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| == American Tract Society Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_15859" /> ==
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| <p> (1.) the act by which God calls into existence things not previously in being-material or spiritual, visible or invisible, [[Psalm]] 148:5 Revelation 4:11; </p> <p> (2.) the molding or reconstituting things, the elements of which previously existed; and </p> <p> (3.) the things thus "created and made," 2 Peter 3:4 Revelation 3:14 5:13 . It is probably in the first of these senses the word "created" is to be understood in [[Genesis]] 1:1 , though some understand it in the second sense. In either case the idea of the eternity of matter is to be rejected, as contrary to sound reason and to the teachings of Scripture, Proverbs 8:22-31 John 1:1-3 Hebrews 11:3 . </p> <p> [[Creation]] is exclusively the work of God. The Father, the Son, and the [[Spirit]] are each in turn named as its author, Isaiah 40:28 Colossians 1:16 Genesis 2:2 . It is a work the mysteries of which no finite mind can apprehend; and yet, as it reveals to us the invisible things of God, Romans 1:20 , we may and ought to learn what he reveals respecting it not only in revelation, but in his works. These two volumes are from the same divine hand, and cannot but harmonize with each other. The [[Bible]] opens with an account of the creation unspeakably majestic and sublime. The six days there spoken of have usually been taken for our present natural days; but modern geological researches have given rise to the idea that "day" here denotes a longer period. The different rocks of our globe lie in distinct layers, the comparative age of which is supposed to have been ascertained. Only the most recent have been found to contain human remains. Older layers present in turn different fossil remains of animals and plants, many of them supposed to be now extinct. These layers are deeply imbedded beneath the present soil, and yet appear to be formed of matter washed into the bed of some primeval sea, and hardened into rock. Above this may lie numerous other strata of different materials, but which appear to have been deposited in the same manner, in the slow lapse of time. These layers are also thrown up and penetrated all over the world by rocks of still earlier formations, apparently once in a melted state. </p> <p> There are several modes of reconciling these geological discoveries with the statements of Scripture: First, that the six days of Genesis 1.1-31 denote six long epochs-periods of alternate progressive formation and revolution on the surface of the earth. To the Lord "a thousand years are as one day," Psalm 90:2,4 2 Peter 3:5-10 Revelation 20:1 - 15 . Secondly, that the long epochs indicated in the geological structure of the globe occurred before the Bible account commences, or rather in the interval between the first and second verses of Genesis 1:1-31 . According to this interpretation, Genesis 1:2 describes the state of the earth at the close of the last revolution it experienced, preparatory to God's fitting it up for the abode of man as described in the verses following. Thirdly, that God compressed the work of those untold ages into six short days, and created the world as he did Adam, in a state of maturity, embodying in its rocks and fossils those rudimental forms of animal and vegetable life which seem naturally to lead up to the existing forms. </p> <p> The "Creature" and "the whole creation," in Romans 8:19-22 , may denote the irrational and inferior creation, which shall be released from the curse, and share in the glorious liberty of the sons of God, Isaiah 11:6 35:1 2 Peter 3:7-13 . The bodies of believers, now subject to vanity, are secure of full deliverance at the resurrection-"the redemption of our body," Romans 8:23 . </p><br>
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| == Bridgeway Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_18503" /> ==
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| <p> A basic [[Christian]] belief is that God created all things, and that all three persons of the godhead were involved in the acts of creation. God spoke and, by the power of his creative word, it happened ( [[Genesis]] 1:1-3; Job 33:4; Psalms 33:6; Psalms 33:9; Psalms 102:25; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-2). </p> <p> The [[Creator]] and the universe </p> <p> God alone is eternal; therefore, before his initial act of creation, nothing existed apart from him. He created all things, visible and invisible. Even spirit beings, though they may have existed before the physical universe, are creatures whom God has made ( Genesis 1:1-2; Job 38:4-11; Psalms 33:6-9; Psalms 90:2; Isaiah 40:26-28; Isaiah 42:5; John 1:1-3; Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11). Once God had created matter, he used the materials of the universe to make and develop the features of the universe. He made animals and humans, for example, out of materials he had made earlier ( Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:19). </p> <p> Having created the universe, God did not then leave it to itself, as if it were like a huge clock that he wound up and left to run automatically. God is still active in the physical universe. He maintains what he creates. Though he is Lord of creation and distinct from it, he works through it. He is over all things and in all things ( Psalms 147:8-9; Acts 17:24; Acts 17:28; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; see also PROVIDENCE). </p> <p> The universe exists, above all, for the praise and glory of God. He created it, not as an act of necessity, but as an act of free grace; not because he had to, but because he chose to ( Isaiah 43:7; Acts 17:25; Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11). It shows something of God’s love, power and wisdom ( Psalms 19:1-4; Jeremiah 10:12; Romans 1:20). </p> <p> God’s ‘rest’ after creation indicated that he was completely satisfied with all his created works. In his grace he gave the physical world to the people he had created and made them caretakers over it. God wanted them to enjoy his creation in fellowship with himself, and in so doing to share in his ‘rest’ ( Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:1-3; Hebrews 4:3-10). </p> <p> But the human creatures refused to submit to their divine Creator, and as a result they ruined the relationship both with the Creator and with the physical creation. They brought disaster upon the human race as a whole and this had damaging consequences in the natural world ( Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 1:20-23; Romans 8:20). Only when the redeemed enters their full salvation at the end of the age will the created world enter its full glory ( Romans 8:21-23; Philippians 3:21; see NATURE). </p> <p> [[Story]] of creation </p> <p> The chief purpose of the account of creation in Genesis is to provide an introduction to the story of God’s dealings with the human race. It shows that God created everything out of nothing, and that he brought the universe through various stages of development till it was a fitting dwelling place for human beings ( Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:5; Genesis 1:8; Genesis 1:13; Genesis 1:19; Genesis 1:23; Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:4-7). Modern science may at times cause people to think they are almost insignificant in relation to the size and complexity of the universe, but the [[Bible]] takes a different view. It is concerned above all with people, and says little about how the physical universe operates ( Psalms 8:3-9). </p> <p> God is pleased when men and women want to learn more about the wonders of his creation, but he has appointed that they do so by the hard work of study and investigation ( Genesis 3:19; Psalms 111:2). God does not usually give such information by direct revelation. The Bible is not a textbook on science, nor is it concerned with the sort of information that scientists are concerned with. Its purpose is not to teach scientific theories, but to give a short simple account of the beginning of things, and in language that people of any era or any background can understand. </p> <p> The language of the creation story, like that of the rest of the Bible, is not the technical language of the scientist, but the everyday language of the common people (cf. Genesis 1:16; Genesis 7:11-12; Genesis 40:22). The scientist may speak of the sun as the centre of the solar system, with the earth a minor satellite of the sun, and the moon a minor satellite of the earth. The Bible, by contrast, speaks of the heavens and the earth from the viewpoint of ordinary observers. To them the earth appears stationary, and the sun ‘rises’ and ‘sets’ as it moves around the earth ( 1 Chronicles 16:30; Ecclesiastes 1:5; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 5:45). The sun is the ‘greater light’ and the moon the ‘lesser light’ ( Genesis 1:16). The pictorial language of the Bible is different from the technical language of science, but the two are not necessarily in conflict. </p> <p> Science may tell us much about God’s creation, though it does so from a viewpoint that is different from the Bible’s. Science can help us understand how nature works, whereas the Bible is concerned with showing that God is the one who makes nature work. </p> <p> From science we may learn how the stars move, how the weather changes, or how plants grow, but from the Bible we learn that God is the one who makes these things happen ( Psalms 65:9-10; Psalms 78:20; Psalms 78:26; Psalms 104:1-30; Psalms 147:8; Matthew 5:45; Matthew 6:30). Although science may investigate how the creation developed, the Bible reveals that the development came about through the creative activity of the sovereign God. The ‘laws of nature’ are God’s laws ( Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:7; Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:20; Genesis 1:24; Hebrews 11:3). </p><br>
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| == Charles Buck Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_19433" /> ==
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| <p> In its primary import, signifies the bringing into being something which did not before exist. The term is therefore most generally applied to the original production of the materials whereof the visible world is composed. It is also used in a secondary or subordinate sense to denote those subsequent operations of the [[Deity]] upon the matter so produced, by which the whole system of Nature, and all the primitive genera of things, receive their form, qualities, and laws. There is no subject concerning which learned men have differed in their conjectures more than in this of creation. "It is certain, " as a good writer observes, "that none of the ancient philosophers had the smallest idea of its being possible to produce a substance out of nothing, or that even the power of the Deity himself could work without any materials to work upon. Hence some of them, among whom was Aristotle, asserted that the world was eternal, both as to its matter and form. Others, though they believed that the gods had given the world its form, yet imagined the materials whereof it is composed to have been eternal. Indeed, the opinions of the ancients, who had not the benefit of revelation, were on this head so confused and contradictory, that nothing of any consequence can be deduced from them. </p> <p> The free-thinkers of our own and of former ages have denied the possibility of creation, as being a contradiction to reason; and of consequence have taken the opportunity from thence to discredit revelation. On the other hand, many defenders of the sacred writings have asserted that creation out of nothing, so far from being a contradiction to reason, is not only probable, but demonstrably certain. Nay, some have gone so far as to say, that from the very inspection of the visible system of Nature, we are able to infer that it was once in a state of non-existence." We cannot, however, here enter into the multiplicity of the arguments on both sides; it is enough for us to know what God has been pleased to reveal, both concerning himself and the works of his hands. "Men, and other animals that inhabit the earth and the seas; all the immense varieties of herbs and plants of which the vegetable kingdom consists; the globe of the earth, and the expanse of the ocean; these we know to have been produced by his power. Besides the terrestrial world, which we inhabit, we see many other material bodies disposed around it in the wide extent of space. </p> <p> The moon, which is in a particular manner connected with our earth, and even dependent upon it; the sun, and the other planets, with their satellites, which like the earth circulate round the sun, and appear to derive from him light and heat; those bodies which we call fixed stars, and consider as illuminating and cherishing, with heat each its peculiar system of planets; and the comets which at certain periods surprise us with their appearance, and the nature of whose connection with the general system of Nature, or with any particular system of planets, we cannot pretend to have fully discovered; these are so many more of the Deity's works, from the contemplation of which we cannot but conceive the most awful ideas of his creative power. "Matter, however, whatever the varieties of form under which it is made to appear, the relative disposition of its parts, or the motions communicated to it, is but an inferior part of the works of creation. We believe ourselves to be animated with a much higher principle than brute matter; in viewing the manners and economy of the lower animals, we can scarce avoid acknowledging even them to consist of something more than various modifications of matter and motion. The other planetary bodies, which seem to be in circumstances nearly analogous to those of our earth, are surely, as well as it, destined for the habitations of rational intelligent beings. the existence of intelligences of an higher order than man, though infinitely below the Deity, appears extremely probable. Of these spiritual beings, called angels, we have express intimation in [[Scripture]] (see the article ANGEL.) But the limits of the creation we must not pretend to define. </p> <p> How far the regions of space extend, or how they are filled, we know not. How the planetary worlds, the sun, and the fixed stars are occupied, we do not pretend to have ascertained. We are even ignorant how wide a diversity of forms, what an infinity of living animated beings may inhabit our own globe. So confined is our knowledge of creation, yet so grand, so awful, that part which our narrow understandings can comprehend!" "Concerning the periods of time at which the Deity executed his several works, it cannot be pretended that mankind have had opportunities of receiving very particular information. Many have been the conjectures, and curious the fancies of learned men, respecting it; but, after all, we must be indebted to the sacred writings for the best information." Different copies, indeed, give different dates. The [[Hebrew]] copy of the Bible, which we Christians, for good reasons, consider as the most authentic, dates the creation of the world 3944 years before the [[Christian]] era. The [[Samaritan]] Bible, again, fixes the era of the creation 4305 years before the birth of Christ. And the [[Greek]] translation, known by the name of the [[Septuagint]] version of the Bible, gives 5270 as the number of years which intervened between these two periods. </p> <p> By comparing the various dates in the sacred writings, examining how these have come to disagree, and to be diversified in different copies; endeavouring to reconcile the most authentic profane with sacred chronology, some ingenious men have formed schemes of chronology plausible, indeed, but not supported by sufficient authorities, which they would gladly persuade us to receive in preference to any of those above-mentioned. Usher makes out from the Hebrew [[Bible]] 4004 years as the term between the creation and the birth of Christ. Josephus, according to Dr. Wills, and Mr. Whiston, makes it 4658 years; and M. Pezron, with the help of the Septuagint, extends it to 5872 years. Usher's system is the most generally received. But though these different systems of chronology are so inconsistent, and so slenderly supported, yet the differences among them are so inconsiderable, in comparison with those which arise before us when we contemplate the chronology of the Chinese, the Chaldeans, and the Egyptians, and they agree so well with the general information of authentic history, and with the appearances of nature and of society, that they may be considered as nearly fixing the true period of the creation of the earth." Uncertain, however, as we may be as to the exact time of the creation, we may profitably apply ourselves to the contemplation of this immense fabric. </p> <p> Indeed, the beautiful and multiform works around us must strike the mind of every beholder with wonder and admiration, unless he be enveloped in ignorance, and chained down to the earth with sensuality. These works every way proclaim the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of the Creator. [[Creation]] is a book which the nicest philosopher may study with the deepest attention. Unlike the works of art, the more it is examined, the more it opens to us sources of admiration of its great Author; the more it calls for our inspection, and the more it demands our praise. Here every thing is adjusted in the exactest order; all answering the wisest ends, and acting according to the appointed laws of Deity. Here the Christian is led into the most delightful field of contemplation. To him every pebble becomes a preacher, and every atom a step by which he ascends to his Creator. Placed in this beautiful temple, and looking around on all its various parts, he cannot help joining with the Psalmist in saying, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all!" </p> <p> See ETERNITY of GOD. </p> <p> See Ray and Blackmore on the Creation; art. Creation, Enc. Brit.; Derham's Astro and Physico- theology; Hervey's Meditations; La Pluche's Nature Displayed; Sturm's Reflections on the Works of God. </p><br>
