Genesis Unit 1: The Creation Paradigm

Elohim's Creation and M's Creation

Summary: Genesis Unit 1 presents the creation account as a sophisticated literary weave revealing two complementary modes of creation: ex nihilo (from nothing) in column a, showing the emergence of the four elements through divine speech, and ex materia (from existing matter) in column b, depicting the progressive animation of the cosmos. The six days of creation form three paired rows displaying a cosmic hierarchy—heaven above (light/luminaries), the intermediate realm (waters-sky/fish-birds), and earth below (land-plants/animals-humans). This paradigmatic unit establishes the woven reading method for the entire Torah, demonstrating how linear narrative contains deeper structural meanings accessible only through recognizing the text's two-dimensional tapestry.

Genesis Unit I, or "the creation weave," like the Decalogue, has a special status in the Torah as a paradigm. The same divine name that spoke the Decalogue, Elohim, creates the world in speech in six days. We read the Decalogue and its surrounding narratives as evidence that Elohim's structured speech is revealed in the woven format on the two tablets. We will now see that just as Elohim spoke the Decalogue as a structured woven text, so too did Elohim speak the world into existence through a literary weave. While ten Words were needed for the Decalogue paradigm, M (the author or school that composed the Torah) has Elohim speak the entire creation into being through a weave that contains just six days. Both the Decalogue, and the creation of the whole world can be grasped as woven text with embedded meanings.

We should not be at all surprised that the creation is a paradigmatic structured text since it has been treated as such for at least two millennia. We will encounter some surprising, even startling ideas when we examine the creation weave. For one, M indicates that the world's origins must be considered both creation from nothing, ex nihilo, and from a pre-existing substance, ex materia.

Along with making a statement about the nature of the world, M also tells us something about authorship. Just as Elohim the author of the Decalogue is presented as the ultimate author, so too Elohim the creator of the world is presented as the ultimate creator. The limited scope of the Decalogue makes it the paradigm for authoring woven Units. The enormity of scope of the creation weave makes it the paradigm for the totality of M's enterprise, the Torah. Through his descriptions of Elohim as creator, M reveals himself as a creator and displays the tools of his craft. An obvious weave announces that M is a weaver of text. By following the implications of this weave, we will see the big picture view of the Torah. Elohim and M create the backdrop of immanent physical reality against which to contrast the coming revelation of transcendent holiness through the character of YHWH. Above all, we will see that the presentation of an orderly view of the physical world implies an underlying metaphysic.

Two Three-Day Cycles

We begin by examining thread 2, which contains the days of creation, a weave within the weave. The elements of 2a (A-C) are parallel to the elements of 2b. Many commentators have pointed out that the first three days of creation form a block that is parallel to the next three days of the creation story. The specific creations of days four to six (2b) give expression to the parallel creations of days one to three (2a). The light that was created on day one appears from the heavenly bodies created on day four. The land creatures created on day six utilize the earth and plants created on day three. The fish and birds of day five are found in the elements of day two, the sky and water.

The days thus divide up in two different ways, as two cycles of three days each, first to third (2a) fourth to sixth (2b) and as three pairs of days: first (2aA) and fourth (2bA), second (2aB) and fifth (2bB), third (2aC) and sixth (2bC). The woven format integrates these two arrangements. The argument for arranging the parts in a weave like this is that this arrangement makes more information available about what the text says than the normal linear arrangement does. The woven format gives the reader a set of instructions that are not otherwise available. This is the set of instructions about how the parts relate to each other. By making these instructions so relatively apparent in the first Unit of the Torah, M provides the guidelines for how to study all the units of the Torah.

Reading the Warp of the Six Days: One and Many

The arrangement of the first to third days and the fourth to sixth in separate warp threads indicates that we should look for something that the first three days have in common and something else that the next three have in common, as well as an identifiable relationship between the segments. On each of the first three days Elohim names a creation: first, light (2aA); second, sky (2aB); third, earth (2aC). On the other hand, each of the days in thread b mentions a class of objects: fourth, luminaries (2bA); fifth, birds and fish (2bB); sixth, terrestrial animals and Adam, male and female (2bC). So, we can begin with the fact that the warp indicates a distinction between singular creations and classes of plural creations. This distinction echoes the divine dyad which distinguishes between the stone tablets of the Decalogue, "the individual and relationships," or "one and many."

