"In the beginning" (Hebrew:בְּרֵאשִׁית;Ancient Greek:ΕΝ ἀρχῇ;Latin:In principio) is the traditional translation of the opening-phrase orincipit "bereshit" inBiblical Hebrew used in theBible inGenesis 1:1 . InJohn 1:1 of the New Testament, the wordArchē is translated into English with the same phrase.
The mimetic translation of the wordbǝrēʾšît (בְּרֵאשִׁית) in theHebrew Bible is: 'In beginning'. The word is made of two parts,bǝ (a prepositional suffix) andrēʾšît (a noun). As a result, this forms part of a genitive phrase, leading to a linguistic and exegetical translation of this word being 'In the beginning of...'.[1] More accurately, the Hebrew word for "In the beginning,", the non-genitive phrase, would be "barēʾšît".
A more functional equivalent English translation of the first three words of Genesis 1:1 is: "When God began to create...".[1]
The traditional translation of the wordbǝrēʾšît as "In the beginning," may not be accurate. There is debate that despite its traditional translation as “in the beginning,” it’s possible that it wasn’t historically read that way.[1]Thomas Römer, Administrator and theological professor at the Collège de France, says that according to theMassoretes, in the written traditionbǝrēʾšît is "a beginning" among other possible ones and not the absolute Beginning.[2]
Archē (Ancient Greek:ἀρχή) is the original word used inJohn 1:1.
The Hebrew Bible uses the wordbǝrēʾšît on 5 occasions, inGenesis 1:1 and Jeremiah26:1,27:1,28:1 and49:34. All uses in Jeremiah refer to the beginning of the reign of various kings, translated to: "In the beginning of the reign of...".
TheKing James Version translatesJohn 1:1a as "In the beginning was the Word".
The Enuma Elish begins with a similar descriptor, which sets the start of the story as taking place in the beginning of the formation of the world: "When on high the heavens had not been named, firm ground below had not been called by name...".
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TheBook of Genesis as a whole has the title ofBereshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית) by itsincipit in Hebrew, as with other books of the Hebrew Bible. The first word, and thus God's role as Creator, is recited in theAleinu prayer near the end of each of the three dailyprayer-services.
Genesis 1:1 is commonly paralleled by Christian theologians withJohn 1:1 as something thatthe author alluded to.[3] TheologianCharles Ellicott wrote:
The reference to the opening words of the Old Testament is obvious, and is the more striking when we remember that a Jew would constantly speak of and quote from the book of Genesis as "Berēshîth" ("in the beginning"). It is quite in harmony with the Hebrew tone of this Gospel to do so, and it can hardly be that St. John wrote his Berēshîth without having that ofMoses present to his mind, and without being guided by its meaning.[4]