Word For the Day Genesis 1:2 (KJV)

1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

COMMENTARY: 1:2 Without form, and void (Heb. tohu wabohu, "uniformed and unfilled") describes the condition of earth after the initial act of Creation. It does not describe a chaotic condition as a result of judgment. Thus was (Heb. hayetah) is correct and should not be translated became. How the earth became formed and filled is described in verses 3-31. Darkness is not always a symbol of evil (cf. Ps. 104:19-24). Here it simply refers to the absence of light. Deep refers to the waters covering the earth, not some primitive cosmogony. The Spirit of God is a clear reference to the creative activity of the Holy Spirit. John 1:3 indicates that Christ actually created all things for the Father. Thus, all three persons of the Trinity are active in the Creation. This undoubtedly accounts for the plural pronouns us and our in verse 26 which take singular verbs in expressing the tri-unity of God.