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NASB					Gen 1:2 The earth⁷⁷⁶ was ¹ ^Aformless⁸⁴¹⁴ and void⁹²², and ^Bdarkness²⁸²² was over⁵⁹²¹ the ²surface⁶⁴⁴⁰ of the deep⁸⁴¹⁵, and ^Cthe Spirit⁷³⁰⁷ of God⁴³⁰ ^Dwas ³moving^7363b over⁵⁹²¹ the ²surface⁶⁴⁴⁰ of the waters⁴³²⁵.
AMPLIFIED 2015					Gen 1:2 The earth was ¹formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters.

NASB Translator's Notes:
Literal renderings, alternate translations or explanations.

Or a waste and emptiness

Lit face of

Or hovering

Amplified 2015 Translator's Notes:
Literal renderings, alternate translations or explanations.

The Hebrew text here has two rhyming words, tohu and bohu, which have similar meanings of "wasteness" and "emptiness." The construction is a figure of speech called hendiadys, in which two words are used together to express the same idea. The meaning is that the earth had no clearly discernible features at this point in creation but essentially was a mass of raw materials. This proves to be very important from philosophical and scientific viewpoints, because it documents the fact that the raw matter of the earth--and by extension, of the universe--did not coexist eternally with God, but was created by Him ex nihilo (Latin "out of nothing").

NASB Cross References:
Related verses.

Jer 4:23 ¶ I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.

Job 38:9 When I made a cloud its garment
And thick darkness its swaddling band,

Ps 104:30 You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.

Deut 32:11 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest,
That hovers over its young,
He spread His wings and caught them,
He carried them on His pinions.

Hebrew-Aramaic & Greek Dictionary:
(#) is number of times this NASB word was translated from the original language.

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this Strong's number:

Greek Heb.

430

elohim (43b); pl. of 433; God, god:--divine(1), divine being(1), exceedingly(1), God(2326), god(45), God's(14), goddess(2), godly(1), gods(204), great(2), judges(3), mighty(2), rulers(1), shrine*(1).

776

erets (75d); a prim. root; earth, land:--common(1), countries(15), countries and their lands(1), country(44), countryside(1), distance*(3), dust(1), earth(655), earth the ground(1), earth's(1), fail*(1), floor(1), ground(119), land(1581), lands(57), lands have their land(2), open(1), other*(2), piece(1), plateau*(1), region(1), territories(1), wild(1), world(3).

922

bohu (96a); from an unused word; emptiness:--emptiness(1), void(2).

2822

choshek (365a); from 2821; darkness, obscurity:--dark(5), darkness(73), obscurity(2).

4325

mayim (565b); a prim. root; waters, water:--flood(1), loins(1), pool(1), Water(5), water(373), watering(1), waterless*(1), waters(192).

5921

al (752c); from 5927; upon, above, over:--about(27), about*(1), above(43), above*(16), accordance(2), accordance*(1), according(40), according*(2), account(11), account*(2), across*(1), addition(4), addition*(1), afflicted(1), after(14), after*(1), against(536), against*(1), along(11), alongside*(1), although(1), among(7), around(11), attention*(1), because(82), because*(49), before(10), before*(19), behalf(18), behind*(2), beside(47), beside*(6), besides(5), besiege*(1), besieged*(13), besieging(1), besieging*(5), better than(1), between(1), beyond(3), beyond*(1), bordered*(1), care(1), carried(1), charge(31), charge*(1), command(1), committed(1), concerning(97), concerning*(5), confront(1), confront*(1), connection(1), conquer*(1), consider*(3), considered*(2), contrary(1), corresponding(2), corresponding*(1), crowns(1), defiance*(1), despite(1), due(1), duty(1), east*(7), encouragingly*(2), engaged(1), even(1), everywhere*(1), faces*(1), facing*(1), far(2), forsaking*(1), full*(1), fully*(1), have charge(1), inasmuch*(5), instead*(1), leave*(1), length*(1), more than(2), much(1), named*(1), near(4), next(9), next*(13), now*(1), obliging*(1), off(6), off*(5), opposed(1), opposite(1), opposite*(4), ornamented*(1), over(538), over*(6), overflowing*(1), overflows*(1), overlooks*(3), part(1), planned*(1), pleased*(1), pleases*(2), presence(2), pressed*(1), prompts*(1), reason(2), reason*(6), received(1), regard(3), regarding(1), respect(1), responsibility(1), ruthlessly*(1), sake(4), sake*(1), sakes(2), settled*(1), since*(1), so(1), so*(2), sorrow(1), spite(2), steward*(4), surround*(1), sworn*(1), task(1), than(1), than were over(1), theirs*(1), therefore*(139), thereon(1), through(3), throughout(3), together(3), too(3), top(1), top*(2), toward(20), toward*(5), under(12), until(1), upright*(2), upside*(1), urged*(1), view(1), way(1), when(1), where(1), where*(5), wherever*(2), while(1), why*(10), within(13), within*(1), wore(1).

