Since it is used exclusively of God and never takes
the accusative of the material, some have suggested that the word must mean “to
create out of nothing.” Evidently assuming that bārā’ meant “to create
out of nothing,” in contrast to the other words for making, Scholfield
popularized the view that there were only three creative acts of God: “(1) the
heavens and earth, v. 1; (2) animal life, v. 21; and (3) human life, vs. 26,
27.” (The Scofield Reference Bible [New York: Oxford University Press,
1909], p. 3)
But this distinction can not be maintained for at
least four reasons: 1) usage shows that bārā’ does not necessarily mean “to
create out of nothing”; 2) it is used synonymously with other words for making; 3)
other words for making may imply that the thing made did not originate out of
pre-existing material; and (4) the ancient versions did not see this meaning in
bārā’.
Two passages illustrate that bārā’ was used
without meaning “creatio ex nihilo.” In Genesis 1:27, we are told that God
“created” (bārā’) the man, but in Genesis 2:7 we learn that he formed
the man from the earth. Moreover, bārā’ is used with a double accusative
to define the production of a new mental state, for example, in Isaiah 65:18,
the Lord declares, “ . . . for behold, I create [bōrē] Jerusalem for
rejoicing and her people for gladness.” Gruenthaner observed: “Evidently,
Jerusalem and the people are represented as being prior to the state into which
they are converted.” (Michael G. Gruenthaner, “The Scriptural Doctrine in First
Creation,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 9 [1947], p. 50) From our
study of the structure of Rev. 1:1-3 I would also conclude that bārā’ in
verse 1 does not include the bringing of the negative state described in verse
2 into existence. Rather it means that He utilized it as a part of His
creation. In this sense He created it. (Bruce K. Waltke, Creation and Chaos:
An Exegetical and Theological Study of Biblical Cosmogony [Portland, Oreg.:
Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974], 49-50; note that Walkte is an advocate of creation ex nihilo)