“In the beginning”
The word “the” is
the standard translation in most versions of the English Old Testament.
Yet it causes a conundrum because it suggests a starting point, “the
beginning.” However, we are told quite specifically that God has
always been and always will be. So, what was before? Only God, or something
else? Interestingly, the original Hebrew gives a little more information. We
could read the translated Hebrew words as “In a beginning.” The
difference lies in a single vowel in the Hebrew text with Masoretic pointing.
Originally, the text contained no vowel markings and these markings were added
by the Masoretes, a group of Jewish scribes who worked on this effort around AD
500-1000. To avoid the accusation that they had modified God’s original words
and enable non-natural Hebrew speakers to learn and read the text, they added a
system of dots and dashes that indicate vowel sounds for the consonantal text.
Prior to the Masoretes, a vowel was only ever spoken, and the sound could be
misheard; therefore, the vowels of the text are not themselves inspired. This
difference in Genesis
1:1 between “the” and “a” is simply
one vowel. If the correct rendition is “In a beginning,” it
implies there was a starting point, but it was not necessarily the only
beginning of things—angels were already there, for instance. We could, however,
argue that “in the beginning” is the accurate translation if
we consider that the whole of Scripture is essentially God’s interest in our
planet and the people on it.
Ultimately, we cannot ignore the
overall translators’ views that “In the” is appropriate,
indicating that the actual interpretation of what follows it is left to the
individual to determine. (David Pearce, “Deconstructing
Genesis 1:1,” The Tidings 89, no. 2 [February 2026]: 21)