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| == Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30893" /> ==
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| [[Genesis]] 1:1,26 1 Corinthians 8:6 John 1:3 Colossians 1:16,17 Genesis 1:2 Job 26:13 [[Psalm]] 104:30 Isaiah 37:16 40:12,13 54:5 Psalm 96:5 Jeremiah 10:11,12 Colossians 1:16 Revelation 4:11 Romans 11:36 <p> Traditions of the creation, disfigured by corruptions, are found among the records of ancient Eastern nations. (See ACCAD .) A peculiar interest belongs to the traditions of the Accadians, the primitive inhabitants of the plains of Lower Mesopotamia. These within the last few years have been brought to light in the tablets and cylinders which have been rescued from the long-buried palaces and temples of Assyria. They bear a remarkable resemblance to the record of Genesis. </p> <p> </p><br>
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| == Fausset's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_34962" /> == | | == Fausset's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_34962" /> == |
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| | <p> Science and |
| == Holman Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_39472" /> == | | == Holman Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_39472" /> == |
| <p> [[Creation ]] accounts in the [[Bible ]] never function simply to satisfy a childlike curiosity to know “how it all began.” The biblical writers' concern with God as [[Creator ]] grew out of their knowledge of Him as Redeemer. [[Genesis ]] 1-11 serves as prologue to God's redemptive purpose in calling [[Abram]] ( Genesis 12:1-3 ). Similarly, in Isaiah 40:1 concern with God as Creator is in a larger context of concern with God as [[Redeemer]] from [[Babylonian]] captivity. </p> <p> Important questions about creation include the following: </p> <p> 1. Where in the Bible is the subject of creation encountered? </p> <p> 2. What is the function of biblical references to creation? </p> <p> 3. What literature contemporary with the Bible contains references to creation? </p> <p> 4. How are biblical and extra-biblical references to creation related? </p> <p> 5. What cosmology is reflected in the Bible? </p> <p> 6. What is the time frame of creation in the Bible? </p> <p> 7. What is humanity's place in creation? </p> <p> 8. How is the New [[Testament]] concept of the new creation in [[Christ ]] related to the biblical concept of physical creation? </p> <p> Biblical References to Creation Probably the best known reference to creation in the Bible is Genesis 1:1-2:4 . That certainly is not the only place in [[Scripture ]] where the subject is treated. Psalmists mentioned creation or the Creator frequently ( [[Psalm ]] 8:3-4; Psalm 74:17; Psalm 95:5; Psalm 100:3; Psalm 104:24 ,Psalms 104:24, 104:30; Psalm 118:24; Psalm 40:5; Psalm 51:10; Psalm 64:9; Psalm 24:1-2; Psalm 102:25; Psalm 145:10 ). The second half of Isaiah ( Psalm 40-66 ) has four direct references to creation ( Isaiah 40:28; Isaiah 43:7 , Isaiah 43:15; Isaiah 45:7; Isaiah 65:17 ). Job alluded to creation in two speeches ( Job 10:8; Job 26:7 ), and God's answer to Job contains one reference to the subject ( Job 38:4 ). </p> <p> The New Testament reveals that [[Jesus ]] “made” all things ( John 1:3 ) and that “all things were created by him, and for him” ( Colossians 1:16 ). Paul's assertion recorded in Ephesians 3:9 is that God “created all things.” The writer of Hebrews notes that Jesus was the agent God used to create the world ( Hebrews 1:2 ). Because God created all things, He is worthy of “glory and honor and power” ( Revelation 4:11 ). Luke testified that the living God “made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” ( Acts 14:15 ). The consistent report of the Bible is that God is the Source of the whole created order. </p> <p> The Function of Biblical Creation References Genesis is a book about beginnings. The centerpiece of the book is God's redemptive activity following the fall of man. God began by calling Abram out of Ur, by entering into a covenant with him, and by making promises to bless him and to bless all the families of the earth through him. </p> <p> Genesis 1-11 is prologue to the patriarchal stories ( Genesis 12-50 ). It sets a world stage on which God acted in choosing one man in order to bless all men. Genesis 1-2 contain two accounts of creation, the order of man's creation coming at the end in the first and at the beginning in the second. God's creation, “good” as it was ( Genesis 1:4 ,Genesis 1:4, 1:10 ,Genesis 1:10, 1:12 ,Genesis 1:12, 1:21 ,Genesis 1:21, 1:25 ,Genesis 1:25, 1:31 ), soon became bad through human rebellion against God. The accounts of creation in Genesis 1-2 prepare the reader for the record of the first people being placed in the [[Garden]] of Eden, temptation by the serpent, rebellion against God, expulsion from the garden, and the degenerating effect of sin in society. </p> <p> God's judgment on sin in the form of a flood did not put an end to sin ( Genesis 6-9 ). Noah himself carried sin into the society that survived the flood. Even destroying the tower of Babel, confusing the people's language, and scattering them over the face of the earth did not stop the spread of sin ( Genesis 11:1 ). Genesis 11:1 ends by introducing Terah, the father of Abram, through whom God would bless the world in spite of its rebellion against Him. The link between creation and redemption is clear. </p> <p> Isaiah reminded weary exiles that the God he proclaimed as their Redeemer and Sustainer was “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth” ( Isaiah 40:28 ). The prophet linked God's redemptive activity with His creative activity ( Isaiah 43:7 ,Isaiah 43:7, 43:15 ). He went on to declare God's plan to “create new heavens and a new earth” as well as a new people ( Isaiah 65:17-18 ). </p> <p> Job lamented that God's hands “made and fashioned” him but for some unexplained reason turned about to “destroy” him ( Job 10:8 ). In a later speech Job expressed the effortless manner in which God created the universe ( Job 26:7-11 ) and defeated [[Rahab]] and the serpent ( Job 26:12-13 ). The Lord's speech in response to Job ( Job 38-39 ) makes clear that God is the Creator and that man had no part in creation. </p> <p> The psalmists' concerns with God as Creator were related to people's place in creation ( Psalm 8:3-4 ), to God's redemptive activity ( Psalm 74:17; Psalm 95:5 ), and to praise for the Creator ( Psalm 100:3; Psalm 104:1; Psalm 24:1-2 ). One psalmist referred to the creation to contrast its perishable nature with the imperishable nature of the Creator ( Psalm 102:25-27 ). </p> <p> The three doxologies in Amos ( Amos 4:13; Amos 5:8-9; Amos 9:5-6 ) magnify God the Creator and Controller of creation. Malachi's reference to God as Creator stresses the fact that one God created all people ( Malachi 2:10 ). This fact forms the basis of the prophet's appeal for faithfulness among covenant members. </p> <p> John based God's worthiness to receive “glory and honor and power” on His creative activity ( Revelation 4:11 ). By God's will “all things” existed and were created. John's testimony is that “the Word” made all things ( John 1:3 ) and that Jesus is the Word ( John 1:14 ). </p> <p> Paul's perspective was that [[Christians]] represent God's workmanship “created in Christ Jesus for good works” ( Ephesians 2:10 ). The gospel that God called Paul to preach had been hidden in God who “created all things” ( Ephesians 3:9 ). He agreed with John that Jesus the Savior, the firstborn of all creation, was Himself the Source of all creation ( Colossians 1:16-17 ). </p> <p> The author of Hebrews wrote of God's revelation through prophets of old, but “in these last days” God spoke through a Son ( Hebrews 1:1-2 ). The Son created the world. Like many Old Testament passages, this passage in Hebrews links God's creative activity with His redemptive activity. </p> <p> The people of [[Lystra]] took [[Barnabas]] and Paul to be gods ( Acts 14:11 ). Paul and Barnabas set the record straight as they pointed to “the living God which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” ( Acts 14:15 ). </p> <p> Relationship of Biblical and Extra-biblical References to Creation The Enuma Elish (“When on High”) is probably the best known extra-biblical reference to creation. This Mesopotamian account reflects a striking correspondence in various details and in order of events when it is compared with the biblical references to creation. What is the explanation for these similarities? Did the [[Babylonians]] follow the biblical account? Did the biblical authors follow Babylonian prototypes? Did both Babylonian and biblical writers rely on some unidentified ultimate source? </p> <p> Based on the dating of Babylonian and biblical materials, apparently biblical writers were aware of Babylonian prototypes. Though the two accounts are similar in some ways, they are poles apart in other ways. [[Conflict]] between rival deities dominates the Babylonian story of creation. The biblical accounts feature one God creating a good, orderly, and harmonious universe. Their cosmogony (theory of the origin of the universe) is similar; their religion is radically different. Biblical writers seem to be conscious of Babylonian sources, but they take a critical position toward them. </p> <p> Human Place in Creation Both detailed stories of creation in the Bible feature people at center stage, even though the creation of persons is last in the order of creative acts in Genesis 1:1-2:4 but first in Genesis 2:4-24 . The author of Psalm 8:1 seems surprised at the attention the Creator gives to mortal humans formed from the dust ( Psalm 8:4 ). Yet God gave humans a place of prominence and set them over the rest of creation ( Psalm 8:5-8 ). “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels” ( Psalm 8:5 ) may be a commentary on the Genesis statement that God “created man in his own image” ( Genesis 1:27 ). </p> <p> The language of Genesis 1:1 pictures God at a distance speaking humans into existence. The language of Genesis 2:1 portrays God with a “hands on” closeness shaping Adam and Eve like a potter forming a clay vessel. “Create” (bara') is the dominant verb of creation in Genesis 1:1 . “Formed” (yatsar) is the controlling verb of creation in Genesis 2:1 . </p> <p> New Creation and Physical Creation The Old Testament is consistent in its use of the verb “create” ( <i> bara' </i> ). Only God serves as subject of the verb. Creation is the work of God. People may “make” ( <i> asah </i> ) and “form” ( <i> yatsar </i> ). God alone creates ( <i> bara' </i> ). </p> <p> Psalm 51:10 may reflect a transition in usage of “create” ( <i> bara' </i> ) to designate a purely physical work. A clean heart is the object of the verb “create” in this Psalm. Isaiah employed “create” in reference to “new heavens and a new earth” as well as “Jerusalem” and “her people” ( Isaiah 65:17-18 ). Paul wrote to the Corinthians about being “in Christ” and thereby being “a new creation” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). “Created in Christ Jesus” is Paul's terminology for spiritual salvation in Ephesians 2:10 . The point in all of these references is that God alone is the [[Author ]] of spiritual redemption. </p> <p> God is the Creator of all things. All things belong to God. God gave humans dominion over creation, a stewardship assignment. Therefore, people are accountable directly to God for their use or abuse of creation. God created “good” heavens and a “good” earth. The entrance of human sin has had an adverse effect on creation ( Hosea 4:1-3 ). Paul pictured that the whole of creation “groaneth and travaileth” under the burden of human sin ( Romans 8:22 ). He also wrote of a time when “the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” ( Romans 8:21 NAS). Paul anticipated a day when God would restore the whole of creation to its original goodness. </p> <p> Billy K. [[Smith ]] </p> <p> </p><br> | | <p> Creation accounts in the Bible never function simply to satisfy a childlike curiosity to know “how it all began.” The biblical writers' concern with God as Creator grew out of their knowledge of Him as Redeemer. Genesis 1-11 serves as prologue to God's redemptive purpose in calling [[Abram]] ( Genesis 12:1-3 ). Similarly, in Isaiah 40:1 concern with God as Creator is in a larger context of concern with God as [[Redeemer]] from [[Babylonian]] captivity. </p> <p> Important questions about creation include the following: </p> <p> 1. Where in the Bible is the subject of creation encountered? </p> <p> 2. What is the function of biblical references to creation? </p> <p> 3. What literature contemporary with the Bible contains references to creation? </p> <p> 4. How are biblical and extra-biblical references to creation related? </p> <p> 5. What cosmology is reflected in the Bible? </p> <p> 6. What is the time frame of creation in the Bible? </p> <p> 7. What is humanity's place in creation? </p> <p> 8. How is the New [[Testament]] concept of the new creation in Christ related to the biblical concept of physical creation? </p> <p> Biblical References to Creation Probably the best known reference to creation in the Bible is Genesis 1:1-2:4 . That certainly is not the only place in Scripture where the subject is treated. Psalmists mentioned creation or the Creator frequently ( Psalm 8:3-4 ; Psalm 74:17 ; Psalm 95:5 ; Psalm 100:3 ; Psalm 104:24 ,Psalms 104:24, 104:30 ; Psalm 118:24 ; Psalm 40:5 ; Psalm 51:10 ; Psalm 64:9 ; Psalm 24:1-2 ; Psalm 102:25 ; Psalm 145:10 ). The second half of Isaiah ( Psalm 40-66 ) has four direct references to creation ( Isaiah 40:28 ; Isaiah 43:7 , Isaiah 43:15 ; Isaiah 45:7 ; Isaiah 65:17 ). Job alluded to creation in two speeches ( Job 10:8 ; Job 26:7 ), and God's answer to Job contains one reference to the subject ( Job 38:4 ). </p> <p> The New Testament reveals that Jesus “made” all things ( John 1:3 ) and that “all things were created by him, and for him” ( Colossians 1:16 ). Paul's assertion recorded in Ephesians 3:9 is that God “created all things.” The writer of Hebrews notes that Jesus was the agent God used to create the world ( Hebrews 1:2 ). Because God created all things, He is worthy of “glory and honor and power” ( Revelation 4:11 ). Luke testified that the living God “made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” ( Acts 14:15 ). The consistent report of the Bible is that God is the Source of the whole created order. </p> <p> The Function of Biblical Creation References Genesis is a book about beginnings. The centerpiece of the book is God's redemptive activity following the fall of man. God began by calling Abram out of Ur, by entering into a covenant with him, and by making promises to bless him and to bless all the families of the earth through him. </p> <p> Genesis 1-11 is prologue to the patriarchal stories ( Genesis 12-50 ). It sets a world stage on which God acted in choosing one man in order to bless all men. Genesis 1-2 contain two accounts of creation, the order of man's creation coming at the end in the first and at the beginning in the second. God's creation, “good” as it was ( Genesis 1:4 ,Genesis 1:4, 1:10 ,Genesis 1:10, 1:12 ,Genesis 1:12, 1:21 ,Genesis 1:21, 1:25 ,Genesis 1:25, 1:31 ), soon became bad through human rebellion against God. The accounts of creation in Genesis 1-2 prepare the reader for the record of the first people being placed in the [[Garden]] of Eden, temptation by the serpent, rebellion against God, expulsion from the garden, and the degenerating effect of sin in society. </p> <p> God's judgment on sin in the form of a flood did not put an end to sin ( Genesis 6-9 ). Noah himself carried sin into the society that survived the flood. Even destroying the tower of Babel, confusing the people's language, and scattering them over the face of the earth did not stop the spread of sin ( Genesis 11:1 ). Genesis 11:1 ends by introducing Terah, the father of Abram, through whom God would bless the world in spite of its rebellion against Him. The link between creation and redemption is clear. </p> <p> Isaiah reminded weary exiles that the God he proclaimed as their Redeemer and Sustainer was “the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth” ( Isaiah 40:28 ). The prophet linked God's redemptive activity with His creative activity ( Isaiah 43:7 ,Isaiah 43:7, 43:15 ). He went on to declare God's plan to “create new heavens and a new earth” as well as a new people ( Isaiah 65:17-18 ). </p> <p> Job lamented that God's hands “made and fashioned” him but for some unexplained reason turned about to “destroy” him ( Job 10:8 ). In a later speech Job expressed the effortless manner in which God created the universe ( Job 26:7-11 ) and defeated [[Rahab]] and the serpent ( Job 26:12-13 ). The Lord's speech in response to Job ( Job 38-39 ) makes clear that God is the Creator and that man had no part in creation. </p> <p> The psalmists' concerns with God as Creator were related to people's place in creation ( Psalm 8:3-4 ), to God's redemptive activity ( Psalm 74:17 ; Psalm 95:5 ), and to praise for the Creator ( Psalm 100:3 ; Psalm 104:1 ; Psalm 24:1-2 ). One psalmist referred to the creation to contrast its perishable nature with the imperishable nature of the Creator ( Psalm 102:25-27 ). </p> <p> The three doxologies in Amos ( Amos 4:13 ; Amos 5:8-9 ; Amos 9:5-6 ) magnify God the Creator and Controller of creation. Malachi's reference to God as Creator stresses the fact that one God created all people ( Malachi 2:10 ). This fact forms the basis of the prophet's appeal for faithfulness among covenant members. </p> <p> John based God's worthiness to receive “glory and honor and power” on His creative activity ( Revelation 4:11 ). By God's will “all things” existed and were created. John's testimony is that “the Word” made all things ( John 1:3 ) and that Jesus is the Word ( John 1:14 ). </p> <p> Paul's perspective was that [[Christians]] represent God's workmanship “created in Christ Jesus for good works” ( Ephesians 2:10 ). The gospel that God called Paul to preach had been hidden in God who “created all things” ( Ephesians 3:9 ). He agreed with John that Jesus the Savior, the firstborn of all creation, was Himself the Source of all creation ( Colossians 1:16-17 ). </p> <p> The author of Hebrews wrote of God's revelation through