The Bible and Information Theory
Genesis 1: the firmament chapter
Thanksgiving Hymn preserves ancient meaning of 'raqia'
[This restoration is based on the Revised Standard Version]
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the
earth,
the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the
deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.
And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light
from the darkness.
And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
And God said, "Let there be a solid layer in the midst of the waters,
and let it separate the waters from the waters."
So God made the crust of the earth, and separated the waters that
were under it from the waters that were above.
And God saw that it was good; and there was evening
and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, "Let the waters on the earth be gathered together
into one place, and let the dry land appear." And it was so.
And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding
seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with
the seed in it." And it was so.
The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every
kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And
God saw that it was good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
And God said, "Let there be lights in heaven to separate the
day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and
for days and years,
and let them give light upon the earth." And it was so.
God made the two great lights,
and appointed them to give light upon the earth,
and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it
was good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures,
and let birds fly above the earth across the sky."
So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature
that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every
winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good.
God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the
waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth."
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every
kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of
every kind." And it was so.
God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle
of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every
kind. And God saw that it was good.
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, according to our
likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and
over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild
animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon
the earth."
So God created man in his image, in the image of God he created
them; male and female he created them.
God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply,
and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish
of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing
that moves upon the earth."
God said, "See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that
is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its
fruit; you shall have them for food.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air,
and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the
breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was
so.
God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Copyright © 2010 by Douglas E. Cox
All Rights Reserved.