Bereshis 1
1
PARASHAS BERESHIS
1In the beginning Elohim bara hashomayim (the heavens) and haaretz (the earth).#1:1 Ps 51:10
2And the earth was tohu vavohu (without form, and void); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Ruach Elohim was hovering upon the face of the waters.
3And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light.#1:3 Ps 33:6,9
4And Elohim saw the light, that it was tov (good); and Elohim divided the ohr (light) from the choshech (darkness).
5And Elohim called the light Yom (Day), and the darkness He called Lailah (Night). And the erev (evening) and the boker (morning) were Yom Echad#1:5 Mk 16:2 (Day One, the First Day).
6And Elohim said, Let there be a raki'a (expanse, dome, firmament) in the midst of the mayim (waters), and let it divide the mayim from the mayim.
7And Elohim made the raki'a, and divided the waters under the raki'a from the waters which were above the raki'a; and it was so.
8And Elohim called the raki'a Shomayim (Heaven). And the erev and the boker were Yom Sheni (Day Two, the Second Day).
9And Elohim said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the yabashah (dry land) appear; and it was so.
10And Elohim called the yabashah Eretz (Earth); and the mikveh (gathering together of the waters) called He Seas; and Elohim saw that it was tov.
11And Elohim said, Let the earth bring forth vegetation, the herb yielding zera (seed), and the fruit tree yielding pri (fruit) after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth; and it was so.
12And the earth brought forth vegetation, and herb yielding zera (seed) after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was tov (good).
13And the erev and the boker were Yom Shlishi (Day Three, the Third Day).#1:13 Ex 19:11,15-16; Josh 1:11; Num 19:11-16; Jon 1:17; Hos 6:2; 2Kgs 20:5,8; Ezra 6:15; 1C 15:4,20; Notice on Yom HaShlishi (The Third Day, Gn 1:13) is Yom HaBikkurim of the Bria HaOlam, the Firstfruits of the Creation of the World; just as Hos 6:2 indicates Yom HaShlishi is the time marker of the Techiyas HaMesim (Resurrection of the Dead), so Yom HaBikkurim fell on Nisan 16, and became a time marker delineating the countdown from the Resurrection of Moshiach Nisan 16, 3793 (33 C.E.) to Shavuos, 3793 and the Matan HaTevilah BeRuach Hakodesh. Lv 23:11.
14And Elohim said, Let there be lights in the raki'a of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for otot (signs), and for mo'adim (seasons), and for yamim (days), and shanim (years);
15And let them be for lights in the raki'a of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so.
16And Elohim made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the kokhavim (stars) also.
17And Elohim set them in the raki'a of the heaven to give light upon the earth,
18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and Elohim saw that it was tov.
19And the erev and the boker were Yom Revi'i (Day Four, the Fourth Day).
20And Elohim said, Let the waters bring forth an abundance of living creatures, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open raki'a of heaven.
21And Elohim created great sea creatures, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth in abundance, after their kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was tov.
22And Elohim blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
23And the erev and the boker were Yom Chamishi (Day Five, the Fifth Day).
24And G-d said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind; and it was so.
25And G-d made the beast of the earth after its kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and G-d saw that it was tov.
26And G-d said, Let Us make man in Our tzelem, after Our demut: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon ha'aretz (the earth).
27So G-d created humankind in His own tzelem, in the tzelem Elohim (image of G-d) created He him; zachar (male) and nekevah (female) created He them.
28And G-d blessed them, and G-d said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
29And G-d said, Hinei, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of kol ha'aretz (all the earth), and every etz (tree), in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for food.
30And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food; and it was so.
31And G-d saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was tov me'od (very good). And the erev and the boker were Yom Shishi (Day Six, the Sixth Day).
THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 1
1
The Beginning of the World
1In the beginning, when God created the earth and sky,#1:1 Or “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” “God” in this first section (1:1-2:3) is the most general word for God in the Old Testament. It is a plural form. See verse 26. 2the earth was without life and not yet useful for anything. Deep waters covered the earth, and darkness covered the water. God’s Spirit#1:2 God’s Spirit Or “A wind from God” or “A mighty wind.” was moving like a storm over the surface of the water.