prophets of old, but “in these last days” God spoke through a Son ( Hebrews 1:1-2 ). The Son created the world. Like many Old Testament passages, this passage in Hebrews links God's creative activity with His redemptive activity. </p> <p> The people of [[Lystra]] took [[Barnabas]] and Paul to be gods ( Acts 14:11 ). Paul and Barnabas set the record straight as they pointed to “the living God which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein” ( Acts 14:15 ). </p> <p> Relationship of Biblical and Extra-biblical References to Creation The Enuma Elish (“When on High”) is probably the best known extra-biblical reference to creation. This Mesopotamian account reflects a striking correspondence in various details and in order of events when it is compared with the biblical references to creation. What is the explanation for these similarities? Did the [[Babylonians]] follow the biblical account? Did the biblical authors follow Babylonian prototypes? Did both Babylonian and biblical writers rely on some unidentified ultimate source? </p> <p> Based on the dating of Babylonian and biblical materials, apparently biblical writers were aware of Babylonian prototypes. Though the two accounts are similar in some ways, they are poles apart in other ways. [[Conflict]] between rival deities dominates the Babylonian story of creation. The biblical accounts feature one God creating a good, orderly, and harmonious universe. Their cosmogony (theory of the origin of the universe) is similar; their religion is radically different. Biblical writers seem to be conscious of Babylonian sources, but they take a critical position toward them. </p> <p> Human Place in Creation Both detailed stories of creation in the Bible feature people at center stage, even though the creation of persons is last in the order of creative acts in Genesis 1:1-2:4 but first in Genesis 2:4-24 . The author of Psalm 8:1 seems surprised at the attention the Creator gives to mortal humans formed from the dust ( Psalm 8:4 ). Yet God gave humans a place of prominence and set them over the rest of creation ( Psalm 8:5-8 ). “For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels” ( Psalm 8:5 ) may be a commentary on the Genesis statement that God “created man in his own image” ( Genesis 1:27 ). </p> <p> The language of Genesis 1:1 pictures God at a distance speaking humans into existence. The language of Genesis 2:1 portrays God with a “hands on” closeness shaping Adam and [[Eve ]] like a potter forming a clay vessel. “Create” (bara') is the dominant verb of creation in Genesis 1:1 . “Formed” (yatsar) is the controlling verb of creation in Genesis 2:1 . </p> <p> New Creation and [[Physical ]] Creation The Old Testament is consistent in its use of the verb “create” ( <i> bara' </i> ). Only God serves as subject of the verb. Creation is the work of God. People may “make” ( <i> asah </i> ) and “form” ( <i> yatsar </i> ). God alone creates ( <i> bara' </i> ). </p> <p> Psalm 51:10 may reflect a transition in usage of “create” ( <i> bara' </i> ) to designate a purely physical work. A clean heart is the object of the verb “create” in this Psalm. Isaiah employed “create” in reference to “new heavens and a new earth” as well as “Jerusalem” and “her people” ( Isaiah 65:17-18 ). Paul wrote to the Corinthians about being “in Christ” and thereby being “a new creation” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). “Created in Christ Jesus” is Paul's terminology for spiritual salvation in Ephesians 2:10 . The point in all of these references is that God alone is the Author of spiritual redemption. </p> <p> God is the Creator of all things. All things belong to God. God gave humans dominion over creation, a stewardship assignment. Therefore, people are accountable directly to God for their use or abuse of creation. God created “good” heavens and a “good” earth. The entrance of human sin has had an adverse effect on creation ( Hosea 4:1-3 ). Paul pictured that the whole of creation “groaneth and travaileth” under the burden of human sin ( Romans 8:22 ). He also wrote of a time when “the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” ( Romans 8:21 NAS). Paul anticipated a day when God would restore the whole of creation to its original goodness. </p> <p> Billy K. Smith </p> |
| | |
| == Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_50346" /> == | | == Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible <ref name="term_50346" /> == |
| <p> <strong> CREATION </strong> . One of the most convincing proofs of the composite authorship of the [[Pentateuch]] has always been found in the existence side by side of two independent and mutually irreconcilable accounts of the creation of the world. The first, [[Genesis ]] 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a, forms the introduction of the Priestly Code (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), which was compiled, as is now generally acknowledged, in the 5th cent. b.c. The second, Genesis 2:4 bff., opens the Jahwistic document (J [Note: Jahwist.] ), whose latest portions must be dated at least a century and a half earlier than the compilation of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] . These two narratives, while expressing the same fundamental religious ideas, differ profoundly in their concrete conceptions of the process of creation. The account of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] starts with a description ( Genesis 2:2 ) of the primeval chaos a dark formless watery abyss, out of which the world of light and order was to be evolved. Whether this chaotic matter owed its origin to a prior creative act of God is a question depending on a delicate point of grammatical construction which cannot be adequately explained here; but, looking to the analogy of the [[Babylonian ]] Creation-story (see below), it seems probable that the chaos is conceived as pre-existent, and that the representation of the chapter falls short of the full dogmatic idea of creation as production out of nothing, an idea first unambiguously expressed in 2Ma 7:28 The work of creation then proceeds in a series of eight [[Divine]] fiats, viz.: (1) [[Creation ]] of light and separation of light from the primeval darkness, Genesis 1:3-5; (2) division of the chaotic waters by the firmament, Genesis 1:6-8; (3) separation of land and sea, Genesis 1:9-10; (4) clothing of the earth with vegetation, Genesis 1:11-13; (5) formation of the heavenly bodies, Genesis 1:14-19; (6) production of fishes and birds, Genesis 1:20-23; (7) land animals, Genesis 1:24 f.; and (8) the creation of man in the image of God with dominion over the creatures, Genesis 1:26 ff. The most remarkable formal feature of the record is a somewhat artificial but carefully planned and symmetrical arrangement of the eight works under a scheme of six days. The creative process is thus divided into two parallel stages, each embracing four works and occupying three days, the last day in each division having two works assigned to it. There is an obviously designed, though not quite complete, correspondence between the two series: (1) light || ( Genesis 1:5 ) luminaries; (2) waters and firmament || ( Genesis 1:6 ) fishes and fowls; (3) dry land || ( Genesis 1:7-8 ) terrestrial animals; (4) trees and grasses, and (on the sixth day) the appointment of these as the food of men and animals. The significance of the six days’ scheme is revealed in the closing verses ( Genesis 1:1-3 ), where the resting of the [[Creator ]] on the seventh day is regarded as the antitype and sanction of the [[Jewish]] Sabbath-rest. It is not improbable that the scheme of days is a modification of the original cosmogony, introduced in the interest of the [[Sabbath]] law; and this adaptation may account for some anomalies of arrangement which seem to mar the consistency of the scheme. </p> <p> In the narrative of J [Note: Jahwist.] (2:4bff.), the earth as originally made by [[Jahweh]] was an arid lifeless waste, in which no plant could grow for lack of moisture, and where there was no man to till the ground (vv. 5, 6). The idea of man’s superiority to the other creatures is here expressed by placing his creation, not at the end as in P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] , but at the beginning (v. 7); followed by the planting of the garden in which he was to dwell and from whose trees he was to derive his food (vv. 8, 9, 15 17); the forming of beasts and birds to relieve his solitude and awake his craving for a nobler companionship (vv. 18 20); and lastly of the woman, in whom he recognizes a part of himself and a helpmeet for him (vv. 21 23). The express reference to the welfare of man in each act of creation makes it doubtful whether a systematic account of the origin of things was contemplated by the writer, or whether the passage is not rather to be regarded as a poetic clothing of ideas generated by reflexion on fundamental facts of human life and society. It is probable, however, that it contains fragments of a fuller cosmogony which has been abridged and utilized as a prologue to the story of [[Paradise]] and the Fall. On either view, the divergence from the account of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] is so obvious as to preclude the attempt to harmonize the two, or to treat the second as merely supplementary to the first. </p> <p> Much ingenuity has been expended in the effort to bring the Biblical record of creation into accord with the facts disclosed by the modern sciences of [[Geology ]] and Astronomy. Naturally such constructions confine their operations to the systematic and semi-scientific account of Genesis 1:1-31; for it has probably never occurred to any one to vindicate the scientific accuracy of the more imaginative narrative of J [Note: Jahwist.] . But even if we were to admit the unique claim of the first chapter to be a revealed cosmogony, the difficulty of harmonizing it with the teachings of science is seen to be insurmountable as soon as the real nature of the problem to be solved is fairly apprehended. It is not sufficient to emphasize the general idea of gradation and upward progress as common to science and Scripture, or to point to isolated coincidences, such as the creation of fishes before mammals, or the late appearance of man on the earth: the narrative must be taken as a whole, and it must be shown that there is a genuine parallelism between the order of days and works in Genesis 1:1-31 and the stages of development recognized by science as those through which the universe has reached its present form. This has never been done; and after making every allowance for the imperfection of the geological record, and the general insecurity of scientific hypothesis as distinguished from ascertained fact, enough is known to make it certain that the required correspondence can never be made out. Thus the formation of the sun and moon after the earth, after the alternation of day and night, and even after the emergence of plant-life, is a scientific impossibility. Again, the rough popular classifications of Genesis (plants, aquatic animals, birds, land animals, etc.) are, for scientific purposes, hopelessly inadequate; and the idea that these groups originated <em> as wholes </em> , and in the order here specified, is entirely contrary to the ‘testimony of the rocks.’ But, indeed, the whole conception of the universe on which the cosmogony of Genesis rests opposes a fatal barrier to any valid reconciliation with scientific theory. The world whose origin is here described is a solid expanse of earth, surrounded by and resting on a world-ocean, and surmounted by a rigid vault called the <strong> firmament </strong> , above which the waters of a heavenly ocean are spread. Such a world is unknown to science; and the manner in which such a world was conceived to have come into being cannot truly represent the process by which the very different world of science and fact has been evolved. This fact alone would amply justify the emphatic verdict of Professor Driver: ‘Read without prejudice or bias, the narrative of Genesis 1:1-31 creates an impression <em> at variance with the facts revealed by science </em> : the efforts at reconciliation … are but different modes of obliterating its characteristic features, and of reading into it <em> a view which it does not express </em> ’ ( <em> Westm. Com </em> . ‘Genesis,’ p. 26). </p> <p> To form a correct estimate of the character and religious value of the first chapter of Genesis, it has to be borne in mind that speculative theories of the origin of the universe were an important element of all the higher religions of antiquity. Many of these cosmogonies (as they are called) are known to us; and amidst all the diversity of representation which characterizes them, we cannot fail to detect certain underlying affinities which suggest a common source, either in the natural tendencies of early thought, or in some dominant type of cosmological tradition. That the [[Hebrew]] cosmogony is influenced by such a tradition is proved by its striking likeness to the Babylonian story of creation as contained in cuneiform tablets from Ashurbanipal’s library, first unearthed in 1872. From these Assyriologists have deciphered a highly coloured mythological epic, describing the origin of the world in the form of a conflict between Marduk, god of light and supreme deity of the pantheon of Babylon, and the power of [[Chaos]] personified as a female monster named <em> Ti’âmat </em> (Heb. <em> TÄ•hôm </em> ). Wide as is the difference between the polytheistic assumptions and fantastic imagery of the Babylonian narrative and the sober dignity and elevated monotheism of Genesis, there are yet coincidences in general outline and in detail which are too marked and too numerous to be ascribed to chance. In both we have the conception of chaos as a watery abyss, in both the separation of the waters into an upper and a lower ocean; the formation of the heavenly bodies and their function in regulating time are described with remarkable similarity; special prominence is given to the creation of man; and it may be added that, while the <em> order </em> of creation differs in the two documents, yet the separate works themselves are practically identical. In view of this pervading parallelism, it is clear that the Hebrew and Babylonian cosmogonies are very closely related; and the only question open to discussion is which of them represents more faithfully the primary tradition on which each is based. Looking, however, to the vastly higher antiquity of the Babylonian narrative, to its conformity (even in points which affect the Biblical record) to the climatic conditions of the [[Euphrates]] Valley, and to the general indebtedness of [[Israel]] to the civilization of Babylon, it cannot reasonably be doubted that the Hebrew narrative is dependent on Babylonian models; though it is of course not certain that the particular version preserved in the tablets referred to is the exact original by which the Biblical writers were influenced. </p> <p> From this point of view we are able to state the significance of the [[Scripture ]] account of creation in a way which does justice at once to its unrivalled religious value and to its lack of scientific corroboration. The <em> material </em> is derived from some form of the Babylonian cosmogony, and shares the imperfection and error incident to all pre-scientific speculation regarding the past history of the world. The Scripture writers make no pretension to supernatural illumination on matters which it is the province of physical investigation to ascertain. Their <em> theology </em> , on the other hand, is the product of a revelation which placed them far in advance of their heathen contemporaries, and imparted to all their thinking a sanity of imagination and a sublimity of conception that instinctively rejected the grosser features of paganism, and transformed what was retained into a vehicle of Divine truth. Thus the cosmogony became a classical expression of the monotheistic principle of the OT, which is here embodied in a detailed description of the genesis of the universe that lays hold of the mind as no abstract statement of the principle could do. In opposition to the heathen theogonies, the world is affirmed to have been <em> created, i.e. </em> to have originated in the will of God, whose [[Personality ]] transcends the universe and exists independently of it. The spirituality of the First Cause of all things, and His absolute sovereignty over the material He employs, are further emphasized in the idea of the word of God as the agency through which the various orders of existence were produced; and the repeated assertion that the world in all its parts was ‘good,’ and as a whole ‘very good,’ suggests that it perfectly reflected the Divine thought which called it into being. When to these doctrines we add the view of man, as made in the likeness of God, and marked out as the crown and goal of creation, we have a body of spiritual truth which distinguishes the cosmogony of Genesis 1:1-31 from all similar compositions, and entitles it to rank amongst the most important documents of revealed religion. </p> <p> John Skinner. </p>< br> | | <p> <strong> CREATION </strong> . One of the most convincing proofs of the composite authorship of the [[Pentateuch]] has always been found in the existence side by side of two independent and mutually irreconcilable accounts of the creation of the world. The first, Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 2:4 a, forms the introduction of the Priestly Code (P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ), which was compiled, as is now generally acknowledged, in the 5th cent. b.c. The second, Genesis 2:4 bff., opens the Jahwistic document (J [Note: Jahwist.] ), whose latest portions must be dated at least a century and a half earlier than the compilation of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] . These two narratives, while expressing the same fundamental religious ideas, differ profoundly in their concrete conceptions of the process of creation. The account of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] starts with a description ( Genesis 2:2 ) of the primeval chaos a dark formless watery abyss, out of which the world of light and order was to be evolved. Whether this chaotic matter owed its