And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
All Commentaries on Genesis 1:2 Go To Genesis 1
Ephrem The Syrian
AD 373
After this Moses spoke not of the firmament and things that were above [it], but rather of those things that were between the firmament and the earth which is within [ the firmament ]. Moses wrote about [ the things within the firmament ] for us, although he did not write about everything for us, for he did not record for us the day on which the spiritual things were created.
Moses then goes on to write about the earth, "that it was tohu and bohu, " [ Gen1:2 ] that is, void and desolation. This is to show that even the void and desolation were prior to the elements. I am not saying that the void and desolation were something, but rather that that earth which was to become well-known did not exist, for only the [primitive] earth, without any other [adornment] existed.
After Moses spoke about the creation of heaven and earth and showed that the waste and desolation preceded the elements that were created by the length of that moment that followed [their creation ], he turned to write about those elements saying, "Darkness was upon the face of the abyss" [ Gen1:2 ] . For the abyss of waters was created at that time. But how was it created on the day on which it was created? Even though it was created on this day and at this time, Moses does not tell us here how it was created. For now we should accept the creation of the abyss as it is written, while we wait to learn from Moses how it was created.
As for the darkness that was upon the face of the abyss, some posit that it was a cloud of heaven. Now, if the firmament had been created on the first day they would speak rightly. If the upper heavens were similar to the firmament, then there would be a thick darkness between the two heavens, for the light had not been created nor affixed there to dissipate the darkness there by its rays. But if the place between the two heavens is light as Ezekiel, Paul, and Stephen bear witness, then how could the heavens, which had dissipated the darkness with their lights, spread darkness over the abyss?
Because everything that was created was created in those six days, whether its creation was written down or not, the clouds must also have been created on that first day, just as fire was created along with wind, although Moses did not write about the fire as he did about the wind. Thus, the clouds were created along with the abyss although Moses did not write that the clouds were created along with the abyss, just as he did not record the creation of fire along with that of the wind when he wrote about the creation of the wind.
It was necessary that everything be known to have its beginning in those six days. The clouds were surely created along with the abyss, for how many times were these brought forth from the abyss? Elijah saw a cloud rising up out of the sea. Solomon also said, "By his knowledge the depths broke forth and the clouds sprinkled down dew." It was not only because of their substance that they should have been created at this point, but they were created on that first night because they also rendered service on that first night. Just as the clouds covered Egypt for three days and three nights, clouds were spread over all of creation on the first night and on the first day. If the clouds had been dispersed, light would not have been required on the first day because the brightness of the upper heavens would have been sufficient to fill the place of the light that was created on the first day.
After one night and one day were completed, the firmament was created on the second evening and henceforth its shadow rendered service for all subsequent nights. Therefore, heaven and earth were created on the evening of the first night. Along with the abyss that was created there were also created those clouds which brought about the requisite night when they were spread out. After their shadow had served for twelve hours, light was created beneath them and the light dispersed their shadow that had been spread over the waters all night.
After Moses spoke of the darkness that was spread over the face of the abyss, he then said, "the wind of God was hovering over the face of the waters." [ Gen1:2 ] Because Moses called it the "wind of God" and said "it was hovering," some posit that this is the Holy Spirit and, because of that which is written here, associate it with the activity [of creation.] Nevertheless, the faithful do not make this connection, for they are not likely to so relate it. Rather, by those things that are truly said about it, they associate it with that element. To the end that from these names they are not able to consider the Spirit as active in creation. For it is said that an evil spirit of God consumed Saul.
It is also said that "[ the wind ] was hovering," but what came forth from the waters on the first day when [ the wind ] was hovering over the waters? If on the day that it was written that "it was hovering over the waters" nothing came out of the waters, and then on the fifth day when the waters brought forth reptiles and birds, it was not written that the wind "was hovering," how then can anyone say that this wind took part in the activity of creation? For, although scripture says "it was hovering", it did not say that anything came out of the waters on the day that it was hovering.
Just as through the service of the clouds, that is, the shadow of the first night, the creation of the clouds that came to be on the first day was brought to our attention, so too through the service of the wind, which is its breeze, Moses wished to make known to us the creation [ of the wind ]. For just as clouds do not exist without a shadow neither does wind exist without a breeze. It is in their service then that we notice those things that are not otherwise apparent to us. Therefore that wind was blowing because it was created for this purpose. After it blew and manifested its creation through its service on the first night, it became calm once again on the first day just as the clouds were dispersed once again on the first day.