The distinction between singular and plural is reinforced by an action that is common in all three elements of 2a, separation. Each of the first three days is associated with an act of separation: 2aA) light from darkness; 2aB) the waters above from the waters below; 2aC), the oceans from the dry land. The act of separation emphasizes uniqueness or singularity. This last observation sends us back to segment 2b to see whether it contains a counterpart to "separation" in 2a.

As a matter of fact, each of the last three days of creation describes the "occupation" of space. The terminology is sharp: the sun, moon, and stars are placed in heaven to "rule" day and night; Adam is told to "conquer" the earth; the fish are to fill the sea. In each case the second cycle of creation in 2b "invades" or controls its first cycle parallel in 2a. This principle of "occupation" is clearly in opposition to the first cycle principle of "separation." Another distinction between the first three days and the next three is that the creations of the first three do not move, while the creations of the next three do. Each day of 2b hints at a different type of motion: 2bA, cyclical; 2bB, in three-dimensional space; 2bC, horizontal.

Reading the Weft: A Visual Hierarchy

Now let us look at the weft threads, the horizontal rows. Once the days have been arranged in a weave, more information becomes apparent; specifically, the paired days are arranged according to a visual key. On the top, in 2A, we see light and the heavenly bodies, sun, moon and stars: the upper, luminous, transcendent realm. On the bottom, 2C, we find earth and plants and the earth-bound creatures, the immanent lower world. In the middle, 2B, are the creatures that fill the space between heaven and earth, as well as the very division between above and below (second day). Suddenly, the grid clicks into place and the creation story takes on a whole new perspective. The weave comes into focus, and we see the literary tapestry as it was created on the literary loom.

The Tapestry

From this point on any further analysis must consider the image painted by the arrangement of the six individual days in the creation weave, the picture woven into the tapestry. The critical juncture is the appearance of a coherent spatial arrangement, with the stars above, the earth below, and a middle level between them at the center—the world as we see it. I consider this visualization an internal verification that the arrangement was planned. To see the picture, we must arrange the six days, as we have, in two vertically parallel warp threads. Only then the three-tiered representation of the world as it is experienced appears. M has demonstrated that the weave has vertical "sense," a top and bottom.

Up to this point, we dealt with an interesting literary phenomenon made up of complex parallels. Now we must acknowledge that this is more than a literary curiosity. Using just six "knots" of warp and weft, M has woven the weave of reality. The appearance of a clear representation of the experienced world out of the peculiar division of creation into six parts marks the text as a work of art, a tapestry woven on the literary loom by a master craftsperson. The visual hierarchy of the creation parallels the conceptual hierarchy we found in the Decalogue, with the heavenly above and the earthly below.

It is clear now that the creation story has two aspects. It is meant to appear as a linear text by having parts marked serially from one to six. Nevertheless, to understand its underlying coherence, the creation must be seen as a non-linear construct. The reader must recognize the pattern of the loom from which the text was woven. In other words, there is an additional level of meaning that can be accessed only by an active reader reading the text according to its structure, an embedded terra incognita.

Integrating the Prologue and the Epilogue in the Tapestry

We have completed our preliminary reading of the six creation days. We will now see how our well-known weave is transformed into one of the Torah's eighty-six Units. In general, a Unit has a clear beginning and end. In the case of Gen Unit I, we have but a few verses before the creation of light, and they are surely part of the creation story. The completion of the creation on the Sabbath also plainly closes the story. So, we have a few verses (thread 1) before the six-day weave (thread 2), and a few verses after it (thread 3). A comparison between threads 1 and 3 reveals several significant parallels.

There are three unmodified nouns and one verb in both 1a and 3a; they have a parallel laconic style. Together, they give a barebones outline of the narrative: Elohim begins to create heaven and earth in 1a and then they are finished in 3a. What comes between them in 2a is none other than the creation of heaven and earth! All three segments of a concern heaven and earth.

Segments 1b and 3b also have structural similarity: both contain three sentences and are more expansive than a. But this is just a formal parallel since the contents are so different. There is one connection between 1b and 3b that bears closer inspection though, Elohim. In 1b we are told that Elohim's spirit was restless, "hovered." In 3b we see Elohim at rest. This change in Elohim's demeanor surely must be significant.

