# The Creation: how the Bible begins (Genesis 1)

> Genesis opens with God speaking the world into being in six days: light from darkness, sky and sea, land and plants, sun and stars, creatures, and finally humankind in his image. Everything is called good, and the seventh day is set apart for rest.

> In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
> — Genesis 1:1 (King James Version)

> And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
> — Genesis 1:31 (King James Version)

The Bible does not begin with an argument. It begins with a scene: darkness, deep water, and the Spirit of God moving over it.

## Let there be light

God speaks, and light appears. He separates it from the darkness and names them day and night. On the following days the sky is set above the waters, the seas are gathered, and dry land rises to carry grass, seed and fruit trees.

## A world filled with life

The sun, moon and stars are set in the sky to mark seasons and days. The waters swarm with fish, the air with birds, the land with every kind of animal. Again and again the refrain returns: God saw that it was good.

## In his image

Last of all God makes humankind, male and female, in his own image, blesses them and gives them the care of the earth. Then he looks at everything he has made and calls it very good. On the seventh day he rests and makes that day holy.

## Questions to carry

What does it change to see the world as something given and called good? Where could a day of rest fit into your week?

## Read the chapter

Read [Genesis 1](/en/bible/genesis/1) in full, then continue with Genesis 2.

## Sources

- [Genesis 1 (King James Version)](https://api.getbible.net/v2/kjv/1/1.json)
- [Gustave Doré, Creation of Light (Wikimedia Commons)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:001.The_Creation_of_Light.jpg)