, bara' - create

The Hebrew verb bara' ¹ is used only of God's creative acts, never of humans'. Also, in all its occurences in the OT, the material from which God bara' is never mentioned (in technical parlence, "it is never joined with the accusative of the material") . From these two observations of the verb, some commentators suggest that bara' means "creation out of nothing."² This claims too much for the word. After an extended discussion of the root and its use in the OT, Raymond Van Leeuwen concludes that the verb "cannot explicitly communicate a doctrine of creatio ex nihilo "creation out of nothing . . ."³ At best we can say that this verb expresses "clearly the incomparability of the creative work of God in contrast to all secondary products and likenesses made from already existing material by man."⁴ Similarly, Claus Westermann suggests that by the use of this word the author of Genesis "wanted to say how entirely different was God's creative action from anything that humans can do."⁵

It has often been pointed out that bara' is often used in parallel with the verb 'asa, 'made,' or 'formed.' It is (e.g., Gen 2:24; 5:1; 6:7; Isa 43:7; 45:12), but it is important to note also that they are not, therefore, synonymous. The use of the two verbs in parallel serves to emphasize the fact and depth of God's attendance and attention to what He has done (or was doing), not the overlap in the meanings of the two verbs.

Concordance: create

Notes:

1. In the Qal. The verb also occurs in Piel to mean "to cut down" at Jos 17:15, 18 & Eze 23:47. Scholars are uncertain whether these derived from a different root or from the same root from which two different meanings evolved.

2. In his expositional commentary, e.g., James Boice says, "Bara' means to create out of nothing." (Genesis, Volume 1: Creation and Fall (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998) 50.) Likewise, Gerhard von Rad says, "It is correct to say that the verb bara' , 'create,' contains the idea both of complete effortlessness and creatio ex nihilo, i.e., out of nothing, since it is never connected with any statement of the material." (Genesis A Commentary (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961) 47.)

3. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, ed. by W. A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997) I:732. This is also B. K. Waltke's conclusion,"usage shows that bara' does not necessarily mean 'to create out of nothing'" ("The Creation Account in Genesis 1:1-3," Bibliotheca Sacra 132 (1975):336).

4. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, ed. by G. J. Botterweck & H. Ringgren (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975) II:246.

5. C. Westermann, Genesis 1-11 A Commentary (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984) 99.