origin to a prior creative act of God is a question depending on a delicate point of grammatical construction which cannot be adequately explained here; but, looking to the analogy of the Babylonian Creation-story (see below), it seems probable that the chaos is conceived as pre-existent, and that the representation of the chapter falls short of the full dogmatic idea of creation as production out of nothing, an idea first unambiguously expressed in 2Ma 7:28 The work of creation then proceeds in a series of eight [[Divine]] fiats, viz.: (1) Creation of light and separation of light from the primeval darkness, Genesis 1:3-5; (2) division of the chaotic waters by the firmament, Genesis 1:6-8; (3) separation of land and sea, Genesis 1:9-10; (4) clothing of the earth with vegetation, Genesis 1:11-13; (5) formation of the heavenly bodies, Genesis 1:14-19; (6) production of fishes and birds, Genesis 1:20-23; (7) land animals, Genesis 1:24 f.; and (8) the creation of man in the image of God with dominion over the creatures, Genesis 1:26 ff. The most remarkable formal feature of the record is a somewhat artificial but carefully planned and symmetrical arrangement of the eight works under a scheme of six days. The creative process is thus divided into two parallel stages, each embracing four works and occupying three days, the last day in each division having two works assigned to it. There is an obviously designed, though not quite complete, correspondence between the two series: (1) light || ( Genesis 1:5 ) luminaries; (2) waters and firmament || ( Genesis 1:6 ) fishes and fowls; (3) dry land || ( Genesis 1:7-8 ) terrestrial animals; (4) trees and grasses, and (on the sixth day) the appointment of these as the food of men and animals. The significance of the six days’ scheme is revealed in the closing verses ( Genesis 1:1-3 ), where the resting of the Creator on the seventh day is regarded as the antitype and sanction of the [[Jewish]] Sabbath-rest. It is not improbable that the scheme of days is a modification of the original cosmogony, introduced in the interest of the [[Sabbath]] law; and this adaptation may account for some anomalies of arrangement which seem to mar the consistency of the scheme. </p> <p> In the narrative of J [Note: Jahwist.] (2:4bff.), the earth as originally made by [[Jahweh]] was an arid lifeless waste, in which no plant could grow for lack of moisture, and where there was no man to till the ground (vv. 5, 6). The idea of man’s superiority to the other creatures is here expressed by placing his creation, not at the end as in P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] , but at the beginning (v. 7); followed by the planting of the garden in which he was to dwell and from whose trees he was to derive his food (vv. 8, 9, 15 17); the forming of beasts and birds to relieve his solitude and awake his craving for a nobler companionship (vv. 18 20); and lastly of the woman, in whom he recognizes a part of himself and a helpmeet for him (vv. 21 23). The express reference to the welfare of man in each act of creation makes it doubtful whether a systematic account of the origin of things was contemplated by the writer, or whether the passage is not rather to be regarded as a poetic clothing of ideas generated by reflexion on fundamental facts of human life and society. It is probable, however, that it contains fragments of a fuller cosmogony which has been abridged and utilized as a prologue to the story of [[Paradise]] and the Fall. On either view, the divergence from the account of P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] is so obvious as to preclude the attempt to harmonize the two, or to treat the second as merely supplementary to the first. </p> <p> Much ingenuity has been expended in the effort to bring the Biblical record of creation into accord with the facts disclosed by the modern sciences of Geology and Astronomy. [[Naturally ]] such constructions confine their operations to the systematic and semi-scientific account of Genesis 1:1-31; for it has probably never occurred to any one to vindicate the scientific accuracy of the more imaginative narrative of J [Note: Jahwist.] . But even if we were to admit the unique claim of the first chapter to be a revealed cosmogony, the difficulty of harmonizing it with the teachings of science is seen to be insurmountable as soon as the real nature of the problem to be solved is fairly apprehended. It is not sufficient to emphasize the general idea of gradation and upward progress as common to science and Scripture, or to point to isolated coincidences, such as the creation of fishes before mammals, or the late appearance of man on the earth: the narrative must be taken as a whole, and it must be shown that there is a genuine parallelism between the order of days and works in Genesis 1:1-31 and the stages of development recognized by science as those through which the universe has reached its present form. This has never been done; and after making every allowance for the imperfection of the geological record, and the general insecurity of scientific hypothesis as distinguished from ascertained fact, enough is known to make it certain that the required correspondence can never be made out. Thus the formation of the sun and moon after the earth, after the alternation of day and night, and even after the emergence of plant-life, is a scientific impossibility. Again, the rough popular classifications of Genesis (plants, aquatic animals, birds, land animals, etc.) are, for scientific purposes, hopelessly inadequate; and the idea that these groups originated <em> as wholes </em> , and in the order here specified, is entirely contrary to the ‘testimony of the rocks.’ But, indeed, the whole conception of the universe on which the cosmogony of Genesis rests opposes a fatal barrier to any valid reconciliation with scientific theory. The world whose origin is here described is a solid expanse of earth, surrounded by and resting on a world-ocean, and surmounted by a rigid vault called the <strong> firmament </strong> , above which the waters of a heavenly ocean are spread. Such a world is unknown to science; and the manner in which such a world was conceived to have come into being cannot truly represent the process by which the very different world of science and fact has been evolved. This fact alone would amply justify the emphatic verdict of Professor Driver: ‘Read without prejudice or bias, the narrative of Genesis 1:1-31 creates an impression <em> at variance with the facts revealed by science </em> : the efforts at reconciliation … are but different modes of obliterating its characteristic features, and of reading into it <em> a view which it does not express </em> ’ ( <em> Westm. Com </em> . ‘Genesis,’ p. 26). </p> <p> To form a correct estimate of the character and religious value of the first chapter of Genesis, it has to be borne in mind that speculative theories of the origin of the universe were an important element of all the higher religions of antiquity. Many of these cosmogonies (as they are called) are known to us; and amidst all the diversity of representation which characterizes them, we cannot fail to detect certain underlying affinities which suggest a common source, either in the natural tendencies of early thought, or in some dominant type of cosmological tradition. That the Hebrew cosmogony is influenced by such a tradition is proved by its striking likeness to the Babylonian story of creation as contained in cuneiform tablets from Ashurbanipal’s library, first unearthed in 1872. From these Assyriologists have deciphered a highly coloured mythological epic, describing the origin of the world in the form of a conflict between Marduk, god of light and supreme deity of the pantheon of Babylon, and the power of [[Chaos]] personified as a female monster named <em> Ti’âmat </em> (Heb. <em> TÄ•hôm </em> ). [[Wide ]] as is the difference between the polytheistic assumptions and fantastic imagery of the Babylonian narrative and the sober dignity and elevated monotheism of Genesis, there are yet coincidences in general outline and in detail which are too marked and too numerous to be ascribed to chance. In both we have the conception of chaos as a watery abyss, in both the separation of the waters into an upper and a lower ocean; the formation of the heavenly bodies and their function in regulating time are described with remarkable similarity; special prominence is given to the creation of man; and it may be added that, while the <em> order </em> of creation differs in the two documents, yet the separate works themselves are practically identical. In view of this pervading parallelism, it is clear that the Hebrew and Babylonian cosmogonies are very closely related; and the only question open to discussion is which of them represents more faithfully the primary tradition on which each is based. Looking, however, to the vastly higher antiquity of the Babylonian narrative, to its conformity (even in points which affect the Biblical record) to the climatic conditions of the [[Euphrates]] Valley, and to the general indebtedness of [[Israel]] to the civilization of Babylon, it cannot reasonably be doubted that the Hebrew narrative is dependent on Babylonian models; though it is of course not certain that the particular version preserved in the tablets referred to is the exact original by which the Biblical writers were influenced. </p> <p> From this point of view we are able to state the significance of the Scripture account of creation in a way which does justice at once to its unrivalled religious value and to its lack of scientific corroboration. The <em> material </em> is derived from some form of the Babylonian cosmogony, and shares the imperfection and error incident to all pre-scientific speculation regarding the past history of the world. The Scripture writers make no pretension to supernatural illumination on matters which it is the province of physical investigation to ascertain. Their <em> theology </em> , on the other hand, is the product of a revelation which placed them far in advance of their heathen contemporaries, and imparted to all their thinking a sanity of imagination and a sublimity of conception that instinctively rejected the grosser features of paganism, and transformed what was retained into a vehicle of Divine truth. Thus the cosmogony became a classical expression of the monotheistic principle of the OT, which is here embodied in a detailed description of the genesis of the universe that lays hold of the mind as no abstract statement of the principle could do. In opposition to the heathen theogonies, the world is affirmed to have been <em> created, i.e. </em> to have originated in the will of God, whose Personality transcends the universe and exists independently of it. The spirituality of the First Cause of all things, and His absolute sovereignty over the material He employs, are further emphasized in the idea of the word of God as the agency through which the various orders of existence were produced; and the repeated assertion that the world in all its parts was ‘good,’ and as a whole ‘very good,’ suggests that it perfectly reflected the Divine thought which called it into being. When to these doctrines we add the view of man, as made in the likeness of God, and marked out as the crown and goal of creation, we have a body of spiritual truth which distinguishes the cosmogony of Genesis 1:1-31 from all similar compositions, and entitles it to rank amongst the most important documents of revealed religion. </p> <p> John Skinner. </p> |
| | |
| | == Bridgeway Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_18503" /> == |
| | <p> A basic [[Christian]] belief is that God created all things, and that all three persons of the godhead were involved in the acts of creation. God spoke and, by the power of his creative word, it happened ( Genesis 1:1-3; Job 33:4; Psalms 33:6; Psalms 33:9; Psalms 102:25; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-2). </p> <p> '''The Creator and the universe''' </p> <p> God alone is eternal; therefore, before his initial act of creation, nothing existed apart from him. He created all things, visible and invisible. Even spirit beings, though they may have existed before the physical universe, are creatures whom God has made ( Genesis 1:1-2; Job 38:4-11; Psalms 33:6-9; Psalms 90:2; Isaiah 40:26-28; Isaiah 42:5; John 1:1-3; Romans 11:36; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3; Revelation 4:11). Once God had created matter, he used the materials of the universe to make and develop the features of the universe. He made animals and humans, for example, out of materials he had made earlier ( Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:19). </p> <p> Having created the universe, God did not then leave it to itself, as if it were like a huge clock that he wound up and left to run automatically. God is still active in the physical universe. He maintains what he creates. Though he is Lord of creation and distinct from it, he works through it. He is over all things and in all things ( Psalms 147:8-9; Acts 17:24; Acts 17:28; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3; see also [[Providence]] ). </p> <p> The universe exists, above all, for the praise and glory of God. He created it, not as an act of necessity, but as an act of free grace; not because he had to, but because he chose to ( Isaiah 43:7; Acts 17:25; Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:16; Revelation 4:11). It shows something of God’s love, power and wisdom ( Psalms 19:1-4; Jeremiah 10:12; Romans 1:20). </p> <p> God’s ‘rest’ after creation indicated that he was completely satisfied with all his created works. In his grace he gave the physical world to the people he had created and made them caretakers over it. God wanted them to enjoy his creation in fellowship with himself, and in so doing to share in his ‘rest’ ( Genesis 1:27-28; Genesis 2:1-3; Hebrews 4:3-10). </p> <p> But the human creatures refused to submit to their divine Creator, and as a result they ruined the relationship both with the Creator and with the physical creation. They brought disaster upon the human race as a whole and this had damaging consequences in the natural world ( Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 1:20-23; Romans 8:20). Only when the redeemed enters their full salvation at the end of the age will the created world enter its full glory ( Romans 8:21-23; Philippians 3:21; see [[Nature]] ). </p> <p> '''Story of creation''' </p> <p> The chief purpose of the account of creation in Genesis is to provide an introduction to the story of God’s dealings with the human race. It shows that God created everything out of nothing, and that he brought the universe through various stages of development till it was a fitting dwelling place for human beings ( Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:5; Genesis 1:8; Genesis 1:13; Genesis 1:19; Genesis 1:23; Genesis 1:31; Genesis 2:4-7). Modern science may at times cause people to think they are almost insignificant in relation to the size and complexity of the universe, but the Bible takes a different view. It is concerned above all with people, and says little about how the physical universe operates ( Psalms 8:3-9). </p> <p> God is pleased when men and women want to learn more about the wonders of his creation, but he has appointed that they do so by the hard work of study and investigation ( Genesis 3:19; Psalms 111:2). God does not usually give such information by direct revelation. The Bible is not a textbook on science, nor is it concerned with the sort of information that scientists are concerned with. Its purpose is not to teach scientific theories, but to give a short simple account of the beginning of things, and in language that people of any era or any background can understand. </p> <p> The language of the creation story, like that of the rest of the Bible, is not the technical language of the scientist, but the everyday language of the common people (cf. Genesis 1:16; Genesis 7:11-12; Genesis 40:22). The scientist may speak of the sun as the centre of the solar system, with the earth a minor satellite of the sun, and the moon a minor satellite of the earth. The Bible, by contrast, speaks of the heavens and the earth from the viewpoint of ordinary observers. To them the earth appears stationary, and the sun ‘rises’ and ‘sets’ as it moves around the earth ( 1 Chronicles 16:30; Ecclesiastes 1:5; Malachi 1:11; Matthew 5:45). The sun is the ‘greater light’ and the moon the ‘lesser light’ ( Genesis 1:16). The pictorial language of the Bible is different from the technical language of science, but the two are not necessarily in conflict. </p> <p> Science may tell us much about God’s creation, though it does so from a viewpoint that is different from the Bible’s. Science can help us understand how nature works, whereas the Bible is concerned with showing that God is the one who makes nature work. </p> <p> From science we may learn how the stars move, how the weather changes, or how plants grow, but from the Bible we learn that God is the one who makes these things happen ( Psalms 65:9-10; Psalms 78:20; Psalms 78:26; Psalms 104:1-30; Psalms 147:8; Matthew 5:45; Matthew 6:30). Although science may investigate how the creation developed, the Bible reveals that the development came about through the creative activity of the sovereign God. The ‘laws of nature’ are God’s laws ( Genesis 1:1; Genesis 1:7; Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:20; Genesis 1:24; Hebrews 11:3). </p> |
| | |
| | == Charles Buck Theological Dictionary <ref name="term_19433" /> == |
