Genesis 1: In the beginning, God
By His word God makes a very good world in six days, crowned with mankind in His image.
Where Genesis 1 sits
- In the story
- Act I, Creation: Genesis 1–2
- In the Bible
- Old Testament · The Law · chapter 1 of 50 in Genesis
- In Genesis
- Prologue: the creation week, 1:1–2:3 · part of All humanity
- Before
- Genesis opens here
- After
- Genesis 2: The garden and the command
Genesis 1 summary
God creates the heavens and the earth and brings a dark, empty earth to order and fullness. Days one to three shape the realms of light, sky and sea, and land; days four to six fill them with lights, birds and fish, and beasts and mankind. Man and woman, made in God's image, receive His blessing and charge, and God sees all that He made as very good.
Genesis 1 in context
- Speaking
- Moses, narrating; God Himself speaks the world into being
- Written for
- Israel, just out of an Egypt full of gods, learning that their God made the sun, the river and the beasts that Egypt worshiped
- Around it
- The prologue to the whole book; God's rest on the seventh day completes the week (2:1–3), and the first heading, “This is the account of”, follows (2:4)
How Genesis 1 points to Christ
All things were made through the Word (John 1:1–3); Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and God who said “Let there be light” shines in hearts in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6)
The sections of Genesis 1
- The beginning1:1–2
God creates the heavens and the earth; the earth is still unformed, empty and dark, and the Spirit of God hovers over the waters.
- Day one: light1:3–5
God speaks light into being, separates it from the darkness, and names day and night.
- Day two: sky1:6–8
God makes an expanse that divides the waters above from the waters below, and calls it sky.
- Day three: land and plants1:9–13
God gathers the seas, brings up dry land, and makes the earth put forth plants that bear seed according to their kinds.
- Day four: lights1:14–19
God sets sun, moon and stars in the heavens to give light, to rule day and night, and to mark seasons, days and years.
- Day five: birds and fish1:20–23
God fills the waters with living creatures and the sky with birds, and blesses them to multiply.
- Day six: beasts and mankind1:24–31
God makes the land animals and then mankind, male and female, in His image, blesses them to rule, and sees all as very good.
Read Genesis 1
The Creation
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.
The First Day
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.
The Second 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.
The Third 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.
The Fourth 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.
The Fifth 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 winged bird 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.
The Sixth 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.
Berean Standard Bible, 31 verses. The BSB is in the public domain.
Around Genesis 1
On the road
Read alongside
- John 1:1–3 In the beginning was the Word; through Him all things were made.
- 2 Corinthians 4:6 God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts.
- Hebrews 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command.
- Exodus 20:11 The six days and the seventh, given to Israel as the pattern for its week.
- Matthew 19:4 Jesus quotes 1:27: He made them male and female.
Chapters that point here
- Genesis 9
- Exodus 39
- Ecclesiastes 7
- Mark 10
- Colossians 3
- 1 Timothy 4
- Hebrews 2
- James 3
How Genesis 1 connects
- Kingship · Genesis 1:26–28 · Man made to rule as God's image; Hebrews sees that rule fulfilled in Jesus, through Psalm 8's echo of this verse. (Hebrews 2:6–9)
- Blessing · Genesis 1:28 · God's first blessing on mankind; the book's blessing thread starts here and is answered in the promise to Abram (12:2–3).
- The Seed Line · Genesis 1:11–12 · Plants bearing seed according to their kinds: the word that becomes the book's great hope (3:15).
Doctrines Genesis 1 teaches
- Creation · Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 11:3; Colossians 1:16
- Marriage · Genesis 1:27–28; Matthew 19:4
How Genesis 1 is shaped
Forming and filling: two sets of three days Gen 1:1–2:3
- Day 1 1:3–5 Light divided from darkness
- Day 4 1:14–19 Lights to rule the day and the night
- Day 2 1:6–8 Sky divided from the seas
- Day 5 1:20–23 Birds for the sky, creatures for the seas
- Day 3 1:9–13 Dry land and plants
- Day 6 1:24–31 Land animals and mankind, with plants for food
The formless, empty earth of 1:2 is answered: days one to three give it form, days four to six fill it. The seventh day (2:1–3) stands outside both sets. Whether the pattern means the days are arranged by topic rather than in sequence is disputed; the record treats them as sequential days.
The day formula Gen 1:3–31
- Word 1:3 “And God said”
- Fulfillment 1:7 “and it was so”
- Evaluation 1:10 “and God saw that it was good”
- Close 1:5 “there was evening, and there was morning”
Each day repeats the same steps, so the reader feels God's ordered, effortless rule. Day six is the longest, holds the only deliberation (“Let Us make”), and alone is called “very good” (1:31).
Questions on Genesis 1
Which day fills the realm that day one made, and which fills day three's?
Show the answer
Day four fills day one’s realm of light with the sun, moon and stars, and day six fills day three’s dry land with the beasts and mankind (1:14–19, 24–31). Day five likewise fills the sky and seas of day two (1:20–23).
What is said of mankind in 1:26–27 that is said of nothing else God made?
Show the answer
Mankind alone is made in God’s own image, after His likeness, male and female; and to mankind alone God gives rule over the fish, the birds, the livestock and all the earth (1:26–27).
Where does God first bless mankind and give them rule over the earth?
Show the answer
On day six, right after He creates them: God blesses the man and woman and tells them to be fruitful, fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish, the birds and every crawling creature (1:28).
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