thinking bible.

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what did 'good' mean to the ancient israelites who first heard this story?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Genesis 1:31

God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

This verse concludes the creation account in Genesis chapter 1, describing God's work on the sixth day and His evaluation of the entire created order. It is part of the foundational stories of the ancient Israelites, telling them about the origin of the cosmos and humanity's place within it.

What does it mean for us to consider the world, and our place in it, as 'very good' despite its evident brokenness?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Deuteronomy 6:18

    This verse speaks of doing what is 'right and good' in the eyes of the Lord, connecting 'goodness' to ethical conduct.

  • Psalm 104:24

    This psalm praises God for making all things 'in wisdom,' reinforcing the idea of a well-ordered and purposeful creation.

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