Breath 1- In The Beginning Genesis 1 & 2

I Am the Word That Cuts the Dark- A song of creation sung in a vocal style I am using to represent God's view in what The Bible says. I really love t

Introduction to the Breath Study

Below the Scripture, I have included the Study Sheet we will use to gather key details as we begin our deeper study together.

I used the World English Bible (WEB) translation. It is a free, open source version, which means there are no copyright issues when using large portions of Scripture. It is also considered an easy to read translation for most people. That said, feel free to use whichever translation you are most comfortable with as you read.

I took the liberty of removing verse numbers. Just know that the final verse is bolded to indicate the end of the Scripture section. I left the Book title, since that is how the early church would have encountered these writings.

This particular Breath includes Chapters 1 and 2 in their entirety.

Under the set of questions on the Study Sheet, I asked Chat to prefill this first round. This is only to help demonstrate what kinds of details we should be looking for as we read. This approach is new, and it will not be easy. We have built entire theological systems on verse numbers that never existed in the original texts.

From this point forward, I will be doing this without assistance.

I would love to know:

• If you have any questions

• If you have any prayer requests

• If there are ways, we might do this together as a community

I also want to be clear: this is far less depth than I normally share, and on the surface it may look like something you could find in any basic reading plan online. But this is intentional. Right now, we are building the foundation.

A foundation should be strong, sturdy, and reliable. It should be able to weather the storms life will throw our way. When the enemy attacks, Scripture should be our first reaction, not our last.

Once the foundation is secure, we will expand.

This is literally where I started several years ago. I read Scripture until I couldn’t see anymore. Then I read some more. This should be the minimum effort we give God. And while this is not prosperity gospel, I can say with confidence that every step God has led me through has made life better. Not easier—but better. God gets us through.

So, join me.
Let’s see God together.

I would love to know what stood out to you as you read.
Let’s start the conversation.

Genesis (WEB)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw the light and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day. 

God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse, and it was so. God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day. 

God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear,” and it was so. God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth,” and it was so. The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a third day.

God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky 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 expanse of the sky to give light on the earth,” and it was so. God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” God created the large sea creatures, and every living creature that moves, with which the waters abounded, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind,” and it was so. God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good. God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food,” and it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.

The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done. 

This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens. No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground.
Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the middle of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted and became four heads. The name of the first is Pishon; it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good. There is aromatic resin and the onyx stone. The name of the second river is Gihon. It flows through the whole land of Cush.  The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him.
Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.
She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore, a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.

B.R.E.A.T.H.E. Bible Study Map

(Breath of God—narrative-focused, historical-literary guide through Scripture)

B: Background / Historical Context           

R: Role / Literary Function                  

E: Entities / Speakers & Listeners          

A: Action / Sequence                         

T: Themes / Motifs (literary only)          

H: Holistic Arc / Narrative Connection       

E: Examine / Notes for Memory 

B — Background / Historical Context

• Ask: Where and when is this Breath taking place?
• Map the historical placement (kingdom, exile, temple, post-exile, etc.)
• Identify political, social, and cultural context
• Key questions: What just happened? Who is involved? Why now?

R — Role / Literary Function

• Ask: What kind of Breath is this?
• Determine literary type (Law, Narrative, Psalm, Prophetic Lament, Wisdom, Gospel, Epistle)
• Note if it’s macro (whole narrative, covenant structure, prophecy arc) or micro (single psalm or event standalone)
• Key: Do not dissect into single verses unless historical/literary standalone

E — Entities / Speakers & Listeners

• Identify speakers and audiences
• Key figures, their relationships, and any divine interlocutors
• Capture tension: who is speaking truth, who is hearing, who may misunderstand

A — Action / Sequence

• Track the flow: What just happened? What happens next?
• Include narrative triggers, plot movement, covenant events, or prophetic warnings
• Note embedded Psalms, songs, or wisdom literature in historical place

T — Themes / Motifs (Literary, Not Theological)

• Observe recurring story elements, covenant motifs, or justice themes
• Avoid forced application; focus on structural and literary patterns
• Examples: kingship, exile, restoration, covenant breach, divine promise

H — Holistic Arc / Breath Integration

• Connect this Breath to the larger Bible narrative
• How does this scene or movement relate to previous Breaths?
• What narrative threads continue into future Breaths?
• Optional: note “macro transitions” like exile → return, temple rebuilding, gospel proclamation

E — Examine / Notes for Memory

• Capture anything unique: unusual speeches, rare psalms, cultural insight, extra-biblical context
• Use for cross-Breath reference and later deep dives
• Key: no altar calls, no theology overlays, just observation

Breath 1 — “The First Breath: Creation & Adam”

B — Background / Historical Context

• Time: Beginning of the cosmos, primeval history

• Setting: Creation of the heavens, earth, and first humans

• Historical placement: Prehistory, proto narrative for all humanity

• Keynote: Adam is the first human; Eve follows; God’s covenant with humanity begins implicitly

R — Role / Literary Function

• Type: Narrative / Macro Story

• Purpose: Introduces creation order, human origin, divine-human relationship

• Embedded literary devices: genealogy (Adam → Seth → descendants), narrative foreshadowing (sin, exile)

• Macro note: Sets stage for every later covenant and human story

E — Entities / Speakers & Listeners

• Speakers:

  • God (narrator and actor)

  • Narrator (Genesis text)

• Listeners: Initially Adam and Eve (direct), implicitly the audience (all humanity)

• Key interactions: God commands, humans respond; dialogue with serpent appears later in the narrative (chapter 3)

A — Action / Sequence

• Sequence of events:

  1. Creation of the cosmos (Gen 1)

  2. Formation of man and woman (Gen 2)

  3. Placement in the Garden of Eden

  4. Command: do not eat of the Tree of Knowledge

  5. Introduction of work and stewardship

  6. Introduction of genealogy (Adam → Seth, as per Genesis 5)

• Embedded mini-Breath: Life in Eden, pre-fall harmony

T — Themes / Motifs (Literary, Not Theological)

• Patterns:

  • Divine order and rhythm (creation “days”)

  • Stewardship and boundaries

  • Genealogical continuity (Adam → Seth → descendants)

  • Foreshadowing disruption and exile

• Motifs: breath of life, naming of creation, human role in divine plan

H — Holistic Arc / Breath Integration

• Connection to future Breaths:

  • Adam as the seed of humanity → sets stage for Noah, patriarchs

  • Early sin and mortality foreshadow later covenantal structure

  • Genealogical lines lead directly into the macro-narratives of the Bible

E — Examine / Notes for Memory

• Key observations:

  • “Breath of life” (Genesis 2:7) — literal inspiration of life

  • Adam’s awareness of God’s command introduces covenant structure (obedience/relationship)

  • Early genealogies are not just lists; they trace the continuation of life and prepare for covenantal promises

• Cultural/literary insight:

  • Naming in Genesis reflects authority and understanding

  • Garden of Eden serves as narrative microcosm of order, fertility, and divine-human relationship

• No application, no theology overlay—strictly observation