Biblical Eloquence in Genesis 1

As Moses is depicting God’s creation of the earth, he employs many stylistic techniques that influence the reading and understanding of the events.

The whole chapter is set up as a division of the creation as a whole into smaller sections (merismus).  The sections are numbered and labeled as days (eutrepismus).  While it is assumed that God did not literally create the earth in seven 24-hour periods, the use of this simplification allows readers to better understand the concept in their own terms.  The divisions are also helpful in that it demonstrate God’s logical plan and execution.

The chapter also includes a plethora of parallelism.  For example, verse 7 reads, "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament."  Moses uses a similar tactic with employing opposites such as "light" and "darkness," "day" and night."  By doing these things, it expands to the reader the magnitude of God's creations and makes a more comprehensive image of His actions.

Another example of eloquence in presentation is found in repetition (epistrophe).  The phrase, "...and it was so," is repeated in 6 verses within the chapter.  After God desires and plans to create something, the verses indicate that it happened.  The immediacy of this declarative statement adds to the implied impact of God's word and power.  Following the creation of certain things, the Lord looks back on His creation "and [sees] that it [is] good."  This affirmation is also repeated numerous times.  By employing this repetition, readers are constantly being reinforced with the idea that God's creations turned out as desired and are "good."  More meaning comes into play with repetition as the concluding verse of the chapter varies slightly.  After God's creation of man, He states that "it was very good."  The variation implies that man is God's greatest creation and gives the reader a better sense of his own value.