ምዕራፍ 1

በመጀመሪያ እግዚአብሔር ሰማይንና ምድርን ፈጠረ።
2 ፤ ምድርም ባዶ ነበረች፥ አንዳችም አልነበረባትም፤ ጨለማም በጥልቁ ላይ ነበረ፤ የእግዚአብሔርም መንፈስ በውኃ ላይ ሰፍፎ ነበር።
3 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም። ብርሃን ይሁን ኣለ፤ ብርሃንም ሆነ።
4 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ብርሃኑ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ፤ እግዚብሔርም ብርሃንንና ጨለማን ለየ።
5 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ብርሃኑን ቀን ብሎ ጠራው፥ ጨለማውንም ሌሊት አለው። ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ አንድ ቀን።
6 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም። በውኆች መካከል ጠፈር ይሁን፥ በውኃና በውኃ መካከልም ይክፈል አለ።
7 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ጠፈርን አደረገ፥ ከጠፈር በታችና ከጠፈር በላይ ያሉትንም ውኆች ለየ፤ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
8 ፤ እግዚአብሔር ጠፈርን ሰማይ ብሎ ጠራው። ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ ሁለተኛ ቀን።
9 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም። ከሰማይ በታች ያለው ውኃ በአንድ ስፍራ ይሰብሰብ፥ የብሱም ይገለጥ አለ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
10 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም የብሱን ምድር ብሎ ጠራው፤ የውኃ መከማቻውንም ባሕር አለው፤ እግዚእብሔርም ያ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ።
11 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም። ምድር ዘርን የሚሰጥ ሣርንና ቡቃያን በምድርም ላይ እንደ ወገኑ ዘሩ ያለበትን ፍሬን የሚያፈራ ዛፍን ታብቅል አለ፤ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
12 ፤ ምድርም ዘርን የሚሰጥ ሣርንና ቡቃያን እንደ ወገኑ ዘሩም ያለበትን ፍሬን የሚያፈራ ዛፍን እንደ ወገኑ አበቀለች። እግዚአብሔርም ያ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ።
13 ፤ ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ ሦስተኛ ቀን።
14 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም አለ። ቀንና ሌሊትን ይለዩ ዘንድ ብርሃናት በሰማይ ጠፈር ይሁኑ፤ ለምልክቶች ለዘመኖች ለዕለታት ለዓመታትም ይሁኑ፤
15 ፤ በምድር ላይ ያበሩ ዘንድ በሰማይ ጠፈር ብርሃናት ይሁኑ፤ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
16 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ሁለት ታላላቆች ብርሃናትን አደረገ፤ ትልቁ ብርሃን በቀን እንዲሠለጥን፥ ትንሹም ብርሃን በሌሊት እንዲሰለጥን፤ ከዋክብትንም ደግሞ አደረገ።
17 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም በምድር ላይ ያበሩ ዘንድ በሰማይ ጠፈር አኖራቸው፤
18 ፤ በቀንም በሌሊትም እንዲሠለጥኑ፥ ብርሃንንና ጨለማንም እንዲለዩ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ያ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ።
19 ፤ ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ አራተኛ ቀን።
20 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም አለ። ውኃ ሕያው ነፍስ ያላቸውን ተንቀሳቃሾች ታስገኝ፥ ወፎችም ከምድር በላይ ከሰማይ ጠፈር በታች ይብረሩ።
21 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ታላላቆች አንበሪዎችን፥ ውኃይቱ እንደ ወገኑ ያስገኘቻቸውንም ተንቀሳቃሾቹን ሕያዋን ፍጥረታት ሁሉ፥ እንደ ወገኑ የሚበሩትንም ወፎች ሁሉ ፈጠረ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ያ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ።
22 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም እንዲህ ብሎ ባረካቸው። ብዙ ተባዙም የባሕርንም ውኃ ሙሉአት፤ ወፎችም በምድር ላይ ይብዙ።
23 ፤ ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ አምስተኛ ቀን።
24 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም አለ። ምድር ሕያዋን ፍጥረታትን እንደ ወገኑ፥ እንስሳትንና ተንቀሳቃሾችን የምድር አራዊትንም እንደ ወገኑ፥ ታውጣ፤ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
25 ፤ እግዚአብሔር የምድር አራዊትን እንደ ወገኑ አደረገ፥ እንስሳውንም እንደ ወገኑ፥ የመሬት ተንቀሳቃሾችንም እንደ ወገኑ አደረገ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ያ መልካም እንደ ሆነ አየ።
26 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም አለ። ሰውን በመልካችን እንደ ምሳሌአችን እንፍጠር፤ የባሕር ዓሦችንና የሰማይ ወፎችን፥ እንስሳትንና ምድርን ሁሉ፥ በምድር ላይ የሚንቀሳቀሱትንም ሁሉ ይግዙ።
27 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ሰውን በመልኩ ፈጠረ፤ በእግዚአብሔር መልክ ፈጠረው፤ ወንድና ሴት አድርጎ ፈጠራቸው።
28 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ባረካቸው፥ እንዲህም አላቸው። ብዙ፥ ተባዙ፥ ምድርንም ሙሉአት፥ ግዙአትም፤ የባሕርን ዓሦችና የሰማይን ወፎች በምድር ላይ የሚንቀሳቀሱትንም ሁሉ ግዙአቸው።
29 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም አለ። እነሆ መብል ይሆናችሁ ዘንድ በምድር ፊት ሁሉ ላይ ዘሩ በእርሱ ያለውን ሐመልማል ሁሉ፥ የዛፍን ፍሬ የሚያፈራውንና ዘር ያለውንም ዛፍ ሁሉ ሰጠኋችሁ፤
30 ፤ ለምድርም አራዊት ሁሉ፥ ለሰማይም ወፎች ሁሉ፥ ሕያው ነፍስ ላላቸው ለምድር ተንቀሳቃሾችም ሁሉ የሚበቅለው ሐመልማል ሁሉ መብል ይሁንላቸው፤ እንዲሁም ሆነ።
31 ፤ እግዚአብሔርም ያደረገውን ሁሉ አየ፥ እነሆም እጅግ መልካም ነበረ። ማታም ሆነ ጥዋትም ሆነ፥ ስድስተኛ ቀን።

