Before anything else existed, the Bible begins with the sentence: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1). That simple phrase sets the stage for the entire story of the universe. According to biblical commentary, the Hebrew word translated “created” (Hebrew bara’) means “to bring into being” by God, often from nothing.

When the earth is described as “without form and void” (Hebrew tohu wa-bohu) in Genesis 1:2, it describes an initial state of chaos or emptiness.  Then God’s Spirit “hovered over the waters,” and God said “Let there be light,” and there was light (Genesis 1:3). What is key here is that God’s spoken word is the means of creation: when He speaks, things come into being. Genesis 1 lays out six days of creation (Day 1: light; Day 2: sky/waters; Day 3: land, seas, vegetation; Day 4: sun, moon, stars; Day 5: fish and birds; Day 6: land animals and humans) and then Day 7 is God’s rest (Genesis 2:1-3).

Commentators point out that this structure shows God’s power, order, design and his goodness: “And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25) — each time a stage of creation is complete.