[I'm taking these verses out of the ESV Bible.]
1:1 In the beginning [of all things?], God created the heavens and the earth(1).
1. Means "everything" when the two seperate words are combined? But seperately, each word has its own meaning, right?
2. And if God created ex nihilo, and if verse 1 is not a summary of the creative events that are described in detail in later verses, but a verse describing the first event (creation of all matter and the matter of the unformed earth...in short, the universe), then "heavens' here should mean universe, no? That is, if "Heavens" has its own meaning when not combined with "earth" to mean "everything"...
Some translations have it: In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Heaven (singular), not plural. Is there any difference? And if there isn't any, then why do some translators choose to use both the singular and plural forms?
1:6-8 And God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. And God called the expanse Heaven(1). And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
1. Is this expanse supposed to be the sky? Why is "Heaven" here singular, instead of plural, if they both mean the same thing? Besides, isn't God specifically calling this expanse (the sky?) "Heaven"?
2. What was the primitive atmosphere of the earth? If the atmosphere mainly consisted of gases other than water vapors/clouds/mist, then how is that a seperation of waters (the sea and the mist above the sea)?
1:9-10 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place(1), and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
1. It's plural here, instead of singular. If Heavens really means the cosmos, then that doesn't make sense, because that would mean the waters above the heaven (assuming heaven means sky...so the clouds?) and also the waters below (the sea) were gathered into one place, causing dry land to appear?
2. Also, when he says "gathered into one place", does that mean that there was one body of water, and also one body of land?
1:14-15 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens(1) to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so.
1. It's plural here as well. This seems to make sense, if by "expanse of the heavens" he means the cosmos...because the lights are not in the sky, but in the universe...(is that what the author of genesis meant? Is that how he understood it?)
1:20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens(1).
Now this doesn't make sense...the birds flew across the expanse of the heavens? The birds flew in the universe? But if heaven and heavens mean the same thing in hebrew, how do you explain verses 6-8 (he specifically names the expanse that seperates the waters "Heaven").