Exodus Chapter 21
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
1
And when they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mount.
2
And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel:
3
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
4
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine:
5
and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
6
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him.
7
And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah.
8
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and may also believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto Jehovah.
9
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to-day and to-morrow, and let them wash their garments,
10
and be ready against the third day; for the third day Jehovah will come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai.
11
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:
12
no hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, he shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
13
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people, and sanctified the people; and they washed their garments.
14
And he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come not near a woman.
15
And it came to pass on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of a trumpet exceeding loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled.
16
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
17
And mount Sinai, the whole of it, smoked, because Jehovah descended upon it in fire; and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
18
And when the voice of the trumpet waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
19
And Jehovah came down upon mount Sinai, to the top of the mount: and Jehovah called Moses to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
20
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto Jehovah to gaze, and many of them perish.
21
And let the priests also, that come near to Jehovah, sanctify themselves, lest Jehovah break forth upon them.
22
And Moses said unto Jehovah, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou didst charge us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
23
And Jehovah said unto him, Go, get thee down; and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people break through to come up unto Jehovah, lest he break forth upon them.
24
So Moses went down unto the people, and told them.
25
And God spake all these words, saying,
26
I am Jehovah thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
27
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
28
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness
29
of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
30
thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I Jehovah thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me,
31
and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.
32
Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
33
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
34
Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work;
35
but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God:
36
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
And these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them.
2
If thou buy a Hebrew bondman, six years shall he serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3
If he came in alone, he shall go out alone: if he had a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.
4
If his master have given him a wife, and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out alone.
5
But if the bondman shall say distinctly, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go free;
6
then his master shall bring him before the judges, and shall bring him to the door, or to the door-post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall be his bondman for ever.
7
And if a man shall sell his daughter as a handmaid, she shall not go out as the bondmen go out.
8
If she is unacceptable in the eyes of her master, who had taken her for himself, then shall he let her be ransomed: to sell her unto a foreign people he hath no power, after having dealt unfaithfully with her.
9
And if he have appointed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the law of daughters.
10
If he take himself another, her food, her clothing, and her conjugal rights he shall not diminish.
11
And if he do not these three things unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
12
He that striketh a man, so that he die, shall certainly be put to death.
13
But if he have not lain in wait, andGod have delivered [him] into his hand, I will appoint thee a place to which he shall flee.
14
But if a man act wantonly toward his neighbour, and slay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die.
15
And he that striketh his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.
16
And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall certainly be put to death.
17
And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall certainly be put to death.
18
And if men dispute, and one strike the other with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but take to [his] bed,
19
— if he rise, and walk abroad upon his staff, then shall he that struck [him] be guiltless; only he shall pay [for] the loss of his time, and shall cause [him] to be thoroughly healed.
20
And if a man strike his bondman or his handmaid with a staff, and he die under his hand, he shall certainly be avenged.
21
Only, if he continue [to live] a day or two days, he shall not be avenged; for he is his money.
22
And if men strive together, and strike a woman with child, so that she be delivered, and no mischief happen, he shall in any case be fined, according as the woman's husband shall impose on him, and shall give it as the judges estimate.
23
But if mischief happen, then thou shalt give life for life,
24
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25
branding for branding, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26
And if a man strike the eye of his bondman or the eye of his handmaid, and it be marred, he shall let him go for his eye.
27
And if he knock out his bondman's tooth or his handmaid's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth.
28
And if an ox gore a man or a woman, so that they die, then the ox shall certainly be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be guiltless.
29
But if the ox have gored heretofore, and it have been testified to its owner, and he have not kept it in, and it kill a man or a woman, — the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
30
If there be imposed on him a satisfaction, then he shall give the ransom of his life, according to what is imposed on him.
31
Whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done to him.
32
If the ox gore a bondman or a handmaid, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned.
33
— And if a man open a pit, or if a man dig a pit, and do not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall into it,
34
the owner of the pit shall make it good, shall give money to the owner of them; and the dead [ox] shall be his.
35
— And if one man's ox gore his neighbour's ox, and it die, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the money thereof, and divide the dead also.
36
Or if it be known that the ox have gored heretofore, and its owner have not kept him in, he shall in any case restore ox for ox; and the dead shall be his.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And these [are] the ordinances which thou shalt set before them.
2
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years shall he serve thee, and in the seventh year he shall go forth free for nothing.
3
If he should have come in alone, he shall also go forth alone; and if his wife should have gone in together with him, his wife also shall go out.
4
Moreover, if his master give him a wife, and she have [born] him sons or daughters, the wife and the children shall be his master's; and he shall go forth alone.
5
And if the servant should answer and say, I love my master and wife and children, I will not go away free;
6
his master shall bring him to the judgment-seat of God, and then shall he bring him to the door,—to the door-post, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
7
And if any one sell his daughter as a domestic, she shall not depart as the maid-servants depart.
