Hi CA,
What we have in the more modern translations of the Torah is not creation ex nihilo but the creation of order out of chaos,
I notice you mention 'more modern translations', are you suggesting that older texts may imply creation ex nihilo?
I was under the impression that the OT simply doesn't imply C ex N, and it is obvious that the world existed in some form before God and His heavenly buddies arrived here.
Philip Davies (yes him) was giving a talk at our Bible Study class last week, and he suggested that perhaps the existence of evil could be explained by it sprouting from this 'chaos' rather that it being created by a 'good' being.
Does source criticism suggest that v.2 is a later insertion? For example, I see that 'God' is mentioned in all three verses, is it the same word used three times?
Brian.
™ Version 4.2
