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
We may start by looking more closely at the other obvious feature of the account; namely, its progressive character. The author shapes his story through a series of discernable stages. We note gradations in refinement and distinctions, some of which are marked by the causative form of the verb badal, to divide, or to separate.
Thus, God "separated (yabdel) the light from the darkness," "separated" (yabdel) the waters below and above the firmament, put the waters apart from the dry land, distinguished among the various plants and fruits, and created two different celestial lights to separate (lahabdil) day and night. Creation, as each day ends, becomes increasingly specific in its parts, marked by ever more refined distinctions. Creation's initial condition—"all mixed up" (tohu webohu)—is gradually put into coherent shape.
Let us further observe that the initial "light" ('or) summoned forth by God's word is more than . . . well, meets the eye. It has no physical source, we observe. On the contrary, it precedes everything else; it is the intelligible light at the root of all other created things. It is this light that gives quidditas, "whatness," to every other creature.
It seems legitimate, then, to speak of "day one" (yom 'ehad) as having a metaphysical interest. This is the reason it is called "day one," not "the first day." It is not merely the initial stage in a sequence; it serves as the underlying "principle" (resh'ith, in Greek arche) of all that is to follow.
Further pursuing my impulse to speak of Creation in philosophical and scientific terms, I pick "Cosmology" to identify the interest of the second day, on which a vast vaulted expanse (haraqi'a) is inserted to divide the prevalent chaotic waters. Then, with respect to the third day, when dry land appears, perhaps we may speak of "Geography" as the point of interest. Right after that, the interest of the account shifts to "Botany," when God creates the trees and other plants. By this time, the reader is probably ready for "Zoology," confident that the Creator, as the next step, is about to make the animals.
A New Cycle
But, no, he doesn't. Instead, the interest of the story abruptly changes to the measuring of time, "Chronometry." God creates the celestial "lamps" (me'oroth, a liturgical term, usually meaning the lights in the Holy Place; see especially Exodus 35) to be markers (le'ototh) "for seasons, and days, and years." Only then does the Creator come back to earth, so to speak, to make the animals and human beings.
Thus, the fourth day of Creation returns to the theme of light introduced on day one. Moreover, if we look more closely, we observe that the author actually starts a new cycle. Just as the fourth day takes up the theme of light from day one, the fifth day repeats the image of water so prominent on the second day; it begins, "Let the waters swarm a swarming (yishresu hammayim sheres) of living creatures."
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).
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