THE €REATI©N TH E^E IN

^E^E^l·^ I, PSALM 104 AND JOB 38-42

FRED GOTTLIEB

While the entire Bible is replete with references t© Creation, three sources are
especially noteworthy for their more detailed description: Genesis 1, Fsalm 104,
and Job 38-42. Each account serves a different purpose and uses a different style
and language. However, they share in a depiction of God as the Creator and
Sustainer of all life. In addition, each text maintains a universal character in that
there is no mention of the Jewish people, their Torah, ٠٢their covenant with
God.

PlJR?OSEOF THE TEXT

The account in Genesis 1 is the basis of the Creation story, declaring God to
be the Creator and source of all life. The Creation, as recounted by the poet in
?salm 104, is a joyous paean to nature and its Creator. In the Book o f Job, how-
ever, the ^ r d ’s display of the wonders of Creation is presented in order to ena-
ble Job to come to terms with his intense suffering by realizing that the ways of
God are beyond h u m a n understanding.

DIFFERENCES IN LANGUAGE AND STYLE

Each of the three texts we will describe has its own special style and language
in keeping with its p u jó se . The story in Genesis is told in sublime prose, lofty
and majestic, the name of God appearing more than thirty times in Chapter 1
alone. Its presentation is schematic and methodical, and the centrality of the
Creator in the creation process is manifest throughout.
?salm 104 and Job, on the other hand, are written in a poetic style. Biblical
poetry, in contrast to the later Hebrew poetry o f Selihot and Kinot, is not com-
posed in rhyme. Its hallmark is parallelism, marked by pairs, sometimes triplets,
of phrases, in which the second phrase repeats ٠٢modifies the first phrase in dif-

Fred Gottlieb M.D. is a retired physician living in Jerusalem who has done extensive research on
the Jewish community in pre-war Germany.
30 FRED GOTTLIEB
ferent w©rds.* One of many examples is Psalm 104:3, Who makes (he clouds His
chariots, Who walks upon the wings ofth e wind. By its nature, this type of
poetry requires the use of many synonyms.
An additional feature o fthe poetry encountered in both Psalm 104 and Job is
graphic imagery, examples of which will appear below. While no account of
Creation can begin to convey a complete understanding of how God’s world was
created, both Job and Psalms provide imagery and metaphors to which the hu-
man mind can relate.
Additionally, whereas the Genesis narrative is written in the past tense, de-
scribing what once occurred, much of Psalm 104 and Job is set in the present
tense, emphasizing the ongoing nature ofthe creative process.

DESGRIBING GREATION

GENESIS 1
The first chapter of Genesis constitutes the most basic source ofthe Creation
story, answering the fondamental question as to how the world and all living
things originated. The narrative takes foe form of an orderly, chronological de-
scription of each day's creation, told almost exclusively in foe past tense and
suggesting that Creation was a once only occurrence at foe beginning of time. In
contrast to foe Creation texts in Psalms and Job, Genesis only offers a limited
description of how life will continue to be maintained on a daily basis and how
foe earth will bring forth food for all living things (Gen. 1:29-30). It ends with
foe statement that Godfinished the work that He ‫ س‬been doing (Gen. 2: 2).
Genesis presents us with a ^ ltip lic ity of verbs describing foe creation pro-
cess. The first of these, bara (Gen. 1:1), was characterized by foe thirteenth-
century Bible commentator Na^manides as denoting yesh me-ayin - creation ex
nihilo. This initial process brought forth an amorphous mass from which all sub-
sequent creation evolved. A second verb, asah ("made"), as in God made [va-
ya’as] thefirmament (Gen. 1:7), implies foe foimation of something from mate-
rial already in existence. A third, yatzar ("form"), has a similar connotation. In
foe case of man, all three verbs are employed: Let us make [na'asch] man in our
image (Gen. 1:26); And God created [va-yivra] man in His image (Gen. 1:27);
and the Lord Godformed [va-yitzer] manfrom the dust ofth e earth (Gen. 2:7).

