by Timothy W. Burnett
As we continue to search and study the scriptures we add more knowledge to our minds. Some of this knowledge will force us to reconsider what has been believed for many years. There isn�t a single Christian who hasn�t faced those meekness tests where they were challenged to realign their beliefs with God�s word on different subjects.
One very popular subject that is debated among scientists and even Christians is the history of the earth. In the arena of science, there is no pure scientifically established knowledge of the beginning of the earth. Instead, most of the scientific dating of the earth involves the use of carbon dating techniques. There may be other methods of dating that I�m not aware of.
The Bible contains some information about the earth�s history, most of which cannot be measured by scientific method, and therefore rejected by most scientists who do not see the Bible as a source of truth.
According to Genesis 1:1, the history of the earth started with God as its creator. It says, �In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.� It�s pretty simple and does not require lots of energy devoted to scientific study.
The next verse provides more details, �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� (Genesis 1:2). This verse appears to teach us that what God created was �without form and void.� Let�s look at this more closely.
According to the English-Hebrew Lexicon and Young�s Concordance to the KJV Bible, the words �without form and void� were translated from the earlier known Hebrew phrase �tohuw bohuw.� It referred to a state of being uninhabitable such as an empty wasteland or place of chaos. Our readers are encouraged to look it up for themselves. Most church libraries will include the necessary materials for this kind of study.
At first glance most of us would not know to question the integrity of Genesis 1:1-2 as it is read in the Bible. But an in-depth word study will reveal that the earth was not �without form and void� when God created it.
The word �was� in verse two was translated from the earlier Hebrew word �hayah� which meant to become, come to pass or happen. There is an apparent conflict between the earlier meaning of hayah and the word used in the Bible. The word �was� suggests that what God created was without form and void. To test this let�s look at other uses of �tohuw bohuw� in the Bible.
We turn to Isaiah 45:18, �For thus says the Lord that created the heavens. God himself that formed the earth and made it. He has established it. He created it not in vain. He formed it to be inhabited.� The word �vain� is from the earlier Hebrew word �tohuw.� Sound familiar? It�s the same word used in Genesis 1:2. Here we learn that God did not create the earth as an uninhabitable wasteland. Instead it says the opposite, that He formed it to be inhabited.
Now that we�ve tested the mistranslation of �hayah� to �was� with Isaiah 45:18, we can now return to Genesis 1:2 and change the word �was� to �became,� allowing it to read as follows, �And the earth [became] without form and void.�
That which God created in the beginning to be inhabited somehow became without form and void at a later time. Please note that after the earth became without form and void, the record switches to God rebuilding process.
Next week we will dive into God�s word and look at some information about what might have caused the earth to become uninhabitable.
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