"In the beginning": בְּרֵאשִׁית and Ἐν ἀρχῇ

Says Genesis opens with בְּרֵאשִׁית (bere'shit, "in [the] beginning"): the preposition be- ("in") plus the noun רֵאשִׁית (re'shit, "beginning, first part"), with no article. The Masoretes mark the word with a disjunctive accent (tifcha, בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית), so v. 1 is read as an independent clause: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The LXX (Swete) renders the phrase ΕΝ ΑΡΧΗ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός (printed in Swete's display capitals; en archē epoiēsen ho theos).

Says John 1:1 opens with exactly the LXX phrase, Ἐν ἀρχῇ (en archē). The verbal link to Gen 1:1 is direct.

Implies John deliberately frames the prologue against the first words of Scripture. Where Genesis follows the phrase with a creating verb, John follows it with ἦν ("was"). How much weight that contrast bears is for the Greek Scholar and Exegete.

Uncertain Some interpreters take בְּרֵאשִׁית as a construct ("When God began to create…"), with v. 1 subordinate to v. 2 or v. 3. The team prefers the absolute reading for three reasons: the Masoretic accentuation, the LXX, and the way John 1:1 reads it. Neither reading affects the allusion itself.