The beginning of the Bible is about the beginning of all things. Genesis 1:1 is the first step on the canonical journey that takes the reader to the “Amen” in Revelation 22:21. Along the way are majesty and tragedy, light and darkness, captivity and redemption.
As the opening verse of Scripture, Genesis 1:1 is simple yet profound: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” These ten words in this one sentence communicate a truth of epic proportions.
But in Hebrew the wordcount is less than ten. Genesis 1:1 contains seven Hebrew words. And you don’t even need to know Hebrew to be able to count them! Hebrew is written right to left, but you’ll get the same number of words if you count left to right.
בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
Seven can be a strategic number in Scripture, showing up in both the Old and New Testaments. It symbolizes perfection, completion. Significantly, Genesis 1:1 begins with seven Hebrew words. And the importance of the number seven is confirmed when we count the number of Hebrew words in Genesis 1:2—there are fourteen, which is 7 x 2.
The opening verse of Scripture is artfully designed, but the significance of seven extends beyond the total number of words. Add up the letters in all the words in Genesis 1:1. The total number of letters is twenty-eight, which is 7 x 4—a fourfold use of seven!
If you go right to left and divide the verse at the fourteenth letter, then there are two halves of fourteen letters that read rather perfectly.
בראשית ברא אלהים
את השמים ואת הארץ
The first group of fourteen letters (7 x 2) covers three words, and they mean “In the beginning, God created.” The second group of fourteen letters (again: 7 x 2) covers the last four words, and they mean “the heavens and the earth.”
These observations about the underlying use of seven have been noticed by students of Scripture for many years. If we ponder the use of seven as an organizing principle for Genesis 1:1, what are some takeaways? Here are four.
First, the opening verse was carefully constructed, not hastily assembled. When you start writing something, don’t you want to begin in a thoughtful way? The biblical author certainly did. Not a single word is wasted.
Second, the use of seven as an organizing principle prepares us to see such patterns in other Bible passages. Patterns are meant to be noticed, and the use of numbers can be integral to certain patterns.
Third, if the very first verse of Scripture has been carefully laid out, we might reasonably conclude that the biblical author has approached his literary work with thoughtfulness and great care. We should even expect further literary observations to confirm this posture of the biblical author.
Fourth, it is important to patiently read and reflect on the Scripture. Who would notice a series of numerical patterns the first time they read Genesis 1:1? Probably no one. But with enough time and reflection, many observations might be made that otherwise would be missed. My point isn’t that we should spend our devotional times counting words and letters in verses. My point is that we should seek to understand and behold the beauty of Scripture. And beholding takes prayerfulness and patience.
If you have a story worth reading, shouldn’t the opening words of that project be inviting and compelling? In the Greatest Story, the opening words are artfully presented for the reader. The truth is clear: God made the heavens and the earth. And the arrangement of this truth is artful, using the number seven as an organizing principle. The particular words and word order in Genesis 1:1 are the perfect way to begin!
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