Was the Earth RECREATED after an initial creation?
Is there a GAP of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2?
(Part 2 of 4)

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Do Hebrew Scholars Support a Gap?

The claim is often made that competent scholars do not support the gap because the gap is extra-Biblical. In reality many Biblical and Hebraic scholars support the gap model and as will be shown later the Bible supports the Old Earth gap model.

Alfred Edersheim (1825-1889) was born in Vienna to Jewish parents. He was well educated in the Talmudic traditions of his parent's faith. After conversion to Christianity he became a minister and then eventually a Church of England Vicar. This position as both a Jewish and Christian scholar made him an authority on Biblical subjects. He also had an extensive knowledge of the Judean/Roman culture of the first century. He wrote extensively and authored many books, two of his most popular are: The Temple: It's Ministry And Services [13], Bible History: Old Testament [14]. He was also well studied and fluent in Hebrew.

In his book Bible History: Old Testament, which is a 7 volume set he states the following in Volume 1 [15]:

" Then, in the second verse, we find earth described as it was at the close of the last great revolution, preceding the present state of things: "And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep." An almost indefinite space of time, and many changes, may therefore have intervened between the creation of heaven and earth, as mentioned in ver. 1, and the chaotic state of our earth, as described in ver. 2. As for the exact date of the first creation, it may be safely affirmed that we have not yet the knowledge sufficient to arrive at any really trustworthy conclusion. "


Another Biblical Scholar was Robert Jamieson. In 1871 along with two other scholars he published a commentary on the whole Bible [16]. In this monumental work, under the heading Old Testament Genesis Chapter 1; Ge. 1:1, 2; The creation of Heaven and Earth, the following comments appear:

" 'In the beginning' - period of remote and unknown antiquity, hid in the depths of eternal ages; and so the phrase is used in Pr 8:22,23.
"the earth was without form and void"—or in "confusion and emptiness," as the words are rendered in Isa 34:11. This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise.

"the Spirit of God moved"—literally, continued brooding over it, as a fowl does, when hatching eggs. The immediate agency of the Spirit, by working on the dead and discordant elements, combined, arranged, and ripened them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new creation. The account of this new creation properly begins at the end of this second verse; and the details of the process are described in the natural way an onlooker would have done, who beheld the changes that successively took place. "

Alfred Edersheim and Robert Jamieson are only a few of the many well-known scholars that support the gap. The reason that these scholars and many others are in agreement with a gap model is because the scriptures support a time period between verse 1 and 2. Young Earth Creationist's claims that no competent scholars support the gap are not true!

Obviously if the Bible did not support the gap there would be an obvious lack of scholarly writing about it. So what exactly in the Bible can be used to support the gap model? Examining the scriptures will reveal that the overall plan of the scriptures supports the gap concept [17].

Does the Bible Support a Gap — Hebrew words bara and asah

Before an examination of where the Young Earth Creationists are Biblically mistaken is undertaken, think about the logic of one of their arguments. This involves two Hebrew words, bara and asah. A typical Young Earth Creation position is that the word bara means; create, and the word asah means; make, and these two words are interchangeable. Often verse 26 and 27 of the first chapter of Genesis is used as a reference.

" Then God said, "Let Us make (asah) man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." " (Genesis 1:26)
" So God created (bara) man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. " (Genesis 1:27)

Therefore according to this position the word asah and bara can be used interchangeably since they both mean to make and or to create. Once the Young Earth position that asah and bara are linguistically equal is accepted then this is used to interpret Genesis 1:16.

Then God made (asah) two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. [He made] the stars also." (Genesis 1:16)
Also according to the Young Earth position then the meaning of Exodus 20:11 becomes evident.

"For [in] six days the LORD made (asah) the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11)
Therefore the sun, moon and stars were created on the fourth day and all of Genesis 1:1-2 occur on the same day, the first day of the creation week. Thus there is no gap after the 1st verse of Genesis, and the earth is only a few thousand years old. As a result the Young Earth position is clinched by their supposed understanding of the words asah and bara.

If the words asah and bara are not synonymous and cannot be used interchangeably then the logic of the Young Earth position disappears. What must be understood is that all words have certain nuances that can easily be overlooked. Take for example the two English words slap and hit. They are often used interchangeably. For example in the following sentence the sense of the sentence would not changed if either word were used.

The man covered his face with his hands, because as he moved through the forest the tree branches were going to slap/hit him in the face.
Either word is acceptable because either word conveys the proper sense of what is happening. Something is "coming in contact" with the face of the man. Consider another example this time it will be evident that only one of these words will fit the sentence in question.

Using her open hand the angry wife was going to slap her unfaithful husband.
In the previous example the proper word to use would be slap. It fits the sense of what is going to happen. Consider one more sentence and it will be evident that the word hit is the appropriate choice.

