While English translations can make it sound as though God created the Sun, Moon and stars that instant, the Hebrew text indicates otherwise. First, the text states God “made” (
‛āśāh) the lights, not that He “created” (
bārā’) them.
Asah expresses the idea of producing something from pre-existing material, not the idea of bringing something into existence that did not exist before (
bārā’).
60 Also, the verb
asah does not specify
when God created the heavenly bodies, only that he completed the action. Second, the Hebrew “Let there be...” does not imply the creation of the heavenly bodies in the sense of their coming into existence.
61 “Let there be” is completed with the purpose clause “to separate.” Thus, the narrative focuses on the
function of the lights rather than their
origin.
62 Third, the Hebrew “and it was so” denotes a completed action–that the sun and moon had performed the functions God commanded, serving as signs for years, seasons and days. This could not be accomplished in a 24-hour period. All of these things argue against an instantaneous creation of the Sun, Moon and stars.
It is also important to remember that the Hebrew phrase “the heavens and the earth” (
hashamayim we ha ‘erets) in
Genesis 1:1 encompasses everything in the physical universe. As previously discussed, this interpretation is supported by the
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,
63 Vine
64 and Grudem.
65 Bruce Waltke also confirms that
hashamayim we ha ‘erets refers to the totality of the physical universe, all matter and energy and whatever else it contains.
66 Thus, the Hebrew text clearly states the Sun, Moon and stars were created “in the beginning” and not on the fourth day.
For these reasons, many Bible scholars believe
Genesis 1:16 is more accurately interpreted as meaning God
had made the heavenly bodies
prior to the fourth day. Gleason Archer states: “The Hebrew verb
wayya`as’ in verse 16 should better be rendered ‘Now [God]
had made the two great luminaries...”
67 Wayne Grudem states: “[had made] can be taken as
perfects indicating what God had done before... This view would imply that God
had made the sun, moon, and stars earlier... or allowed them to be seen from the earth on Day 4.”
68 Harris, Archer, and Waltke state: “Verse 16 should
not be understood as indicating the creation of the heavenly bodies for the first time on the fourth creative day; rather it informs us that the sun, moon, and stars
were created on Day 1.”
69 And, James Montgomery Boice states: “It is not said that these [sun, moon, and stars] were created on the fourth day; they were created in the initial creative work of God referred to in
Genesis 1:1.”
70