In the previous two postings, I introduced two alternative interpretations to the traditional rendering of Gen. 1:1 as an absolute beginning, “In-the-beginning God created the-heavens [or heaven] and-the earth.” These alternative translations interpret berē’šît in Gen. 1:1 as an adverbial Hebrew construct (“when … began”) and consequently subordinate Gen. 1:1 grammatically either to 1:2 or 1:3. In the following series of postings I will evaluate the strength of these two leading alternatives over against the traditional rendering of Gen. 1:1. The evaluation will be based on four interrelated lines of inquiry: grammar,...Read More