The driver had not fastened his seat belt and he knew the other car was going to hit him.
In other words just because words can be used interchangeably does not mean that they mean the same thing. If they meant the same thing in all cases there would not be the need to have two separate words. Asah and bara are examples of this principle. In some places the word asah can be substituted for bara and vicea versa. This does not mean they are defined exactly alike. In the example of the sentences above, technically either word slap or hit could be used in either sentence if what happened was unknown. If what happened was known then selecting the proper word would be simple. The translators of Gen. 2:26-27; Gen. 1:16 and Ex. 20:11 were translating from the position of ignorance, they did not know what had occurred, and therefore they translated these verses in a non-gap context.

If a translator knew that a gap had occurred then he could easily have translated Genesis 1:2 in a context that would support the gap and still be linguistically justifiable. It is the contention of this paper that you would be in a better linguistic position if this were done.

The word bara and the word asah do not mean the same thing. The word bara means to create out of nothing the word asah means to make or fashion out of preexisting material or to appoint something that already exists to a certain position. It is often used in the Old Testament to indicate ordination or appointment to a position. Examining Strong concordance [18] the following is noted:

asah (#6213) to do or make, accomplish, appoint, bestow, bring forth, furnish, grant, offer, prepare, procure, provide, set, show, yield.
bara (#1254) – to create or creator

These two words have widely different meanings. Understanding that asah can mean to appoint or bring forth sends new light on the scriptures that have been previously analyzed.

" Then God said, "Let Us make (asah—bring forth/appoint) man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." " (Genesis 1:26)

" So God created (bara—created) man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. " (Genesis 1:27)

In verse 26 God is taking man, something that is already in existence and he is bringing him forth or appointing him to be in his image. He does not create man in this verse He appoints him in the image of God. In verse 27 God hearkens back to the original creation of man when he brought him into existence out of nothing. This is a bara creation.

" Then God made (asah—brought forth/appointed) two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. [He made] the stars also." (Genesis 1:16)

Figure 4: On the fourth day of recreation account God allowed the sun, moon, and stars to be visible to an earthbound observer. He did this by clearing the atmosphere of suspended dust, dirt, and clouds.

Verse 16 occurs on the fourth day. What happened on this day is that the heavenly bodies which were created prior to the creation week and already existed were at this time brought forth or appointed to be the rulers of the night and day. What apparently happened is the atmosphere cleared enough that the previously hidden sun, moon, and stars appeared to an earthbound observer. See figure 4 [19].


Notice that the words "He made" are in brackets indicating that this is not part of the original Hebrew. The stars were also appointed not created at this time period—the fourth day of the recreation week. A more correct translation should read as follows:
" Then God brought forth and appointed two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, also the stars." (Genesis 1:16)
An example of the proper usage of asah and it relation to the moon is given in the Psalms. This verse verifies that the moon in Genesis 1:16 was not created (bara) but it was appointed (asah) on the fourth day [20].

" He appointed (asah) the moon for seasons; The sun knows it going down. " (Psalm 104:19)
Now with the correct understanding of these two Hebrew words Exodus 20:11 fits the gap scenario nicely. This verse is not talking about the original creation of these things but of the reworking that took place during the recreation account. Notice once again that the word "in" is bracketed indicating that it is not part of the original and was added by the translators. Once it is understood that the recreation events are being discussed the verse actually flows better without the word "in".

" For [in] six days the LORD made (asah—appointed, prepared, furnished, offered) the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:11)
The Hebrew word hayah

The original Hebrew and the historical context of the rest of the Bible has led the gappists to conclude that an unspecified time period exists between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2. The Young Earth Creationists disagree with this view and translated the first two verses as follows:

" In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)
According to this view the heavens, the earth, and all things that exist were created on the first day of the creation week a few thousand years ago. The Old Earth Creationists, on the other hand, believe that earth had a preexistence and became disordered and was recreated after verse two. They believe that the original meaning of verse two supports this concept. They translate the first two verses as follows:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth became without form, and void (indicating confused and disordered); and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)
The crux of the difference is the small English word in verse two—was! Was the earth created on the first day of the week and was it in a new but unformed state in verse two as the Young Earth Creationist say [21]. Or, did the earth have a prehistory and it became a cosmic wasteland as translated by the Old Earth Creationist. A large part [22] of the difference of opinion rest on a proper understanding of the linguistics of verse two.

