Genesis 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.

King James Version · Read in your translation · Open the Explore console

Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
earth	וְהָאָ֗רֶץ ve.ha.'A.retz	H776	the earth (at large · conjunction + definite article + noun, common feminine singular absolute
was	הָיְתָ֥ה ha.ye.Tah	H1961	to exist · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
form	תֹ֙הוּ֙ to.hu	H8414	a desolation (of surface) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
void	וָבֹ֔הוּ va.Vo.hu	H922	a vacuity · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
darkness	וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ ve.Cho.shekh	H2822	the dark · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
face	פְּנֵ֣י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
deep	תְה֑וֹם te.Hom	H8415	an abyss (as a surging mass of water) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
Spirit	וְר֣וּחַ ve.Ru.ach	H7307	wind · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
God	אֱלֹהִ֔ים 'E.lo.Him	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural absolute
moved	מְרַחֶ֖פֶת me.ra.Che.fet	H7363	to brood · verb, piel active participle, feminine singular absolute
upon	עַל 'al-	H5921	above · preposition
face	פְּנֵ֥י pe.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
waters	הַמָּֽיִם ha.Ma.yim	H4325	water · definite article + noun, common masculine plural absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Jeremiah 4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Psalms 104:30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.
Isaiah 45:18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not i…
Psalms 33:6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
Isaiah 40:12-14 Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a meas…
Job 26:14 Lo, these are parts of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?
Nahum 2:10 She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:1-2

In these verses we have the work of creation in its epitome and in its embryo. I. In its epitome, Gen 1:1, where we find, to our comfort, the first article of our creed, that God the Father Almighty is the Maker of heaven and earth, and as such we believe in him. 1. Observe, in this verse, four things: - (1.) The effect produced - the heaven and the earth, that is, the world, including the whole frame and furniture of the universe, the world and all things therein, Act 17:24. The world is a great house, consisting of upper and lower stories, the structure stately and magnificent, uniform and convenient, and every room well and wisely furnished. It is the visible part of the creation that Mo…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:2

the earth was without form and void--or in "confusion and emptiness," as the words are rendered in Isa 34:11. This globe, at some undescribed period, having been convulsed and broken up, was a dark and watery waste for ages perhaps, till out of this chaotic state, the present fabric of the world was made to arise. the Spirit of God moved--literally, continued brooding over it, as a fowl does, when hatching eggs. The immediate agency of the Spirit, by working on the dead and discordant elements, combined, arranged, and ripened them into a state adapted for being the scene of a new creation. The account of this new creation properly begins at the end of this second verse; and the details of…

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Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:2

The earth was without form and void - The original term תהו tohu and בהו bohu, which we translate without form and void, are of uncertain etymology; but in this place, and wherever else they are used, they convey the idea of confusion and disorder. From these terms it is probable that the ancient Syrians and Egyptians borrowed their gods, Theuth and Bau, and the Greeks their Chaos. God seems at first to have created the elementary principles of all things; and this formed the grand mass of matter, which in this state must be without arrangement, or any distinction of parts: a vast collection of indescribably confused materials, of nameless entities strangely mixed; and wonderfully well expre…

The Church Fathers

The Spirit fittingly moved over the earth, destined to bear fruit because by the aid of the Spirit it held the seeds of new birth which were to germinate according to the words of the prophet: "Send forth thy Spirit and they shall be created and thou shalt renew the face of the earth."
— Ambrose of Milan, The Six Days of Creation

In the beginning of Genesis, it is written: "And the Spirit was stirring above the waters." You see, then, what it says in the beginning of Genesis. Now for its mystical meaning—"The Spirit was stirring above the waters"—already at that time baptism was being foreshadowed. It could not be true baptism, to be sure, without the Spirit.
— Jerome, HOMILIES 10

The earth was invisible and unorganized, and darkness was over the abyss. Formlessness is suggested by these words, so that we might grasp the meaning by degrees, for we are unable to think cognitively about an absolute privation of form that still does not go as far as nothing. From this, another visible and organized heaven and earth were to be made.
— Augustine of Hippo, Confessions 12.15

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Creation — “In the beginning” God created, i.e., called into being, all things out of nothing. This creative act on the part of God was absolutely free, and for infinitely wise reasons. The cause of all things…
Deep — Used to denote (1) the grave or the abyss (Rom. 10:7; Luke 8:31); (2) the deepest part of the sea (Ps. 69:15); (3) the chaos mentioned in Gen. 1:2; (4) the bottomless pit, hell (Rev. 9:1, 2; 11:7;…
Dove — In their wild state doves generally build their nests in the clefts of rocks, but when domesticated “dove-cots” are prepared for them (Cant. 2:14; Jer. 48:28; Isa. 60:8). The dove was placed on the…
Earth — (1.) In the sense of soil or ground, the translation of the word adamah’. In Gen. 9:20 “husbandman” is literally “man of the ground or earth.” Altars were to be built of earth (Ex. 20:24). Naaman…
Genesis — The five books of Moses were collectively called the Pentateuch, a word of Greek origin meaning “the five-fold book.” The Jews called them the Torah, i.e., “the law.” It is probable that the division…
Holy Ghost — The third Person of the adorable Trinity. His personality is proved (1) from the fact that the attributes of personality, as intelligence and volition, are ascribed to him (John 14:17, 26; 15:26; 1…
Sea — The sea, yam, is used in Scripture to denote—
Wilderness — (1.) Heb. midhbar, denoting not a barren desert but a district or region suitable for pasturing sheep and cattle (Ps. 65:12; Isa. 42:11; Jer. 23:10; Joel 1:19; 2:22); an uncultivated place. This word…
Darkness · Over the face of the earth — Over the face of the earth
Holy Spirit · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Power Of The Holy Spirit, The · Exhibited in: Creation

Genesis 1:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:1-2

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:2

Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 1:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 1:1-2

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 1:2

Adam Clarke on Genesis 1:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 1:2

John Calvin on Genesis 1:2

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 1:2-5

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 1:2

Rashi on Genesis 1:2