repudiate this scientific statement, which is the very foundation of the Biblical Creation.

NOTES:

1. Jon Erickson, “Plate Tectonics: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth”, The Changing Earth Series (New York, Oxford: Facts on File, Inc., 1992), p.125
2. Ibid.
3. “Older, not Better,” Discover, April 1997, p.20
4. Harry M. Orlinsky, ed., Notes on the New Translation of The Torah (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1969), p.56
5. Herbert Lockyer, Sr., ed., Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), p.262
6. Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible, One-Volume Edition, Abridged from original six-volume work by Ralph Earl (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967), p.17
7. The Broadman Bible Commentary, Vol.1 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1973), p.125
8. Nathaniel Kravitz, Genesis: A New Interpretation of the First Three Chapters, (New York: Philosophical Library, 1967), p.27
9. Michael Balter, “Looking for Clues to the Mystery of Life on Earth,” Science, Aug 16, 1996, p.870
10. Jon Erickson, “Plate Tectonics: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth”, The Changing Earth Series (New York, Oxford: Facts on File, Inc., 1992), p.19
11. Ibid., p.23
12. S. Ross Taylor and Scott M. McLennan, “The Evolution of Continental Crust,” Scientific American, Jan 1996, p.79
13. Erickson, “Plate Tectonics: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Earth”, The Changing Earth Series (New York, Oxford: Facts on File, Inc., 1992), p.19
14. Frederick Carl Eiselen, Edwin Lewis, and David G. Downey, eds., The Abingdon Bible Commentary (New York and Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1929), p.220
15. J.H. Hertz, ed., 2nd Ed. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Soncino Press, 1960), p.3
16. Torah Portions, World Ort Union, “Navigating the Bible”, 1996, April 16, 1997 (HTTP: BIBLE.ORT.ORG)
17. Geerat J. Vermeij, “Animal Origins,” Science, Oct 25, 1996, p.525
18. Paul Kenrick and Peter R. Crane, “The Origin and early evolution of plants on land,” Nature, Sept 4, 1997, pp.33-38
19. J.G.Johnson and P.H. Heckel, “Devonian”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.5, p.192
20. Ibid., p.197
21. Hugh Ross, Genesis One: A Scientific Perspective, Rev. Ed. (Pasadena, CA: Reasons To Believe, 1983), p.9
22. The Bible does not address the creation of the moon; consequently, it is unclear if we would place the moon’s creation with the Earth, the universe, or our solar system.
23. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (New York: Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1930), p.17
24. Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1982), p.61
25. J.H. Hertz, ed., 2nd Ed. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Soncino Press, 1960), p.4
26. P.R. Ackroyd, A.R.C.Leaney, and J.W.Packer, eds., The Cambridge Bible Commentary: Genesis 1-11 (Cambridge: At The University Press, 1973), p.21
27. Bernard Orchard, Edmund F. Sutcliffe, Reginald C. Fuller, and Ralph Russel, eds., A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture (London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1953), p.182
28. P.R. Ackroyd, A.R.C.Leaney, and J.W.Packer, eds., The Cambridge Bible Commentary: Genesis 1-11 (Cambridge: At The University Press, 1973), p.21
29. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, and David Brown, A Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (New York: Richard R. Smith, Inc., 1930), p.17
30. J.H. Hertz, ed., 2nd Ed. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Soncino Press, 1960), p.4
31. Stephen Jay Gould, “Of it, not above it,” Nature, Oct 26, 1995, p.681
32. Allison R. Palmer, “Cambrian”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.3, .186
33. Carl Zimmer, “Breathe Before You Bite,” Discover, March 1996, p.34
34. Tom Waters, “First Fish,” Discover, January 1997, p.59
35. Carl Zimmer, “Breathe Before You Bite,” Discover, March 1996, p.34
36. Victor G. Springer and Joy P.Gold, Sharks in Question (Washington D.C. and London: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989), p.30
37. Alfred S. Romer and Everett C. Olson, “Amphibians”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.1, p.582
38. J.G. Johnson and P.H. Heckel, “Devonian”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.5, p.192
39. Alan J. Charig, “Reptilia”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.15, p.422
40. Frank M. Carpenter, “Insecta”, McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology, 8th Ed., 1997, Vol.9, p.236
41. J.H. Hertz, ed., 2nd Ed. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs (London: Soncino Press, 1960), p.4
42. Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible, One-Volume Edition, Abridged from original six-volume work by Ralph Earl (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967), p.18
43. Hugh Ross, Genesis One: A Scientific Perspective, Rev. Ed. (Pasadena, CA: Reasons To Believe, 1983), p.12
44. Herbert Lockyer, Sr., ed., Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (New York: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986), p.49
45. Ibid.
46. Ibid., p.48
47. P.R. Ackroyd, A.R.C.Leaney, and J.W.Packer, eds., The Cambridge Bible Commentary: Genesis 1-11 (Cambridge: At The University Press, 1973), p.27
48. Harry M. Orlinsky, ed., Notes on the New Translation of The Torah (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1969), p.59