The Book of Genesis is the first of the 66 books traditionally accepted as the Protestant canon of the Bible. Because of Mark 10:3, Luke 24:27, and John 1:17, Moses is thought by many to be the author of Genesis, as it is part of the Pentateuch, or the Law. According to chabad.org, Moses was born in 1393 BCE and died in 1273 BCE. Christiananswers.net posits that Moses compiled his book from accounts kept by Adam, Seth, and the other 11 generations mentioned in Genesis (i.e., "this is the book of the generations of...") and added his own comments under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The last event mentioned in Genesis is the death of Joseph (Genesis 50:26); Joseph is said to have lived from 1562 BCE to 1452 BCE (according to chabad.org), meaning Moses was born 59 years after the events Genesis describes. Christian scholars have not come to any considerable agreement as to the birth and death years of Moses, but Dr. John Van Seters states that the book of Genesis was likely written in the 5th or 6th century BCE.

Genesis 1:1 comes from the Greek Old Testament, also known as the LXX Septuagint. As with all verses of the Bible quoted in this manner within this work, It is printed in green, with any words attributed to Christ in red. All verses are taken from the King James Version of the Bible, as it is under public domain--meaning it may be quoted without permission from its publisher, in keeping with the DMCA.

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

The word for "God" ('elohiym) is especially troubling, as it can mean:

Outline of Biblical Usage

 

 

(plural)

 

rulers, judges

divine ones

angels

gods

 

(plural intensive - singular meaning)

 

god, goddess

godlike one

works or special possessions of God

the (true) God

God

 

(source)

And "the heaven" (shamayim) is especially troubling, as it can mean (omission mine):

Outline of Biblical Usage

 

(portion omitted)

 

 

visible heavens, sky

as the visible universe, the sky, atmosphere, etc

as abode of the stars

Heaven (as the abode of God)

 

(source)

 

And finally, "the earth" ('erets):

Outline of Biblical Usage

1. 
   land, earth


1. 
   earth
   1. 
      whole earth (as opposed to a part)
      
   2. 
      earth (as opposed to heaven)
      
   3. 
      earth (inhabitants)
       
      

   [*]

   land

   1. 
      country, territory
      
   2. 
      district, region
      
   3. 
      tribal territory
      
   4. 
      piece of ground
      
   5. 
      land of Canaan, Israel
      
   6. 
      inhabitants of land
      
   7. 
      Sheol, land without return, (under) world
      
   8. 
      city (-state)
       
      

   [*]

   ground, surface of the earth

   1. 
      ground
      
   2. 
      soil
       
      

   [*]

   (in phrases)

   1. 
      people of the land
      
   2. 
      space or distance of country (in measurements of distance)
      
   3. 
      level or plain country
      
   4. 
      land of the living
      
   5. 
      end(s) of the earth
       
      

   [*]

   (almost wholly late in usage)

   1. 
      lands, countries

       

       

       

      (source)

       

       

       

      So there we have three potentially mistranslated words in the first verse of the Bible, but they are of vital importance, as the alternatives present very different meanings. In further posts, I'll start looking at the verse in context of that which comes after it, and I'll build on the information given. I'll also be adding sources and additional knowledge as I find it in my research.

       

      Lastly, formatting is a bitch. I'll clean it up later.

      
      
   2. 
      often in contrast to Canaan