The opening verse of the Torah — and of the entire Bible — is one of the most studied sentences in human history. In the King James Version (KJV) it reads: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." But the original Biblical Hebrew reveals far more than any translation can capture.
This single verse contains seven Hebrew words. Each one carries centuries of meaning, grammatical precision, and theological weight. Let's break them down one by one.
The Seven Words of Genesis 1:1
| Hebrew | Transliteration | Root / Note | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרֵאשִׁית | Bereshit | רֹאשׁ (rosh) — head, beginning | In the beginning / At the head of |
| בָּרָא | bara | Root: ב-ר-א — to create (ex nihilo) | Created (past tense, 3rd person singular) |
| אֱלֹהִים | Elohim | Plural form of אֵל (El) — God, power | God (the Creator; grammatically plural, verb singular) |
| אֵת | et | Definite direct object marker | [marks the object — not translated in English] |
| הַשָּׁמַיִם | ha-shamayim | שָׁמַיִם — naturally dual/plural | The heavens / the skies |
| וְאֵת | ve-et | וְ (ve) = and + אֵת (et) = object marker | And [the] |
| הָאָרֶץ | ha-aretz | אֶרֶץ — earth, land, ground | The earth / the land |
Bereshit — "In the Beginning"
The first word, בְּרֵאשִׁית (Bereshit), is actually composed of two parts: the preposition בְּ (be-, meaning "in" or "at") plus רֵאשִׁית (reshit, meaning "beginning" or "first"). The root is רֹאשׁ (rosh) — the same word used for "head" in Hebrew.
Notably, Bereshit is also the Hebrew name for the entire Book of Genesis. Jewish tradition names each of the Five Books of Moses after its first significant word. So when Jews refer to "the Book of Bereshit," they mean Genesis.
Some scholars have noted that Bereshit begins with the letter בֵּית (Bet) — the second letter of the alphabet, not the first (Aleph). This has generated centuries of rabbinic commentary about the significance of beginning at the second letter.
Bara — "Created" (Ex Nihilo)
The verb בָּרָא (bara) is critically important. In Biblical Hebrew, this specific word for "create" is used exclusively with God as the subject. It describes creation from nothing — ex nihilo — which is theologically distinct from human craftsmanship (עָשָׂה, asah) or forming (יָצַר, yatzar).
The verb is in the qal perfect (simple past) form, third person masculine singular: "He created." The subject comes after the verb in standard Hebrew word order: Verb → Subject → Object.
Elohim — The Name of God
One of the most discussed features of this verse is the name אֱלֹהִים (Elohim). It is grammatically a plural form — the suffix -im is the masculine plural in Hebrew. Yet the verb bara is singular: "He created."
This is the "plural of majesty" — a known Hebrew grammatical feature used for beings of supreme power or divine authority. It is the same construction seen in the royal "we." The Torah itself uses a singular verb, making clear there is one God who created.
Ha-Shamayim — The Heavens
הַשָּׁמַיִם (ha-shamayim) is interesting because the root shamayim is itself a plural or dual form — there is no singular shameh in common Biblical use. The heavens are inherently understood as a multi-layered realm in ancient cosmology: the sky, the stars, and the divine dwelling.
The prefix הַ (ha-) means "the" — this is the definite article in Hebrew, identical in form whether the noun is singular or plural.
Ha-Aretz — The Earth
הָאָרֶץ (ha-aretz) means "the earth" or "the land." The same word is used throughout the Torah for the Promised Land — Eretz Yisrael (אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל), the Land of Israel. The dual meaning of cosmic earth and specific land runs throughout scripture.
The Aleph-Tav: A Hidden Mystery?
Many readers notice the word אֵת (et) appearing twice in this verse — once before "the heavens" and once before "the earth." This word is the definite direct object marker; it has no direct English equivalent and is never translated. However, et is also the names of the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet together: אָלֶף (Aleph) and תָּו (Tav).
Some interpreters read this as a statement that God created everything from Aleph to Tav — the full extent of all that exists, from beginning to end. Whether grammatical marker or divine signature, the presence of et has fascinated readers for millennia.
Read Genesis 1:1 in Context
Understanding a verse word by word is just the beginning. The Torah reader on Hebroni lets you read the complete text of Genesis in Biblical Hebrew, tap any verse to see its English translation, and hover any word to see its individual meaning.
Read Genesis 1 in the Torah Reader
See the full chapter in Hebrew with verse-by-verse translation and word hover tooltips.
Read Genesis Chapter 1 Search "in the beginning"Summary
In just seven Hebrew words, Genesis 1:1 establishes a cosmology, a theology, and a literary tradition that has shaped civilization for thousands of years. The precision of Biblical Hebrew — a language where every root, prefix, and grammatical form carries meaning — rewards close study. Every word in this verse was chosen with intention.
The God described here, Elohim, is the only subject of bara — the only one who creates from nothing. And what He created encompasses everything: ha-shamayim ve-ha-aretz — the heavens and the earth. All of it. In the beginning.