The Poetry Of The Creation Account
When Jewish writers wished to emphasize that something was true, they wrote in poetry. Unlike English poetry, which relies on word rhyme, Jewish poetry uses thought rhyme. In Genesis 1, the poem is structured around the prologue that says that "in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was 'unformed and unfilled' (literal Hebrew)". This sets the pattern of rhymes. On one day, something will be formed. On another it will be filled. Since forming and filling are two halves of the thought of creating, a statement about forming one part of creation will rhyme with a statement about filling the same aspect of the world.
There are three such rhymes, followed by an epilogue, for total of seven days.
Prologue: This is the story of the creation of the earth. The earth was "unformed and unfilled". (1:1-2)
|
Forming |
Filling |
| Day 1 | Light formed (1:3-5) | Day 4 | Light filled ("Greater and Lesser lights", the sun and moon) (1:14-19) |
| Day 2 | Sky and Sea formed (1:6-8) | Day 5 | Sky and Sea filled (birds and fish) (1:20-23) |
| Day 3 | Dry land formed (with plants) (1:9-13) | Day 6 | Dry land filled (animals and man) (1:24-31) |
Epilogue: Day 7: Everything was very good. God rested on the seventh day and made it holy. It is called the Sabbath, because God rested on the seventh day (creation was finished). (2:1-3)
The poetic form of the creation account makes it clear that it is intended to be literally true. The days are twenty-four hours long, and the week is seven physical days long.
The account we have just examined includes what we would call a byline. Genesis 2:4 declares this to be an official eyewitness history by saying that "these are the generations of the heaven and earth". The Hebrew word TOLeDOT is used. This formal term for "generations" is clearly recognized as the key to the structure of the entire book. Its use implies formality and accuracy. The time of the writing of the history is also recorded in the phrase "in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven." This means that the account was written either at creation or very shortly thereafter. No author is recorded, but since God is the only possible eyewitness to creation, He must have written the account, either by His own hand or by dictation to Adam. Truly this is heavenly poetry!
Sources:
Richard M. Davidson, Ph.D.
J. N. Andrews Professor of Old Testament Interpretation
Andrews University
SDA Theological Seminary
Berrien Springs, MI 49104
P. J. Wiseman
New Discoveries in Babylonia about Genesis
Marshall, Morgan and Scott Ltd. 1936