Chapter 1

First, God created the heavens and the earth.
2 ; And the earth was empty, and had nothing; And darkness was upon the deep; And the Spirit of God was upon the waters.
3 ; And God. Let there be light. And there was light.
4 ; God saw that the light was good. And God divided light and darkness.
5 ; And God called the light day, and the darkness night. Be it night or morning, one day.
6 ; And God. He said, Let there be space between the waters, and let it be divided between the waters.
7 ; And God made the firmament, and divided the waters under the firmament and the waters above the firmament; And so it happened.
8 ; God called space heaven. And it was night and morning, and it was the second day.
9 ; And God. Let the waters under the sky be gathered together in one place, and let the water be revealed, and it was.
10 ; And God called it the land of the land. And the sea has its reservoir of water. And God saw that it was good.
11 ; And God. He said, “The earth will bring forth seed-bearing grass and sprouts, and on the earth a tree bearing fruit with its seed in it.” And so it happened.
12 ; And the earth brought forth grass yielding seed, and sprouts according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit containing seed, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good.
13 ; It was night and morning, the third day.
14 ; And there is God. Let there be lights in the sky to separate the day from the night. Be it for signs, for ages, for days, for years;
15 ; Let them be lights in heaven to shine on earth. And so it happened.
16 ; And God made two great lights; Let the greater light be trained by day, and the lesser light by night; He also made the stars.
17 ; And God made a space in the sky to shine on the earth.
18 ; That they may be trained by day and by night, and that they may distinguish between light and darkness; And God saw that it was good.
19 ; Whether it was night or morning, it was the fourth day.
20 ; And there is God. Let the waters bring forth living creatures, and let the birds fly above the earth and under the firmament of the heavens.
21 ; And God created great birds, all the living creatures that the water brought forth according to their kind, and all the birds that fly according to their kind; And God saw that it was good.
22 ; And God blessed them with this. They multiplied and filled the waters of the sea. And let birds multiply on the earth.
23 ; Whether it was night or morning, it was the fifth day.
24 ; And there is God. Let the earth bring forth the living creatures according to their kind, the animals and the beasts of the earth according to their kind; And so it happened.
25 ; God made the beasts of the earth according to his kind, and the animals according to his kind, and the moving things of the earth according to his kind; And God saw that it was good.
26 ; And there is God. Let us create man in our likeness; Rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, the animals and all the earth, and everything that moves on the earth.
27 ; God created man in his image. He created him in the image of God. He created them male and female.
28 ; God blessed them and said to them: Many, multiply, and fill the earth, conquer it; Rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and everything that moves on the earth.
29 ; And there is God. Behold, I have given you every herb that has seed in it, and every tree that bears fruit and has seed, to be food for you.
30; And for all the beasts of the earth, and for all the birds of the air, for every living thing that has a living soul, and for everything that moves on the earth, every herb that grows will be food for them. And so it happened.
31 ; And God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good. Whether it was night or morning, it was the sixth day.

