A friend of mine sent me the link to Jeremy Howard’s discussion of Gen 1-2 (link). At the 2:58 mark, we have this comment when Jeremy is going through the Hebrew and English on Accordance (a Bible software [I use Logos and Bibleworks, fwiw]):
You'll notice that the words like
"the" and "and" are not in the original Hebrew; they get
added later.
This would not be so bad if it were not for the condescending tone
throughout and the fact that Jeremy is a pastor of a Church. The definite
article and conjunctions including “and” are in the Hebrew of Gen
1:1 and were not added later like the italicised words in the KJV. I will do Jeremy et al a favour and highlight them:
בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית
בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ
I have highlighted the instance of “and” (ו) and “the” (ה). As
anyone who paid attention the first 30 minutes of a Hebrew 101 class (shout out to all those who took that class with me in Maynooth back in '06) will tell you,
both “and” and “the," in Hebrew, are prefixes (in this
case, “and” being coupled with אֵת (here, untranslatable marker denoting the
accusative case) and “the” with both “heavens” (שָׁמַיִם) and “earth” (אֶרֶץ).
Yes, the definite article appears twice in this one verse, or as Nelson
Muntz would put it:
This is a really embarrassing mistake to make; I am reminded of the epic Hebrew fail by those at "Zelph on the Shelf" on "Jershon" in the Book of Mormon (see Zelph on the Shelf vs. Jershon). Howard gives them a run for their money.
As for Gen 1:1 and creation ex nihilo, we just got empty
blather. On this topic, see, for e.g.:
Blake T. Ostler, Out of Nothing: A History of Creation ex Nihilo in Early Christian Thought (cf. Blake T. Ostler, "J.P. Holding on Creation Out of Nothing")
Daniel O. McClellan, James Patrick Holding refuted on Creation Ex Nihilo
Answering the Claim that Interpreting Genesis 1:2 as a Dependent Clause is too Cumbersome in Hebrew
Thomas Römer on creatio ex materia in Genesis 1
William P. Brown on Creation Ex Materia in the Priestly Creation Account
Michael J. Alter on בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית in Genesis 1:1 being in the construct state
Creation Ex Materia and "Nothingness" in the Bible
Tremper Longman III on Genesis 1 and Creation from Nothing
The Waters of Genesis 1 Not Being Created but Preexisting Creation
Howard Schwartz on the Primordial Elements in Genesis in Jewish Traditions
Joseph Blenkinsopp on Creation Ex Materia in Genesis 1
John A. Cook on the Syntax of Genesis 1:1-3
Gerhard Kittel on ברא Meaning to Create out of a Material, not Ex Nihilo
Michael LeFebvre on ברא Not Meaning "Create (out of nothing)"
Nathan J. Chambers: ברא does not necessarily denote creation ex nihilo
Update:
TL;DR:
Jeremy: Never had an iota of Hebrew in my life.
Also Jeremy: I know… I’ll make a video and discuss the Hebrew.
Also Jeremy: Bro, never said I knew Hebrew! *inhales Calvinistic copium*
Jeremy has claimed I am ignoring his comments about Rev 4:11 and the like. That is a lie. I have discussed this and other texts before, as have other informed LDS scholars and apologists. In reality, Jeremy is clueless about the work of Ostler, Oord, May, et al., on the relevant issues (and these are the basic 'go to' sources on creation ex nihilo vs. material). Re. Rev 4:11 (a text which refutes Trinitarianism), see:
Refuting Jeff Durbin on "Mormonism" (scroll down to the discussion of Col 1:15-20)
On the meaning of "create," "[non-] existence," etc. It is clear Jeremy has not read anything by any informed Latter-day Saint (or even non-LDS scholarship) on the topic. See Blake T. Ostler, Out of Nothing: A History of Creation ex Nihilo in Early Christian