Thread 3: Elohim Separates from the Creation

Segment 3a, is the only one in the creation weave which does not mention Elohim. It is limited to heaven and earth and their contents. Segment 3b, on the other hand, is the only segment in which the earth is not mentioned, nor any other creation specifically. It mentions three times a "task" that Elohim had performed and then stopped on the seventh day but does not specify any objects. The underlying figure which appears when viewing thread 3 is based on the total separation of Elohim (3b) from his creation (3a).

There is, however, a subtle linguistic connection, a one-word parallel between the segments of 3, which may be significant because it is the opening word of both segments. To grasp how strong this parallel sounds in Hebrew, we will have to change the normal English word order. The first word of both segments is "finished." Word-for-word, the two openings would read: "Finished (were) the heaven and the earth...," "Finished (was) Elohim." The parallels force us to compare two kinds of "finished," that which can describe the world, and that which can be applied to Elohim. The completion of the creation (3a) is characterized by its separation from Elohim (3b). This explains how 3 can be "more immanent" than the earth in 2C. During the days of creation, 2, Elohim is still involved with the world, his creation. In 3 though, he is completely separated from "heaven and earth," in a literary sense. There is no element of divinity in the created world in 3a, nor mention of created entities in 3b. The thread can be read as a summation of the goal of creation: Elohim created in six days a mundane background (3a) against which holiness (3b) can be revealed.

Thread 1: The Prologue

Segment 1a contains three nouns (all at the close of the verse in Hebrew): A) Elohim, B) heaven, C) earth. While there appears to be a significant difference in 1a between Elohim, the subject, and heaven and earth, the objects, segment 1b suggests that all three unmodified nouns should be grasped as a set. Segment 1b contains three descriptions: A) "the earth was unformed and void"; B) "darkness was upon the face of the deep"; C) "the spirit of Elohim hovered over the face of the waters." 1b refers to two of the nouns in 1a, Elohim and the earth. The two nouns that are repeated are the first and last parts of each triad. Elohim appears at the beginning of 1a and at the end of 1b, while the earth appears at the end of 1a and in the beginning of 1b. This reversal of order is known as an inverted parallel, or chiasm, from the Greek letter chi, which is shaped like an X. It is one of the most fundamental principles of organization in the Torah and is established here in its very first two verses.

The inversion is emphasized by the central terms of each triad, "heaven" and "the deep." They are opposite aspects of space, above and below. The Hebrew word translated "the deep" occurs only four other times in the Torah. In all four of those occurrences, it comes paired with "heaven." Evidently, the chiasm is not just a formal reversal of order, but rather a literary device intended to convey meaning. As a device, its function is to demonstrate that its parts form a coherent block of text, while at the same time defining limits of the block. In this case the chiasm implies, "These two segments form a single piece. They must be read together." Elohim and the earth are locked together by the chiasm. This interconnection is the opposite of what we found in thread 3, where they were completely independent of each other. That being the case, we can read the whole of the weft as pointing to a process whereby Elohim is separated from the world we experience.

Creation is not so much about the production of new entities, as about the withdrawal of Elohim from control of these entities. The threads point to stages: 1) Elohim and the world are interlocked; 2) Elohim separates Himself from the world step-by-step; 3) Elohim and the world are separate. This final stage includes the appearance of the concept "holy," which Elohim applies to the Sabbath. We might even say that holiness is the goal of creation, as expressed through the weft. This is the only mention of holiness in Genesis. It does not appear again until Elohim introduces himself to Moses in the burning bush.

Reading the Warp: Two Modes of Creation

Since we began investigating the names Elohim and YHWH, we have encountered other significant pairings, like the trees in the garden and the two tablets. The dyad before us presents itself as the most fundamental dyad of all, the warp upon which the web of the world was woven. Consequently, threads a and b deserve very close inspection. In our analysis of the Decalogue, we hypothesized the existence of a "divine dyad" which would explain why the Decalogue was engraved on two stone tablets, and therefore, suggested there might be a link with the days of creation. We have now seen that the creation weave is also written on two stone tablets (warp threads). The first set of tablets of the Decalogue and the detailed creation of the world are both attributed to Elohim alone, and both are based on five pairs. We have also noted that the Decalogue and the creation weave share the "divine dyad" of "one and many." We will now see the dyad unique to the creation weave.

