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Genesis 1

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Quick answer

God creates an ordered, good world in six days and rests on the seventh, making humanity in his image to rule it.

Genesis 1 is structured poetry-prose: days 1–3 form the realms, days 4–6 fill them, and humanity is the climax — male and female in God's image. The refrain "and God saw that it was good" and the seventh-day rest frame creation as a temple where God will dwell with what he has made.

Part of Creation📖 Genesis introduction

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1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ✦ 2Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. ✦ 3And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ✦ 4And God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. ✦ 5God called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. ✦ 6And God said, “Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate the waters from the waters.” ✦ 7So God made the expanse and separated the waters beneath it from the waters above. And it was so. ✦ 8God called the expanse “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. ✦ 9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered into one place, so that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. ✦ 10God called the dry land “earth,” and the gathering of waters He called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ✦ 11Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants and fruit trees, each bearing fruit with seed according to its kind.” And it was so. ✦ 12The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 13And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to distinguish between the day and the night, and let them be signs to mark the seasons and days and years. ✦ 15And let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. 16God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. And He made the stars as well. ✦ 17God set these lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, ✦ 18to preside over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 19And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. 20And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” ✦ 21So God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters teemed according to their kinds, and every bird of flight after its kind. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 22Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ✦ 23And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. 24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, land crawlers, and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. ✦ 25God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that crawls upon the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 26Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.” ✦ 27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ✦ 28God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.” ✦ 29Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit contains seed. They will be yours for food. ✦ 30And to every beast of the earth and every bird of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth—everything that has the breath of life in it—I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ✦ 31And God looked upon all that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

In this chapter

Concept Elohim — GodConcept The Deep (Tehom)Concept The Image of God (Imago Dei)

Where this chapter connects

Gen 1 ·38Ps 104 ·22Job 38 ·12Job 26 ·10Gen 9 ·10Ps 148 ·10Gen 2 ·9Ps 33 ·8

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

  • CommentaryCommentary on Genesis 1Matthew Henry · Free

    The beloved devotional-pastoral classic, free and public domain — warm, quotable, verse by verse.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

Genesis 2 →