The Foundational Text of Scripture: Grammar That Determines Theology

Genesis 1:1 is the theological cornerstone of the entire Bible. Its placement at the head of Scripture is not arbitrary but deliberate—establishing a worldview that places God outside and before creation, as the uncaused, self-existent Creator. The stakes in translating this verse are high, and yet modern critical scholarship often destabilizes it with syntactical proposals that obscure or even deny its plain meaning. The updated American Standard Version (UASV) gives the correct and traditional rendering:

Genesis 1:1 (UASV): In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This rendering is both grammatically correct and theologically indispensable. However, some modern versions (e.g., the New Jewish Publication Society Tanakh [NJPS], and translations influenced by the Documentary Hypothesis or liberal source criticism) alter this to a subordinate clause, translating the verse as:

“When God began to create the heaven and the earth…”

This clause turns the definitive statement into a relative setting for the real creation work beginning in verse 2 or 3. It not only weakens the grammar but undermines the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo—creation out of nothing—and proposes a cosmology where God merely organizes pre-existent material.

Let us now examine this verse grammatically, lexically, syntactically, contextually, and theologically in detail, to demonstrate why the UASV is correct and why modern interpretive renderings are mistaken.

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Hebrew Text and Structure of Genesis 1:1

The Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 reads:

בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
bə·rē·šîṯ bā·rāʾ ʾĕ·lō·hîm ʾēṯ haš·šā·ma·yim wə·ʾēṯ hā·ʾā·reṣ
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

This verse is comprised of:

1. Temporal marker – בְּרֵאשִׁית (bəreshith, “in [the] beginning”)

2. Verb (Qal Perfect 3rd Person Masculine Singular) – בָּרָא (bārāʾ, “He created”)

3. Subject – אֱלֹהִים (ʾĕlōhîm, “God”)

4. Direct objects – אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ (“the heavens and the earth”)

The Qal perfect verb בָּרָא comes at the beginning of the clause, which is characteristic of independent narrative sentences in Biblical Hebrew, often fronted for emphasis. The verb bārāʾ is used exclusively with God as subject and refers to creating anew—a concept distinct from the general Hebrew verb ʿāśāh (to make/do), which can refer to crafting or shaping from existing materials.

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The Liberal Proposal: Subordinate Clause Translation

The most common critical alternative rendering treats Genesis 1:1 not as an independent clause but as a dependent temporal clause:

“When God began to create the heaven and the earth, the earth was formless and void…”

This translation is based on reading berēʾšît as an absolute construct, which would require a dependent genitive clause following it. They argue that the lack of the definite article in berēʾšît (“in beginning” rather than “in the beginning”) justifies this syntactical structure. This is the basis for the NJPS translation.

Problems with the Subordinate Clause View:

1. Lack of Construct Genitive – בְּרֵאשִׁית in this context does not function syntactically as a construct chain. There is no following genitive noun. Instead, it is followed directly by a finite verb (bārāʾ), which supports the interpretation as an absolute temporal expression.

2. Parallel Constructions – In similar texts like Isaiah 46:10 (“Declaring the end from the beginning”), berēʾšît also lacks the article, yet is clearly definite in meaning and not a construct. Hebrew often omits the article in temporal expressions (cf. laylāh, “night,” or yōm, “day”), especially in poetic and elevated prose.

3. Verb Form – bārāʾ is in the perfect aspect, which in narrative Hebrew is default for main, past-time clauses. It marks the beginning of a new narrative section, not a subordinate prelude.

4. Historical Exegesis – Jewish and Christian tradition for over two millennia recognized Genesis 1:1 as a stand-alone, declarative sentence that proclaims God’s sovereign creation. The subordinate clause reading is a recent liberal innovation tied to the Documentary Hypothesis and comparative Ancient Near Eastern cosmology (e.g., Enuma Elish), which assumes Israel’s creation theology was derived from polytheistic myth.

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Contextual Continuity with Verse 2

Verse 2 begins with a waw disjunctive clause:

וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ – “And the earth was formless and void…”

This disjunctive (waw + noun + verb) does not continue the preceding sentence but begins a new clause. It supports the idea that Genesis 1:1 is not a subordinate clause introducing 1:2, but rather a summary statement that frames the entire creation narrative. Verse 2 describes the state of the earth after creation, not before it.

Further, verse 3 introduces another main verb:

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים – “And God said…”

This sequence follows standard narrative structure in Hebrew: main verb (perfect), followed by disjunctive clause (descriptive), then another main verb. The subordinate clause theory breaks this structure and creates theological confusion—placing the formless void before creation itself, undermining God’s role as the Creator of matter and order.

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Theological Implications of the Subordinate Clause View

The interpretive rendering “When God began to create…” implies pre-existing material, which God merely shapes. This aligns more with pagan cosmology than the biblical doctrine of absolute creation ex nihilo.

Genesis 1:1 stands in contrast to Ancient Near Eastern creation myths, such as:

• Enuma Elish – where Marduk creates order by dividing the carcass of Tiamat.

• Egyptian Cosmology – where creation begins with primordial waters (Nu).

The biblical account is unique in that God alone pre-exists, and by sovereign fiat, He creates space (heavens) and matter (earth) without competition or chaos-beasts. If Genesis 1:1 is only a subordinate clause, then God’s role as the Creator of all things is weakened.

Only the declarative rendering—“In the beginning God created…”—preserves:

• Temporal priority of God’s act over all creation

• Ontological distinction between Creator and creation

• Monotheistic supremacy over pagan myths

• Doctrinal foundation for creatio ex nihilo, affirmed in Hebrews 11:3

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Affirmation of UASV Rendering and Conservative Literal Tradition

The UASV correctly renders the Hebrew according to the grammar, syntax, and context of the passage:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This aligns with the most careful conservative scholarship, including Edward D. Andrews’ translation principles—maintaining literalness, preserving syntactical structure, and rejecting interpretive intrusion. The UASV rightly treats verse 1 as a self-contained, theologically loaded declaration of cosmic origins by divine decree, not as a footnote or prelude to verse 2.

This also corresponds with traditional Jewish exegesis (e.g., Rashi, Saadia Gaon), as well as early Church Fathers (e.g., Augustine, Basil), and Reformation commentators (e.g., Calvin, Luther), all of whom treated Genesis 1:1 as a full, independent clause.

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Conclusion

Genesis 1:1 is not a stylistic introduction, mythic echo, or subordinate clause. It is the first propositional truth of all reality: that God created everything—time, space, matter—by His sovereign will. Any translation that shifts it into a subordinate clause dismantles the doctrinal architecture of biblical theology.

A literal, grammatical, and contextually faithful rendering like the UASV preserves the true force of the Hebrew:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This is not only good theology. It is sound translation, backed by rigorous syntax, lexical fidelity, and conservative exegesis rooted in reverence for the inspired text.

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