| | <p> In its primary import, signifies the bringing into being something which did not before exist. The term is therefore most generally applied to the original production of the materials whereof the visible world is composed. It is also used in a secondary or subordinate sense to denote those subsequent operations of the Deity upon the matter so produced, by which the whole system of Nature, and all the primitive genera of things, receive their form, qualities, and laws. There is no subject concerning which learned men have differed in their conjectures more than in this of creation. "It is certain, " as a good writer observes, "that none of the ancient philosophers had the smallest idea of its being possible to produce a substance out of nothing, or that even the power of the Deity himself could work without any materials to work upon. Hence some of them, among whom was Aristotle, asserted that the world was eternal, both as to its matter and form. Others, though they believed that the gods had given the world its form, yet imagined the materials whereof it is composed to have been eternal. Indeed, the opinions of the ancients, who had not the benefit of revelation, were on this head so confused and contradictory, that nothing of any consequence can be deduced from them. </p> <p> The free-thinkers of our own and of former ages have denied the possibility of creation, as being a contradiction to reason; and of consequence have taken the opportunity from thence to discredit revelation. On the other hand, many defenders of the sacred writings have asserted that creation out of nothing, so far from being a contradiction to reason, is not only probable, but demonstrably certain. Nay, some have gone so far as to say, that from the very inspection of the visible system of Nature, we are able to infer that it was once in a state of non-existence." We cannot, however, here enter into the multiplicity of the arguments on both sides; it is enough for us to know what God has been pleased to reveal, both concerning himself and the works of his hands. "Men, and other animals that inhabit the earth and the seas; all the immense varieties of herbs and plants of which the vegetable kingdom consists; the globe of the earth, and the expanse of the ocean; these we know to have been produced by his power. Besides the terrestrial world, which we inhabit, we see many other material bodies disposed around it in the wide extent of space. </p> <p> The moon, which is in a particular manner connected with our earth, and even dependent upon it; the sun, and the other planets, with their satellites, which like the earth circulate round the sun, and appear to derive from him light and heat; those bodies which we call fixed stars, and consider as illuminating and cherishing, with heat each its peculiar system of planets; and the comets which at certain periods surprise us with their appearance, and the nature of whose connection with the general system of Nature, or with any particular system of planets, we cannot pretend to have fully discovered; these are so many more of the Deity's works, from the contemplation of which we cannot but conceive the most awful ideas of his creative power. "Matter, however, whatever the varieties of form under which it is made to appear, the relative disposition of its parts, or the motions communicated to it, is but an inferior part of the works of creation. We believe ourselves to be animated with a much higher principle than brute matter; in viewing the manners and economy of the lower animals, we can scarce avoid acknowledging even them to consist of something more than various modifications of matter and motion. The other planetary bodies, which seem to be in circumstances nearly analogous to those of our earth, are surely, as well as it, destined for the habitations of rational intelligent beings. the existence of intelligences of an higher order than man, though infinitely below the Deity, appears extremely probable. Of these spiritual beings, called angels, we have express intimation in Scripture (see the article [[Angel]] But the limits of the creation we must not pretend to define. </p> <p> How far the regions of space extend, or how they are filled, we know not. How the planetary worlds, the sun, and the fixed stars are occupied, we do not pretend to have ascertained. We are even ignorant how wide a diversity of forms, what an infinity of living animated beings may inhabit our own globe. So confined is our knowledge of creation, yet so grand, so awful, that part which our narrow understandings can comprehend!" "Concerning the periods of time at which the Deity executed his several works, it cannot be pretended that mankind have had opportunities of receiving very particular information. Many have been the conjectures, and curious the fancies of learned men, respecting it; but, after all, we must be indebted to the sacred writings for the best information." Different copies, indeed, give different dates. The Hebrew copy of the Bible, which we Christians, for good reasons, consider as the most authentic, dates the creation of the world 3944 years before the Christian era. The [[Samaritan]] Bible, again, fixes the era of the creation 4305 years before the birth of Christ. And the Greek translation, known by the name of the [[Septuagint]] version of the Bible, gives 5270 as the number of years which intervened between these two periods. </p> <p> By comparing the various dates in the sacred writings, examining how these have come to disagree, and to be diversified in different copies; endeavouring to reconcile the most authentic profane with sacred chronology, some ingenious men have formed schemes of chronology plausible, indeed, but not supported by sufficient authorities, which they would gladly persuade us to receive in preference to any of those above-mentioned. Usher makes out from the Hebrew Bible 4004 years as the term between the creation and the birth of Christ. Josephus, according to Dr. Wills, and Mr. Whiston, makes it 4658 years; and M. Pezron, with the help of the Septuagint, extends it to 5872 years. Usher's system is the most generally received. But though these different systems of chronology are so inconsistent, and so slenderly supported, yet the differences among them are so inconsiderable, in comparison with those which arise before us when we contemplate the chronology of the Chinese, the Chaldeans, and the Egyptians, and they agree so well with the general information of authentic history, and with the appearances of nature and of society, that they may be considered as nearly fixing the true period of the creation of the earth." Uncertain, however, as we may be as to the exact time of the creation, we may profitably apply ourselves to the contemplation of this immense fabric. </p> <p> Indeed, the beautiful and multiform works around us must strike the mind of every beholder with wonder and admiration, unless he be enveloped in ignorance, and chained down to the earth with sensuality. These works every way proclaim the wisdom, the power, and the goodness of the Creator. Creation is a book which the nicest philosopher may study with the deepest attention. Unlike the works of art, the more it is examined, the more it opens to us sources of admiration of its great Author; the more it calls for our inspection, and the more it demands our praise. Here every thing is adjusted in the exactest order; all answering the wisest ends, and acting according to the appointed laws of Deity. Here the Christian is led into the most delightful field of contemplation. To him every pebble becomes a preacher, and every atom a step by which he ascends to his Creator. [[Placed]] in this beautiful temple, and looking around on all its various parts, he cannot help joining with the [[Psalmist]] in saying, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works; in wisdom hast thou made them all!" </p> <p> See [[Eternity]] of GOD. </p> <p> See Ray and Blackmore on the Creation; art. Creation, Enc. Brit.; Derham's Astro and Physico- theology; Hervey's Meditations; La Pluche's Nature Displayed; Sturm's Reflections on the Works of God. </p> |
| | |
| | == Morrish Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_65554" /> == |
| | <p> This word is principally applied to the act of bringing things into existence that did not exist before. This is expressed in Hebrews 11:3 : "things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." It is also applied to making new things out of material already in existence, thus, though man was 'made' of the dust of the ground, Genesis 2:7 , he is also said to have been <i> created, </i> the same Hebrew word, <i> bara </i> , being used in Genesis 1:1 for the creation of the world, that is used in Genesis 5:1,2 , for the creation of man. The passage in Hebrews 11 is important, because as men have no idea how anything can be brought into existence from nothing, they have talked of 'the eternity of matter;' the passage says it is 'by <i> faith </i> we understand' that the worlds were made by the word of God, so that seen things were not made of what is apparent. </p> <p> The discoveries made by geologists of the various strata of the earth, the fossils found therein, together with the time that would necessarily be required for the formation of those strata, raised a cry that scripture must be incorrect in saying all was done in seven days. This led Christians to compare these <i> works </i> of God in creation with His <i> words </i> in scripture; and the principal question resolved itself into this: where in scripture could be found the many thousands of years which were apparently needed under ordinary circumstances for the formation of the strata? [[Putting]] aside the <i> theories </i> of the geologists, the <i> facts </i> are undeniable. There are the various beds of different substances in layers, which any one can see for themselves. </p> <p> There are two ways in which Christians who have studied the subject hold that all difficulties are overcome. </p> <p> 1. That a long gap, of as many thousands of years as were necessary for the formation of the earth's crust, may be placed between verses 1 and 2 of Genesis 1 . That Genesis 1:1 refers to the original creation of the heaven and earth out of nothing; that the different beds were formed with the varying objects that are found therein as fossils, occupying a very long period. Then in Genesis 1:2 another condition is found: the earth by some means had become without form and void.* It was then ordered in view of the creation of man; and the various things were arranged and formed in the six days as detailed in Genesis 1 , as they are now found in and on the earth. </p> <p> *Some suppose this to have been the work of Satan. </p> <p> The principal objection to this is, that though there had been upheavals, depressions, earthquakes, sudden deaths, as evidenced by the contortions of fishes, in some of the early strata, there is no appearance after the various beds had been formed of what would answer to Genesis 1:2 , which says "the earth was without form and void." </p> <p> 2. The other theory is that Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 refer to the formation of the earth as matter, or that Genesis 1:1 refers to the creation of the earth, and that Genesis 1:2 refers to its being disordered by some means, as in the above theory, but that the various beds were formed with the fossils found therein during the six days recorded in Genesis 1; and that the days were of any needed indefinite length. It has been shown that the first things named as on the earth were grass and herbs, and these are always found in the lowest beds; and the other things created are found exactly in the same order <i> upwards </i> from the lowest, until man appears. These, in short, form three divisions: plants in the lowest beds; reptiles in the middle; mammals in the highest, with man the most recent. It is also asserted that no break has been discovered, as would be the case if after the beds had been formed destruction had come in, and an entirely new work of creation had begun again in what is recorded in Genesis 1 . Many of the existing species are contemporaneous with those that we know have ceased to exist. It is maintained that the term 'day' is often used for indefinite periods of time in scripture, and therefore may be so in Genesis 1; that they refer to <i> God's </i> days, and not to natural days, seeing that 'the evening and the morning' are spoken of before the sun, which naturally causes the evening and morning. Also that it is not consistent to hold that God's rest on the seventh day only alluded to 24 hours.†It is true that the introduction of sin marred God's rest; but this is not there contemplated. </p> <p> †It is asserted that long before any question of geology arose there were some among the Jews, as [[Josephus]] and Philo, and some among the Christians, as Whiston, Des Cartes, and De Luc, who believed that the 'days' of Genesis 1 were long periods. 'Creation,' Kitto's Cyclopaedia. </p> <p> To this theory it is objected that the words 'the evening and the morning' are too definite a description of the meaning of the word 'day' to allow the idea of indefinite periods. It is also held that Isaiah 45:18 (translating the passage "He created it not without form, he formed it to be inhabited") proves that God did not create the world in the first instance "without form and void." The word 'created' here is the same as in Genesis 1:1; and the words 'in vain' in the A.V. are the same as 'without form' in Genesis 1:2 . As to the correspondence in the order of created things it may be admitted that if the long periods come in between Genesis 1:1 and 2, the after order in the six days' creation is exactly the same God working, in the same order on the large scale (ages), and on the smaller (six days' work). </p> <p> [[Either]] of these theories sufficiently meets the supposed difficulty, and shows that God in His works does not clash with God in His word, though His word was never intended to teach science. </p> <p> In the creation we read that of every living thing each was made 'after his kind;' man was entirely separated from all others by God forming him in His own image and likeness, and breathing into his nostrils the breath of life, thus leaving no room for the modern theory of evolution. God, who knew perfectly everything which He had created, declared it to be as it left His hands <i> very good </i> ; and the more His works are examined the more perfection is discovered in every minute detail both as to plan and purpose, suiting everything for the place which each and every one is intended to fill. [[Sin]] has come in and spoiled God's fair creation, but man, who has been the occasion of it, dares to ignore God, or to blame Him for the pains and penalties attached to fallen humanity. Man everywhere endorses Adam's sin by his own individual sins. </p> |
| | |
| | == American Tract Society Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_15859" /> == |
| | <p> (1.) the act by which God calls into existence things not previously in being-material or spiritual, visible or invisible, Psalm 148:5 Revelation 4:11; </p> <p> (2.) the molding or reconstituting things, the elements of which previously existed; and </p> <p> (3.) the things thus "created and made," 2 Peter 3:4 Revelation 3:14 5:13 . It is probably in the first of these senses the word "created" is to be understood in Genesis 1:1 , though some understand it in the second sense. In either case the idea of the eternity of matter is to be rejected, as contrary to sound reason and to the teachings of Scripture, Proverbs 8:22-31 John 1:1-3 Hebrews 11:3 . </p> <p> Creation is exclusively the work of God. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit are each in turn named as its author, Isaiah 40:28 Colossians 1:16 Genesis 2:2 . It is a work the mysteries of which no finite mind can apprehend; and yet, as it reveals to us the invisible things of God, Romans 1:20 , we may and ought to learn what he reveals respecting it not only in revelation, but in his works. These two volumes are from the same divine hand, and cannot but harmonize with each other. The Bible opens with an account of the creation unspeakably majestic and sublime. The six days there spoken of have usually been taken for our present natural days; but modern geological researches have given rise to the idea that "day" here denotes a longer period. The different rocks of our globe lie in distinct layers, the comparative age of which is supposed to have been ascertained. Only the most recent have been found to contain human remains. Older layers present in turn different fossil remains of animals and plants, many of them supposed to be now extinct. These layers are deeply imbedded beneath the present soil, and yet appear to be formed of matter washed into the bed of some primeval sea, and hardened into rock. Above this may lie numerous other strata of different materials, but which appear to have been deposited in the same manner, in the slow lapse of time. These layers are also thrown up and penetrated all over the world by rocks of still earlier formations, apparently once in a melted state. </p> <p> There are several modes of reconciling these geological discoveries with the statements of Scripture: First, that the six days of Genesis 1.1-31 denote six long epochs-periods of alternate progressive formation and revolution on the surface of the earth. To the Lord "a thousand years are as one day," Psalm 90:2,4 2 Peter 3:5-10 Revelation 20:1 - 15 . Secondly, that the long epochs indicated in the geological structure of the globe occurred before the Bible account commences, or rather in the interval between the first and second verses of Genesis 1:1-31 . According to this interpretation, Genesis 1:2 describes the state of the earth at the close of the last revolution it experienced, preparatory to God's fitting it up for the abode of man as described in the verses following. Thirdly, that God compressed the work of those untold ages into six short days, and created the world as he did Adam, in a state of maturity, embodying in its rocks and fossils those rudimental forms of animal and vegetable life which seem naturally to lead up to the existing forms. </p> <p> The "Creature" and "the whole creation," in Romans 8:19-22 , may denote the irrational and inferior creation, which shall be released from the curse, and share in the glorious liberty of the sons of God, Isaiah 11:6 35:1 2 Peter 3:7-13 . The bodies of believers, now subject to vanity, are secure of full deliverance at the resurrection-"the redemption of our body," Romans 8:23 . </p> |
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| == Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_55513" /> == | | == Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament <ref name="term_55513" /> == |
