“Created” In The Bible
How should we understand the word “created” in the Bible? The first verb attributed to God in the Bible is the word typically translated in English Bibles as created. The New Life Version (Canby, OR: Christian Literature International, 1986) is an exception; the translators of this Bible intentionally used a limited English vocabulary to convey the meanings of the Greek and Hebrew words and phrases. Such an approach can help increase the understandability of the Bible for younger readers. Here is Genesis 1:1 in the New Life Version: “In the beginning God made from nothing the heavens and the earth.”
Finding Clarity
Clearly in this context the word means “to bring into existence.” It also can mean to shape or fashion. In other contexts it has different meanings; it can convey the ideas of cutting down or cutting out (as in Josh. 17:15,18, where the word is translated “clear” in each verse), or making fat (as in 1 Sam. 2:29). Overwhelmingly in the Old Testament, however, this Hebrew word carries the ideas of creating, created, and Creator.
The Hebrew word translated created in Genesis 1:1 appears a total of 53 times in the Old Testament. Seven of these are in the first two chapters of Genesis, and of these seven, three appearances occur in Genesis 1:27: “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female.” The same word can be found three times in Isaiah 45:7-8 and twice each of these verses: Genesis 5:2; Isaiah 45:18 (Creator, create); 65:18 (creating, create). We should remember that chapter and verse divisions in the Bible were added centuries after the biblical text was written; still, it is interesting when we see one word appear multiple times in a brief portion of Scripture.
Let’s return to consider Genesis 1:1 once more. While a great deal of information is packed into the phrase “In the beginning God,” we learn still more about God from this verb translated created. It indicates that God is inventive, imaginative, innovative, and visionary. It reinforces God’s authority and independence, divine traits the initial phrase in the verse (translated in English as “In the beginning God”) already had conveyed. Finally, the verb created emphasizes that God is the great Initiator. We can be thankful that He is.
B. Nathaniel Sullivan
Christian educator, Bible teacher, and Editor
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in SundaySchoolZone.com materials are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