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THE CREATION THEME IN GENESIS 1,PSALM 104, AND JOB 38-42 31
Another verb, amar, from which the term ma'amar ("Divine utterance") derives,
repeatedly occurs (Gen. 1:3, 6, 9, 14, 20, etc.) in the phrase God said [va‫־‬yomer
Elohim], prompting the Mishnah (Avot 1‫ ) ﺗﻮ‬to note that the world was created
by means of"ten pronouncements."
An important theme of Creation, as depicted in Genesis, is havdalah, Division
and Separation. Indeed, verbal forms such as le-havdil recur in the first chapter,
denoting the establishment ofharmony and order among all things created. They
also imply the holding in check of potentially destructive elements, especially in
the separation o f water from land, as discussed below.
The crowning event on Day 6 is the creation of man "in the image of God,"
with the mandate to rule over all the animals. This superiority of man and his
ability to control and conquer is not apparent in the other texts, where man is but
an integral part in the overall pattern of nature.
The concluding event in the Genesis 1 narrative is the declaration that God
was satisfied with His work, H efound it very good (Gen. 1:31), followed by His
sanctification of the Sabbath, the (seventh) day on which He rested. No direct
mention of the Sabbath can be found in ?salm 104 ٠٢Job.

PSALM 04‫ل‬
Although there are frequent allusions to Creation in the Book of Psalms, it is
one specific hymn (Ps. 104) that has been designated the Creation psalm in both
Jewish and secular literature.^ Barekhi Nafshi, as this psalm is known from its
opening words, is ajoyous song of praise to nature and its Creator. It is a virtual
catalogue o f everything God created, encompassing all the beauty and wonders
o f heaven and earth. The words Barekhi nafshi - Bless the Lord, 0 my soul - at
the beginning and the end of the psalm serve as a kind of parenthetical frame-
work, and their first-person expression integrates the poet into the text.
While the poem does not refer to the creation of mankind ٠٢any being other
than Leviathan (104:26), the Ceator-creature relationship is unmistakable, es-
pecially where the continued existence of life forms ‫ ط‬shown to depend on
God’s action (104:29). Whereas Genesis tells of foe Lord breathing life into
man’s nostrils, enabling him to become a living soul (Gen 2:7), Psalm 104 de-
picts this as a continuing process, foe Lord’s withdrawal of His breath resulting
in death: Take away their breath, they perish and turn again into dust (104:29).

Vol. 44, No . 6‫ل‬, 20 ‫ل‬

32 FRED GOTTLIEB

Yet death may als© bring renewal: Send back Your breath, they are created. . .
(104:30). Thus the Creat©r of the world Is also Its Sustainer.^
The events of Creation are recalled ^©efic^lly, in a free and exuberant style,
their order reflecting man’s perception of things as he goes about his normal
activities, rather than the day‫־‬by‫־‬day sequence found in Genesis. Much of the
language used is in the present tense, to emphasize that Creation is an ongoing
process. God continues to manage His world in all its breadth and in its minutest
details. This is reflected in the words You renew theface o fth e earth (104:30),
which are paraphrased in the M©ming service as "Wh© in His g©©dness c©ntin-
ually renews the w©rk o f Creation, day after day."
?salm 104 describes the first day of creation I^taphorically, God cloaking
Himself with light, as with a garment (104:2). In portraying the division ofthe
waters on Day 2 of Creati©n (Gen. 1:6), the psalmist evokes the image of a
building erected on a solid f©undati©n: Who lays the beams ofH is upper cham-
bers in the waters (104:3).
The f©rmati©n ©fdry land, described in Genesis with the words Let the water
below the sky be gathered into one area (Gen. 1:9), has its parallel in the more
allegorical phrase A t Your rebuke theyfled (Ps. 104:7). The waters covering the
face of the earth are described in biblical literature as rebellious and haughty,
and in literature of the ancient Near East as the embodiment of Chaos. Thus,
God’s setting of boundaries to the waters by means ofthe sands ofthe seashore
is interpreted as His triumph over Cha©s.* Note the corresponding verses in
Psalm 104:9, You set a bound which they should notpass, and in Job 38:11, You
shall come so fa r and no farther. The implication is that Chaos would return if
God’s perpetual activity as Creator were suspended. Once again, we find in
Psalm 104 the idea of God as the constant Sustainer as well as the Creator. Our
psalm farther suggests that the threatening waters have not been eliminated, but
have rather been turned int© springs that enable the wild asses and other beasts
to slake their thirst. Verse 12 manifests the j©y©us nature of these springs, for
The birds o fth e sky dwell beside them and sing among thefoliage. The waters
ofthe primeval flood have been app©inted their fixed places: from the celestial
waters comes the rain, from the terrestrial waters flow the springs. The p©et's
beautifhl description o fth e valleys, mountains, and streams illustrates the Di-
vine ham!©ny throughout nature.

