The Priestly Tradition of Creation (P)
Genesis 1:1 - 2:4b; 5:1-2
1:1 First of all (בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית bereshith), when ’Elohim [אֱלֹהִ֑ים = God, Deity, plural form] began to create (בָּרָ֣א bara’) the heavens and the earth (הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ hashshamayim we’eth ha’aretz)—2 the earth being unformed and void (תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ tohu-wa-bohu = emptiness and nothingness), with darkness spread over the (sur)face (עַל־פְּנֵ֣י ‘al peney) of the Deep (תְה֑וֹם tehom), and a mighty wind (וְר֣וּחַ weruach = wind, breath, spirit) from ’Elohim sweeping [מְרַחֶ֖פֶת merahephet = hovering] over the (sur)face of (‘al peney) the waters—3 Then ’Elohim said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And ’Elohim saw that the light was good (ט֑וֹב tobh); and ’Elohim separated the light from the darkness. 5 ’Elohim called the light “day,” and the darkness He called “night.” And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.
6 And ’Elohim said, “Let there be a dome (רָקִ֖יעַ raqia‘) in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 So ’Elohim made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. 8 ’Elohim called the dome “sky.” And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 And ’Elohim said, “Let the waters below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. 10 ’Elohim called the dry land earth, and the gathering of waters He called seas. And ’Elohim saw that this was good. 11 Then ’Elohim said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And ’Elohim saw that this was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 And ’Elohim said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate day from night. They shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; 15 and they shall serve as lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 ’Elohim made the two great lights—the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night—and the stars. 17 And ’Elohim set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, 18 to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And ’Elohim saw that this was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 And ’Elohim said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures (נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה nephesh hayyah), and birds that fly above the earth across the surface of the dome of the sky.” 21 So ’Elohim created the great sea monsters and all the living creatures (כָּל־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּ֣ה kol nephesh hahayyah) of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms; and all the winged birds of every kind. And ’Elohim saw that this was good. 22 ’Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 And ’Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature (nephesh hayyah): cattle, creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 ’Elohim made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creatures that creep along the ground. And ’Elohim saw that this was good.
26 Then ’Elohim said, “Let us make (נַֽעֲשֶׂ֥ה na‘aseh) humanity (אָדָ֛ם ’adam) in Our image (בְּצַלְמֵ֖נוּ betzalmenu) after Our likeness (כִּדְמוּתֵ֑נוּ kidemuthenu). They shall have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the entire earth, and over all the creatures that creep upon the earth.”
27 So ’Elohim created (וַיִּבְרָ֙א wayyibra’) humankind (אֶת־הָֽאָדָם֙ ’eth-ha’adam) in His image (בְּצַלְמ֔וֹ betzalmo),
in the image (בְּצֶ֥לֶם betzelem) of ‘Elohim He created (bara’) it;
male (זָכָ֥ר zakhar) and female (נְקֵבָ֖ה neqebah) He created (bara’) them.
28 ’Elohim blessed (וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ wayebarekh) them, and ’Elohim said to them, “Be fertile and increase, and fill the earth and master it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over all the living creatures that creep upon the earth.”
29 ’Elohim said, “See, I have given you [לָכֶ֜ם lakhem, 2d person, plural] every seed-bearing plant that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. 30 And to all the animals on the earth, to all the birds of the sky, and to all the creatures that creep upon the earth, to every living creature (nephesh hayyah), I give all the green plants for food.” And it was so. 31 And ’Elohim saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their array. 2 And on the seventh day ’Elohim finished the work which He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work which He had done. 3 So ’Elohim blessed (wayebarekh) the seventh day and declared it set apart (וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ wayeqaddesh, i. e., “holy”), because on it ’Elohim ceased from all the work of creation (bara’) which He had done. 4a Such is the genealogy (תוֹלְד֧וֹת toledoth) of the heavens and the earth when they were created (בְּהִבָּֽרְאָ֑ם behibbar’am). . . .
5:1 This is the book (סֵ֔פֶר sepher) of the genealogy (toledoth) of humankind (’adam). When (בְּי֗וֹם beyom, literally, “on the day,” or, “at the time”) ’Elohim created (בְּרֹ֤א bero’) humankind (’adam), He made (עָשָׂ֥ה ‘asah) it in the likeness (בִּדְמ֥וּת bidemuth) of ’Elohim. 2 Male (zakhar) and female (neqebah) He created (בְּרָאָ֑ם bera’am) them, and He blessed (wayebarekh) them and gave them their name “Humankind” (‘adam) when (beyom, literally, “on the day,” or, “at the time) they were created (הִבָּֽרְאָֽם hibbar’am). . . .
This translation is an adaptation by Michael J. Watts consisting of a selection of readings from several modern translations of Genesis. Some of the primary works used were:
Fox, Everett. The Five Books of Moses. New York
Korsak, Mary Phil. At the Start: Genesis Made New: A Translation of the Hebrew Text. New York
Meyers, Carol, Professor of Religion, Duke University Durham , NC
Mitchell, Stephen. The Book of Genesis: A New Translation of the Classical Biblical Stories. New York
Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures: The New Jewish Publication Society Translation According to the Traditional Hebrew Text. Philadelphia
The New Revised Standard Version Bible. New York USA
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