A Functional View of Genesis

Introduction

In this series of articles, I have defended the idea of evolutionary creationism (See my 2nd article if you want a better understanding of what that means). In this tenth article in the series, I want to argue that Genesis 1 is a description of God making the universe function as his cosmic temple rather than about material origins.

Historical Backdrop

Walton et al (2000) states:

"An Egyptian creation text from Thebes speaks of the god Amun who evolved in the beginning, or “on the first occasion.” Egyptologists interpret this not as an abstract idea but as a reference to a first-time event.

The Enuma Elish says, “When in the height heaven was not named, And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name” (King, 1:1-2). The text does not begin from an absolute beginning point. Instead, it starts with a first-time event, as does the Egyptian text. ANE creation myths were not interested in the beginning of material existence. That being the case, what were they interested in?"

Dr. Walton (2015) argues that creation was not about bringing material into being but rather was “a process by which functions, roles, order, jurisdiction, organization and stability were established” (Walton, as cited in Erickson, 2015, section: Proposition 4). In Egyptian thought, physical objects were technically nonexistent if the object “has not yet been differentiated and assigned function. No boundaries or definitions have been established” (Walton et al, 2000, p 28). Something can exist materially but not functionally (Erickson, 2015). Naming was crucial to this process. Proven (2016) tells us that naming was “… simply part of the process by which something came into existence and was assigned a function” (Chapter 5).

Think of an abandoned building in our modern context. The building has no people in it. Sometimes, segments of the building where a window would be are closed shut by nailed pieces of wood. Other times, the glass in the window frame is destroyed, with splinters lying on the ground. The building is clearly in a state of disorder and non-functioning. It exists materially but not functionally. It has no name. However, the city can turn the building into a bustling marketplace for the townsfolk. Now it has been given a name, assigned a function, and employs workers to maintain order and function.

Textual Evidence

Genesis 1:1

It is written, “When God began to create the heavens and the earth” (NRSVUE). You will notice that this translation differs from most translations that say “in the beginning…”. There are several reasons why many scholars are moving in this direction. For brevity and simplicity, I will cite one hebraicist and reference more who argue from the Hebrew. Holmstedt (2011) states, "In a nutshell, the interpretation and translation… ‘in the beginning, …’ is grammatically indefensible. Period. End of story" (Para. 4; see also Kretov, 2024; Maklelan, 2023; Sun, 2024)

Aside from the Hebrew, there are other reasons to consider the NRSVUE rendering correct. As discussed above, ANE creation accounts do not start from an absolute beginning point. As discussed below, some ancient Jewish sources also agree with this reading. These evidences support the thesis of the analysis. The text shows its lack of concern over how all material things began to exist. Therefore, the word Create in this chapter is primarily about function and order, not material things (Erickson, 2015).

Genesis 1:14-19

Gen 1:14-19 supports the functional view that Walton and others propose. The lights function as it is written “for signs and for seasons and for days and years” (v14). The scholarly footnote of the NET states, “... the sun and the moon were important to fix the days for the seasonal celebrations for the worshiping community” (36). God points to the 7th day of the creation week to establish the observation of the sabbath (Ex 20:8-11). Accordingly, ancient Israel explained the skylights as indicating times by which they have their special days and events. Alexander (2008) comments on this passage in the ESVSB stating,

"The term made (Hb 'asah, v. 16)... Does not itself imply that they {the lights} did not exist in any form before this. Rather, the focus here is on the way in which God has ordained the sun and moon to order and define the passing of time according to his purposes. Thus the references to seasons… and days and years are probably an allusion to the appointed times and patterns in the Hebrew calendar…"

The functional view Walton and others propose has good scriptural and interpretive backing.

How Does The Universe Function?

If the functional view proposed here is correct, what is the function of the universe? The universe functions as God's cosmic temple, which God inaugurates in 7 days (Buller, 2015; Drimalla et al, 2021). The reasons for this are manifold. Creation transpires in 7 days, and temples in the ANE had 7-day

dedication ceremonies. God resting implies temple imagery. Reviewing Dr. Walton's work, Buller states, “For an ancient audience, divine rest always happens in a temple, and a temple itself is seen as a place of divine rest” (Para 2).