The Hebrew word in question is the word hayah. In the Bible this word, a verb, has been translated; was, come to pass, came, has been, were, happened, become, pertained, better for thee. A popular Hebrew lexicon [23] says the following about the various uses and definitions of this word:

hayah (#1961) – was, to happen, fall out, occur, take place, to come about, come to pass, to become, to become like, to be instituted, be established, to exist, be in existence, to abide, remain, continue, to stand, lie, be in, be at, be situated, to occur, be done, be brought about, to be done, be finished, be gone.
Examples of was (hayah) better translated as became

Many volumes and papers have been written about the confusion that this one small word has caused in the creation field. The easiest way to see how this word can be used in Genesis 1:2 is to see how it has been used in parallel verses in other parts of the Bible. A good example of the use of the word hayah in a parallel verse is Genesis 4:2, (KJV) "And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground." Make note of how these two verses compare in their essential structure (KJV used for clarity):

"…the heaven and the earth. And the earth was (hayah) without form, and void…" (Genesis 1:2)
"…bare his brother Abel. And Abel was (hayah) a keeper of sheep…" (Genesis 4:2)

In both sentences the first sentence ends with a noun (earth/Abel), which completes the sentence. In the second sentence both begin with the word "And." Then the original noun repeats (earth/Abel). Then this repeated noun is followed by the word "was"—hayah. In every way the grammar and structure of both sentences is identical. Obviously upon examining Genesis 4:2 it is understood that Abel was not born a keeper of sheep and that over the course of time he became a keeper of sheep. In this sense hayah could be translated "…and Abel became (hayah) a keeper of sheep…" It therefore follows that verse two of Genesis 1 can be translated as follows:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth became (hayah) without form, and void (indicating confused and disordered); and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:1-2)
Other examples of this principle, where the word hayah has been translated was and more properly means a change in state (became), occurs in the following verses:

" And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was (became-hayah) the mother of all living." (Genesis 3:20)
" And Adah bore Jabal. He was (became-hayah) the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock." (Genesis 4:20)

Part 1: Introduction, Objections to Gap theory
Part 2: Do Hebrew Scholars Support a Gap?
Part 3: Was There Sin Before Adam?
Part 4: Biblical Evidence for a Catastrophe between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2


Works Cited and Research Notes

[13]. Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple it's Ministry and Services. Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1978.

[14]. Edersheim, Alfred. Bible History, Old Testament. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1995.

[15]. Edersheim, Alfred. Bible History, Old Testament. Book 1: the World Before the Flood, and the History of the Patriarchs, Chapter 1: Creation-Man in the Garden of Eden-The Fall. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. 1995.

[16]. Jamieson, Robert. Fausset, A.R. Brown, David. Commentary Critical and Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Grand Rapid, MI 1871.

[17]. In Jesus' time many arguments involved the scriptures and word meanings. Jesus Christ often corrected the Pharisees, scribes, and the teachers of the law for not understanding the real intent of the scriptures. He spent a great deal of time correcting mistaken impressions of what they thought the scriptures were saying. The following which involved marriage and the resurrection is an example:

Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

What many people overlook is that the conversations involved were all being spoken in Hebrew (some scholars say Aramaic). Even though Jesus and his adversaries were all fluent in Hebrew and or Aramaic and they understood the nuances and hidden meanings of the language they still could not agree on what the scriptures were saying. In other words what is more important than linguistics and an intimate understanding of the Hebrew language is attitude.

[18]. Strong J. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. Crusade Bible Pub., Inc. Nashville TN. 2002 ed. All numbers in the text refer to the number system used in this reference.

[19]. Photo courtesy of: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). photo #fly00224.

[20]. Many believe that the Bible states that the seasons began at the creation week. This is incorrect. This is based on a faulty understanding of Genesis 1:14. The seasons actually began after the Noachian flood.

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons (mowed), and for day and years." (Genesis 1:14)

The word translated seasons in this verse is the Hebrew word mowed which means appointments. In Leviticus 23:2, 4 the word translated feasts is the same word—mowed. The sun, moon, and stars were used to develop chronological systems, calendars, months, etc. on which the observance of the feasts (God's appointments) were based.

Leviticus 23:1-2, 4 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts (mowed) of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts (mowed)…These are the feasts (mowed) of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times (mowed) [KJV-proclaim in their seasons (mowed)].

[21]. The New International Versions has an interesting marginal note for verse two and translates this verse as follows:

Genesis 1:2 Now the earth wasa formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters (a or possibly became—marginal note).

[22]. There are other reasons for belief in the gap of verse two. These reasons include the context of the rest of the scriptures and a proper understanding of where Satan and the angelic world fit in historically and chronologically. These reasons are examined in other parts of this paper.

[23]. All Hebrew words and definitions are from: Brown F. Driver S. Briggs C. Hebrew and English Lexicon. Reprint edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Peabody, MA. 1996.

All Greek words and definitions are from: Thayer, Joseph H. Thayer Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong's Concordance Numbers. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. Peabody, MA. 1996.

Written by: Arnold Mendez
Visit Arnold's site dedicated to Creation and related topics.