There has long been a dispute between Bible believing Christians and scientists regarding the age of the earth. Scientists have dated the formation of the earth to many millions of years ago, while many Christians believe the earth was created just barely over six thousand years ago, according to Genesis chapter one. The truth is that both science and the Bible are right. The confusion comes in with the translation of the Hebrew vocabulary into English and other languages.
The Hebrew language is actually a complicated algorithm. Hebrew words can have multiple meanings, including both positive and negative connotations, depending on the scripture. This makes it difficult to translate. Let’s look at Genesis 1:1-2 and analyze the words that are used in the original Hebrew.
Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
We know God creates everything in perfection, so what happened between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2? How did a perfect heaven and earth become so desolate? This discrepancy is known as the gap theory. Something happened between the perfect creation in verse one, and the empty, ruined state of the earth in verse two. We are not told specifically what happened, nor are we told how many years were in between these two verses. What many Christians see as the account of creation that follows these two verses is actually the re-creation of the earth. Even though we do not know exactly what happened we are given the mystery of part of what happened encoded in the Hebrew words. To understand this we need to look at the Hebrew meanings of these words.
Genesis 1:2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
“Was” H1961: to exist, to be or become, to come into being, to happen, to occur (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary).
“Without Form” H8414: that which is empty or unreal (of idols), wasteland, place of chaos, vain, vanity, confusion. From an unused root meaning to lie waste.
“Void” H922: An undistinguishable ruin, emptiness, waste.
“Darkness” H2822: misery, destruction, death, ignorance, sorrow, wickedness.
Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon: Darkness = A dark place, as of Hades, an underground prison, treasures of darkness, hid in darkness in underground cells, destruction, ignorance, wickedness, sadness, death.
‘Face’ in Strong’s Concordance H6440: face, face (of seraphim or cherubim), countenance, person.
“Deep” H8415: depths, deep places, abyss, sea, subterranian waters, abyss, the grave.
“Moved” H7363: Shake, move, Jeremiah 23:9 (bones of one appalled).
“Upon” H5921: above, beyond, over (of excess), above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence), against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect).
“Waters” H4325: water, water of the feet, urine, semen, of danger, violence, transitory things, refreshment.
A breakdown of these words reveals something very different from what most people think.
The earth was (became) without form (a wasteland, a place of chaos, vanity and confusion, 1 Cor 14:33 God is not the author of confusion), and void (an undistinguishable ruin); and darkness (misery, destruction, ignorance, wickedness, Hades, with underground cells, treasures of darkness, sadness and death) was upon the face (face of the cherubim [Lucifer]) of the deep (abyss, grave). And the Spirit of God moved (to shake, as the bones of one appalled) upon (of excess against) the face (of the cherubim, Lucifer) of the waters (violence, semen [genetics]).
Now let’s remove the original English words and look at the Hebrew meaning of verse two:
The earth became a wasteland, a place of chaos, vanity and confusion, and an undistinguishable ruin; and misery, destruction, ignorance, wickedness, Hades, with underground cells, treasures of darkness, sadness and death was upon the face of the cherubim [Lucifer] of the abyss, or grave. And the Spirit of God shook, as the bones of one appalled, with excess, against the cherubim [Lucifer] of violence, with semen [genetics, also corrupted genes].
From the description above, a very different image of Genesis 1:1-2 emerges, which gives validity to the ‘Gap Theory.’ For Christians we need to look at the original Hebrew/Greek words and do some deeper study. Then, instead of arguing with scientists and appearing ignorant to them, come along side of them and explain how the Bible supports their findings. With this information we can build bridges, and open a door for intelligent dialogues.