Holy is Whole: According to the Bible in Genesis 1:1-2:3 (Part 1)



If there is any key passage as to the meaning of holy, I believe it is Genesis 2:3 in its context. This is supported by many passages like Exodus 20 and Exodus 31. This morning, I did two things toward making the meaning of holiness clearer. First, I tracked the word "day" through the first clearly recognized section in Genesis, Genesis 1:1-2:3. Second, I looked at what makes effective communication and whether Genesis is an example of that effectiveness.


First, if we take the word "day" and track it only where the meaning is the same, and not changed according to context, we end up with the following list.


1:5 So the evening and the morning were the first day.
1:8 So the evening and the morning were the second day.
1:13 So the evening and the morning were the third day.
1:19 So the evening and the morning were the fourth day.
1:23 So the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
1:31 So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
2:2 And on the seventh day God ended His work
2:2 and He rested on the seventh day from all His work
2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day
2:3 and made it [the seventh day] holy
2:3 because in it [the seventh day] He rested from all His work.


Relationally, in this entire section of Genesis, the "day" is mentioned 1 time about every 11 phrases. But the relational distance between them goes way down as "day" is mentioned 1 time in every 1 phrase in Genesis 2:2-2:3, as the passage appears to climax at the seventh day which we understand today to make up the end of a week.


Second, when it comes to effective communication, what changes is not only relational distance, but also how things are expressed. The sentence: "So the evening and the morning were the nth day" is missing when it comes to the seventh day. So the question becomes: Why is it missing or is it missing?


A short time ago, I was told by an experienced English teacher that the ultimate classic grammar is: English Grammar and Composition by John E. Warriner. In that book, it suggests this rule for more effective communication. It says to choose the most vivid words. This means, more specifically, that you are supposed to avoid general, colorless, dead and inexact words and instead replace them with specific, colorful, vigorous and exact words. Now while this rule is overstated, if you think you must apply it all the time, it still applies as a good rule for effective communication.

So I believe that since God would try to communicate to us in an effective way, it is possible He may apply this method. I also believe I see evidence for Him using it especially in Genesis 2:2-2:3.

Notice that a day is defined over and over by general, colorless, dead and inexact words as: a day is an evening and a morning. The only specifics we are given for the first six days is "first, second, third, fourth, etc." and the word "day" is inexact except through the repeated context of "the evening and the morning" and the use of "the," otherwise it could mean day as in our idea of day time or the light of the day, as it is in a portion of Genesis 1. To summarize we seem to get mostly a definition that is repeated over and over in the same format: "So the evening and the morning were the first, second, etc. day." Definitions are very helpful, but left alone they can come across as general, colorless, dead and inexact. And that is the key, if they are left alone.

I believe the definition gets a real boost in Genesis 2:2-2:3. In 2:3 it says: "Then God blessed the seventh day and made it [the seventh day] holy." We see here specific, colorful, vigorous and exact words. And I think we also see them replacing the former words used for the first six days. Originally we see: "were the first, second, etc. day." Now we see: "God blessed the seventh day." Originally we see: "the evening and the morning were the nth day." Now we see: "made it [the seventh day] holy." Notice the replacement of the dead "were" with the vigorous "blessed." Notice the replacement of "the evening and the morning were," as a definition for day, with the vigorous "made it holy."

What I believe has happened is a replacement of `to be' verbs with an action verb in each case to summarize again the concept of a day. I believe what also has happened is a desire to climax the end of what we call a week by avoiding the overuse of single words by using varied words. So now it is specific, it is colorful, it is vigorous and it is exact. First, we see that it must be specific, because now a pronoun works in the context; it is colorful, because in close proximity and side by side the seventh day gets repeated; it is vigorous, because it is active; and it is exact, because seventh day follows after six times it being defined as "the evening and the morning were the nth day."

So made the seventh day holy means the day includes the evening and the morning, the whole day with both parts. And blessing means that this day and the others are fruitful as shown by work or rest, they are multiplying as we see in the days being listed numerically and they are filling as they fill up the whole story of the beginning and set the pattern for all of time until the end.

I think God communicates effectively, we just haven't realized how effectively. Hopefully, I have been effective too and you will meditate on these words and especially Genesis 1:1-2:3. May God bless you richly and make you whole.

In Christ,


Pastor Jon