| <p> <b> CREATION. </b> —The beginning of the world, as the earliest starting-point of time, is mentioned in Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19. The other [[Gospel]] references to this subject include one by an [[Evangelist]] and two by our Lord Himself. The first ( John 1:3) teaches that the [[Divine ]] Word, who afterwards became incarnate in [[Jesus ]] ( John 1:14), was the direct Agent in [[ Creation]] (cf. Colossians 1:6, Hebrews 1:2; and see following art.). The second ( John 5:17) occurs in a discussion on the Sabbath. In the words ‘my Father worketh hitherto,’ Jesus shows that the divine rest following the work of creation has been a period of continued Divine activity. His primary object is to justify His own works of healing on the [[Sabbath ]] day, but He shows incidentally that the seventh ‘day,’ and therefore also the other ‘days,’ of [[Genesis ]] 1 need not be understood in a literal sense. In the third allusion ( Matthew 19:4 ff., Mark 10:6 ff.) the words of Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24, describing the original creation of man and woman, are quoted in support of Christ’s ideal of marriage (cf. Ephesians 5:31). </p> <p> James Patrick. </p>< br> | | <p> <b> CREATION. </b> —The beginning of the world, as the earliest starting-point of time, is mentioned in Matthew 24:21, Mark 13:19. The other [[Gospel]] references to this subject include one by an [[Evangelist]] and two by our Lord Himself. The first ( John 1:3) teaches that the Divine Word, who afterwards became incarnate in Jesus ( John 1:14), was the direct [[ Agent]] in Creation (cf. Colossians 1:6, Hebrews 1:2; and see following art.). The second ( John 5:17) occurs in a discussion on the Sabbath. In the words ‘my Father worketh hitherto,’ Jesus shows that the divine rest following the work of creation has been a period of continued Divine activity. His primary object is to justify His own works of healing on the Sabbath day, but He shows incidentally that the seventh ‘day,’ and therefore also the other ‘days,’ of Genesis 1 need not be understood in a literal sense. In the third allusion ( Matthew 19:4 ff., Mark 10:6 ff.) the words of Genesis 1:27 ; Genesis 2:24, describing the original creation of man and woman, are quoted in support of Christ’s ideal of marriage (cf. Ephesians 5:31). </p> <p> James Patrick. </p> |
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| | == Easton's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_30893" /> == |
| | Genesis 1:1,26 1 Corinthians 8:6 John 1:3 Colossians 1:16,17 Genesis 1:2 Job 26:13 Psalm 104:30 Isaiah 37:16 40:12,13 54:5 Psalm 96:5 Jeremiah 10:11,12 Colossians 1:16 Revelation 4:11 Romans 11:36 <p> Traditions of the creation, disfigured by corruptions, are found among the records of ancient Eastern nations. (See [[Accad]] .) A peculiar interest belongs to the traditions of the Accadians, the primitive inhabitants of the plains of Lower Mesopotamia. These within the last few years have been brought to light in the tablets and cylinders which have been rescued from the long-buried palaces and temples of Assyria. They bear a remarkable resemblance to the record of Genesis. </p> |
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| | == Smith's Bible Dictionary <ref name="term_71941" /> == |
| | <p> '''Creation.''' (The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The ''Method'' of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The Hebrew word '''bara''' [[Create]] is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis - </p> <p> (1) as to the origin of matter; </p> <p> (2) as to the origin of life; </p> <p> (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus ascribed to God. </p> <p> All other things are said to be ''Made'' . The ''Order Of Creation'' as given in Genesis is in close harmony with the order as revealed by geology, and the account there given, so long before the records of the rocks were read or the truth discoverable by man, is one of the strongest proofs that the Bible was inspired by God. - Editor). </p> |
| | |
| == King James Dictionary <ref name="term_59112" /> == | | == King James Dictionary <ref name="term_59112" /> == |
| <p> CREATION, n
| | <p> CREATION, n. </p> |
| == Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia <ref name="term_298" /> == | | == Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia <ref name="term_298" /> == |
| <ol> <li> <i> Date </i> . The date of creation cannot be determined. The first Statement of the book of [[Genesis ]] places the time in remote and Impenetrable antiquity. <p> </p> </li> <li> <i> [[Creator ]] </i> . The writer of Genesis offers no proof of the existence Of [[Jehovah ]] or of the fact that all things were made by Him. ( Genesis 1:1,2; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:10; Hebrews 11:3 ). <p> </p> </li> <li> <i> [[Light ]] </i> . The process of creation had probably been going on for Ages before light was created by the fiat of Jehovah ( Genesis 1:1,3; 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). <p> </p> </li> <li> <i> Days of [[Creation ]] </i> . The fact that the creative work had been going On for unnumbered ages, leads the reverent student to the conclusion That the "days" were ordinary periods of twenty-four hours each, and That each product of [[Almighty]] power was finished and appointed to its Sphere on its designated day. The phrase "evening and morning" occurs Six times in the first account of creation, and it cannot be understood Except in the light of the above statement. <p> </p> </li> <li> <i> [[Order ]] of Creation </i> . <ol> <li> Light, </li> <li> Firmament, </li> <li> Vegetation, </li> <li> Sun, moon, and stars, </li> <li> [[Water]] animals and fowls, </li> <li> Land animals, man--woman. </li> </ol> <p> [[Observe ]] the steady march from the lower to the higher, from the Insensate to the intelligent, from the servitor to the sovereign. See The universe by God's hand touched to harmony; see the march of Creative power to its culmination in the making of the companion for Man, pure and innocent, the highest image of God, and hear the stars Sing together and the sons of God shout for joy over the completion of The mighty and glorious work! </p> </li> </ol> <p> </p><br> | | <ol> <li> <i> Date </i> . The date of creation cannot be determined. The first Statement of the book of Genesis places the time in remote and Impenetrable antiquity. </li> <li> <i> Creator </i> . The writer of Genesis offers no proof of the existence Of Jehovah or of the fact that all things were made by Him. ( Genesis 1:1,2 ; John 1:1-3 ; Colossians 1:15-17 ; Hebrews 1:10 ; Hebrews 11:3 ). </li> <li> <i> Light </i> . The process of creation had probably been going on for Ages before light was created by the fiat of Jehovah ( Genesis 1:1,3 ; 2 Corinthians 4:4 ). </li> <li> <i> Days of Creation </i> . The fact that the creative work had been going On for unnumbered ages, leads the reverent student to the conclusion That the "days" were ordinary periods of twenty-four hours each, and That each product of [[Almighty]] power was finished and appointed to its Sphere on its designated day. The phrase "evening and morning" occurs Six times in the first account of creation, and it cannot be understood Except in the light of the above statement. </li> <li> <i> Order of Creation </i> . <ol> <li> Light, </li> <li> Firmament, </li> <li> Vegetation, </li> <li> Sun, moon, and stars, </li> <li> [[Water]] animals and fowls, </li> <li> Land animals, man--woman. </li> </ol> <p> Observe the steady march from the lower to the higher, from the Insensate to the intelligent, from the servitor to the sovereign. See The universe by God's hand touched to harmony; see the march of Creative power to its culmination in the making of the companion for Man, pure and innocent, the highest image of God, and hear the stars [[Sing ]] together and the sons of God shout for joy over the completion of The mighty and glorious work! </p> </li> </ol> |
| == International Standard Bible Encyclopedia <ref name="term_2585" /> ==
| | |
| <p> '''''krē̇''''' -'''''ā´shun''''' ( בּרא , <i> '''''bārā'''''' </i> "to create"; κτίσις , <i> '''''ktı́sis''''' </i> , "that which is created," "creature"): </p> <p> 1. [[Creation]] as Abiding </p> <p> 2. Mistaken Ideas </p> <p> 3. True Conception </p> <p> 4. The [[Genesis]] [[Cosmogony]] </p> <p> 5. [[Matter]] Not [[Eternal]] </p> <p> 6. "Wisdom" in Creation </p> <p> 7. A F ree, Personal Act </p> <p> 8. Creation and [[Evolution]] </p> <p> 9. Is Creation Eternal? </p> <p> 10. Creation Ex Nihilo </p> <p> 11. From God's Will </p> <p> 12. [[Error]] of [[Pantheism]] </p> <p> 13. First Cause A N ecessary Presupposition </p> <p> 14. The End - T he [[Divine]] [[Glory]] </p> <p> Literature </p> <h4> 1. Creation as Abiding </h4> <p> Much negative ground has been cleared away for any modern discussion of the doctrine of creation. No idea of creation can now be taken as complete which does not include, besides the world as at first constituted, all that to this day is in and of creation. For God creates not being that can exist independently of Him, His preserving agency being inseparably connected with His creative power. We have long ceased to think of God's creation as a machine left, completely made, to its own automatic working. With such a doctrine of creation, a theistic evolution would be quite incompatible. </p> <h4> 2. Mistaken Ideas </h4> <p> Just as little do we think of God's creative agency, as merely that of a First Cause, linked to the universe from the outside by innumerable sequences of causes and effects. Nature in her entirety is as much His creation today as she ever was. The dynamic ubiquity of God, as efficient energy, is to be affirmed. God is still All and in All, but this in a way sharply distinguished from pantheistic views, whether of the universe as God, or of God as the universe. Of His own freedom He creates, so that Gnostic theories of natural and necessary emanation are left far behind. Not only have the "carpenter" and the "gardener" theories - with, of course, the architect or world-builder theory of [[Plato]] - been dismissed; not only has the conception of evolution been proved harmonious with creative end, plan, purpose, ordering, guidance; but evolutionary science may itself be said to have given the thought of theistic evolution its best base or grounding. The theistic conception is, that the world - that all cosmic existences, substances, events - depend upon God. </p> <h4> 3. True Conception </h4> <p> The doctrine of creation - of the origin and persistence, of all finite existences - as the work of God, is a necessary postulation of the religious consciousness. Such consciousness is marked by deeper insight than belongs to science. The underlying truth is the anti-patheistic one, that the energy and wisdom - by which that, which was not, <i> became </i> - were, in kind, other than its own. For science can but trace the continuity of sequences in all Nature, while in creation, in its primary sense, this law of continuity must be transcended, and the world viewed solely as product of Divine Intelligence, immanent in its evolution. For God is the Absolute Reason, always immanent in the developing universe. [[Apart]] from the cosmogonic attempts at the beginning of Genesis, which are clearly religious and ethical in scope and character, the Old [[Testament]] furnishes no theoretic account of the manner and order in which creative process is carried on. </p> <h4> 4. The Genesis Cosmogony </h4> <p> The early chapters of Genesis were, of course, not given to reveal the truths of physical science, but they recognize creation as marked by order, continuity, law, plastic power of productiveness in the different kingdoms, unity of the world and progressive advance. The Genesis cosmogony teaches a process of becoming, as well as a creation (see [[Evolution]] ). That cosmogony has been recognized by Haeckel as meritoriously marked by the two great ideas of separation or differentiation, and of progressive development or perfecting of the originally simple matter. The Old Testament presents the conception of time-worlds or successive ages, but its real emphasis is on the energy of the Divine Word, bringing into being things that did not exist. </p> <h4> 5. Matter Not Eternal </h4> <p> The Old Testament and the New Testament, in their doctrine of creation, recognize no eternal matter before creation. We cannot say that the origin of matter is excluded from the Genesis account of creation, and this quite apart from the use of <i> '''''bārā'''''' </i> , as admitting of material and means in creation. But it seems unwise to build upon Genesis passages that afford no more than a basis which has proved exegetically insecure. The New Testament seems to favor the derivation of matter from the non-existent - that is to say, the time-worlds were due to the effluent Divine Word or originative Will, rather than to being built out of God's own invisible essence. So the best exegesis interprets Hebrews 11:3 . </p> <h4> 6. "Wisdom" in Creation </h4> <p> In Old Testament books, as the Psalms, Proverbs, and Jeremiah, the creation is expressly declared to be the work of [[Wisdom]] - a Wisdom not disjoined from Goodness, as is yet more fully brought out in the Book of Job. The heavens declare the glory of God, the world manifests or reveals Him to our experience, as taken up and interpreted by the religious consciousness. The primary fact of the beginning of the time-worlds - the basal fact that the worlds came into being by the Word of God - is something apprehensible only by the power of religious faith, as the only principle applicable to the case ( Hebrews 11:3 ). Such intuitive faith is really an application of first principles in the highest - and a truly rational one (see [[Logos]] ). In creation, God is but expressing or acting out the conscious Godhood that is in Him. In it the thought of His absolute Wisdom is realized by the action of His perfect Love. It is philosophically necessary to maintain that God, as the Absolute Being, must find the end of creation in Himself. If the end were external to, and independent of, Him, then would He be conditioned thereby. </p> <h4> 7. A F ree, Personal Act </h4> <p> What the religious consciousness is concerned to maintain is, the absolute freedom of God in the production of the universe, and the fact that He is so much greater than the universe that existence has been by Him bestowed on all things that do exist. The [[Scriptures]] are, from first to last, shot through with this truth. Neither Kant nor Spencer, from data of self-consciousness or sense-perception, can rise to the conception of creation, for they both fail to reach the idea of Divine Personality. The inconceivability of creation has been pressed by Spencer, the idea of a self-existent Creator, through whose agency it has been made, being to him unthinkable. As if it were not a transparent sophism, which Spencer's own scientific practice refuted, that a hypothesis may not have philosophical or scientific valuee, because it is what we call unthinkable or inconceivable. As if a true and sufficient cause were not enough, or a Divine act of will were not a <i> vera causa </i> . Dependent existence inevitably leads thought to demand existence that is not dependent. </p> <h4> 8. Creation and Evolution </h4> <p> Creation is certainly not disproved by evolution, which does not explain the origin of the homogeneous stuff itself, and does not account for the beginning of motion within it. Of the original creative action, lying beyond mortal ken or human observation, science - as concerned only with the manner of the process - is obviously in no position to speak. Creation may, in an important sense, be said not to have taken place in time, since time cannot be posited prior to the existence of the world. The difficulties of the ordinary hypothesis of a creation in time can never be surmounted, so long as we continue to make eternity mean simply indefinitely prolonged time. [[Augustine]] was, no doubt, right when, from the human standpoint, he declared that the world was not made in time, but with time. Time is itself a creation simultaneous with, and conditioned by, world-creation and movement. To say, in the ordinary fashion, that God created in time, is apt to make time appear independent of God, or God dependent upon time. Yet the time-forms enter into all our psychological experience, and a concrete beginning is unthinkable to us. </p> <h4> 9. Is Creation Eternal? </h4> <p> The time-conditions can be transcended only by some deeper intuition than mere logical insight can supply - by such intuitive endeavor, in fact, as is realized in the necessary belief in the self-existent God If such an eternal Being acts or creates, He may be said to act or create in eternity; and it is legitimate enough, in such wise, to speak of His creative act as eternal. This seems preferable to the position of Origen, who speculatively assumed an eternal or unbeginning activity for God as Creator, because the Divine Nature must be eternally self-determined to create in order to the manifestation of its perfections. Clearly did Aquinas perceive that we cannot affirm an eternal creation impossible, the creative act not falling within our categories of time and space. The question is purely one of God's free volition, in which - and not in "nothing" - the Source of the world is found. </p> <h4> 10. Creation Ex Nihilo </h4> <p> This brings us to notice the frequently pressed objection that creation cannot be out of nothing, since out of nothing comes nothing. This would mean that matter is eternal. But the eternity of matter, as something other than God, means its independence of God, and its power to limit or condition Him. We have, of course, no direct knowledge of the origin of matter, and the conception of its necessary self-existence is fraught with hopeless difficulties and absurdities. The axiom, that out of nothing nothing comes, is not contradicted in the case of creation. The universe comes from God; it does not come from nothing. But the axiom does not really apply to the world's creation, but only to the succession of its phenomena. [[Entity]] does not spring from non-entity. But there is an opposite and positive truth, that something presupposes something, in this case rather some One - <i> aliquis </i> rather than <i> aliquid </i> . </p> <h4> 11. From God's Will </h4> <p> It is enough to know that God has in Himself the powers and