Genesis 1:1–4

Some people believe there is a long gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. Nobody knows how long. This idea is called the Gap Theory.

It is one way people try to hold two things together: that God made the world in six days, and that scientists say the earth is very old.

Genesis 1:1 — God makes a perfect heaven and earth, a very long time ago.

The gap, between verse 1 and verse 2 — this is where people place Satan's rebellion. Isaiah 14:12–15 is the passage usually pointed to.

Genesis 1:2 — the world is left broken and empty.

Genesis 1:3 onward — God spends six days putting it right again, getting the earth ready for Adam and for us.

THE THREE WORDS THEY POINT TO

People who read it this way point to three Hebrew words.

• 1. Hayah — "was", or "became"
• In Genesis 1:2 this word is usually translated "was". It can also mean "became".
• What that would mean: the earth became broken because of something that happened earlier. God did not make it broken.

• 2. Light on Day One, before the sun and moon
• God makes light on Day One (verse 3). He does not make the sun, moon and stars until Day Four (verse 14).
• What that would mean: the Day One light was God's own presence shining into the dark — the Word, Christ (John 1:1). The sun and moon came later, to run the restored earth.

• 3. Mala' — "fill", or "fill again"
• In Genesis 1:28 this word is usually translated "fill". It can also mean "fill again".
• What that would mean: God told Adam to fill the earth again — because it had been full once before, and judgment had emptied it.