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וְעֹוף֙ יְעֹופֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ Flyers flying over the earth As with the swarm, the flock of "birds" is a large general category. The verb form, עוּף ( `uwf ), is used to designate flying. The root further points to the most common flyer, the birds, due to their using their wings to wrap, or cover, their young. The noun form is עוֹף (`owf), with the pointing of the vowel different. עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם The face of the firmament There has been much discussion on the nature of the firmament and its relationship with the heavens. As we saw on the second day, the firmament is called "heaven". However, many translate this simply as the air. This seems to be the sense of the birds. But what is the surface of the sky? Where does the air begin? These concepts are defined by the observer. The air that every living thing on earth and in the sky breathes begins at the surface of the earth. However, the surface of the heavens is to be viewed from below. ...

יֹ֥ום רְבִיעִֽי The fourth day A lot happened on the fourth day. The word רְבִיעִֽי ( rebiy`iy fourth) is is a form of אַרְבַּע ( arba` four). Both words are derived from רָבַע (raba` to lie stretched out). The usage of the derivatives may indicate that the verb is descriptive of four limbs stretched out. וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אֹתָ֛ם And He set them In the study of this day, the centrality of the earth is evident. In a special way (Hebrew:  נָתַן nathan , to give) the vast heavens were "populated" especially for the benefit of the planet made for mankind. The words introduced in these six verses were: [m a'or ] מָאוֹר luminary, lamp ['oth] אוֹת sign, signal [mo`ad] מוֹעֵד appointed place or time [shanah] שָׁנָה year [galod] גָּדוֹל great, large [qatan] קָטָן insignificant, small [memshalah] מֶמְשָׁלָה rule, realm [kolab] כּוֹכָב star [nathan] נָתַן to give, set, put [rabiy`iy] רְבִיעִי fourth, from רָבַע (raba` lie stretched out)

יֹ֥ום שְׁלִישִֽׁי The Third Day The primary root of the verb שָׁלַשׁ (shalash), translated "to do or be of a third part", may have originally meant "to intensify". However it always acts as a number in all its forms. The Hebrew word for three is שָׁלוֹשׁ (shalosh). In its use in the language, the idea of fullness is clearly seen. Many of the sacrifices had to be three years old, Elijah had water poured out three times. The third day often indicates a limit, as if to call for patience. On the third day the earth became fully suitable for habitation. Everything from this point on would be for the benefit of the inhabitants. The words in this portion: [`asah] עָשָׂה . To do, make, work, form [ raqiya` ] רָקִיעַ . Expanse, firmament. Literally, that which is spread out (from the verb רָקַע). [ tavek ] תָּוֶךְ, Within, among [ tachath ] תַּחַת . Under [" asher ] אֲשֶׁר . That, which, who [ sheni ] שֵׁנִי . Two, second. From the verb שָׁנָה (to...

תֵרָאֶ֖ה הַיַּבָּשָׁ֑ה The dry stuff appears When the deep waters drained into the reservoirs, dry land was revealed. The translators provided the word "land" as understood. What appears (or what God saw, see verb in v. 4) is literally just the local example of dryness (Heb: יַבָּשָׁה yabbashah). The damp rocky surface was likely dried quickly by the light from the creator. By the end of the rotation of the new planet, the soil would be supernaturally prepared, probably by the redirected waters rising from below.

הַמַּ֨יִם֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת The waters which were below The conjunction, or relative pronoun, אֲשֶׁר (asher) is that, which or who, depending of the context. It points to what is related to the subject at hand. The conditions involved were locations centered on earth, the planet. Of the multiple uses, here erets must mean the much smaller body that would become the home of mankind. On this day the sky grows as the earth shrinks. The water below (Heb:  מִתַּ֣חַת ) that covered a rocky world spinning at a rate close to what it would spin for the rest of its existence. Above the waters was an envelope of air with water vapor in the form of a fog. The place called "below" is based on the root תַּחַת (tachath) with abbreviation מִן (min), where the {n} is absorbed. The result is a "prefix", the mem, which often indicates place.

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה But the earth was The creation of the world was a process rather than a sudden appearing full blown out of nowhere. When with nouns the conjunction is said to be disjuctive. Verse two describes the imperfect condition, ever so much chaos, that the particles were in. For this reason, the waw is perhaps better translated "but". As much as anything else in creation week, the earth had to be formed into a functioning body. As God superintended creation, he seems to have gathered everything into one place. But without a miracle, nothing but scattered quarks littered space with too far apart to interact.  So was the young universe "on its own". The earth is passively defined with the verb הָיָה , in its usual sense of being or existing. Grammatically it is in the "Qal Perfect"--the simple past in most cases. Chaos was everywhere.

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶ ץ   First, the Almighy created that which is stretched out and that which is dry.  I know, I know, the creation at this point is literally, the lofty realm and solid ground. However, the text defines the stretched stuff and the dry stuff as "heaven/sky/air" and "earth/land/ground". So, it is my contention that the building blocks of all that we see was original quite literally invisible, and the space containing it was much smaller. Space was bound by the "hand" of God as a place to organize the quanta (the truly indivisible particles). There apparently were at least 4×10^58 of these partcles in the singularity that God tore apart to make the expanding universe. Though quanta are so tiny, they are packed with all the potential energy that became all the matter in the vastness of space. This is my humble attempt to tie the theories of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein to the raw data in Gen...

וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ And the earth The Hebrew word for "earth" is erets ( אָֽרֶץ ) and has many related meanings. Whereas we might pick up some soil and call it "earth", we don't speak of our homeland or state as "earth". This was not the way it was to the people of antiquity. Erets could mean the ground as opposed to the sea, or as opposed to the air above it. HaErets is twice as often translated as "the land" rather than "the earth". So, what are to make of the creation account of erets ? It helps a lot if there is a definition right in the context. Verse two will tell us of a place without life and very dark,  deep and wet. On the other hand, we find a special use on day three that names a very dry place "erets".  The confusion is that the word "ground" is supplied. I will return to the use of erets as dry ground when we get to day three. The narrative before us leads most logically to a sequence. Space w...