resources adequate for creating, without being able to define the ways in which creation is effected by Him. It is a sheer necessity of rational faith or spiritual reason that the something which conditions the world is neither ὕλη , <i> '''''húlē''''' </i> , nor elemental matter, but personal [[Spirit]] or originative Will. We have no right to suppose the world made out of nothing, and then to identify, as [[Erigena]] did, this "nothing" with God's own essence. What we have a right to maintain is, that what God creates or calls into being owes its existence to nothing save His will alone, Ground of all actualities. Preëxistent [[Personality]] is the ground and the condition of the world's beginning. </p> <h4> 12. Error of Pantheism </h4> <p> In this sense, its beginning may be said to be relative rather than absolute. God is always antecedent to the universe - its <i> prius </i> , Cause and Creator. It remains an effect, and sustains a relation of causal dependence upon Him. If we say, like Cousin, that God of necessity creates eternally, we run risk of falling into Spinozistic pantheism, identifying God, in excluding from Him absolute freedom in creation, with the impersonal and unconscious substance of the universe. Or if, with Schelling, we posit in God something which is not God - a dark, irrational background, which original ground is also the ground of the Divine Existence - we may try to find a basis for the matter of the universe, but we are in danger of being merged - by conceptions tinged with corporeity - in that form of pantheism to which God is but the soul of the universe. </p> <p> The universe, we feel sure, has been caused; its existence must have some ground; even if we held a philosophy so idealistic as to make the scheme of created things one grand illusion, an illusion so vast would still call for some explanatory Cause. Even if we are not content with the conception of a First Cause, acting on the world from without and antecedently in time, we are not yet freed from the necessity of asserting a Cause. An underlying and determining Cause of the universe would still need to be postulated as its Ground. </p> <h4> 13. First Cause a Necessary Presupposition </h4> <p> Even a universe held to be eternal would need to be accounted for - we should still have to ask how such a universe came to be. Its endless movement must have direction and character imparted to it from some immanent ground or underlying cause. Such a self-existent and eternal World-Ground or First Cause is, by an inexorable law of thought, the necessary correlate of the finitude, or contingent character of the world. God and the world are not to be taken simply as cause and effect, for modern metaphysical thought is not content with such a mere <i> ens extra-mundanum </i> for the Ground of all possible experience. God, self-existent Cause of the ever-present world and its phenomena, is the ultimate Ground of the possibility of all that is. </p> <h4> 14. The End - T he Divine Glory </h4> <p> Such a Deity, as <i> causa sui </i> , creatively bringing forth the world out of His own potence, cannot be allowed to be an arbitrary resting-place, but a truly rational Ground, of thought. Nor can His Creation be allowed to be an aimless and mechanical universe: it is shot through with end or purpose that tends to reflect the glory of the eternal and personal God, who is its [[Creator]] in a full and real sense. But the Divine. action is not dramatic: of His working we can truly say, with Isaiah 45:15 , "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself." As creation becomes progressively disclosed to us, its glory, as revealing God, ought to excite within us an always deeper sense of the sentiment of [[Psalm]] 8:1 , Psalm 8:9 , "O Yahweh our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!" See also [[Anthropology]]; [[Earth]]; [[World]] . </p> <h4> Literature </h4> <p> James Orr, <i> [[Christian]] View of God and the [[World]] </i> , 1st edition, 1893; J. Iverach, <i> [[Christianity]] and Evolution </i> , 1894; S. Harris, <i> God the Creator and Lord of All </i> , 1897; A. L. Moore, <i> Science and the [[Faith]] </i> , 1889; B. P. Bowne, <i> Studies in [[Theism]] </i> , new edition, 1902; G. P. Fisher, <i> Grounds of Theistic and Christian [[Belief]] </i> , new edition, 1902; J. Lindsay, <i> Recent Advances in Theistic [[Philosophy]] of [[Religion]] </i> , 1897; A. Dorner, <i> Religionsphilosophie </i> , 1903; J. Lindsay, <i> Studies in European Philosophy </i> , 1909; O. Dykes, <i> The Divine Worker in Creation and [[Providence]] </i> , 1909; J. Lindsay, <i> The Fundamental Problems of [[Metaphysics]] </i> , 1910. </p><br> | |
| == Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature <ref name="term_35438" /> ==
| |
| <p> [[Creation]] is the absolute bringing into existence of the world by God. It is that act of God by which he, standing before and above all mundane and natural things, made and arranged the universe. It embraces everything which is not God. </p> <p> I. The Idea of Creation. — In order to form a proper conception of what creation is, we must concede the absolute dependence of the world upon God. We err in limiting it to the mere beginning of the world. It is true that it was that divine act by which all objects were brought into being. It therefore stands as the beginning of all divine operation in the world, and of the universal development of the world. But that God created the universe implies not only that he gave a beginning to its existence, but that he continues that existence, and that he is the only fountain of its present being. The world is not self-derived nor self-sustained; it is only from and by God that it now exists. But creation is not a mere accident of the divine character, nor a temporary moment in the divine life, nor an impartation and manifestation of God, nor a blind, passive, and pathological evolution or emanation of the divine essence. Yet it is God's work alone, and was as unconstrained as any other deed performed by divine power. When we say that God created the world, we not only do not affirm, but actually deny that God has imparted himself, and passed into his own work. God is the absolute founder of the world, and he has not passed into its nature, but stands high above all the conditions of created being. Nor, while the world is not God himself, can it be said to partake of any other divine nature. It is simply God's work and manifestation; it is a creation which is from, by, and for God. Thus the full idea of creation implies that God is the absolute, impartial, and personal [[Spirit]] who, of his own free will, gave existence to the universe. </p> <p> In the [[Mosaic]] account of the creation, we find that magnificent testimony of the faith which recognizes God's creation in the surrounding world (compare Hebrews 11:3, Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear). This testimony possesses a strong religious and canonical worth, apart from our views of the peculiar character of the cosmogony of Moses, whether we shape them according to the opinions of the old [[Church]] theologians, who held that the Mosaic account was actual history; or whether we harmonize with the modern allegorists, who claim that it is prophecy reversed, or prophetic vision; or whether we take the low view of attributing to it a mythical character. The most important portion of this, as of other scriptural statements concerning the creation, is contained in the proposition that God, in his eternal, infinite love, is the only highest cause; that he is limited by no principle beyond himself; that he is the independent [[Founder]] of the world. By world we mean κόσμος, αἰῶνες, Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 1:11, or the universe, which is always described in the Old Testament, and usually in the New, as "heaven and earth," "heaven, earth, sea, and all which is therein." It is God alone who has brought all things into being ( Hebrews 3:4; Acts 17:24; Acts 14:15; Revelation 4:11; Hebrews 11:3; Psalms 33:6; Psalms 102:26; Isaiah 45:18; Jeremiah 10:12). Nothing has had a being without the [[Logos]] of God ( John 1:3). Everything owes its existence and its life to the word of God. It is because God endowed it with entity; because he so willed it; διὰ τὸ θέλημά σου ( Revelation 4:11); by his word, ῤῆμα, דָּבָר ( Hebrews 11:3; Psalms 33:6); by his speaking ( [[Genesis]] 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6); by his absolute power, παντοδύναμος χείρ (Wisdom of [[Solomon]] 11:18); and by his personal power ( Jeremiah 10:12), in which he needed no assistance whatever, but by which he was able to create whatever he desired ( Psalms 115:3; Psalms 135:6). By this power he, in his own supreme majesty, evoked into existence that which was nonexistent ( Romans 4:17; Psalms 33:9), and by virtue of the same omnipotence is able to annihilate what he has called into being ( Psalms 104:29; Psalms 102:26, etc.; Isaiah 51:6; Luke 21:33; Revelation 21:1; Revelation 21:4). The Spirit of God, or "the breath of his mouth," which ( Psalms 33:6) stands parallel with the creative word that "moved upon the face of the waters," is nothing less than the active, forming, animating, divine power. The strength by which God creates takes its place beside his wisdom and knowledge ( Jeremiah 10:12; Romans 11:33); and the divine wisdom or intelligence appears to have been ( Proverbs 8:22, etc.) the first ground and adjusting principle of creation. Instead, however, of reading in John 1:3, of this world-creative "wisdom," we find a description of the same eternal Logos of God who became flesh in Christ. Thus the creative principle is identified with that of redemption; and while the creation is distinguished as an act of love, the highest revelation of that love is to be found in the incarnation of God in the world. In both creation and redemption we perceive the thouguht that God, without the intervention and aid of any foreign power, gave existence to that which had previously no being; and that he did this by virtue of no blind necessity, but by his own volition alone. </p> <p> It may be proper here to treat briefly of the meaning of בָּרָא ( bara', "create"), in Genesis, chap. 1. [[Gesenius]] and Furst agree in giving to this word bara, in Genesis 1, the sense of proper creating, although they seem to give that of cutting as the primitive (not usual) idea inherent in the root, comparing as cognate בָּרָה, to choose, בִּר, a son (which Furst, on the other hand, derives from בֶּן ), and the Arab. bara, etc. Gesenius refers to the Piel form of the Hebrews root ( בֵּרֵא, to fashion), as the most characteristic (?) conjugation. He concludes, however, with the following judicious note ( Thesaur. Heb. p. 236): "In the trite dispute of interpreters and theologians concerning creation out of nothing, some appeal likewise to the word under consideration, as if it might be gathered from its very etymology and proper signification that the first chap. of Genesis teaches not a creation from nothing, but a conformation of matter eternally existing. On the contrary, from the instances we have given, it will abundantly appear that the actual use of this word in Kal is altogether different from its primary signification, and that it is rather employed with respect to the new production of a thing (see Genesis 2:3) than to the conformation and elaboration of material. That the opening clause of Genesis sets forth the world as first created out of nothing, and this in a rude and undigested state, while the remainder of the first chapter exhibits the elaboration of the recently created mass, the connection of the whole paragraph renders entirely plain. So also the Rabbins (Aben-Ezra ad Genesis 1:1 : ‘ Most hold שהבריאה להוצוא יש מאין, that creation is the production of a thing from nothing') and the N.T. writers ( Hebrews 11:3; Romans 4:17; comp. 2 [[Maccabees]] 7:28) teach, although the writer of the Book of [[Wisdom]] (11:17), following the [[Grecian]] dogmas, holds matter to be eternal. See on this question Mos. Maimon. in More Nebochim, 3, 13; Mosheim, De crertione mun. di ex nihilo, appended to Crdworth's Intellectual System; Beausobre, Hist. de Manichee et du Manicheisme, vol. 2, Luke 5, chap. 4." </p> <p> The examples to which Gesenius refers as sustaining this position are (in addition to the equivalent Arab. bariyun, creator, Koran, Sur. 2:51; bariyatun, creature, Abulf. Ann. 1:18'; Jauhar. Spec. ed. Schneid. p. 14; and all the other Shemitic tongues, which have the same usage), the following: "Spoken of the creation of the heaven and earth, Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:26; Isaiah 45:18; of the bounds of the earth, Isaiah 40:26; of the wind, Amos 4:13; of men, Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:1-2; Genesis 6:7; Deuteronomy 4:32; Isaiah 45:12; Psalms 89:48; Malachi 2:10; specially, of Israel, Isaiah 43:1; Isaiah 43:15; of beasts, Genesis 21; of light and darkness, Isaiah 45:7, etc. Add these examples: Psalms 51:12 ( ‘ create in me a clean heart, O God'); Isaiah 45:7 ( ‘ I make peace, and create evil'); Jeremiah 31:22 ( ‘ the Lord hath created a new thing;' comp. Numbers 16:30). It is used with a double accusative, Isaiah 65:18 ( ‘ I create [[Jerusalem]] a rejoicing,' i.e. joyous); 4:5; 48:7. The participle ( בּוֹרֵאֵיךָ, the plur. of majesty, but according to many MSS. in the sing. בּוֹרְאֶךָ ) stands for the [[Creator]] ( Ecclesiastes 12:1). בָּרָא is joined with the words יָצִר [ yatsar', to form], in Isaiah 43:7; Isaiah 45:18; and עָשָׂה [ asah', to make, in Isaiah 41:20; Isaiah 45:7; Isaiah 45:12; generally as synonymous: with the latter it is not seldom interchanged, Genesis 1:26 (comp. Genesis 1:27); Genesis 2:4; but that there is nevertheless a difference at least between these two is evident from Genesis 2:3 ( ‘ which God created and made, בָּרָא לִעֲשׂוֹת [where therof union is generally regarded as epexegetical]). These words, which have perplexed many, even [[Hebrew]] interpreters, L. de Dieu (ad loc.) has rightly explained by adducing parallel phrases ( הֵרֵעִ לִעֲשׂוֹת, הַגְרַּיל לִעֲשׂוֹת etc.), as meaning produced by making, i.e. made by producing something new; comp. Jero 31:22, and בְּרַיאָה (ib. p. 235). The word occurs (in the Kal or simple form) likewise in Psalms 89:12; Isaiah 42:5; Isaiah 45:8; Isaiah 45:18; Isaiah 54:16; Isaiah 57:19; Isaiah 65:17 (in the Niphal or passive) Genesis 2:4; Genesis 5:2; Psalms 102:18; Psalms 104:30; Psalms 148:5, Ezekiel 21:30; Ezekiel 28:13; Ezekiel 28:15 ("done"); Exodus 34:10. </p> <p> From this examination, it is evident that although the word in question is etymologically connected with roots (like the Engl. pare, Lat. paro, etc.) that have a less decided import, yet its current and legitimate signification is that of creation in the modern and proper acceptation. As the Hebrews were not given to philosophical disquisition, their language is peculiarly barren in terms expressive of metaphysical or dialectical niceties, and hence they frequently employed this word in less exact applications. Moreover, as the act of creation was in the nature of the case but once performed, the term could only be used infrequently with reference to that event, just as "create" with moderns etymologically and even practically refers rather to production in a subordinate sense than to absolute origination. In both words, however, the higher and full sense is never lost sight of, and thus they appear as nearly synonymous in actual usage as any two in different and widely remote languages could well be. The translators of the Auth. Vers. have therefore done well by invariably (except in the single passage above noted) rendering בָּרָא (in Kal and Niphal at least), and no other Hebrews term, by create. </p> <p> The N.T. writers employ in the same sense κτίζω (with the nouns κτίσις, creation, κτίσμα, creature, and κτιστής, creator) as the nearest equivalent in Greek, after the example of the Sept., in most passages (in Genesis it has ποιέω ). See Macdonald, Creation and Fall (Edinb. 