Prelude to preparing the land—Genesis 1.2

"Now the land was an uninhabitable wasteland, covered with water and thick darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." (Gen 1.2)

After making the bold declaration that it was God and God alone who brought this world we know, the earth surrounded by skies, into existence, the author of Genesis tells how the God of creation provided a good land where his creatures might live in his blessing.

The author's focus changes at Gen 1.2. Verse 1, in clear and concise terms, proclaims that God created the entire universe, terrestrial and ethereal. Now, in verse 2, his attention turns to a specific land, the land that God prepared for his people. English versions obscure this by translating the Hebrew word as "earth." However, the focus here is on something much more specific.

It is the Promised Land that is in view beginning at 1.2. As we will see in further studies, the "land" of 1.2 is described in Genesis 2 as the garden God formed in Eden.

The uninhabitable land. As an introduction to the seven-day scheme of Gen 1, the author describes what the land was like before God prepared it for humankind. It was, as we have translated, "an uninhabitable wasteland." This phrase translates two Hebrew words often rendered, "waste and void."

Throughout the history of Biblical interpretation, the understanding of these words has mirrored the scientific concepts believed in the interpreter's day. When Greek cosmology held sway, this phrase was interpreted to refer to a formless mass of chaos, which was then organized into cosmos by the creative acts of God. Today, scientifically savvy readers might picture the Earth in its primordial condition—with an evolving atmosphere of swirling gases over a surface of molten magma.

However, the original author of Genesis could not have had such concepts or images in mind. Furthermore, interpretations that reflect these scientific viewpoints take the perspective that the author is talking about Planet Earth in these verses. But he had no such global concept. Instead, he is now looking at the Land, the terrestrial space that God gave to his people where they might live.

Therefore, the phrase tohu wabohu in Gen 1.2 refers to a land that is unprepared for human life, uninhabitable, not "formless and empty." In other Biblical passages this phrase is used in context with the wilderness or desert, the place that did not welcome human settlement and cultivation.

Of course, this would have resonated with the original readers, who had just spent forty years wandering in the wilderness of Sinai and were about to enter a Promised Land prepared for them by God. The original condition of the land described in Gen 1.2 was like the wilderness, but God transformed it into the "good" land. In fact, the word "good" forms a continual refrain through Gen 1. It is interesting to note that, in Hebrew, this is the word "tob," which sounds very much like the word for "waste"—"tohu." Gen 1 is about how God turned the wasteland into the good land, from "tohu" to "tob."

In the text, we read why the land was uninhabitable—it was covered with water and darkness. In order for God to make this land "good," the waters would have to be removed, and the light would need to break through the darkness. Once again, these words would have spoken meaningfully to those who had seen God part the Red Sea and lead them by a pillar of fire. God leads his people to the Promised Land by overcoming the waters and the darkness.

The Spirit of God. The first part of Gen 1.2 paints a bleak picture of an uninhabitable land. However, hope appears with the presence of God's Spirit—"And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." "The Spirit" pictures the Divine Presence at the ready to act upon the wasteland in transformational power.

This phrase can also be understood as "a wind from God," or "a mighty wind." Though the idea of "wind" might be appropriate, bringing to the Israelites' minds the mighty wind that divided the Red Sea, "Spirit of God" is a better translation here. The word "hovering" does not reflect the activity of wind; it is used in the Torah to describe birds hovering or brooding over their young. Here, it likewise portrays the active presence of a personal Being.

In his commentary, John Sailhamer points out that God's Spirit is present at the beginning of God's building project just as he was present upon Bezalel when he began the construction of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31.1-5). In both texts, the Spirit prepares the place where God will meet with man and bestow his blessing.

To summarize: at some point after "the beginning," God prepared to form a land where he could provide a home for human beings. That land was at first in uninhabitable condition, covered with water and thick darkness. But God was there. His Spirit was watching over the land and preparing to act. Soon God would speak his powerful word, break through the darkness, part the waters, and change the wilderness into a good land of blessing for his people.

As the introduction to Israel's Torah, nothing could be more appropriate. The God of the whole world is also the God who was preparing to lead them out of the uninhabitable wilderness into the good Land of Promise.