Glossary of the commentaries on Genesis 1:1
This article is a note on the technical terms used in the commentaries on Genesis 1:1 introduced by the article Genesis 1:1 Bereshit.
Arkhế: This word is also the first word of the book of Genesis in the Greek translation of the Septuagint (the Bible translated into Greek in Alexandria by the 70 wise men in the 3rd century BC). As we shall see, the meaning of the word arkhế is complex, and many authors provide examples of its use in several fields. Arkhế, depending on the context, can therefore take on different meanings: beginning (in time), start (of the path), origin (of what is begotten), foundation (of what is built), model (of what is formed), principle, element, starting point (of what is learned), etc. We therefore find in the Commentary on the Gospel according to John one of the first identifications of arkhế with divine Wisdom expressed by the creative lógos.
Lógos: The word lógos comes from the root leg/log, which originally meant to gather, pick, choose, and then evolved to mean to tell, to speak. Thus, the idea of uttering a word is associated with the fact that this word manifests a certain choice, an enumeration that is the result of a process that has gathered, chosen, and brought together a list of things. This word is therefore the expression of an operation, of a certain reason and logic. What is logical, and therefore relative to lógos, is at the same time a statement and a statement that is consistent with reason. This is how, in Greek philosophy and among other Church Fathers, we can speak of spermatikoi logoi, that is, that which expresses the reason for a thing’s existence, that which determines it to be what it is and therefore constitutes its origin and cause. The word lógos is therefore an expression of σοφία, knowledge, wisdom.
The Word of God is begotten by him, eternally, as the Father begets the Son, but a Son coeternal with him and of the same substance (ousia) as him, as the Greek Fathers and the Councils explain to us. According to the Gospel of St. John, it is through the lógos that everything was created, this lógos became flesh, and we saw his glory in Jesus Christ, Son of God, Word, Verbum, eternally begotten by him.
Genesis: The word génesis, comes from the root gen, which we find in the words generate, gene. The word ἐγένετο egéneto is the aorist 2 medio-passive of the verb gígnomai, formed on the root gen, with the meaning of coming into being, being born, being begotten, becoming. Hence the translation of egéneto, etymologically close to the root gen, as “was generated” in the sense of came into being, happened, was. This verb can also be translated simply by the verb “to be.” This word recurs frequently in the Greek translation of Genesis in the Septuagint, where it translates the Hebrew וַיְהִי-כֵן (vayehy-ken) “… and it was” in sequences where all beings are created, such as: “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The Gospel of John (1:3) also reminds us that “all things were generated through him,” πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο (pánta di’autoũ egéneto).
Principium: this word is used in the Latin translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate, to translate the Greek word arkhế. In Latin, too, we will try to apply to this word the speculations on the different meanings of the Greek word arkhế. We will retain above all those that speak to us of a beginning in time or a logical beginning, of a principle in actions, of principles in the conception of the world and of life, as in the case of moral principles. But we can also retain the nuance that refers to something principal, first and prior in a hierarchy, both in logical order and in society. In Latin, a word with the same root, “principia” (plural of principium), can be used to refer to the principles that govern our thoughts and the princes (plural of princeps) who govern this world. All refer to the idea of principal, first in importance and origin, and first in time and causality.
Verbum is the Latin word used to translate lógos. This word, which means verb, word, as already explained in relation to lógos, must be understood in context as the word that is the expression of wisdom, of God’s knowledge, the word in which lies the reason and principle of all that is, for through it all came into being.
GENESIS, chapter 1, verses 1 and 3
1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.
Translation of the Greek text: In arkhế God made the heaven and the earth.
1,3 וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Γενηθήτω φῶς. καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς.
And God said, “Let the light be generated.” And the light was generated.
GOSPEL according to Saint John, chapter 1, verses 1-4
1,1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
In arkhế was the lógos, and the lógos was with God, and the lógos was God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
This was in arkhế with God.
hoc erat in principio apud Deum
3 πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν
All things came to being through him, and without him nothing came to being of what has been generated omnia per ipsum facta sunt et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est
4 ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων·
in him was life, and the life was the light of men.
in ipso vita erat et vita erat lux hominum
5 καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
and the light appears in the darkness, and the darkness didn’t comprehend it [also: grasp or stop it].
et lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non conprehenderunt.
Aristotle on Arkhế:
Metaphysics 5, 1012b 34 – 1013a 24
[1012b][34] Ἀρχὴ λέγεται ἡ μὲν ὅθεν ἄν τις τοῦ πράγματος [35] κινηθείη πρῶτον, οἷον τοῦ μήκους καὶ ὁδοῦ ἐντεῦθεν μὲν αὕτη ἀρχή, ἐξ ἐναντίας δὲ ἑτέρα·
It is called arkhế that from which something of an object can be moved first, as where the line or the path begins there is an arkhế and on the opposite side another [arkhế ].