6440

panim or
paneh (815d); from 6437; face, faces:--above(1), abroad*(1), accept*(3), accepted*(1), account(1), account*(2), across*(1), adjacent*(1), after*(1), again(1), against(6), against*(2), aged*(1), ahead(15), along*(1), anger(1), another*(1), appearance(2), appease*(1), around(1), attend(1), attend*(1), attended(1), attention(3), attitude(2), awaits(1), battle*(1), because*(80), before(868), before the in front(1), before*(137), condition(1), confront*(1), corresponding*(2), countenance(12), covering*(1), defer*(1), defiance*(1), direction(1), disposal(2), down(1), east(1), east*(1), east*(6), edge(2), entertained*(1), expected*(1), face(259), face to the before(2), face you first(1), face before(1), face*(2), faced(6), faced*(4), faces(49), faces in the presence(1), faces toward(1), faces*(1), facing(7), facing*(4), favor(9), favor*(3), former times(2), formerly(14), forward(3), front(86), front line(1), gaze(1), ground*(1), head(2), headlong(1), honor*(1), honorable*(3), humiliation*(1), insolent*(1), intended(1), kindly(2), land(1), leading(1), led(1), length*(1), lifetime(1), long(2), meet(6), mind(4), mouth(1), old(1), open(15), openly*(1), opposite*(5), ours(1), outer(1), outran*(1), over(3), over*(1), overlooks*(2), own(1), partial*(3), partiality*(11), personal(2), personally(2), preceded(2), presence(131), presence and before(1), presence of the before(1), presence on the before(1), presented*(2), previously(1), prior(1), receive*(2), remain*(1), repulse*(2), request(1), respect(1), respected*(1), served*(4), service*(3), shame*(2), sight(26), sight*(1), straight*(3), stubborn*(1), surface(26), table(1), tops(1), toward*(4), under(1), upside*(1), vanguard(1), whole(1), withstand*(1).

7307

ruach (924c); from an unused word; breath, wind, spirit:--air(2), anger(1), blast(2), breath(31), breathless*(1), cool(1), courage(1), despondency*(1), exposed(1), grief*(1), heart(1), inspired(1), mind(3), motives(1), points(1), quick-tempered*(1), side(4), sides(2), Spirit(76), spirit(127), spirits(3), strength(1), temper(2), thoughts*(1), trustworthy*(1), wind(98), winds(7), windy(2), wrath(1).

7363b

rachaph (934b); a prim. root; to hover:--hovers(1), moving(1).

8414

tohu (1062c); from an unused word; formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness:--chaos(1), confusion(1), desolation(1), emptiness(1), empty space(1), formless(2), futile(2), futile things(1), meaningless(2), meaningless arguments(1), nothing(2), waste(3), waste place(2).

8415

tehom or
tehom (1062d); from an unused word; deep, sea, abyss:--deep(22), deeps(8), depths(4), ocean depths(1), springs(1).

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