41. Bereshit — Abarbanel on the Torah, Section 41

The World Before Completion

Previous section → Heaven and Earth Created Without Intermediaries

Explanation of the nature of tohu and bohu

“And the earth was tohu and bohu, and darkness…” (Genesis 1:2)¹ until the end of the verse.

After Scripture has explained the creation of the heavens and the earth, it now turns to explain what their condition was at the moment of their creation. Were the celestial sphere, together with all the luminaries and stars, already shining and radiant as they are today? And were the elements likewise created together with all their composites, in their full perfection and with their distinct places? Or what, precisely, was their state at the time of creation?

To this it answers that “the earth was tohu”—for the divine Torah did not wish to explain the levels of the separate intellects, their orders, their number, their distinctions, and their chain of emanation; nor did it explain what are the movers that set the heavens in motion, what are the givers of forms, or what are the agents that bestow prophecy upon the prophets and wisdom upon the sages. Nor did it explain the nature of the celestial sphere—its sides, its structure, its center, the manner of its motion, its soul, or its desire.

All these matters, and others like them, are difficult for the human intellect to grasp. Therefore, the Torah did not concern itself with elaborating upon them, once it had testified to their creation in a general way. Instead, it expanded its explanation in regard to things accessible to our senses—whether the lower composite beings, which are close to us by nature and place, or the luminaries and stars, which are perceptible to our senses.

For this reason, it begins by explaining the condition of the earth, which immediately follows in the preceding verse, saying: “And the earth was tohu and bohu.” This may be explained according to the two interpretations I have already given of the terms tohu and bohu.

The first is that tohu refers to prime matter, and bohu to form. According to this, the verse means that the elements included under the name “earth,” at their initial coming-into-being, already possessed within each of them both matter and the specific form that distinguishes each element according to its nature. For this alone constituted their first act of existence and creation—not yet their differentiation in place nor their combinations, for these occurred later, during the subsequent days, as will be explained.

Likewise, although Scripture states that the Holy One, blessed be He, created the heavens, the spheres were not yet complete in their distinctions, nor did they yet contain luminaries. Therefore, there was as yet no light in the world, as it says: “and darkness was on the face of the deep” (Genesis 1:2). The meaning is not the surface of the earthly deep or the waters covering it; rather, “the face of the deep” refers to the concave surface of the sphere—the face of the celestial body turned toward the deep².

Thus the verse teaches two things. First, that there was as yet no light in the world—for even upon the inner surface of the sphere there was darkness, all the more so upon the earth and the waters, since no ray of light descended upon them. Second, that the elements were still intermixed and not yet separated into their proper places. The lighter elements, air and fire, were mingled with one another, and likewise the heavier ones, water and earth—which are more perceptible to us—were in a state of mixture and confusion. This is called tohu, a term applied to the waters that cover the earth; and therefore the concave surface of the sphere, facing this deep, is called “the face of the deep.”

It further states that although the heavens lacked luminaries and light, “the spirit of God”—a term referring to the separate intellects—was “hovering,” that is, stirring and imparting motion through its influence over the face of the waters; that is, over the upper heavens, which are called “waters,” as I have explained regarding the shared usage of the term, and will explain further. This is said to inform us that the celestial sphere created on the first day was already in motion from the moment of its creation, moving over the elements, with the separate moving intellect acting upon it. From the very moment it was created in spherical form, it was in motion, going wherever the spirit directed it.

According to this interpretation, tohu and bohu refer to matter and form created together within the elements; “darkness” signifies the absence of light, for light had not yet been created; “the face of the deep” refers to the concave surface of the sphere turned toward the deep; and “the spirit of God” refers to the separate intellects with respect to motion—called “spirit” by analogy to the vital spirit that moves the body. The term merachefet (“hovering”) alludes to motion: just as a bird hovers over its young or its eggs to give them life, so the separate intellect, through its influence and motion imparted to the sphere, gives life and sustains it and all that is within it. The surface of the sphere is called “the face of the waters,” because its most visible aspect is its surface, and what is most apparent is fittingly called “face,” as I have explained.

After Scripture has shown that both the upper and lower realms were not yet complete, and that there was as yet no light in the world, it proceeds to explain how the Holy One, blessed be He, brought them to completion through light and through the works of the remaining days.

(Parashat Bereshit — Genesis 1:1, The World Before Completion in the Commentary of Don Isaac Abarbanel)

Next section →