[1013a][1] ἡ δὲ ὅθεν ἂν κάλλιστα ἕκαστον γένοιτο, οἷον καὶ μαθήσεως οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου καὶ τῆς τοῦ πράγματος ἀρχῆς ἐνίοτε ἀρκτέον ἀλλ’ ὅθεν ῥᾷστ’ ἂν μάθοι·
That from which each thing can become the most accomplished (κάλλιστα), as for example in learning, sometimes it is not necessary to begin with the first and the beginning of the thing, but with that from which it can be learned more easily.
ἡ δὲ ὅθεν πρῶτον γίγνεται ἐνυπάρχοντος, οἷον ὡς πλοίου [5] τρόπις καὶ οἰκίας θεμέλιος καὶ τῶν ζῴων οἱ μὲν καρδίαν οἱ δὲ ἐγκέφαλον οἱ δ’ ὅ τι ἂν τύχωσι τοιοῦτον ὑπολαμβάνουσιν·
that which is first generated from something in which it subsists (ἐνυπάρχοντος), for example, like the keel of a ship and the foundations of a house, and [principle] of animals, some may understand the heart, others the brain or something similar.
ἡ δὲ ὅθεν γίγνεται πρῶτον μὴ ἐνυπάρχοντος καὶ ὅθεν πρῶτον ἡ κίνησις πέφυκεν ἄρχεσθαι καὶ ἡ μεταβολή, οἷον τὸ τέκνον ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῆς μητρὸς καὶ ἡ μάχη [10] ἐκ τῆς λοιδορίας·
that which is first generated from something in which it does not subsist and from which [its] movement and change first originate according to nature, as the child [comes] from the father and mother and the fight from the offense.
ἡ δὲ οὗ κατὰ προαίρεσιν κινεῖται τὰ κινούμενα καὶ μεταβάλλει τὰ μεταβάλλοντα, ὥσπερ αἵ τε κατὰ πόλεις ἀρχαὶ καὶ αἱ δυναστεῖαι καὶ αἱ βασιλεῖαι καὶ τυραννίδες ἀρχαὶ λέγονται καὶ αἱ τέχναι, καὶ τούτων αἱ ἀρχιτεκτονικαὶ μάλιστα.
This is the free choice by which what is moved moves and what is changing changes, as princes for the city, dynasties, kings, and tyrants are called princes (ἀρχαὶ) [the word princes is “principes” in Latin] and the arts (τέχναι, techniques), among which especially the “arkhi” -tecturals.
Here are several words composed from the word ἀρχὴ: ἀρχαὶ the leaders of a city; in Latin languages, we find the same proximity between the word principle and the word “princeps,” meaning prince, the one who is at the head of a city or a kingdom. And also in certain names of sciences, including architecture.
Ἔτι ὅθεν γνωστὸν τὸ πρᾶγμα [15] πρῶτον, καὶ αὕτη ἀρχὴ λέγεται τοῦ πράγματος, οἷον τῶν ἀποδείξεων αἱ ὑποθέσεις.
In addition, that from which a thing is knowable is also called arkhế, as hypotheses [are the principles on which] demonstrations are based.
Ἰσαχῶς δὲ καὶ τὰ αἴτια λέγεται· πάντα γὰρ τὰ αἴτια ἀρχαί. Πασῶν μὲν οὖν κοινὸν τῶν ἀρχῶν τὸ πρῶτον εἶναι ὅθεν ἢ ἔστιν ἢ γίγνεται ἢ γιγνώσκεται·
There are as many [ways of saying arkhế] as there are causes, for all causes are arkhaí. Of all these [different ways of saying arkhế], therefore, what is common to arkhaí is to be the first from which [something] comes into being or is known;
τούτων δὲ αἱ μὲν ἐνυπάρχουσαί εἰσιν αἱ δὲ [20] ἐκτός. Διὸ ἥ τε φύσις ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ στοιχεῖον καὶ ἡ διάνοια καὶ ἡ προαίρεσις καὶ οὐσία καὶ τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα· πολλῶν γὰρ καὶ τοῦ γνῶναι καὶ τῆς κινήσεως ἀρχὴ τἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ καλόν.
Of these, some are subsistent (ἐνυπάρχουσαί) [in the thing itself], others are outside. For this reason, nature (φύσις) is a principle and also the element, thought, free choice, ousia, and that because of which [something is, or: of which it is the goal]. Indeed, for many things, the principle of knowledge and movement are the good and the beautiful.
Aristotle on the sky and the planets.
On the connection between time and movement (no time without movement, see Aristotle, Physics, book 4, chapters 10-14)
Physics 4, 11, 218b 34 – 219a 1
… φανερὸν ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνευ κινήσεως καὶ μεταβολῆς [219a] χρόνος.
