What is the first sentence in the Book of Genesis?

Answer 1

There are two ways to read the first words of Genesis, and both of them are correct, since each teaches something. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth. And the earth was unformed and void (Rashi commentary: "astonishingly empty"), and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. And God said: 'Let there be light,' and there was light."

This states that God created everything, and then gets down to some detail.

"In the beginning of God's creation of the heavens and the Earth, the Earth was (as yet) unformed and void, with darkness upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God hovering over the face of the waters; and God said 'Let there be light,' and there was light."

This translation deliberately points us away from God's initial act of Creation and immediately into the details that follow. One reason for such an approach is given in the Talmud (Hagigah 11b), which advises against examining the initial Creation too closely because of its highly esoteric nature.

We understand both readings to be correct because the same leading commentary (Rashi, Gen. 1:1) who suggests the second reading, clearly endorses the first (Rashi, Gen. 1:14) as well, as do other traditional sources (Exodus 20:11, Isaiah 40:28; Maimonides' "Guide," 2:30; Targum and Nachmanides on Gen. 1:1).

Answer 2

According to the King James Version, and most other English translations, the first sentence is: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." This is not a literal translation of the original Hebrew.

As long ago as the eleventh century CE, the influential Jewish scholar, Rashi, said that, based on the early Hebrew, it should be read, "When God began to create" or "In the beginning of God's creation. " Rashi may have believed that God created the earth itself, but he found nothing in the text so say so.

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http://christianity.answers.com/theology/the-story-of-creation

http://christianity.answers.com/bible/the-book-of-genesis

Answer 3

The first sentence in the Book of Genesis is: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Answer 4

Genesis 1:1 (King James Version) :

1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.