Creating and Making: The Sequel (Gen 2:4)

The Hinge

4 This is the genealogy of Sky and Earth at their being created, at the time of YHWH God’s making of Earth and Sky

אֵ֣לֶּה תוֹלְד֧וֹת הַשָּׁמַ֛יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם עֲשׂ֛וֹת יְ׳הוָ֥ה אֱלֹהִ֖ים אֶ֥רֶץ וְשָׁמָֽיִם׃

Today we get started on Gen 2:4, the verse that I am calling “the hinge.” There is plenty to talk about just in terms of translation here, but first let’s have a look at that bigger issue. What makes this verse a hinge?

I’ve already pointed out that the creation story is told in two different ways. First, there is the story of Creation Week, seven days long, that runs from Gen 1:1 to Gen 2:3. Next comes a much more unstructured version, which might start with v. 5 or with v. 4 or in the middle of v. 4. (If I don’t give a chapter number, we are in the chapter that’s being discussed, which right now is Genesis 2.) There are a number of reasons why it’s difficult to tell where Version 1 ends and Version 2 begins:

• The seventh day of the seven-day structure does not …