10 Dec
Creation as Novelty
For our blog readers, I wish to present some new ideas for you to consider concerning the verb (bärä´ = “created”). The font anomalies are due to Word Press’s limitations. This material comes from my new Genesis commentary, enjoy!
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בָּרָא – created – The verb בָּרָא (bärä´ = “created”) connotes God’s absolute effortless creativity. In the Tanakh, this term is used exclusively with respect to Divine creativity, for human creativity is limited by the materials it has access to—this is not so with God. This distinction may also explain why many medieval rabbinic thinkers like Saadia[1], Maimonides[2], Ramban[3], Abarbanel[4], Seforno[5] and others believe this verb alludes to the concept of creatio ex nihilo (creation from “nothing”) since only God can create from the non-existent. Elsewhere in the Tanakh, בָּרָא’ introduces something surprisingly novel, wonderful, and awe-inspiring.[6] For a theological exposition on the importance of novelty, see Excursus 8a and 8e.
However, Ibn Ezra is less convinced and contends that the linguistic evidence does not support such an interpretation.[7] The verb בָּרָא’ may also mean to fashion something out of already existing materials (e.g., the creation of man, whose body came from the dust of the earth, and whose soul issued forth from God’s breath).[8] Ibn Ezra’s comments could also suggest the universe was constructed out of pre-existent matter. However, pre-existent matter need not imply a dualism; it may imply that this ethereal substance is “pre-eternal” only in relationship to the world but not in relationship to God. In conclusion, Ibn Ezra theorizes that the primary meaning of בָּרָא means “to cut down” or “set a boundary.”[9]
S.R. Driver supports Ibn Ezra’s perspective and adds that the verb בָּרָא (bärä´) is related to the Arabic barāy “to fashion” or “shape by cutting.” Nevertheless, Driver admits that “in its simple conjugation, it refers exclusively to God and denotes the production of something fundamentally new, by the exercise of a sovereign originative power, altogether transcending that possessed by man.”[10]
Some modern Hebraists contend that בָּרָא is related to the South Arabic word “br” meaning “to build,” or “to bring forth,” or “give birth to” and is probably related to the Aramaic word בַּר (bar), “child”[11] (as in the modern “Bar Mitzvah” = “a son of a precept”), or “son” (e.g., Ezek. 28:13,15). Creativity is expressed in the way we give birth to something from the very depths of our innermost being.[12] Often, when the Scriptures speak about Creation, it involves “giving birth” to a new reality.[13]
However, there is no clear consensus as to the meaning or origin of this important term. Lastly, the principle of creatio ex nihilo is not contingent upon the verb ברא. Light was created only when God spoke the words, “Let there be light” (v. 3); there is not even the slightest hint that God formed the light out of the primordial chaos and this theological approach has sometimes been called creatio per verbum—”creation from the word.” Such a concept reflects a more precise mythopoetic understanding concerning the nature of reality as a creative expression of the Divine (see notes on Genesis 1:3; 1:27 and Excursus 8).
Notes:
[1] See Emunot v De’ot 1:1 and his Arabic translation of the Bible, where he takes Gen. 1:1 as an independent sentence.
[2] Maimonides, Guide 2:30 and 3:10.
[3] Ramban insists that בָּרָא indeed implies creation from nothing, “The Blessed Holy One created everything out of complete nothingness. There is no other word in the Hebraic language for bringing existence out of non-existence other than bara. And there is nothing under the sun or above it to generate a beginning out of nothingness. He alone brought the cosmos into being—out of complete and absolute non-being. At its nascent state of existence, this ethereal matter only possessed the potential to assume form, which the Greeks referred to as ὕλη (hyle). After creating hylic matter He did not create anything; God merely formed and arranged the rest of creation from out of this ethereal substance.”
[4] Abarbanel’s Commentary on Genesis 1:1.
[5] See Seforno’s Commentary on Genesis 1:1.
[6] Gen. 1:21; Exod. 34:10; Num. 16:30; Psa. 104:30; Isa. 48:7, et al.
[7] See Excursus 8: Further Reflections on Creatio ex Nihilo for discussion.
[8] Ibn Ezra’s second interpretation is remarkably similar to the Septuagint’s use of ἐποίησεν (epoiesen) a word that is reminiscent of Plato’s description of God as ὁποιῶν, “the creator” (see Plato, Timaeus, 76 c). The term ποιέω (poieo) connotes aesthetic making, broadly designates all craftsmanship, and more narrowly refers to the making of poems, plays, pictures, or sculptures. This usage might seem to mitigate against the belief in a creatio ex nihilo; otherwise the Septuagint would have used κτίζω (ktizō = “create”), which implies “bringing into being.” On the other hand, the Septuagint often uses both expressions synonymously. See H. R. Balz and G. Schneider’s Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1990), Vol. 2:325.
[9] Josh. 17:15; Ezek. 23:17.
[10] BDB 135:1; S. R. Driver, The Book of Genesis, 3.
[11] HALOT: 153.
[12] In one of the most audacious metaphors found anywhere in the Tanakh, the prophet Isaiah likens the Divine pathos to a woman struggling to give birth: “For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant” (Isaiah 42:14).
[13] This idea can also be seen in the prophetic writings of Isaiah (Isa. 65:17–18). See HALOT: 153.
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