The First Day—Light
3Then God said, “Let there be light!” And light began to shine.#1:1-3 Or “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. While 2 the earth had no special shape, and darkness covered the ocean, and God’s Spirit hovered over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Or “When God began to create the sky and the earth, 2 while the earth was completely empty, and darkness covered the ocean, and a powerful wind blew over the water, 3 God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” 4He saw the light, and he knew that it was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5God named the light “day,” and he named the darkness “night.”
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the first day.
The Second Day—Sky
6Then God said, “Let there be a space#1:6 space Or “firmament.” The Hebrew word can refer to a piece of metal that has been hammered into the shape of a bowl. to separate the water into two parts!” 7So God made the space and separated the water. Some of the water was above it, and some of the water was below it. 8God named that space “sky.” There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the second day.
The Third Day—Dry Land and Plants
9Then God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered together so that the dry land will appear.” And it happened. 10God named the dry land “earth,” and he named the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that this was good.
11Then God said, “Let the earth grow grass, plants that make grain, and fruit trees. The fruit trees will make fruit with seeds in it. And each plant will make its own kind of seed. Let these plants grow on the earth.” And it happened. 12The earth grew grass and plants that made grain. And it grew trees that made fruit with seeds in it. Every plant made its own kind of seeds. And God saw that this was good.
13There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the third day.
The Fourth Day—Sun, Moon, and Stars
14Then God said, “Let there be lights in the sky. These lights will separate the days from the nights. They will be used for signs to show when special meetings#1:14 special meetings The Israelites used the sun and moon to decide when the months and years began. Many Israelite festivals and special meetings began at the time of the new moon or full moon. begin and to show the days and years. 15They will be in the sky to shine light on the earth.” And it happened.
16So God made the two large lights. He made the larger light to rule during the day and the smaller light to rule during the night. He also made the stars. 17God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth. 18He put them in the sky to rule over the day and over the night. They separated the light from the darkness. And God saw that this was good.
19There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fourth day.
The Fifth Day—Fish and Birds
20Then God said, “Let the water be filled with many living things, and let there be birds to fly in the air over the earth.” 21So God created the large sea animals.#1:21 large sea animals Or “sea monsters.” He created all the many living things in the sea and every kind of bird that flies in the air. And God saw that this was good.
22God blessed all the living things in the sea and told them to have many babies and fill the seas. And he blessed the birds on land and told them to have many more babies.
23There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the fifth day.
The Sixth Day—Land Animals and People
24Then God said, “Let the earth produce many kinds of living things. Let there be many different kinds of animals. Let there be large animals and small crawling animals of every kind. And let all these animals produce more animals.” And all these things happened.
25So God made every kind of animal. He made the wild animals, the tame animals, and all the small crawling things. And God saw that this was good.
26Then God said, “Now let’s make humans#1:26 humans The Hebrew word means “man,” “people,” or the name “Adam.” It is like the word meaning “earth” or “red clay.” who will be like us.#1:26 Now let’s make … like us Or “Now let’s make humans in our image and in our likeness.” They will rule over all the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. They will rule over all the large animals and all the little things that crawl on the earth.”
27So God created humans in his own image. He created them to be like himself.#1:27 So God created humans … himself Or “So God created them in his image. In the image of God he created them.” Compare Gen. 5:1, 3. He created them male and female. 28God blessed them and said to them, “Have many children. Fill the earth and take control of it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the air. Rule over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29God said, “I am giving you all the grain bearing plants and all the fruit trees. These trees make fruit with seeds in it. This grain and fruit will be your food. 30And I am giving all the green plants to the animals. These green plants will be their food. Every animal on earth, every bird in the air, and all the little things that crawl on the earth will eat that food.” And all these things happened.
31God looked at everything he had made. And he saw that everything was very good.
There was evening, and then there was morning. This was the sixth day.
© 1987, 2004 Bible League International