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Manuscript Type
Article
Abstract (For book reviews see instructions below)
While Genesis 1 indicates the first Creation workday was foundational and unique, there is scholarly disagreement about when the first day commences in the text. This paper summarizes and evaluates the various scholarly positions on the commencement of the first day and analyzes the structural form of the text to evaluate the strengths of each position. Examination of the Gen 1:1–5 structure supports the conclusion that it is a cohesive unit describing the first day. This paper identifies weaknesses in evidence that has been advanced in support of separating Gen 1:1–2 from the creation week. Using a structural analysis based on a work correspondence, an apologia for the position that the first day commences from v.1 is provided. Also provided is biblical evidence that the merism “the heavens and the .subspace cosmic a as regarded best is) אֵ ֥ ת הַ ּׁשָ מַ ֖ יִם וְ אֵ ֥ ת הָ אָ ֽ רֶ ץ) “earth The conclusion of this paper is that Gen 1:1–5 is best understood as an account of two creation projects: (1) a cosmic subspace, identified as the human universe, and (2) light, both of which were created during the first day of the creation week.
Recommended Citation
Ostring, Sven Andrew Mark.
"An Apologia for an Earlier Commencement for Day 1 of Creation: A Structural Analysis Based on a Work Correspondence."
Andrews University Seminary Studies (AUSS)
59.1
(2021):
7-34.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/auss/vol59/iss1/1
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