Second Temple Jewish Support

Much of the interpretations in this analysis are supported by second-temple Jewish writings. These writings, dating from 516 BC to 70 AD, give us examples of how the people of God interpreted their scripture before and shortly after Jesus. Here I will provide examples of various interpretations supporting this article's views. However, note that Jewish sources disagree.

Dr. Long, in his phenomenal commentary on 1 Enoch, states the following:

"In the biblical creation story, God gives order and function to the chaotic waters so that his creation is well-designed and functions as he intended… This theme of the orderliness of creation is the basis for the Book of Astronomical writings and several other sections of 1 Enoch" (p. 101)

Enoch assumes God made an ordered and functional universe, affecting the books of angelology and cosmology. Sigvartsen (2022) discusses numerous ways the creation account was interpreted and edited. In some texts, several things existed before the creation week. Notable are the Garden of Eden and hell. He argues that some reached this conclusion because of “the ambiguity in the Genesis creation narrative regarding how Genesis 1:1-2 relates to Genesis 1:3-5… some seeing support for preexisting matter, while others did not” (p. 74-75). He also argues that parallel ideas occur in the NT, although what existed before the creation week differs.

Conclusions

There are a few conclusions from the study.

There is no absolute beginning point spoken of here. Genesis 1:1 refers, “not to a point in time but to an initial period. This suggests that the beginning period is the seven days of chapter one”. Gen 1:1 begins the story at a point in which stuff already exists. That does not mean God did not make all things (Walton, 2015; Col 1:16), it just means that is not what Genesis’ inspired authors are concerned with. The views expressed in this analysis are not new-fangled attempts to sneak evolution into the Christian faith. The concepts argued here are in the scripture and many ancient Jewish sources.

People often ask if someone accepts a “literal” interpretation of Genesis. What they commonly mean is do you believe a YEC (young earth creationist) interpretation? The implication is that the YEC interpretation is the only literal interpretation on offer but this is false. For example, under the functional view, the days of Genesis 1-2 are literal 24-hour days. A literal view of the days doesn't need to be contentious as, under this view, it matters little for our views of the creation debate. In the sequel article, I will look at the genealogies in Gen 5. Are the numbers literal? Do they help us date the age of the earth?

References:

Alexander, C. (2008). Notes on Genesis 1:14. In ESV study Bible. Crossway.

Buller, D. (2015). Creation is the temple where God rests. BioLogos. Retrieved from https://biologos.org/articles/creation-is-the-temple-where-god-rests

Drimalla et al. (2021). Were Adam and Eve priests in Eden? BibleProject. Retrieved from https://bibleproject.com/articles/were-adam-and-eve-priests-eden/

Erickson, N. (2015). To function or not to function. BioLogos. Retrieved from https://biologos.org/articles/to-function-or-not-to-function

Genesis 1. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://netbible.org/bible/Genesis+1

Holmstedt, R. (2011). Genesis 1.1-3, Hebrew Grammar, and Translation. (2011, November 11). Ancient Hebrew Grammar.

https://ancienthebrewgrammar.wordpress.com/2011/11/11/genesis-1-hebrew-grammar-transla tion/

Image by Alabaster Co on Unspk

King, L. W. (2001). Enuma Elish: The Epic of Creation. Blackmask online. From http://public-library.uk/ebooks/32/54.pdf

Kretov, M. (2024). More evidence for Genesis 1:1 “when God began to create” ft. Max Kretov What Your Pastor Didn’t Tell You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iK6h3uSLtl4

Long, P. J. (2022). The Book of Enoch for Beginners: A Guide to Expand Your Understanding of the Biblical World. Callisto.

Maklelan, D. (2022). Did God create everything out of nothing? || Is the Trinity in Genesis 1? @maklelan. What Your Pastor Didn’t Tell You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spMJIsHTRo4.

Provan, I. (2016). Discovering Biblical Texts: Genesis. Eerdmans.

Sigvartsen, A. J. (2020). Creation in the Second Temple period. In T. R. Shephard (Ed.), The Genesis Creation Account and Its Reverberations in the New Testament

(pp. 71-92). Andrews University Press.

https://www.academia.edu/118758518/Creation_in_the_Second_Temple_Period

Sun, H. (2024). Why “when God began to create” translation is possible || Genesis 1:1 What Your Pastor Didn’t Tell You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNiGVd-i4aU

Walton et al. (2000). Genesis. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament. IVP Academic.

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