31. Bereshit — Abarbanel on the Torah, Section 31

The Many Meanings of Mayim: Between Language and Creation

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And I would suggest that the upper bodies were called mayim (“waters”) on account of the word shamayim (“heavens”), with the letter shin—though it is a root letter in shamayim—having been omitted, just as in the verse “I will leave you over for good”¹ (Jeremiah 15:11), whose root is she’er, yet the aleph falls away. Thus, mayim would be like shamayim, and the Torah concealed the shin in the name mayim in order to conceal the true nature of those upper waters².

Nor should it seem surprising that Scripture calls “waters” that which is not elemental water³. For we find that the term mayim is applied to other things that are not literally water, as in: “From the waters of Judah they came forth” (Isaiah 48:1); “then the wicked waters would have passed over our soul” (Psalms 124:5); “drink water from your own cistern” (Proverbs 5:15); “Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (Isaiah 55:1). And our Sages said: “There is no water but Torah.”

Since, according to the testimony of these verses and others, the term mayim can denote anything great and powerful in a general sense, what would prevent it from being used, from this perspective, for those noble and essential bodies?

At times, however, the term mayim is used more specifically for the lower luminous substance, namely the element of water, as in: “Let the waters swarm” (Genesis 1:20), “and the waters prevailed” (Genesis 7:24), and similar expressions. These are called mayim in the plural—either because the term mayim, in its general usage, includes multiple distinct natures, namely the upper and lower waters; or because the upper waters themselves differ in their nature, referring to the spheres and the stars, and are therefore expressed in the plural.

As for the lower waters, they too are called mayim in the plural because of their divisions into parts, their droplets, and their movements as they flow and intermingle. Likewise, “He called the gathering of the waters seas” (Genesis 1:10) uses the plural, even though we also find “sea” in the singular—either because there are different seas that flow into one another, as explained by the Ephodi⁴, or because of the multiplicity of their parts and their constant motion.

And since, within the region of the air, rain is generated, the chief of the poets said: “He roofs His upper chambers with water” (Psalms 104:3). And because great dangers occur in seas and waters, Scripture borrows the term mayim to signify distress: “We went through fire and through water” (Psalms 66:12); “I have come into the deep water, and the current has swept me away.” (Psalms 69:3).

From this, the term mayim is also metaphorically applied to sound counsel by which one may be saved from distress, as it is said: “Counsel in man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out” (Proverbs 20:5).

From all this, it becomes clear what is indicated by the term mayim: at times it is used in a general sense for all bodies, both upper and lower together; at times for the celestial bodies alone; at times for the four elements; and at times for elemental water alone. Thus it is said: “And God made the expanse and it separated between the water that was below the expanse and the water that was above the expanse, and it was so.” (Genesis 1:7).

And after clarifying these shared usages and meanings of the term, I shall proceed—with the help of the Lord God—to explain the verses of this section according to the different approaches, and to resolve the questions I have raised.

And now he comes to explain the passage:

“In the beginning, God created…” (Genesis 1:1).

According to what I have explained regarding the equivocal use of the word bereshit (“in the beginning”), which may refer either to a principle or foundation—being a part of the thing itself, as explained by Maimonides—or to the “now,” which is the beginning of time, even though it is not itself time, this verse may be explained in one of two ways.

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