8
If she be not pleasing to her master, after she has betrothed herself to him, he shall let her go free; but he is not at liberty to sell her to a foreign nation, because he has trifled with her.
9
And if he should have betrothed her to his son, he shall do to her according to the right of daughters.
10
And if he take another to himself, he shall not deprive her of necessaries and her apparel, and her companionship [with him].
11
And if he will not do these three things to her, she shall go out free without money.
12
And if any man smite another and he die, let him be certainly put to death.
13
But as for him that did it not willingly, but God delivered him into his hands, I will give thee a place whither the slayer may flee.
14
And if any one lie in wait for his neighbour to slay him by craft, and he go for refuge, thou shalt take him from my altar to put him to death.
15
Whoever smites his father or his mother, let him be certainly put to death.
16
He that reviles his father or his mother shall surely die.
17
Whosoever shall steal one of the children of Israel, and prevail over him and sell him, and he be found with him, let him certainly die.
18
And if two men revile each other and smite the one the other with a stone or his fist, and he die not, but be laid upon his bed;
19
if the man arise and walk abroad on his staff, he that smote him shall be clear; only he shall pay for his loss of time, and for his healing.
20
And if a man smite his man-servant or his maid-servant, with a rod, and [the party] die under his hands, he shall be surely punished.
21
But if [the servant] continue to live a day or two, let not [the master] be punished; for he is his money.
22
And if two men strive and smite a woman with child, and her child be born imperfectly formed, he shall be forced to pay a penalty: as the woman's husband may lay upon him, he shall pay with a valuation.
23
But if it be perfectly formed, he shall give life for life,
24
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25
burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26
And if one smite the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his maid-servant, and put it out, he shall let them go free for their eye's sake.
27
And if he should smite out the tooth of his man-servant, or the tooth of his maid-servant, he shall send them away free for their tooth's sake.
28
And if a bull gore a man or woman and they die, the bull shall be stoned with stones, and his flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall be clear.
29
But if the bull should have been given to goring in former time, and men should have told his owner, and he have not removed him, but he should have slain a man or woman, the bull shall be stoned, and his owner shall die also.
30
And if a ransom should be imposed on him, he shall pay for the ransom of his soul as much as they shall lay upon him.
31
And if [the bull] gore a son or daughter, let them do to him according to this ordinance.
32
And if the bull gore a man-servant or maid-servant, he shall pay to their master thirty silver didrachms, and the bull shall be stoned.
33
And if any one open a pit or dig a cavity in stone, and cover it not, and an ox or an ass fall in there,
34
the owner of the pit shall make compensation; he shall give money to their owner, and the dead shall be his own.
35
And if any man's bull gore the bull of his neighbour, and it die, they shall sell the living bull and divide the money, and they shall divide the dead bull.
36
But if the bull be known to have been given to goring in time past, and they have testified to his owner, and he have not removed him, he shall repay bull for bull, but the dead shall be his own.
37
And if one steal an ox or a sheep, and kill it or sell it, he shall pay five calves for a calf, and four sheep for a sheep.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Hæc sunt iudicia quæ propones eis.
2
Si emeris servum Hebræum, sex annis serviet tibi: in septimo egredietur liber gratis.
3
Cum quali veste intraverit, cum tali exeat: si habens uxorem, et uxor egredietur simul.
4
Sin autem dominus dederit illi uxorem, et pepererit filios et filias: mulier et liberi eius erunt domini sui, ipse vero exibit cum vestitu suo.
5
Quod si dixerit servus: Diligo dominum meum et uxorem ac liberos, non egrediar liber:
6
offeret eum dominus diis, et applicabitur ad ostium et postes, perforabitque aurem eius subula: et erit ei servus in sæculum.
7
Si quis vendiderit filiam suam in famulam, non egredietur sicut ancillæ exire consueverunt.
8
Si displicuerit oculis domini sui cui tradita fuerat, dimittet eam: populo autem alieno vendendi non habebit potestatem, si spreverit eam.
9
Sin autem filio suo desponderit eam, iuxta morem filiarum faciet illi.
10
Quod si alteram ei acceperit, providebit puellæ nuptias, et vestimenta, et pretium pudicitiæ non negabit.
11
Si tria ista non fecerit, egredietur gratis absque pecunia.
12
Qui percusserit hominem volens occidere, morte moriatur.
13
Qui autem non est insidiatus, sed Deus illum tradidit in manus eius: constituam tibi locum in quem fugere debeat.
14
Si quis per industriam occiderit proximum suum, et per insidias: ab altari meo evelles eum, ut moriatur.
15
Qui percusserit patrem suum aut matrem, morte moriatur.
