Moses and The Beginning

Most of you probably know that Moses was the author of the book of Genesis. However have you ever tried to visualize what is being narrated to you from the eyes of the author?

Genesis (1:1-2) "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 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."

Let us purely look at this from a humans point of view standing ocean side.

If we saw above us the sky, and we knew that God was in the sky, then would we not refer to the sky as heaven? If like other religions that came before Judaism many believed that gods walked in the clouds. Since not all clouds are connected, one could assume that there are multiple heavens in the sky. Most paintings depict God in the clouds, so this isn't hard to believe.

The earth part is easy enough to believe in since it would be right under our feet.

Next you have to imagine the world without hills and valleys, because Moses tells us it was without form, or virtually flat.

There was no vegetation, trees, people, cattle, etcetera on the Earth at this time, and this is why Moses also describes the land as void.

We are standing ocean-side just before the dawn of the first day, hence Moses' reason for saying that darkness was over the face of the deep.

Once the Sun started to peak over the edge of the world and come into view it would rise out over the water. This is why the author makes the last reference saying that the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. Some Sol religions that existed before Judaism often referred to the light of the Sun as a warming spirit. So it is not hard to believe that Moses' could use a similar metaphor.

Remember not only did Moses' have to write about the images that God was showing him, he had to write them in the Pop Culture format of the time. This is why I personally don't find it hard to believe that Moses would have borrowed upon meanings that would allow readers of the time to more easily understand what he was describing to them.

The only question I have, and you should have too at this point is, "Where did the water come from?" In the future I hope to tackle this question.