articlesforchristians

THE FIRST SEVEN PHRASES IN GENESIS (1:1)

In the English Bible, Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This ten-word statement consists of seven Hebrew words in the Hebrew text. Below is a chart with the verse with the Hebrew words and the English.

At the very center of this Hebrew phrase are the two letters Alef and Tav, left untranslated. These letters often pronounced “et,” appear throughout the Hebrew Scriptures and serve in grammar as a marker indicating that the word following is the definite direct object.

Some believe this seven-word Hebrew phrase depicts the ancient temple’s golden candlestick, the menorah.

The temple menorah had seven branches, with the central shaft known as the “servant branch.” In Revelation 1:8, Jesus is described as standing among seven golden candlesticks (a menorah) and declaring, “I am Alpha and Omega,” the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In Hebrew, He would have said, “I am the Alef and the Tav,” the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Reading Genesis 1:1 this way— “In the beginning God created the Alef-Tav”—suggests that God declared the end from the beginning, and that Christ was with God from the very start. Viewed as a menorah, the center represents the Alef-Tav, the same position as the “servant branch.” From Christ flows the anointing oil, as He promised to send the Holy Spirit to all believers. Remember that Jesus came not to be served but to serve.

• Mark 10:45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

So, likening him to the “Servant Branch” describes what Jesus came to do according to Mark 10:45.