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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. ✦ 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. ✦ 3Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ✦ 4And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. ✦ 5God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day. ✦ 6Then God said, “Let there be a space between the waters, to separate the waters of the heavens from the waters of the earth.” ✦ 7And that is what happened. God made this space to separate the waters of the earth from the waters of the heavens. ✦ 8God called the space “sky.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the second day. ✦ 9Then God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky flow together into one place, so dry ground may appear.” And that is what happened. ✦ 10God called the dry ground “land” and the waters “seas.” And God saw that it was good. ✦ 11Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. ✦ 12The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 13And evening passed and morning came, marking the third day. 14Then God said, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate the day from the night. Let them be signs to mark the seasons, days, and years. ✦ 15Let these lights in the sky shine down on the earth.” And that is what happened. 16God made two great lights—the larger one to govern the day, and the smaller one to govern the night. He also made the stars. ✦ 17God set these lights in the sky to light the earth, ✦ 18to govern the day and night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 19And evening passed and morning came, marking the fourth day. 20Then God said, “Let the waters swarm with fish and other life. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind.” ✦ 21So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that scurries and swarms in the water, and every sort of bird—each producing offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 22Then God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply. Let the fish fill the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.” ✦ 23And evening passed and morning came, marking the fifth day. 24Then God said, “Let the earth produce every sort of animal, each producing offspring of the same kind—livestock, small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals.” And that is what happened. ✦ 25God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good. ✦ 26Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.” ✦ 27So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ✦ 28Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” ✦ 29Then God said, “Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. ✦ 30And I have given every green plant as food for all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, and the small animals that scurry along the ground—everything that has life.” And that is what happened. ✦ 31Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good! And evening passed and morning came, marking the sixth day. ✦

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

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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 →