Twice as Good
Anyone who has managed to finish the first chapter of Genesis knows that the Creator was pleased with his work. Indeed, the goodness of Creation is probably the most obvious theme of the account; five of Creation's six days include some form of the refrain, "God saw that it was good," wayyara Elohim ki tov. It is hard to imagine that any reader of the text has failed to observe this very clear compositional pattern.
Perhaps less obvious, however, at least on a first reading, are certain more delicate details—threads, as it were, that weave the declaration, "God saw that it was good," into the story's larger fabric. To see how this is so, we might begin by observing that this refrain, wayyara Elohim ki tov, is not evenly distributed. Two of the days appear to be twice as good. I believe this feature calls for an explanation.
A Cycle of Creation
THIS ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS.
FOR QUICK ACCESS:
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
subscription options
Order
Print/Online Subscription
Get six issues (one year) of Touchstone PLUS full online access including pdf downloads for only $39.95. That's only $3.34 per month!
Order
Online Only
Subscription
Get a one-year full-access subscription to the Touchstone online archives for only $19.95. That's only $1.66 per month!
bulk subscriptions
Order Touchstone subscriptions in bulk and save $10 per sub! Each subscription includes 6 issues of Touchstone plus full online access to touchstonemag.com—including archives, videos, and pdf downloads of recent issues for only $29.95 each! Great for churches or study groups.
Transactions will be processed on a secure server.
more on Bible from the online archives
5.3—Summer 1992
Everything You Need to Know About Morality & the Bible by David Mills
27.4—July/August 2014
The Bible, Sacred Theology & the Mind of Christ by Patrick Henry Reardon
more from the online archives
29.4—July/August 2016
Russell Kirk: American Conservative by Bradley J. Birzer by Hunter Baker
30.2—March/April 2017
on Reading Don Quixote in Its Original Christian Context by Luis Cortest
calling all readers
Please Donate
"There are magazines worth reading but few worth saving . . . Touchstone is just such a magazine."
—Alice von Hildebrand
"Here we do not concede one square millimeter of territory to falsehood, folly, contemporary sentimentality, or fashion. We speak the truth, and let God be our judge. . . . Touchstone is the one committedly Christian conservative journal."
—Anthony Esolen, Touchstone senior editor
