Questions about Genesis 1-2

[Anglicanorthodoxy]

So I just began my annual Bible reading, and I read the first 3 chapters of Genesis. I had some questions.
1. It says "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
My question is, since the sun had not been created yet, where did this light come from?
2. "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
I'm having a bit of a hard time understanding this passage. What is God doing here? Also, what are the "waters?"
3. At the end of Genesis 1 it says
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
This confess me a bit. It says that God created men and women in Genesis 1, but Adam and Eve are not created until Genesis 2. Were there other men and women before Adam & Eve, or is Genesis 1 pointing to the creation of Adam & Eve when it says God created man?
4. Where was the Garden of Eden located? Was it on the Earth, in Heavan, or somewhere else?

All help is greatly appreciated.

 

[py3ak]

My question is, since the sun had not been created yet, where did this light come from?

That's a very important question. It highlights one of the features of the narrative, that God created light independently of the light-bearers. God uses the sun to regularly shine light on the world; but the sun is not the original source of the light - God's creative word is. It's quite difficult to imagine what the world looked like for those first three days, of course, but that is not an accident; the power and wisdom of God are being displayed.

What is God doing here? Also, what are the "waters?"

God is pursuing the important creative work of separation - from a formless state bringing order, distinction, and aggregation. There is water both above and below the sky, but they aren't contiguous - there's a relatively waterless space in between.

Were there other men and women before Adam & Eve, or is Genesis 1 pointing to the creation of Adam & Eve when it says God created man?

No, there were no others before Adam and Eve. Genesis 1 gives you the summary overview, while Genesis 2 goes into greater detail to specify that the man was created first, and then the woman was taken from his side. Both are created in the image of God, after his likeness.

Where was the Garden of Eden located? Was it on the Earth, in Heavan, or somewhere else?

Probably somewhere around Iraq, likely on some kind of mountain. If anything was left of the Garden of Eden in something similar to its original state, it would have been overwhelmed in the Great Flood which you'll read about soon.

 

[Anglicanorthodoxy]

My question is, since the sun had not been created yet, where did this light come from?

That's a very important question. It highlights one of the features of the narrative, that God created light independently of the light-bearers. God uses the sun to regularly shine light on the world; but the sun is not the original source of the light - God's creative word is. It's quite difficult to imagine what the world looked like for those first three days, of course, but that is not an accident; the power and wisdom of God are being displayed.

What is God doing here? Also, what are the "waters?"

God is pursuing the important creative work of separation - from a formless state bringing order, distinction, and aggregation. There is water both above and below the sky, but they aren't contiguous - there's a relatively waterless space in between.

Were there other men and women before Adam & Eve, or is Genesis 1 pointing to the creation of Adam & Eve when it says God created man?

No, there were no others before Adam and Eve. Genesis 1 gives you the summary overview, while Genesis 2 goes into greater detail to specify that the man was created first, and then the woman was taken from his side. Both are created in the image of God, after his likeness.

Where was the Garden of Eden located? Was it on the Earth, in Heavan, or somewhere else?

Probably somewhere around Iraq, likely on some kind of mountain. If anything was left of the Garden of Eden in something similar to its original state, it would have been overwhelmed in the Great Flood which you'll read about soon.

Very helpful. Thanks so much.

 

[MichaelNZ]

2. "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

I'm having a bit of a hard time understanding this passage. What is God doing here? Also, what are the "waters?"

This passage has led to what is called the 'canopy theory', which stated that the earth was surrounded by a canopy of water or ice above the atmosphere. However, there are serious problems with the hypothesis, one being that it would make the earth too hot for life to survive.

4. Where was the Garden of Eden located? Was it on the Earth, in Heavan, or somewhere else?

On earth. However, you are assuming that the pre-Flood world had the same geography as the post-Flood world. It is very possible that such a catastrophic event as a worldwide Flood could have changed earth's geography significantly. Watch this video about the Hydroplate Theory.

 

[Taylor]

Genesis 1 gives you the summary overview, while Genesis 2 goes into greater detail to specify that the man was created first, and then the woman was taken from his side.

This is exactly right. It is a common feature of Hebrew (especially in narrative) to give at the beginning of a pericope a summary statement of what happens, and then proceed to go into detail about it happening. It looks and sounds confusing to English readers because we don't narrate stories in such a fashion. However, we do the same thing, really, with section headings. This is important to know about Hebrew because I have heard preachers make questionable theological points over the fact that "man was made twice by God," which is a mistaken way of reading Hebrew narrative.

 

[Peairtach]

So I just began my annual Bible reading, and I read the first 3 chapters of Genesis. I had some questions.
1. It says "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."
My question is, since the sun had not been created yet, where did this light come from?
2. "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."
I'm having a bit of a hard time understanding this passage. What is God doing here? Also, what are the "waters?"
3. At the end of Genesis 1 it says
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so."
This confess me a bit. It says that God created men and women in Genesis 1, but Adam and Eve are not created until Genesis 2. Were there other men and women before Adam & Eve, or is Genesis 1 pointing to the creation of Adam & Eve when it says God created man?
4. Where was the Garden of Eden located? Was it on the Earth, in Heavan, or somewhere else?

All help is greatly appreciated.

The waters above the firmament may be the clouds and various atmospheres. The firmament is called "Heaven" i.e.what we call "the sky". There are some creationist theories on the firmament and waters above the firmament, which may or may not have some truth in them.

There is the creation of light on the first day but it should not be overlooked that there is also the creation of day and night on Day One. The Lord appears to be dividing and ordering time into discreet periods before he divides and orders space and matter.

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