Creation in Genesis and the Psalms
Genesis 1 presents ordered creation through God's speech and calls it good; Genesis 2 focuses on the human creature, garden, and relationships. Psalm 104 praises a world sustained and provisioned by God. These are different literary approaches to creation, and none is a modern laboratory description.
Why it matters
Gives the creation topics a fuller scriptural frame before readers encounter later theological terms such as creation from nothing.
Key points
- Genesis 1's repeated 'good' evaluations resist treating material creation as evil.
- Genesis 2 explores human vocation and limits through a garden narrative.
- Creation from nothing is a later theological formulation argued from a wider scriptural and philosophical reading, not from the grammar of Genesis 1:1 alone.
Scripture
- Genesis 1:1-2:3 — The first account structures divine acts and evaluations across days.
- Genesis 2:4-25 — A second creation narrative focuses on the human and the garden.
- Psalm 104:1-35 — A hymn praises God's continuing provision for creatures.
- Hebrews 11:3 — The New Testament reflects on creation by God's word and what is visible.
Primary sources
Athanasius writes:
Athanasius explicitly teaches creation from nothing through the Word; this is a fourth-century theological reading, not a quotation from Genesis itself.
out of nothing, and without its having any previous existence, God made the universe to exist through His word
Passage context and translation
Athanasius argues against a rival eternal matter and cites Genesis 1:1, the Shepherd, and Hebrews 11:3. The excerpt records his theological interpretation; Genesis 1:1 alone is not presented as a grammatical proof of the full doctrine.
Before the excerpt
because God is not weak; but that
After the excerpt
as He says firstly through Moses