Thread a: Ex Nihilo

There are several possible principles of order in thread a based on characteristics of the first three days of creation. One possibility is based on the ancient concept of the four elements, fire, air, water, and earth. M has indicated that we are to see a natural progression in thread a based on the classical four elements. The key to seeing the direct correlation between the elements and the days of creation is a clarification of the Hebrew word translated "light." The word "or," light, can also be read as "ur," flame. So, we begin with light, which is related to fire on day one, and then see air that divides the waters above from waters below on day two. Earth appears on day three. The elements are ordered according to a scale of substantiality, from the insubstantial, light, to the substantial, earth. The state of the creation in 3a, "finished," is fully substantiated. Therefore, it seems we should see 1a as totally insubstantial, a concept, words. We have in fact done just that by observing that the translation should be "When Elohim began to create the universe," followed in thread a by "Elohim said: 'Let there be light.'" 1a sets the stage for the first creation—light— but is itself so insubstantial that it is placed above light.

We can only guess what M might have had in mind placing 1a above the four elements of the physical world. Nothing is created in 1a; it is pure language, words used to set the stage. In the beginning is language; these are nearly the opening words of John's gospel. There is logos, an underlying order that can be verbalized. It is realized in 2a by Elohim speaking the elements into being and giving them names. The three segments of the thread all include "heaven and earth," indicating a single process. Thread a describes the coming into being (2a) of the immanent physical universe (3a) from Elohim's words, ex nihilo (1a). The underlying process described by the individual steps can be characterized as "realization." The process is implemented by dyadic divisions such as upper and lower waters.

Thread b: Ex Materia

We begin our reading of thread b with a clarification of a key term, ruakh, "spirit." It will prove useful to note the Latin equivalent, anima. We will see that the creation of life on days five and six are part of an integrated triad that includes day four. What the three have in common is movement, "animation." While we found thread a was arranged according to a physical hierarchy of substantiality, thread b is organized according to a principle of animation. The framework of 1b and 3b point us to poles of divine animation. In 1b Elohim's spirit (anima) is described as "hovering," indicating a constant, in place, activity. By the time we get to 3b, Elohim is at rest. The three intermediate steps, 2bA-C, contain three degrees of animation. It appears that we should see them as steps whereby Elohim transfers animation from himself to his creation. More precisely, Elohim's spirit, anima, animates the world.

In segment 1b neither the earth nor space have any movement or animation associated with them. Only Elohim's anima is active. Day four introduces the various movements of the heavenly bodies: stars, planets, sun, moon. All have different periods and cycles, but they all have one thing in common: regular, unchanging, movement. They do not show the independent movement associated with life. They are locked onto their medium, the sky. Life is introduced on day five with the fish and birds. While they clearly have the freedom of movement associated with life, they also share a similarity with the heavenly bodies. Just as the stars are carried about by their element, the sky, so too can birds and fish be carried about by the currents in their environments. On day six Elohim creates the first creatures which move totally independently of their environment. From day-to-day, motion, originally attributed to Elohim's anima, is gradually transferred to his creations. Finally, on day seven, Elohim is devoid of motion, at rest. The inclusive theme of thread b is thus the introduction of animation to a previously existing inanimate world. While there are additional signs of organization within thread b, this is the most inclusive: the cosmos comes to life and Elohim rests.

Comparing the Two Modes of Creation

Thread a portrays the creation of the physical world from nothing, ex nihilo. It starts with a concept and ends with a finished physical world. Thread b portrays the introduction of spirit to an existing inanimate world. It starts with a physical world with no motion and ends with a world animated by creatures with independent movement. While, for the most part, the actual subjects of the two threads are different, they represent two essential and complementary aspects of creation.