1856), p. 61-4. </p> <p> That this absolute sense is the true one in Genesis 1:1, at least, is demonstrable from the association there with the term "beginning." For if matter had existed eternally, there would have been no proper "beginning" at all of its existence; and to understand the mere arrangement of chaotic elements by the phraseology in question would be to confound something that is said to have taken place "in the beginning" with what is afterwards detailed under successive days. On the other hand, if matter be not eternal, it must at some time have been brought into being, and precisely that act would be the real "beginning" of all material things. This is obviously what the sacred writer intended to state: in opposition to the general belief of antiquity, he affirms that matter was originally the direct product of divine power, and from this event he dates the history of the physical universe. </p> <p> II. God's [[Motive]] in Creation. — This motive has been ascribed by doctrinal writers to the free operation of God's love, his bonitas communicativa. He was not affected by any compulsion or selfish desire. In the essence and volition of divine love, all the much-discussed antagonism between freedom and necessity is canceled. To suppose that the creation could have been otherwise than it was is an abstraction of no utility whatever. We only speak relatively when we declare that God could not have created otherwise than he did. But if we make the same affirmation absolutely, we degrade God's freedom to abstract authority, and creation to accident or a mere experiment. The necessity in which God created the universe is the definitiveness of his own will, his self-determination which he possesses by virtue of his own divine character. It is not an external compulsion, but an interior impulse of the divine nature to manifest itself; a necessity of God's love to communicate itself. The question whether God could have created any other world than he has was discussed earnestly by the Scholastics, and later by [[Leibnitz]] in his Theodicy. If we imagine that God had a number of world-plans, out of which he selected the one which he consummated, we concede too much to the Optimists. That creation which he brought into being was the only one to which he was moved by the deep inner love of his infinite divine character. The aim which God had in view was not his own glory exclusively; he was not impelled by a purely egotistical power, but by eternal love; he desired the good of his creatures; and it was only as he wished his creation to be pure that he desired to be glorified by that purity. All created beings are not solely means for an end; but they have been created for their own sake, that they might receive the communications of God and be permeated by his goodness; not that they might subsequently be absorbed in him, but rest eternally happy in and with him. Creation reached its aim relatively in personal creatures and absolutely in [[Christ]] the God-man. The kingdom of the natural creation attains its perfection in the kingdom of grace and glory; the effulgence of the glory of God appears in, and concurs with, the happiness of his creatures; and the perfection of the Church takes place, not by the overthrow, but by the renewal and illumination of the world in God ( 2 Peter 3:13; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:22; Revelation 21:1; comp. Romans 8:19, etc.; comp. Twesten, Vorles. fib. ud. Dogmatik, 2:89). </p> <p> III. Time occupied in Creation. — La Place's theory of the formation of the whole solar system is that it was originally a mass of vapory or nebulous matter, which, according to the laws of gravitation, assumed the form of an immense sphere. This sphere received from without an impulse which caused it to revolve on its axis from west to east. In consequence of the revolution, the mass became flattened at the poles and swollen in the equatorial region. In consequence of the greatness of the centrifugal force at the equator, and the contemporaneous condensation and contraction of the nebulous mass, a free revolving ring, similar to that of Saturn, detached itself in the region of the equator. This ring, not being of uniform, density, and in consequence of contraction, broke in one or more places; and these fragments, in obedience to the laws of gravitation, became spheres or planets, all revolving from west to east around the parent mass. Another ring was formed in like manner, and another planet came into existence; and so on, until the whole solar system was complete. According to this theory, not only the earth, but all the planets, existed before the sun in its present condition; and thus some of the supposed difficulties of the Mosaic cosmogony are removed (M'Caul, Aids to Faith, p. 242, 243), for it is implied in this theory that the earth existed before the sun became the luminary of the system. </p> <p> In order to arrive at some conclusion harmonious at once with the results of modern science and the account of Moses, we must determine the meaning of the terms "in the beginning" and "day." The Hebrew word for "beginning," רֵאשַׁית ( reshith'), is in the original without the definite article; so that [[Moses]] really says, "In reshith (not in the reshith) [[Elohim]] created the heavens and the earth." The Septuagint, Chaldee, and [[Syriac]] versions corroborate the antiquity and correctness of this reading. Thus there is an indefiniteness of the time of creation. It may have been millions of years ago just as easily as thousands, for the Hebrew word is indefinite, and the verse reads in substance thus: "Of old, in former duration, God created the heavens and the earth." Arguing from analogy, many contend that the term "day" does not mean literally twenty-four hours. That word often signifies in the [[Bible]] undefined periods of time, as the "day of the Lord," "the day of vengeance." "that day," "the night is far spent, the day is at hand." The first day consisted of an alternation of light and darkness; but how long the night lasted, and how long the darkness until the next dawn, is not stated, The whole time of light in: which God's creative work proceeded he called "day," and the whole time of darkness he called "night." It was not a day measured by the presence of the sun's light, nor a night measured by the absence of that light. (Compare M'Caul, Aids to Faith, p. 231, 246, ‘47.) The name "day" is therefore regarded as given, not as a measure of extent — which is a later and a subordinate idea — but as denoting a wondrous phenomenon, marking the first great transition, and calling up the dual contrast which has entered into the corresponding name ever since, "God called the light day, and the darkness he called night." He called it YOM, and from that has come the lesser naming. We now indicate the gradual, developing character of the creation. It was not the work of six ordinary days, measured by twenty-four hours, but a series of supernatural growths extending over vast periods of time. (Comp. Prof. Tayler Lewis, Meth. Quart. Review, April, 1865.) </p> <p> Others maintain that, while it is true that, the word "day" (q.v.) is sometimes used (e.g. in relation to the whole cosmogonal period, Genesis 2:4) in a vague sense for an indefinite period, or for some set occasion without regard to its length, such a signification in the first chapter of Genesis is emphatically forbidden by the following explicit circumstances subjoined in the context itself: </p> <p> (1) The several demiurgic days are regularly numbered — "first," "second," etc., till the last — making an exact and obviously literal week. </p> <p> (2) Each is divided, in the usual Hebrew style, into "night" and "morning," constituting undoubtedly a [[Jewish]] νυχθήμερον, or night-and-day, like the modern phrase "twenty-four hours." </p> <p> (3) To prevent all misconception, these alternations of light and darkness are distinctly called in the same connection "night" and "day." </p> <p> (4) The institution of the [[Sabbath]] is based upon the correspondence between this and each of the six preceding days in point of length. To these philological and exegetical considerations, requiring the word יוֹם to be here taken in its strictly literal sense as an actual day, might be added others derived from scientific investigations. (See Hitchcock's Elementary Geology, 3d ed., p. 283 sq., and the article (See [[Cosmogony]]). ) </p> <p> IV. Eras of Creation. — The Mosaic account recognizes in creation two great eras of three days each — an Inorganic and an Organic. Each of these opens with the appearance of light: the first, light diffused; the second, light from the sun for the special uses of the earth. Each era ends in a day of two great works; the two shown to be distinct by being severally pronounced "good." On the third "day" — that closing the Inorganic era — there was, first, the dividing of the land from the waters, and afterwards the creation of vegetation, or the institution of a kingdom of life — a work widely diverse from all preceding it in the era. So. on the sixth day, terminating the Organic era, there was, first, the creation of mammals, and then a second far greater work, totally new in its grandest element — the creation of Man. We have, then, the following arrangement: </p> <p> I. The Inorganic Era. </p> <p> 1st Day. — Light, general. </p> <p> 2d Day. — The earth divided from the fluid around it or in dividualized. </p> <p> 3d Day. — </p> <p> 1. Outlining of the land and water. </p> <p> 2. Creation of vegetation. </p> <p> II. The Organic Era. </p> <p> 4th Day. — Light, direct. </p> <p> 5th Day. — Creation of the lower orders of animals. </p> <p> 6th Day. — </p> <p> 1. Creation of mammals. </p> <p> 2. Creation of Man. </p> <p> In addition, the last day of each era included one work typical of the era, and another related to it in essential points, but also prophetic. Vegetation, while for physical reasons a part of the creation of the third day, was also prophetic of the future Organic era, in which the progress of life was the grand characteristic. The record of Moses thus accords with the fundamental principle in history, that the characteristic of an age has its beginnings within the age preceding. So, again, man, while like other mammals in structure, even to the homologies of every bone and muscle, was endowed with a spiritual nature, which looked forward to another era — that of spiritual existence. The "seventh" "day" the day of rest from the work of creation — is man's period of preparation for that new existence; and it is to promote this special end that, in strict parallelism, the Sabbath follows man's six days of work. </p> <p> Some interpreters contend that the whole account is to be taken together; that the days are to be understood as literal days; but that the whole, how. ever, is to be interpreted as referring to a more remote period than is commonly imagined, and as not intended to describe the existing species of plants and animals, but various other species, now extinct, which have been, by subsequent convulsions of nature, destroyed, while others have been successively, by fresh acts of creation, introduced in their place." </p> <p> "Another interpretation, that of Dr. J. Pye [[Smith]] in his volume on the Relations of [[Scripture]] to Geology, etc., is briefly this: the separation of the first verse he adopts as above: this refers to the original universal creation; and in the vast undefined interval an almost unlimited series of changes in the structure and products of the earth may have taken place. After this, at a comparatively recent epoch, a small portion of the earth's surface was brought into a state of disorder, ruin, and obscuration, out of which the creation of the existing species of things, with the recall of light, and the restored presence of the heavenly bodies, took place literally, according to the Mosaic narrative, in six natural days." </p> <p> "Lastly, others have thought that the whole description must be taken literally as it stands; but yet, if found contradicted by facts, may, without violence to its obvious design and construction, be regarded as rather intended' for a mythic poetical composition, or religious apologue, than for a matter of fact history." (See Kitto's Jour. 3, 159; v. 186; Lit. and Theol. Rev. 4:526; New Englander, 9:510; Meth. Rev. 6:292; 12:497; De Bow's Rev. 4:177; Hitchcock's [[Religion]] and Geology, § 2; Biblioth. Sacra. 12:83, 323; 13:743; Jour. Sac. Lit. 1855; Amer. Bibl. Repos. 6:236.) (See [[Geology]]). </p> <p> To sum up, there are three theories of creation: </p> <p> 1. The old orthodox view. This has been most recently defended by Keil. It claims that the world was created in six ordinary, literal days. </p> <p> 2. The [[Restitution]] Hypothesis. According to it, the theosophic declaration of the Tohu va Bohu is accepted. The geological epochs which extend from the first earth-formations down to the diluvium form an incalculably long period before the creation of light, and before the other creative acts recorded in Genesis 1:3, etc. Therefore the Mosaic six days' work is but the restitution of a preceding organic creation which had been previously many times disorganized and overwhelmed. Chalmers and Buckland were the first to advocate this hypothesis. They have been followed by Hengstenberg, Kurtz, Andr. Wagner, and partially by Delitzsch. </p> <p> 3. The view of the Harmonists or Concordists, such as Cuvier, De Serres, Hugh Miller, Ebrard, and others. They hold that the six days are periods of great indefinite length, and are therefore reconcilable with the creative epochs of geology. Parallel with these days are the long geologic formations. Schultz has just written in advocacy of this theory. His work is one of the most satisfactory and exhaustive of all the writings on this important branch of scientific theology. </p> <p> See, in addition to the works already cited, Hugh Miller, Testimony of the Rocks; Dana, Manual of Geology; Riehers, Die Schoiifungsgeschichte (Leipzig, 1854, 8vo); Keerl, die Schsopfingsgeschichte u. d. Lehre vomn Parad.'es (reviewed by Warren, Bibliotheca Sacra, Oct. 1863, art. 3); Nath. Bohner, Natusforsschung u. Culturleben, 2d ed. 1863; Giov. Pianciani, Cosmogania nautrale comparata col Genesi (Roma, 1862); P, Laurent, Etudes Giologiques sur la Cosmogonie de Moise (Paris, 1863); F. H. Reusch, Bibel und Natur (Freiburg, 1862); F. Michelis, the chief advocate of the Restitution theory, in his Journal, Natur und Oqenbarung; F. W. Schultz, Die Schopfungsgeschichte nach Naturwissenschaft und Bibel (Gotha, 1865); Baltzer, Die biblische Sch ö pfusqsgeschichte (Leips. 1867, vol. 1); Wolff, Beduutung der Weltschopfung nach Natur und Schrift (Frankfort, 1866); Zockler, in Der Beweis des Glaubens, No. 1, translated in Meth. Quart. Rev. April, 1866, art. 2; Tayler Lewis, Six Days of Creation. (See [[Genesis]]); (See Man); (See [[Species]]). </p><br>
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| ==References == | | ==References == |
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| <ref name="term_15859"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_34962"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/fausset-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Fausset's Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
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| | <ref name="term_80506"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/watson-s-biblical-theological-dictionary/creation Creation from Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary]</ref> |
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| <ref name="term_18503"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/bridgeway-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Bridgeway Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_39472"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
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| <ref name="term_19433"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/charles-buck-theological-dictionary/creation Creation from Charles Buck Theological Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_50346"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-bible/creation Creation from Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_30893"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Easton's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_18503"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/bridgeway-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Bridgeway Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_34962"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/fausset-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Fausset's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_19433"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/charles-buck-theological-dictionary/creation Creation from Charles Buck Theological Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_39472"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/holman-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Holman Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_65554"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/morrish-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Morrish Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_50346"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-bible/creation Creation from Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_15859"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/american-tract-society-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_55513"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-new-testament/creation Creation from Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_55513"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/hastings-dictionary-of-the-new-testament/creation Creation from Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_59112"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/king-james-dictionary/creation Creation from King James Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_30893"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/easton-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Easton's Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_65554"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/morrish-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Morrish Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_71941"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/smith-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Smith's Bible Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_71941"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/smith-s-bible-dictionary/creation Creation from Smith's Bible Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_59112"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/king-james-dictionary/creation Creation from King James Dictionary]</ref> |
| | | |
| <ref name="term_80506"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/watson-s-biblical-theological-dictionary/creation Creation from Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_105753"> [https://bibleportal.com/dictionary/webster-s-dictionary/creation Creation from Webster's Dictionary]</ref> |
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| <ref name="term_298"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/condensed-biblical-cyclopedia/creation Creation from Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_35438"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/creation Creation from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref> |
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| <ref name="term_2585"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/international-standard-bible-encyclopedia/creation Creation from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_2585"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/international-standard-bible-encyclopedia/creation Creation from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia]</ref> |
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| <ref name="term_35438"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/cyclopedia-of-biblical-theological-and-ecclesiastical-literature/creation Creation from Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature]</ref>
| | <ref name="term_298"> [https://bibleportal.com/encyclopedia/condensed-biblical-cyclopedia/creation Creation from Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia]</ref> |
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| </references> | | </references> |
