THE SIX DAYS OF GENESIS

SIX DAYS OF GENESIS


In the beginning God
created the heaven
and the earth.

And the earth was
without form, and void;
and darkness was
upon the face of the deep.

(I)

And the Spirit of God
moved upon
the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light:
and there was light.
And God saw the light,
that it was good:

and God divided the light
from the darkness.
And God called the light Day,
and the darkness he called Night.

And the evening and the morning
were the first day.

(II)

And God said, Let there be
a firmament in the midst of the waters,
and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament,
and divided the waters
which were under the firmament
from the waters which were
above the firmament:
and it was so.

And God called
the firmament Heaven.

And the evening and the morning
were the second day.

(III)

And God said, Let the waters
under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place,
and let the dry land appear:
and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth;
and the gathering together of the waters
called he Seas:
and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass,
the herb yielding seed,
and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth:
and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass,
and herb yielding seed after his kind,
and the tree yielding fruit,
whose seed was in itself, after his kind:
and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning
were the third day.

(IV)

And God said, Let there be lights
in the firmament of the heaven
to divide the day from the night;
and let them be for signs,
and for seasons,
and for days,
and years:

And let them be for lights
in the firmament of the heaven
to give light upon the earth:
and it was so.

And God made two great lights;
the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the night:
he made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament
of the heaven
to give light upon the earth,
And to rule over the day
and over the night, and
to divide the light from the darkness:
and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning
were the fourth day.

(V)

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly
the moving creature that hath life,
and fowl that may fly above the earth
in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales,
and every living creature that moveth,
which the waters brought forth abundantly,
after their kind,
and every winged fowl
after his kind:
and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying,
and multiply,
and fill the waters in the seas,
and let fowl multiply in the earth.

And the evening and the morning
were the fifth day.

(VI)

And God said, Let the earth bring forth
the living creature after his kind, cattle,
and creeping thing,
and beast of the earth
after his kind:
and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth
after his kind,
and cattle after their kind,
and every thing that creepeth upon the earth
after his kind:
and God saw that it was good.

And God said,
Let us make man
in our image,
after our likeness:

and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle,
and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man
in his own image,
in the image of God
created he him;
male and female
created he them.

And God blessed them,
and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth,

and subdue it:
and have dominion
over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing
that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have
given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth,
and every tree, in the which is the fruit
of a tree yielding seed;
to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth,
and to every fowl of the air, and
to every thing that creepeth upon the earth,
wherein there is life,
I have given every green herb for meat:
and it was so.

And God saw every thing
that he had made,
and, behold, it was very good.

And the evening and the morning
were the sixth day.

* * *
The Book of Genesis, Chapter One
- from the King James version

* I believe Six Days Genesis to be a most ancient poem, originally of an aural heritage, one that long predates the discovery of writing, for the lines of text are fruity with the breath of chant and the rhythm of bardic-trance in the regular beat of primal mnemonics, with repetitions, doublings, triplings, and layerings to build the telling creation.