The themes we have identified in the warp threads are consistent with the dyad "inanimate" (a), and "animate" (b), or "physical" and "spiritual." There may be other dyads that are even closer to M's categories, but the general lines are clear. The physical process of creation ex nihilo (a) is capped by a self-sustaining cosmos in 3a. The parallel process (b) of creation ex materia details the transfer of the divine spirit to the cosmos and ends with the introduction of "holiness" in 3b. The processes themselves are inverted, as may be hinted at in the chiasm we found in thread 1. Thread a begins with the insubstantial (1a) and ends with the substantial (3a) while b is the reverse, beginning with the substantial (1b) and ending with the insubstantial (3b). Elohim creates a cosmos based on two distinct, complementary, principles: substance and spirit. Together they define the natural world. The underlying theology appears to be based on the understanding that the deity is immaterial. Therefore, the inanimate physical world must have come into being ex nihilo, while that which is animated shares a characteristic of the preexistent, Elohim, spirit, anima.

The Creation Dyad

The analysis of the creation weave indicates that the text has two very different processes arranged side by side. The text presents the creation of the universe as the integration of two processes, each of which is complete in itself: 1) the appearance of substantiality and 2) the appearance of life. Thread a demonstrates how Elohim is involved in the process whereby substantiality becomes manifest. The process entails separation of the four elements by dyadic divisions. Thread b demonstrates how Elohim is involved in the process whereby animation becomes manifest. The process entails the presence of Elohim's anima which is distributed through a hierarchy of animation.

The distinction of these two processes—creation from nothing (ex nihilo) and creation from pre-existing matter (ex materia)—is fundamental to understanding the creation account. Thread a portrays the creation of the physical world from nothing, starting with a concept and ending with a finished physical world. Thread b portrays the introduction of spirit to an existing inanimate world, starting with a physical world with no motion and ending with a world animated by creatures with independent movement. While, for the most part, the actual subjects of the two threads are different, they represent complementary aspects of creation that together form the complete picture of how the cosmos came to be.

Conclusion: M's Creation

The woven structure of Genesis Unit 1 reveals that the Torah begins with a sophisticated literary creation that mirrors the cosmic creation it describes. Just as Elohim creates through separation and animation, weaving together heaven and earth, so M weaves together linear and structural meanings to create a text that operates on multiple dimensions.

The creation account serves as the paradigm for reading the entire Torah. It demonstrates that the text must be read both linearly (as a sequence of days) and structurally (as a woven tapestry) to access its full meaning. The appearance of holiness at the conclusion—the sanctification of the Sabbath—points forward to the entire Torah project: creating sacred space and time where the divine presence can be revealed.

By beginning with this paradigmatic unit, M teaches us how to read: not just following the words in sequence, but recognizing the patterns of warp and weft that create meaning through relationship. The creation weave establishes that the Torah itself is a creation—a literary cosmos where every element finds its meaning both in its sequential position and in its structural relationships.

The Context of Unit 1 in the Book of Genesis

Genesis Unit 1 stands as the foundational paradigm not only for the book of Genesis but for the entire Torah. As the opening unit, it establishes the literary methodology that M employs throughout: the weaving of linear narrative with structural meaning. The creation account introduces the divine name Elohim as the creator of the natural world, setting up the theological framework that will develop throughout Genesis.

This unit's placement at the very beginning of the Torah is no accident. Before introducing any human characters or historical narratives, M presents the cosmos itself as a woven structure, suggesting that the very fabric of reality follows the same organizational principles as the text that describes it. The unit's conclusion with the sanctification of the Sabbath creates a bridge to the human story that follows, as holiness—introduced here for the first and only time in Genesis—becomes the medium through which the divine and human realms will interact.

Within the larger structure of Genesis, Unit 1 forms part of what scholars often call the "Primeval History" (Units 1-3), which presents universal themes before narrowing focus to the particular story of Abraham and his descendants. The three units of primeval history themselves form a pattern: creation (Unit 1), human failure leading to exile from the garden (Unit 2), and destruction followed by re-creation through the flood (Unit 3). This triadic structure mirrors the three-row structure within Unit 1 itself, demonstrating M's consistent use of literary patterns at multiple scales.

Most significantly, Genesis Unit 1 establishes Elohim as the deity of natural order, creating through speech and separation. This characterization becomes crucial for understanding the theological development throughout Genesis, as other divine names appear and different modes of divine-human interaction emerge. The woven structure of creation becomes the template against which all subsequent divine revelations and human responses must be measured, making this unit truly paradigmatic for the entire Torah.