LXX Gen 1:1–5: ἐν ἀρχῇ, ἀόρατος, and day one
Says Swete prints ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν (vol. 1, p. 1, viewer leaf n32). ἐποίησεν (epoiēsen, "made") renders בָּרָא (bara', "create"). The opening has no article, as בְּרֵאשִׁית (bere'shit) has none.
Says תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) is ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος (aoratos kai akataskeuastos, "invisible and unformed"), an interpretive rendering rather than a word-for-word gloss. σκότος ἐπάνω τῆς ἀβύσσου renders חֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם (hoshekh 'al-pene tehom). וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת is πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος. πνεῦμα (pneuma) covers spirit, breath, and wind; the Greek does not choose among them.
Says 1:3 is Γενηθήτω φῶς· καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς. The close of day one is ἡμέρα μία (hēmera mia, "day one"), a cardinal, matching יוֹם אֶחָד (yom ehad).
Says The consonantal text of בְּרֵאשִׁית allows both an independent clause and a temporal dependent clause ("When God began to create…"). OSHB tags the noun as absolute.
Uncertain Which reading the author intended is not settled here, and creation out of nothing is not settled by this syntax alone. No lean is taken. The note on John 1:1 prefers the independent reading for its own purpose; this note neither adopts nor contradicts that preference. See note.language.John.1.1.bereshit-en-arche.
Claims
- SaysSwete Gen 1:1 is ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν; ἐποίησεν renders בָּרָא, and the opening is anarthrous like בְּרֵאשִׁית.
- Saysἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος is an interpretive rendering of תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ; ἄβυσσος renders תְהוֹם; πνεῦμα θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο renders the hovering clause and does not decide spirit, breath, or wind.
- Says1:3 is Γενηθήτω φῶς· καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς, and the day closes as ἡμέρα μία, a cardinal, matching יוֹם אֶחָד.
- SaysThe consonantal text of בְּרֵאשִׁית allows both an independent clause and a temporal dependent clause; OSHB tags the noun as absolute.
- UncertainAuthorial intent between those readings, and creation out of nothing, are not settled by this syntax. No lean is taken. The John 1:1 note prefers the independent reading for its own purpose; this note neither adopts nor contradicts that preference.
Citations
- LXX (Swete) CC BY-SA 4.0 Gen 1:1–5, vol. 1, p. 1 (oldtestamentingr01swetuoft, viewer leaf n32); read on the page images
- OSHB CC BY 4.0 Gen 1:1–5 (WLC/OSHB); OSHB morphology for 1:1: רֵאשִׁית noun feminine singular absolute
- Abbott-Smith public domain s.vv. ἀόρατος (LXX Gen 1:2: unseen, invisible), πνεῦμα (wind, breath, spirit); paraphrased
Quotations from LXX (Swete) are used under CC BY-SA 4.0 · Credits
2026-11-10
Open in Reader All notes on this passage