… it is clear that without movement and change there is no time.
Metaphysics 12, 7, 1073a 36-1074b 14
ἓν ἄρα καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἀριθμῷ τὸ πρῶτον κινοῦν ἀκίνητον ὄν: καὶ τὸ κινούμενον ἄρα ἀεὶ καὶ συνεχῶς: εἷς ἄρα οὐρανὸς μόνος.
The first being that moves while being immobile is one by the logos and by number; and therefore also that which is moved [is moved] always and continuously; therefore, also the sky is one and only one.
The single heaven comprises the entire system of spheres on which the planets are located, and it is the movement of the spheres and their complex mechanism [described in Metaphysics 12, 8] that is moved by the first mover.
[1074b] [1] παραδέδοται δὲ παρὰ τῶν ἀρχαίων καὶ παμπαλαίων ἐν μύθου σχήματι καταλελειμμένα τοῖς ὕστερον ὅτι θεοί τέ εἰσιν οὗτοι καὶ περιέχει τὸ θεῖον τὴν ὅλην φύσιν.
[that] has been handed down to posterity in the form of myth by the ancients and the very ancients, that these are gods and that the divine surrounds the whole of nature.
τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ μυθικῶς ἤδη προσῆκται πρὸς τὴν πειθὼ τῶν πολλῶν καὶ [5] πρὸς τὴν εἰς τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὸ συμφέρον χρῆσιν: ἀνθρωποειδεῖς τε γὰρ τούτους καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ὁμοίους τισὶ λέγουσι, καὶ τούτοις ἕτερα ἀκόλουθα καὶ παραπλήσια τοῖς εἰρημένοις,
The rest was added later in the manner of myths, for the persuasion of the many, to proclaim laws and to benefit from them. They say that these [the gods] are human in form and similar to certain other animals and other things in accordance with these and close to what has been said;
ὧν εἴ τις χωρίσας αὐτὸ λάβοι μόνον τὸ πρῶτον, ὅτι θεοὺς ᾤοντο τὰς πρώτας οὐσίας εἶναι, θείως ἂν εἰρῆσθαι [10] νομίσειεν, καὶ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς πολλάκις εὑρημένης εἰς τὸ δυνατὸν ἑκάστης καὶ τέχνης καὶ φιλοσοφίας καὶ πάλιν φθειρομένων καὶ ταύτας τὰς δόξας ἐκείνων οἷον λείψανα περισεσῶσθαι μέχρι τοῦ νῦν. ἡ μὲν οὖν πάτριος δόξα καὶ ἡ παρὰ τῶν πρώτων ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἡμῖν φανερὰ μόνον. [15]
Among these, if someone, leaving the rest aside, takes only the first, that is, that he considers the first ousiai [the first beings] to be gods, we may consider that this was said divinely; and that, probably, many times, as far as possible, each art and philosophy having been rediscovered and lost again, these same opinions of those [the ancients] have survived as vestiges until now. Therefore, the opinion of the ancestors and that which was held by the first ones is clear to us only to this extent.
Aristotle on causes
Aristotle discusses these different types of causes in Physics, book 2, ch. 2-3, 194 a-b, and Metaphysics 983 a 31 or 5, 2, 1013 a-b.
In summary: to seek the cause is to seek the διὰ τί, which can be translated as “why,” “for what purpose,” or “by what means.” There are therefore several types of causes:
1. τρόπον αἴτιον λέγεται τὸ ἐξ οὗ γίγνεταί τι ἐνυπάρχοντος (Phys. 194b 24). That from which and in which it is produced (the bronze of the statue, material cause)
2. Ἄλλον δὲ τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα, τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος ὁ τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι καὶ τὰ τούτου γένη (Phys. 194b 26). Another cause is the eidos and the paradigm, this is the lógos, that of the τί ἦν εἶναι « what the being was » and the gender of it. (It is the essence that defines something: for the octave in music it is the ratio of two to one, “formal cause” if we translate εἶδος as form, otherwise “essential cause”).
3. Ἔτι ὅθεν ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς μεταβολῆς ἡ πρώτη ἢ τῆς ἠρεμήσεως (Phys. 194b 29). And again, the first principle of movement or rest. (the author of a decision is the cause of change, of the acts that have been performed, the efficient cause)
4. Ἔτι ὡς τὸ τέλος· τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα, οἷον τοῦ περιπατεῖν ἡ ὑγίεια· διὰ τί γὰρ περιπατεῖ (Phys. 194b 34). Then, as an end (τέλος finality): this is the cause of something, as health is the cause of walking: for what, indeed, does one walk? (health is the end of walking, the final cause).
Back to the article Genesis 1:1 Bereshit