READING GENESIS ONE differs from the usual book on Genesis. This book is an exposition of the biblical Hebrew which both explains the grammar and determines the meaning of important Hebrew words by reference to other uses of the same word in the Bible itself.

In READING GENESIS ONE the reader is informed about important patterns of biblical Hebrew word and verb usage. This is done by presenting examples which show the biblical Hebrew of other well-understood verses. These verses illustrate and verify the patterns of word and verb use.

The first 35 verses of the Bible describe the history of planet Earth from its beginning through the appearance of Adam (mankind). These 35 verses employ less than 100 different Hebrew words augmented by the prepositional prefixes and the suffixes representing pronouns. As a consequence, the description must omit much detail.

Biblical Hebrew is limited in what it may express because of its small vocabulary. An ordinary American collegiate dictionary will typically define about 160,000 words. Biblical Hebrew, as defined by Strong's numbers, possesses only 8,674 words. This small vocabulary places important limitations on the possible meanings of the verses of Genesis One. Meaning is also limited by the nature of the biblical Hebrew verb. Biblical Hebrew grammars often describe the Hebrew verb as not having tense.

The limitations imposed by the small number of Hebrew words, the Hebrew verb, and other limitations are discussed and consequences explained. This is done before the verses of Genesis One are considered. Subsequently, the first verses of the Bible are studied on a word-by-word basis. Directly comparable examples illustrate word meaning, word construction, and verb usage. This allows the reader to come to an understanding of the meaning which the Hebrew may express.

The meaning which the Hebrew may express often differs from that offered by supposed "experts" who interpret English translation. The meaning also often differs from the meaning ascribed by "agnostic" critics. Resolution of Genesis creation issues is found by direct reference to the biblical Hebrew.


-Rodney Whitefield PhD.

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