The Creation Narrative: A Journey Through Genesis Chapter 1 (Ethiopian Bible)

The creation story in Genesis 1 from the Ethiopian Bible is a profound narrative that lays the foundation of existence, emphasizing God’s sovereignty, creativity, and purpose. This post explores the text verse by verse, providing insights, a timeline, study guides, and reflections on the broader implications of this divine account.

Timeline of Creation Events

Day 1: The Beginning of Light

God creates the heavens and the earth, described as formless, empty, and cloaked in darkness.
With the command, “Let there be light,” light pierces the void.
God separates light (day) from darkness (night), marking the completion of the first day.

Day 2: Formation of the Sky

God establishes a firmament, separating the waters above (heavens) from those below.
He names this expanse “heaven.”

Day 3: Land and Vegetation

The waters gather, revealing dry land, named “earth,” and the waters, called “seas.”
God commands the earth to sprout vegetation, yielding seed-bearing plants and fruit trees.

Day 4: Creation of Celestial Bodies

God creates the sun to govern the day, the moon for the night, and the stars.
These celestial bodies mark time and seasons.

Day 5: Marine Life and Birds

The waters teem with living creatures, and the skies fill with birds.
God blesses them to multiply and fill their respective domains.

Day 6: Land Animals and Humanity

God creates land animals of various kinds.
Humanity is created in God’s image, male and female, and granted dominion over the earth.
God provides seed-bearing plants and fruit trees for food for humans and animals.

Day 7: Divine Rest

While not detailed in this section, the seventh day traditionally signifies God resting, sanctifying the day as holy.

Key Themes and Reflections

1. Order from Chaos:
Genesis begins with the earth as formless and void, but God’s spoken word brings structure and purpose, underscoring His sovereignty over all creation.

2. The Goodness of Creation:
Repeatedly, God declares His creations “good.” This refrain emphasizes the inherent value and purpose in everything God creates.

3. Humanity in God’s Image:
The creation of humans is unique. Being made in God’s image confers dignity, rationality, and moral responsibility, positioning humans as stewards of the earth.

4. Harmony in Provision:
God provides for all creatures, ensuring harmony in creation. Plants serve as sustenance for both humans and animals.

Study Guide

Short Answer Questions

What was the earth’s condition before creation began?
How does light play a foundational role in creation?
What is the significance of the firmament?
Why were the celestial bodies created, according to Genesis?
How does humanity’s creation differ from other creatures?

Answers

The earth was formless, void, and covered in darkness.
Light marks the introduction of order and the separation of day from night.
The firmament separates waters above and below, creating the sky.
They mark time, seasons, days, and years, and provide light for the earth.
Humanity is created in God’s image with dominion over creation.

Essay Questions

Analyze the recurring phrase, “And it was good.” How does this reflect God’s relationship with His creation?
Compare the creation of humans in Genesis to other cultural creation myths. What unique aspects emerge?
Discuss the implications of humanity’s dominion over creation. How does this balance authority with responsibility?

Glossary

Firmament: The expanse of sky separating waters above (heavens) from those below (seas).
Dominion: Authority granted to humans to oversee and care for creation.
Image of God: The divine likeness that endows humanity with unique attributes such as reason, creativity, and moral awareness.
Seed-bearing Plants: Plants that reproduce through seeds, serving as food for humans and animals.

Reflection on Humanity’s Role

The Ethiopian Bible’s account of humanity’s creation in God’s image introduces profound responsibilities:

Stewardship: Humanity is tasked with caring for creation, ensuring its sustainability.
Relationship with God: Being made in God’s image fosters a unique connection between the Creator and humanity.
Moral Responsibility: Dominion implies accountability, as humanity must act in harmony with God’s intentions.

Conclusion

Genesis 1 is not just an origin story but a declaration of divine authority, creativity, and intentionality. It calls readers to marvel at the order and beauty of creation and reflect on humanity’s role as stewards of God’s masterpiece. The Ethiopian Bible’s rich narrative offers timeless wisdom, guiding believers in their relationship with God, creation, and one another.