Hebrew

Question 1

Hebrew - “Tohu Wabohu”

Answer 1

It means “chaos.” It implies something material, some sort of primordial matter.

Question 2

Hebrew - “Bara”

Answer 2

It means “to create.” Some scholars interpret that to mean “creation from nothing” but that scope is ultimately limited and out of context. While the majority of the uses of Bara’s occurrences refer to God’s activities in Gen 1 (Gen 1:1, Gen 1:21, Gen 1:27), it is also used throughout scripture to speak of man’s creative action. Obviously, man cannot create out of nothing so to say definitively that Genesis tells of “creation out of nothing” is ultimately untenable.

Question 3

Hebrew - “Asah”

Answer 3

It means “to make, to fashion out of preexisting material.” This occurs in the Genesis accounts alongside “Bara” to indicate the “supernatural” creative act of God. These words do not really indicate something “supernatural” in every case though because they are used throughout scripture for the “natural” creation and fashioning of mankind.