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THE CREATION THEME IN GENESIS I,?SALM 104, AND JOB 38-42 33

The growth o f vegetation on Day 3 (Gen. 1:11) is expressed in ?salm 104:14

as Who causes ¡he grass to sprout. Among the things that the earth yields is
bread, that indispensable food whieh sustains the heart o fm a n , as well as oil
and wine for his enjoyment (104:15). This contrasts with the Genesis narrative,
where man’s quest for sustenance is seen as a painfal process: By the sweat ٠ /
your shallyou get bread to eat (Gen. 3:19). Note also that in ?salm 104:23
labor is viewed as a natural aspect ofhuman activity rather than a necessary evil
resulting from man’s sin.
Regarding foe creation of the "great luminaries" (sun and moon), Genesis 1:14
explains that they fonction to separate day from night and to serve as signsfor
the set times - the days and the years. Here, foe ?salmist (104:19-23) points to
foe order and harmony built into Creation, since nighttime is for foe animals,
whereas daytime, when animals sleep, is for man to pursue his quest for food.
The emergence of sea creatures is described in Genesis 1:20 as taking place in
the waters, whereas in Psalm 104:25 it is the sea, vast and wide, where living
things without number can swarm. This gives foe impression that primordial,
chaotic waters, foe tehom of Genesis 1:2, have now become foe site of farther
creation. The divisions stressed in Genesis between chaos and order are present-
ed in Psalms as forming part of a harmonious creation once they have been set
in their appropriate boundaries. Even the fearsome Leviathan is described as
God’s plaything (104: 26).
The constant refrain in Genesis 1, And the Lord saw that it was good, is ex-
pressed in this psalm with foe more poetic and effosive words. May the Lord
rejoice in His works! (104:31).

JOB
A graphic account of Creation constitates foe bulk of the last four chapters of
foe Book of Job. fob remonstrates with God, challenging Him to explain, as if
in a court of law, what transgressions should have merited his severe punish-
ment. God rejects foe arena of a law court, choosing instead to demonstrate to
fob foe wonders of Creation
The narrative reaches its climax in fob 38:1, as foe Lord appears to fob out ٠
/
the whirlwind. In foe course of four Divine speeches, foe longest in foe Bible,
God exhibits before Job foe majestic events of Creation and challenges him to

V0I.44,N©. 1 , 2 1 6 ‫م‬
34 FRED GOTTLIEB
even begin to understand His world. Job is thereby made aware of his true stat-
ure and forced to realize that it is not his place to question God’s rectitude or
wisdom.
In order to better understand foe portrayal of Creation in chapters 38 to 42, we
must first examine chapter 3, in which Job gives vent to his intense suffering in
foe most pitiful terms. The description of his lament serves as a basis for foe
later chapters of the book. Having refiised his wife’s advice to blaspheme God
(Job 2:9-10‫ ؛‬foe euphemistic term bless appears instead), he curses foe day of
his birth, fei^ently wishing that he had never been conceived. Job yearns for a
thorough overturning of Creation, saying, for example. Let there be darkness
(3:4), as if to negate foe very first bidding of foe Creator, Let there be light
With an exquisite touch of imagery foe author expresses this call for darkness as
May it not see the glimmerings o f the dawn (3:9), comparing foe first light of
day to foe eyelids o fa person just awakening. In his profound agony, Job seems
to regard himself as foe center of Creation. The Lord’s speeches in chapters 38
and 39 will force him to realize that God, not he, is foe true center of Creation.
Wishing for an end to his life, Job speaks longingly of Sheol, that netherworld
of oblivion where foe mighty and foe lowly together find some tranquillity
(3:13-19). The Lord will toll Job (38:1?) that he has no real concept of Sheol,
saying, Have the gates ofdeath been revealed to you?
With God’s appearance out o f the whirlwind, to unfold before Job foe vast
panorama of Creation, we encounter foe book's poetry at its most sublime. By
means of some thirty rhetorical questions, foe Lord challenges Job to try to
comprehend foe exclusive realm of the Divine. His initial question summarizes
all that follow: Where were you when / laid the earth's foundations? (38:4). Far
from being able to replicate these mighty acts, Job cannot even begin to com-
prehend them. The phrase be-yosdi aretz (”when I laid foe foundations of the
earth”) recalls one in Fsalm 104:8. Could it be that certain phrases in Job refer
deliberately and ironically to the joyous portrayal of Creation in Psalm 104? All
of the Lord’s questions deal with acts beyond foe realm of human comprehen-
sion, and to each o f them He demands an answer. With biting sarcasm, He says:
Surely you know ,foryou were born then, and the number ofyour days is many¡
(38:21).

