The Creation Story

14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years,

15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so.

16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars.

Chullin 60b:2

Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: "And God made the two great lights" (Gen 1:16), and it is also written in the same verse: "The greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night," indicating that only one was great. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi explains: When God first created the sun and the moon, they were equally bright. Then, the moon said before the Holy One, blessed be he: Master of the universe, is it possible for two kings to serve with one crown? One of us must be subservient to the other. God therefore said to her, i.e., the moon: If so, go and diminish yourself.

17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth,

18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens."

21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."

Rashi

And . . . blessed them—Because people decimate them and hunt them and eat them, they required a blessing; and the beasts also required a blessing, but because the serpent was destined to be cursed, he did not bless them, lest he the serpent be included.

And multiply—If he had said only, "Be fruitful," one would beget one and no more. "And multiply" was therefore said so that one could beget many.

23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds." And it was so.

25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Rashi

And . . . made—He fixed them in their complete form, and in their full stature.

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

God provides purpose (Seedtime & Harvest: The Inevitability of an Abundant Future Is in the Seed)

From the beginning, God entrusted man with the responsibility of taking care of his creation. When God gave Adam and Eve the charge to have dominion over every living thing, it was a blessing—not a burden or job description. His purpose was to bless them. This is true for us today. God has a specific purpose for each of us. We don’t go to work just to get our job done. We work to fulfill God’s purpose for us. Knowing that your work is a blessing from God and is meant to fulfill his purpose for your life, how does this change your attitude towards it?

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

And God blessed them—The man and the woman he had made, with all the blessings of nature and foresight; with all the good things of life; with his presence, and with communion with himself in a natural way, through the creatures; and particularly with a power of procreating their species, as follows.

And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”—If this is not an express command, as the Jews understand it, for marriage and procreation of children, it seems to be more than a bare permission; at least it is a direction and an advice to what was proper and convenient for the increase of mankind, and for the filling of the earth with inhabitants, which was the end of its being made (Isa 45:18). This shows that marriage is an ordinance of God, instituted in paradise, and is honourable; and that procreation is a natural action, and might have been, and may be performed without sin.

And subdue it—The earth; not that it was in the hands of others, who had no right to it, and to be conquered and taken out of their hands; but is to be understood of their taking possession, and making use of it; of their tilling the land, and making it subservient to their use.

And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the face of the earth—Which was giving them a universal and unlimited dominion over all the creatures; of which see an enumeration in Psa 8:6-8.

Mishneh Torah, Marriage 15:1

It is permissible for a woman to authorize her husband to ignore her conjugal rights. When does this apply? When he has children already and has fulfilled the commandment to be fruitful and multiply. If, however, he has not fulfilled the commandment of being fruitful and multiplying, he is obligated to engage in sexual relations whenever his conjugal duties require, until he fathers children. For this is a positive commandment of the law, as Gen 1:28 states: "Be fruitful and multiply."

29 And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food.

God provides perpetually (Seedtime & Harvest: The Inevitability of an Abundant Future Is in the Seed)

God assured Adam and Eve that his provision was already there even before they asked for it. If he provided in the beginning, he is able to provide at all times, and until the end of time. Gen 1:12 tells us that God filled the earth with plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. God’s provision was not just for their current need but for their future need, and not just for them but for all earth’s inhabitants, which he told them to produce. The seeds ensure God’s continuous provision. We can be confident and secure that God’s provision for us will never run out. In what ways has God shown you and your family his continuous provision?

John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible

And God said—That is, to Adam and Eve, whom he had made in his image and likeness, and to whom he had given the dominion of the earth and sea, and all things in them.

Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth—Every plant which had a seed in it, by which it sowed itself again; or being taken off, might be sown by man, even everyone that was wholesome, healthful, and nourishing, without any exception; whatever grew in any part of the earth, be it where it would.

And every tree with seed in its fruit—All but the tree of knowledge, of good and evil, afterwards excepted; and both these take in all kind of vegetables, all herbs, plants, roots, even corn, wheat, barley, pease, beans and the various fruits of all sorts of trees, but that before mentioned.

You shall have them for food—Which is generally thought to be the food of the antediluvians, it not being proper, at least very soon, to kill any of the animals, until they were multiplied and increased, lest their species should be destroyed; though here is no prohibition of eating flesh; nor is it said that this only should be for food, which is before mentioned; and by the early employment of some in keeping sheep, and by the sacrifice of creatures immediately after the fall, part of which used to be eaten by the offerers; and by the distinction of clean and unclean creatures before the flood, it looks probable that flesh might be eaten: and Bochart refers this clause to what goes before in the preceding verse, as well as to what is in this, and takes the sense to be, that the fishes of the sea, and fowls of the air, and every living creature man had dominion over, as well as herbs and fruits, were given him for his food: but the Jews are of opinion, that the first man might not eat flesh, but it was granted to the sons of Noah.

(From Rom 5:12 there was no death before Adam’s sin, hence up until at least the fall, man did not eat meat. Ed.)

The Inevitability of an Abundant Future Is in the Seed (Seedtime & Harvest)

When God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted them with a huge estate—the whole earth. They were to fill it with inhabitants, manage and cultivate it, and enjoy its fruits. Even before they became aware of their needs, God had already informed them that his provision was in place. This week, we will look at the nature of God’s provision and what it means for us today.

30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Rashi

The sixth day—Scripture added a "hey" on the sixth day, at the completion of the creation, to tell us that he stipulated with them, "you were created on the condition that Israel accept the five books of the law." The numerical value of the "hey" is five. Another explanation for "the sixth day": They the works of creation were all suspended until the "sixth day," referring to the sixth day of Sivan, which was prepared for the giving of the law. The "hey" is the definite article, alluding to the well-known sixth day, the sixth day of Sivan, when the law was given (ad loc.).

GEN 2

The Seventh Day, God Rests

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.

Rashi

And on the seventh day God finished—Rabbi Shimon said: A human being of flesh and blood, who cannot exactly know his times and his moments, must add from the profane to the holy i.e., he must add some time to the Sabbath. The Holy One, blessed be he, who knows his times and his moments exactly, entered it the Sabbath within a hairbreadth, and it therefore appeared as if he completed it his work on that day. Another explanation: What was the world lacking? Rest. The Sabbath came, and so came rest. The work was finished.