Bara #56

Bara is the Hebrew verb for creating, and it is the word that opens the Bible: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Hebrew has other verbs for making and forming, and what sets this one apart is its subject. In the forms where it means “create,” only God is ever the one who does it.

Biblical Usage

Genesis 1 uses bara for the creation of the heavens and earth, of the great sea creatures (Genesis 1:21), and of humanity, where the verb is repeated three times in one verse (Genesis 1:27). Elsewhere the same verb speaks of God’s creating in the present and future. Isaiah uses it of God’s calling Israel into being (Isaiah 43:1) and of the new heavens and new earth (Isaiah 65:17). The psalmist asks God to “create in me a clean heart” (Psalm 51:10), applying it to inner renewal. Numbers 16:30 uses it for something that has not happened before, when Moses says that if the LORD “make a new thing” the earth will swallow up the rebels.

The verb does not mention materials. Verses that describe formation, such as Genesis 2:7 where God forms man from the dust, use other verbs. In a few passages a different stem of the verb means “to cut down” or “clear,” as when Joshua tells the tribes to “cut down” the forest (Joshua 17:15), and some scholars think this may be the root sense, though that is uncertain.

Theological Significance

Because bara is used only of God and never states the material, it has been taken as pointing to his unique power to bring things into being. Christian and Jewish tradition has often read Genesis 1:1 as teaching creation from nothing, while some scholars argue the passage is about ordering a pre-existing chaos and that creation from nothing is a later doctrine developed from other texts. Interpreters also differ over how the verb relates to the days of Genesis 1, and to scientific accounts of origins. Either way, the verb’s use in Isaiah for new creation links God’s original act to his promised renewal.