Is there a specific meaning in KJV Genesis 1:1-5 on how it is presented in the Biblehub?

Question

From this link

When I read the quote presented like above, my own conclusion :
Verse 1 and 2, The Beginning ---> is not the first day yet.
Once after the Light created The First Day: Light, then it is the beginning of the first hour of the first day.

But I am not sure if my conclusion is correct/biblical, because besides on how the presentation of the verse in that biblehub link like that, I also involve my own logical thinking that : the beginning condition where all part of the earth is in dark state no light at all, it's non-sensical to say that "it is the beginning of the first hour of the day for the first time".

So to me, the one which is sensical is that the first hour of the first day for the first time (experienced by earth) happen after God seperated the Light from the Darkness.

But then, after digging the internet, I've found out that there is another view which say that the "the beginning", even before the earth was created, is already on the first hour of the first day state:

What did God create on the first day of creation?
God created the heavens and earth, the waters, and light on the first day of creation https://www.gotquestions.org/what-did-God-create-on-the-first-day.html

Anyway, back to my original question :
Is there a specific meaning in KJV Genesis 1:1-5 on how it is presented in the Biblehub?
(I mean something like : to have the reader conclude that "the beginning" is not the first day yet, so it's presented like the one in that biblehub link).

If the answer is YES, then I wonder which one is biblical ?
"In The Beginning" is not the first day yet ? or "In The Beginning" even before the earth is created, is already on the first day state ?

Answer 1

I will resist the temptation to provide a detailed commentary on the rather staunch position of "Got Questions" (very similar to Creation Ministries International) but simply observe that their view appears to me to disregard the explicit statements of the text for several reasons:

1. The opening statement in Gen 1: appears to be in a literary sense, part of a summary statement the corresponding closing statement is given in Gen 2:1-3
2. God's work on each day always begins with the same formula: "And God said ...". For the first day's activities, that is given in Gen 1:3
3. If God created the "heavens and earth" in day 1 (as Got Questions asserts) then what was God's work on day #4?? More on this below shortly.
4. According to the explicit statements in the text:

• the heavens were created on day #2 as the space/expanse between the waters above (clouds as source of rain, etc) and the waters below (rivers, lakes, etc), Gen 1:6-8. This means that according to the explicit definition statement of V8, "heavens means the sky (or atmosphere) of our world. we see this repeatedly that "heavens does not refer anywhere in Genesis to anything other than the atmosphere such as Gen 1:26, 28, 30, 2;19, 20, etc.
• the earth was created on day #3 when the waters were separated from the land, Gen 1:10. This means that "earth" means dry arable land.

This means that the record in Gen 1 is about the creation of our world and not the entire cosmos. The creation of the entire cosmos had presumably occurred at a previous time. There is no concept in the OT of "planet earth" - "earth" simply refers to the arable land.

5. Despite perfectly good (and often used) Hebrew words for "sun" and "moon", the author goes to some trouble to avoid using them on day #4 activities. Note that these 'lights" were placed in the 'heavens", ie, the space between the waters above and the waters below, which the sun and moon are definitely NOT! Thus, God arranged things so that the light from these bodies appeared on day 4.

Thus, the description in Gen 1 appears entirely phenomenological - what would be observed by someone sitting on earth observing the whole scenario.

CONCLUSION

• Gen 1:1 is a summary of the entire creation account and Gen 2:1-3 forms the chiastic conclusion
• creation activities begin in Gen 1:3
• Gen 1:2 is a simple statement about the earth before the creation week's activities. (The earth had been created at a previous time as had the stars because there was not enough time for the light to arrive at planet earth for them to be seen in just a day - all stars are at least many light-years away, and so had been created at a previous time.)
• Viewed like this, the creation account takes a world that is (Gen 1:2), "empty", "formless" and "dark" and God proceeds to fill, form and enlighten the new world (just as God does to sinners). Thus, Gen 1 appears as a salvation account to which many other passages allude such as 2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15, 2 Peter 3:13, etc.

Answer 2

Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew does not say in THE beginning. Bereshit does not meat in THE beginning.

Here are some links discussing the problem:

https://mosaicmagazine.com/observation/history-ideas/2018/10/theres-a-strange-grammatical-difficulty-with-the-opening-verse-of-the-bible/

https://www.christianforums.com/threads/why-is-the-definite-artilce-missing-in-bereshit.7746725/

https://www.rebjeff.com/blog/bereshit-in-the-beginning-of-what

The Contemporary Torah published by the Jewish Publication Society in 2006 translated the verse:

When God began to create heaven and earth.

(https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.1.1?lang=bi&aliyot=0)

Gunther Plaut in The Torah: A Modern Commentary (1981) translated it the same way.

The other four uses of the bereshit are all in the Book of Jeremiah.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word has been from YHWH, saying,

(Jeremiah 26:1)

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word has been to Jeremiah from YHWH, saying,

(Jeremiah 27:1)

And it comes to pass, in that year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah son of Azur the prophet, who [is] of Gibeon, has spoken to me in the house of YHWH, before the eyes of the priests, and all the people, saying,

(Jeremiah 28:1)

That which has been the word of YHWH to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,

(Jeremiah 49:34)

None of them means on the first day of the reign of Jehoiakim/Zedekiah. In Jeremiah 28:1 it is the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign.

Yes, John 1:1-5 is a midrash of Genesis 1:1-2. The first act of God in both texts is revealing the light, which is the visible aspect of God, who is Christ.

Answer 3

Here's another way of looking at those first few verses.

Possibly billions of years ago, God creates the universe:

^{Genesis 1:1} In the beginning God created [Hebrew "bara'"] the heaven and the earth.

Later, Satan rebels against God and destroys the surface of the Earth and the life on it:

^{Genesis 1:2} And the earth was[became, Hebrew "hayah"] without form [Hebrew "tohu"], and void;
^{Isaiah 45:18} … God himself that formed the earth … he created [Hebrew "bara'"] it not in vain [Hebrew "tohu"] …"

Possibly only thousands of years ago, God repairs the Earth, creates new life on it, and creates mankind:

^{Genesis 1:2} and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep.
^{Genesis 1:2} And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
^{Genesis 1:3} And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
…

See my answer to When God says in Genesis 1.3,"Let there be light," is he creating light? or commanding that light be created? for more details.

The World Before Man: The Biblical Explanation | United Church of God, gives a much fuller description, with chapters:

• "Genesis 1 clarified by other passages",
• "The angelic revolt",
• "How the earth became waste and empty",
• "Earth renewed and restored",
• "The Bible explanation",
• "Does it really matter what you believe?".