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THE CREATION THEME IN GENESIS 1,?SALM 104, AND JOB 38-42 35

Chapt€r 38 focuses on foe creation and maintenance o f the inanimate world,

the breadth and depth of the earth, the sea, the dawn. Contrary to Job’s belief,
the Creator, after completing His work, did not leave the management of His
world to the laws of nature ٠٢to happenstance. The Lord’s speeches impress on
Job His unceasing care for foe world in its entirety, as well as His intimate in-
volvement in foe lives of all His creatures. With God’s rhetorical question as to
whether Job ever commanded the day to break (38:12), foe author clearly points
to Creation as an ongoing process of renewal, a theme we noted in ?salm 104.
That psalm uses foe imagery and metaphors o f construction in its portrayal of
Creation, and so does God’s account in foe Book of Job. Here, foe imagery sug-
gests foe planning of an architect: taking measurements, stretching lines, and
laying cornerstones (38:5-6). Elsewhere, we encounter foe poetic but seemingly
incongruous phrase, He suspended the earth over emptiness (26:7).
In addition, foe author uses another type of imagery - that of human birth - in
depicting foe creation of the world, as when foe sea brokeforth and issued out
o fth e womb (38:8). In a figure of speech recalling Psalm 104:6, You covered it
with the deep, as with a garment, Job 38:9 reads: When / made the cloud its
garment, and thick darkness its swaddling-band. This imagery, likening Crea-
tion to birth, sh a^ly contrasts with Job’s wish to die and for Creation to revert to
darkness.
The joyftrl song o f nature in praise of God, so prominent in Psalm 104, is also
found here, as in foe phrase When the morning stars sang [be‫־‬ran] together
(38:7). Note that foe word ran is God’s direct refutation of Job’s wish to end all
happiness: Let nojoyfulsound [renanah] be heard in it (Job 3:7).
Continuing His discourse in chapters 39 and 40, God shows how Creation is
revealed in foe animal kingdom, not only to demonstrate His providence but as a
challenge: can Job explain foe ways and secrets ofthe animal kingdom? These
secrets are known only to God! Job is thus forced to realize that God’s provi-
dence extends to all creatares, and that His involvement in foe governing ofthe
world is a continual process.
Pollowing more than 30 chapters concerned with foe theodicy problem (Why
do foe righteous suffer and foe evil prosper?), bofo Job and foe reader might
well expect that foe Lord’s revelation to Job will provide an answer to that great
mystery. This does not occur. Yet Job’s experience of being taken, as it wem.

٧٠١. 44, N o . 2016,‫ل‬

36 FRED GOTTLIEB
behind the scenes of God's Creation enables him to become reconciled to his
suffering and to find peace of mind in the conviction that God's ways are far
beyond the limits of human ^ p re h e n s io n . Ultimately, Job's encounter with
Creation leads him to exclaim, I had heard You with my ears, but now I see You
with my eyes! (42:5). Finally contrite, he declares nihamti, ”1 repent," which can
also mean "I have been comforted."

CONCLUSION
Three biblical texts describing Creation, as seen in Genesis 1, Fsalm 104 and
Job 38-42, have been investigated and contrasted. In the Genesis narrative we
read of God's labors in bringing the world into being, and of His satisfaction
with these accomplishments. In Psalm 104, the writer is very much part of the
narrative when he describes Creation and the natural world. Contemplating the
splendors o f Creation prompts him to glorify the Creator. Similarly, Job's view-
ing o f Creation leads him to appreciate God’s magnitude. Here it is God Himself
who shows Job the wonders of His universe. Whereas the Genesis 1 narrative
focuses on order and the separation of various opposing elements, Psalm 104
places greater emphasis on the joy and harmony of the created world, as well as
on God's role as the Sustainer of everything He created. These themes are also
found in the Book of Job, where the emphasis is on man's inability to compre-
hend God's ways. While differing markedly in style, language, and purpose,
each text is universal in its presentation, each glorifying God as the One and
only Creator of all being.

NOTES
L Amos ^akham, Da'atMikra - Sefer Tehillim (Jerusalem: Mossad Harav Kook, 1990) pp. 28-33.
2. w. ٨ . t^tegan. The Theological Dialectic o f Creation and Death in Hebrew Bible Traditions
(doetoral thesis. University of Groningen, 2009), seetion 2.5.3.
3. Lategan, ibid., section 2.5.2.2
4. Michael Carasik, The Bible's Many Voices (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2014)
pp. 316-319. This is graphieally depicted in Psalm 74:13-15.
5. A remarkably similar account of the undoing of Creation and the return of the earth to nothing-
ness is found in Jeremiah 4:23-26. The prophet also curses the day of his birth in langage virtually
identical to that found in the Book of Job (Jer. 20:14-15).

JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY

 ‫آلﻣﺂورلم؛‬

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