16
Qui furatus fuerit hominem, et vendiderit eum, convictus noxæ, morte moriatur.
17
Qui maledixerit patri suo, vel matri, morte moriatur.
18
Si rixati fuerint viri, et percusserit alter proximum suum lapide vel pugno, et ille mortuus non fuerit, sed iacuerit in lectulo:
19
si surrexerit, et ambulaverit foris super baculum suum, innocens erit qui percusserit, ita tamen ut operas eius, et impensas in medicos restituat.
20
Qui percusserit servum suum, vel ancillam virga, et mortui fuerint in manibus eius, criminis reus erit.
21
Sin autem uno die vel duobus supervixerit, non subiacebit pœnæ, quia pecunia illius est.
22
Si rixati fuerint viri, et percusserit quis mulierem prægnantem, et abortivum quidem fecerit, sed ipsa vixerit: subiacebit damno quantum maritus mulieris expetierit, et arbitri iudicaverint.
23
Sin autem mors eius fuerit subsecuta, reddet animam pro anima,
24
oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, manum pro manu, pedem pro pede,
25
adustionem pro adustione, vulnus pro vulnere, livorem pro livore.
26
Si percusserit quispiam oculum servi sui aut ancillæ, et luscos eos fecerit, dimittet eos liberos pro oculo quem eruit.
27
Dentem quoque si excusserit servo vel ancillæ suæ, similiter dimittet eos liberos.
28
Si bos cornu percusserit virum aut mulierem, et mortui fuerint, lapidibus obruetur: et non comedentur carnes eius, dominus quoque bovis innocens erit.
29
Quod si bos cornupeta fuerit ab heri et nudiustertius, et contestati sunt dominum eius, nec recluserit eum, occideritque virum aut mulierem: et bos lapidibus obruetur, et dominum eius occident.
30
Quod si pretium fuerit ei impositum, dabit pro anima sua quidquid fuerit postulatus.
31
Filium quoque et filiam si cornu percusserit, simili sententiæ subiacebit.
32
Si servum, ancillamque invaserit, triginta siclos argenti domino dabit, bos vero lapidibus opprimetur.
33
Si quis aperuerit cisternam, et foderit, et non operuerit eam, cecideritque bos aut asinus in eam,
34
reddet dominus cisternæ pretium iumentorum: quod autem mortuum est, ipsius erit.
35
Si bos alienus bovem alterius vulneraverit, et ille mortuus fuerit: vendent bovem vivum, et divident pretium, cadaver autem mortui inter se dispertient.
36
Sin autem sciebat quod bos cornupeta esset ab heri et nudiustertius, et non custodivit eum dominus suus: reddet bovem pro bove, et cadaver integrum accipiet.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
“Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them:
2
“If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free without paying anything.
3
If he comes in by himself, he shall go out by himself. If he is married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4
If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
5
But if the servant shall plainly say, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children. I will not go out free;’
6
then his master shall bring him to God, and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever.
7
“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go out as the male servants do.
8
If she doesn’t please her master, who has married her to himself, then he shall let her be redeemed. He shall have no right to sell her to a foreign people, since he has dealt deceitfully with her.
9
If he marries her to his son, he shall deal with her as a daughter.
10
If he takes another wife to himself, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marital rights.
11
If he doesn’t do these three things for her, she may go free without paying any money.
12
“One who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death,
13
but not if it is unintentional, but God allows it to happen; then I will appoint you a place where he shall flee.
14
If a man schemes and comes presumptuously on his neighbor to kill him, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.
15
“Anyone who attacks his father or his mother shall be surely put to death.
16
“Anyone who kidnaps someone and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
17
“Anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.
18
“If men quarrel and one strikes the other with a stone, or with his fist, and he doesn’t die, but is confined to bed;
19
if he rises again and walks around with his staff, then he who struck him shall be cleared; only he shall pay for the loss of his time, and shall provide for his healing until he is thoroughly healed.
20
“If a man strikes his servant or his maid with a rod, and he dies under his hand, the man shall surely be punished.
21
Notwithstanding, if his servant gets up after a day or two, he shall not be punished, for the servant is his property.
22
“If men fight and hurt a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, and yet no harm follows, he shall be surely fined as much as the woman’s husband demands and the judges allow.
23
But if any harm follows, then you must take life for life,
24
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25
burning for burning, wound for wound, and bruise for bruise.
26
“If a man strikes his servant’s eye, or his maid’s eye, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for his eye’s sake.
27
If he strikes out his male servant’s tooth, or his female servant’s tooth, he shall let the servant go free for his tooth’s sake.
28
“If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull shall surely be stoned, and its meat shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull shall not be held responsible.
29
But if the bull had a habit of goring in the past, and this has been testified to its owner, and he has not kept it in, but it has killed a man or a woman, the bull shall be stoned, and its owner shall also be put to death.
