From the first verse of Genesis on, the care taken in preserving the precise wording of the Bible – and later by Christian scribes down through the many years of transcription – has been truly remarkable!
The first verse of the Bible, for example, is loaded with meaning. “Barashet (In the beginning) bara (created) Elohim (God) et Hashamayim (the heavens) vet (and) Haretz (the earth)” (Genesis 1:1). The Hebrew word for God in this first verse, for example, is understood as singular in meaning though plural in form (with the “im” ending). This is a mystery revealed fully in the triune God.
And note there are exactly seven Hebrew words that make the summary creation statement of the first verse of the Bible. While six of these words actually do the work of the statement, the seventh word just “rests”. Here, then, within the very first verse lies a beautiful divine metaphor. The seven days of God’s original creation establishes our seven-day week, six days of which are working days and the seventh day a day of rest. This seventh Hebrew word which rests from the work of the statement is “et” in the middle of the verse (frequently a place of emphasis in biblical Hebrew), and it is rather odd for being included in Genesis 1:1. Its presence can be for punctuation, but the sentence would work fine without it.
The Hebrew word “et” is formed from the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet – the aleph and the tau. This is the Hebrew equivalent of “Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last”. It is what Jesus Christ says He is in the last chapter of the last book of the Bible – in Revelation 22:13. Furthermore, the Bible says that Jesus is our “faith-rest” (Hebrews 4:1-4) because the Sabbath rest from the work of redemption was completed in Christ on the cross when Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Thus, the “et” in Genesis 1:1 is quite arguably a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ in multiple marvelous ways!
– Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman
Photo: Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1 is to be read from right to left. 717
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