Creation Myth
Day One
Topics covered in this document:
Introduction
This parchment presents the events of the first day of creation.
When God decided to create Heaven and Earth, He found nothing but Tohu
and Bohu (see below) ... and darkness covered everything. So he gave light
to the universe.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the
earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the
deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God
said, Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw the light,
that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening
and the morning were the first day.
-Gen. 1:1-5.
Ten Creations of First Day
On the first day of creation, God created ten things. Actually, they
were five pairs of opposing things:
- Seven heavens (created by God's right hand)
- Seven earths (created by God's left hand)
- Tohu (Chaos)
- Bohu (Emptiness)
- Light
- Darkness
- Wind (breath)
- Waters (oceans and fresh water)
- Duration of the day
- Duration of the night
Although most of these ten creations are given common English words,
they are anything but common ... as we'll see in the details below.
Heavens and Earths
All this time, you thought there was only one heaven and one earth.
Well, think again.
Seven Heavens
From the light of His garment, God created seven heavens (with a celestial
ladder connecting each). Then, as He spread out the heavens, they began to
stretch of their own accord.
Does this mean the ancients might have understood the concept of an
expanding universe? You mean 20th century scientists were not the first
to come to this conclusion?
From lowest to highest, the seven heavens are named:
- Wilon (curtain).
Where clouds, winds, air, and stars exist. It covers up the light
during the night and disappears every morning. It is the only heaven
that is visible.
- Raqi'a (firmament).
Where the planets are fastened to the sky. Sinners must wait here
for the Judgment Day.
- Shehaqim (clouds or grind stones).
Where manna is manufactured for the pious in the hereafter. The
celestial Garden of Eden is in this sphere.
- Zebul (dwelling).
Where the Temple exists in the celestial Jerusalem and where
Michael ministers as the High Priest.
- Ma'on (residence).
Where the angels dwell, singing praises to God all night long (it's
the duty of Israel to sing His praises by day). The chariots of the sun
and moon are kept here.
- Makhon (emplacement).
Where trials, tribulations, snow, and hail originate. All of these
are supervised by the archangel Metatron. It's also where the gigantic
Fallen Angels cower in silent and everlasting despair.
- Araboth (plains).
Here sits the Throne of God, surrounded by the seraphim, the ofanim,
the holy Hayyot, and the ministering angels. The chariot seen by Ezekiel
is kept here. This is also where the dew waits ... the dew which God will
use to revive the dead on resurrection day. Here also reside the souls
and spirits of unborn generations. [That we had a premortal existence
is not a common theme in Christianity, apparently lost in one
translation or another.]
During the Christian period, the seven heavens were reduced to two (or
at most, three). It doesn't take much study of the Bible to notice that
three and seven are used quite often. Once again, you probably can choose
almost any number of heavens to believe in and be able to back up your
belief by at least one reference.
Seven Earths
God created seven earths, corresponding to the seven heavens. The seven
earths, from lowest to highest, are named:
- Erez (earth).
The lowest earth.
- Adamah (earth).
The scene of God's magnificence. What it's doing way down here at
the next-to-lowest earth is not explained. You'll also notice that the
root of the word is "Adam."
- Arka (earth).
Here the souls of the wicked are guarded by the Angels of Destruction.
In other words, this is where Hell is. The seven divisions of Hell were
created on the second day (see the next parchment in this series).
- Harabah (parched land).
The place of the desert wadi (a dry streambed).
- Yabbashah (dry land).
Here reside the rivers and springs.
- Tebel (world).
Where 365 species of strange, half-human beings live. Some have
human heads on the body of a lion, a serpent, or an ox. Some have
animal heads on a human body. Some double-persons have two heads,
which quarrel with each other when eating or drinking (each claiming
the largest portion). [These beings sound kinda like a description of
the reliefs, drawings, and paintings that the Hebrews must have seen
in other cultures who either welcomed or conquered them.]
- Heled (world).
Our earth.
You'll notice that Hebrew has several words for our single English
word "earth." The same is true of our word "world." You'll also notice
that they distinguish between dry and parched land.
Also, if you're paying attention, you'll notice that Hell (Arka) is
one of the seven "earths" and is located lower than our earth (Heled).
That's where the concept of Hell being below us comes from.
Each earth is separated from the next by five distinct layers:
- Abyss
- Tohu
- Bohu
- Seas
- Waters
The seas and waters are separate elements ... just as they are in
Babylonian cosmology (Apsu and Tiamat). One is sweet water, the other
is salty.
Man's Test of Godhood
God fastened the heaven and earth of our world together at three points:
East, West, and South. He left the North unfastened in case any man was
brazen enough to claim to be a god.
For a man to prove he is a god, he is required to fasten the North
corner of heaven and earth. Of course, no man can do that.
[But then, I've never tried it myself, heh heh.]
Tohu and Bohu
Are you wondering what kind of things Tohu and Bohu are? Well, actually,
Tohu and Bohu are not things -- instead, they are gods and
goddesses (a male and a female pair of each).
Their characteristics were borrowed directly from the Babylonians and
Canaanites. They represent the primeval Chaos and Emptiness which Marduk
and Baal managed to organize.
I suppose the reason you've never heard of these two creations in your
Bible studies is because the Hebrew names were not retained in the English
translation of the Bible.
However, if you were to read Isaiah 34:11 in the original Hebrew
language, you'd see their names mentioned: "...stretch out upon it the
line of confusion [Tohu], and the stones of emptiness [Bohu]."
Tohu (Chaos)
Tohu can be seen at dusk as the thin, green line on the horizon.
For the Hebrews, Tohu became the sea monster, Leviathan. Tohu created
chaos throughout the seas.
Bohu (Emptiness)
Bohu is seen in the rocky coastline.
For the Hebrews, Bohu became the land monster, Behemoth. Bohu created
chaos all across the land.
Light and Darkness
Light
Light was the fifth item created. However, it's not the light of the
sun, moon, or stars (which couldn't be seen until the fourth day).
Rather, this light was that which enabled people to see from one end of
the world to the other at a glance.
Darkness
Because God knew that His people would be sinners, He subsequently
withdrew His pristine light. But it will be restored for the pious in
the celestial world to come.
NOTE: Darkness, in this context, is a positive object, not
merely the absence of light.
Wind and Water
Wind
The seventh item created was the wind. Early Christians claimed that
the Spirit of God, which moved upon the waters, was actually the Holy
Ghost (or Holy Spirit). They were wrong.
The Talmud clearly states that the Hebrew word for God's breath
(wind) was mistranslated by Christians as God's spirit. The reference to
God's breath in the Creation story is required for God to voice his "let
there be ..." declarations.
In the original Hebrew, it does not refer to His spirit
essence. His spirit did not move upon the face of the waters.
Waters
Well, at least this creation is exactly what we think of as waters. It
is the Seas and Oceans of the Earth. However, the waters have two separate
categories -- one is sweet and the other is salty.
Day and Night
According to some Hebrew texts, time existed prior to the creation ...
but was marked for the first time when the world was created.
According to others (including Philo), time was created at the same time
as the world was created.
Take your pick.
What Next?
Return
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The following documents are in this series:
Have a pleasant day!
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