30
If a ransom is imposed on him, then he shall give for the redemption of his life whatever is imposed.
31
Whether it has gored a son or has gored a daughter, according to this judgment it shall be done to him.
32
If the bull gores a male servant or a female servant, thirty shekels of silver shall be given to their master, and the ox shall be stoned.
33
“If a man opens a pit, or if a man digs a pit and doesn’t cover it, and a bull or a donkey falls into it,
34
the owner of the pit shall make it good. He shall give money to its owner, and the dead animal shall be his.
35
“If one man’s bull injures another’s, so that it dies, then they shall sell the live bull, and divide its price; and they shall also divide the dead animal.
36
Or if it is known that the bull was in the habit of goring in the past, and its owner has not kept it in, he shall surely pay bull for bull, and the dead animal shall be his own.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
1
`And these <FI>are<Fi> the judgments which thou dost set before them:
2
`When thou buyest a Hebrew servant--six years he doth serve, and in the seventh he goeth out as a freeman for nought;
3
if by himself he cometh in, by himself he goeth out; if he <FI>is<Fi> owner of a wife, then his wife hath gone out with him;
4
if his lord give to him a wife, and she hath borne to him sons or daughters--the wife and her children are her lord's, and he goeth out by himself.
5
`And if the servant really say: I have loved my lord, my wife, and my sons--I do not go out free;
6
then hath his lord brought him nigh unto God, and hath brought him nigh unto the door, or unto the side-post, and his lord hath bored his ear with an awl, and he hath served him--to the age.
7
`And when a man selleth his daughter for a handmaid, she doth not go out according to the going out of the men-servants;
8
if evil in the eyes of her lord, so that he hath not betrothed her, then he hath let her be ransomed; to a strange people he hath not power to sell her, in his dealing treacherously with her.
9
`And if to his son he betroth her, according to the right of daughters he doth to her.
10
`If another <FI>woman<Fi> he take for him, her food, her covering, and her habitation, he doth not withdraw;
11
and if these three he do not to her, then she hath gone out for nought, without money.
12
`He who smiteth a man so that he hath died, is certainly put to death;
13
as to him who hath not laid wait, and God hath brought to his hand, I have even set for thee a place whither he doth flee.
14
`And when a man doth presume against his neighbour to slay him with subtilty, from Mine altar thou dost take him to die.
15
`And he who smiteth his father or his mother is certainly put to death.
16
`And he who stealeth a man, and hath sold him, and he hath been found in his hand, is certainly put to death.
17
`And he who is reviling his father or his mother is certainly put to death.
18
`And when men contend, and a man hath smitten his neighbour with a stone, or with the fist, and he die not, but hath fallen on the bed;
19
if he rise, and hath gone up and down without on his staff, then hath the smiter been acquitted; only his cessation he giveth, and he is thoroughly healed.
20
`And when a man smiteth his man-servant or his handmaid, with a rod, and he hath died under his hand--he is certainly avenged;
21
only if he remain a day, or two days, he is not avenged, for he <FI>is<Fi> his money.
22
`And when men strive, and have smitten a pregnant woman, and her children have come out, and there is no mischief, he is certainly fined, as the husband of the woman doth lay upon him, and he hath given through the judges;
23
and if there is mischief, then thou hast given life for life,
24
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25
burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
26
`And when a man smiteth the eye of his man-servant, or the eye of his handmaid, and hath destroyed it, as a freeman he doth send him away for his eye;
27
and if a tooth of his man-servant or a tooth of his handmaid he knock out, as a freeman he doth send him away for his tooth.
28
`And when an ox doth gore man or woman, and they have died, the ox is certainly stoned, and his flesh is not eaten, and the owner of the ox <FI>is<Fi> acquitted;
29
and if the ox is <FI>one<Fi> accustomed to gore heretofore, and it hath been testified to its owner, and he doth not watch it, and it hath put to death a man or woman, the ox is stoned, and its owner also is put to death.
30
`If atonement is laid upon him, then he hath given the ransom of his life, according to all that is laid upon him;
31
whether it gore a son or gore a daughter, according to this judgment it is done to him.
32
`If the ox gore a man-servant or a handmaid, thirty silver shekels he doth give to their lord, and the ox is stoned.
33
`And when a man doth open a pit, or when a man doth dig a pit, and doth not cover it, and an ox or ass hath fallen thither, --
34
the owner of the pit doth repay, money he doth give back to its owner, and the dead is his.
35
`And when a man's ox doth smite the ox of his neighbour, and it hath died, then they have sold the living ox, and halved its money, and also the dead one they do halve;
36
or, it hath been known that the ox is <FI>one<Fi> accustomed to gore heretofore, and its owner doth not watch it, he certainly repayeth ox for ox, and the dead is his.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).