HEBREW · LESSON 4
בְּרֵאשִׁית
Reading Practice — Genesis 1:1–5
No new alphabet. No new grammar. Just everything you have already learned, applied to the first five verses of the Bible. By the last slide, you will have read the opening of Genesis in the original Hebrew.
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Why we start here
Genesis 1:1 — the Foundational Text
Every later book of Scripture assumes Genesis 1. Creation, the nature of God, the goodness of the world, light and darkness, time itself — all begin here.
The Hebrew is also unusually clean: small vocabulary, regular grammar, no rare forms. The friendliest possible first passage for a beginner.
And Hebrew is the only language in which Genesis 1 was originally written. Every translation since — Greek, Latin, English — is a faithful echo of an earlier sound. The sound you are about to produce is the sound the Bible has always made.
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Genesis 1:1
The Whole Verse
Seven words, right to left. Take it in. Don't try to read it yet.
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃
The small mark at the end (׃) is the sof pasuq — the Hebrew period. Every verse ends with it.
Now we walk through this verse one word at a time.
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Word 1 of 7
בְּרֵאשִׁית — "in the beginning"
בְּרֵאשִׁית
Six consonants: bet, resh, aleph, shin, yod, tav. Three syllables:
- בְּ — bet (dagesh: "b") + vocal shewa → "be-"
- רֵא — resh + tsere (long e) + silent aleph → "re-"
- שִׁית — shin (dot right: "sh") + hireq-yod (long i) + tav → "shit"
be-re-SHIT. Stress on the final syllable.
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Word 2 of 7
בָּרָא — "created"
בָּרָא
Three consonants: bet, resh, aleph. Two syllables:
- בָּ — bet (dagesh) + qamatz (long a) → "ba-"
- רָא — resh + qamatz + silent aleph → "ra"
ba-RA. A perfect 3ms verb of the root ב־ר־א. In the Hebrew Bible, this verb is reserved almost exclusively for divine creation. God is its usual subject.
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Word 3 of 7
אֱלֹהִים — "God"
אֱלֹהִים
Five consonants: aleph, lamed, he, yod, final mem. Three syllables:
- אֱ — aleph + hateph segol (very short e) → "e-"
- לֹ — lamed + holem (long o) → "lo-"
- הִים — he + hireq (with yod) + final mem → "him"
e-lo-HEEM. The most common name for God in the Hebrew Bible — 2,500+ occurrences. Grammatically plural in form, singular in meaning when used of the God of Israel.
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Word 4 of 7
אֵת — the sign of the direct object
אֵת
Two consonants: aleph + tav. One syllable: aleph + tsere (long e) + tav → "et".
This little word has no English equivalent. It does not translate. Its job is to mark what follows as a definite direct object — the thing being acted upon.
בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם
"Created God [obj] the-heavens" — the et tells us that the heavens is the direct object of he created.
Recognize it on sight: aleph + tsere + tav. You will see it thousands of times.
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Words 5–6 of 7
הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת — "the heavens, and"
הַשָּׁמַיִם
hashshamayim
"the heavens." Article הַ doubles the next consonant (dagesh in the shin) → hash-sha-MA-yim. The -ayim ending is the dual plural.
וְאֵת
veʼet
"and [obj]." The vav-prefix (וְ = "and") attached to et. ve-ET.
Two patterns to spot: the article הַ + dagesh = "the (definite)." The prefix וְ = "and." Both attach directly to the next word.
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Word 7 of 7
הָאָרֶץ — "the earth"
הָאָרֶץ
Four consonants: he, aleph, resh, final tsade. Three syllables:
- הָ — he + qamatz (long a) → "ha-" (qamatz, not patach, because aleph can't double)
- אָ — aleph + qamatz → "-a-"
- רֶץ — resh + segol + final tsade ("ts") → "-rets"
ha-A-rets — "the earth." The article's vowel lengthens (patach → qamatz) when the following letter is a guttural that cannot take a dagesh.
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Genesis 1:1 read together
The Whole Verse, Aloud
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃
Transliteration: bereshit bara elohim et hashshamayim veʼet haʼarets.
Literal: "In-beginning created God [obj] the-heavens and-[obj] the-earth."
Familiar: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
You have just read Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew.
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Genesis 1:2
The Earth Before the Word
וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃
Twelve words. The state of the earth before God's first creative word: empty, dark, with God's Spirit hovering above.
Notice the tiny dashes (־) joining some words — that's the maqqef, the Hebrew hyphen. It links two words into a single stress-unit.
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Genesis 1:2 — key words
Walking Through Verse 2
תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ
tohu va-vohu
"Formless and empty." A famous rhyming pair. The sound itself conveys formlessness. TO-hu va-VO-hu.
וְחֹשֶׁךְ
ve-choshech
"And darkness." The chet is a guttural "ch" (as in "loch"). ve-CHO-shech.
תְהוֹם
tehom
"The deep, the abyss." The primeval cosmic deep. te-HOM.
רוּחַ
ruach
"Spirit, breath, wind." RU-ach. The same word translated pneuma in Greek.
מְרַחֶפֶת
merachefet
"Hovering." A participle picturing a bird brooding over its young. me-ra-CHE-fet.
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Genesis 1:3
And God Said
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃
Five words. The first divine speech in the Bible.
וַיֹּאמֶר
vayyomer
"And he said." The narrative vav (וַ) that drives Hebrew narrative forward. vay-YO-mer.
יְהִי אוֹר
yehi or
"Let there be light." A jussive (3ms willed command) + the noun "light." ye-HI OR.
וַיְהִי־אוֹר
vayhi-or
"And there was light." vay-HI-or. The command word and the fulfillment word echo each other.
The Hebrew is tighter than English: yehi or — vayhi or. Command and fulfillment, separated only by the narrative vav. The text enacts what it describes.
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Genesis 1:4
God Sees, God Divides
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ׃
וַיַּרְא
vayyar
"And he saw." Narrative vav + root r-a-h ("to see"). vay-YAR.
כִּי־טוֹב
ki-tov
"That [it was] good." Hebrew has no separate "to be" in the present — it is implied. ki-TOV.
וַיַּבְדֵּל
vayyavdel
"And he separated." Same narrative-vav pattern. vay-yav-DEL.
בֵּין … וּבֵין …
ben … u-ven …
"Between … and between …" The standard Hebrew way to say "between X and Y."
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Genesis 1:5
God Names — Day One
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃
וַיִּקְרָא
vayyiqra
"And he called, named." vay-yiq-RA. From the root q-r-a, "to call."
יוֹם … לָיְלָה
yom … laylah
"Day … night." Two basic Hebrew nouns. The final he of laylah is a silent vowel-letter — don't pronounce it.
וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר
vayhi-erev vayhi-voqer
"And there was evening, and there was morning." The refrain that closes each of the six days of creation.
יוֹם אֶחָד
yom echad
"Day one." Not "the first day" — Hebrew says "day one." Same word as in the Shema: יְהוָה אֶחָד.
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All five verses
Read Them All — Aloud
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃
וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם׃
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי־אוֹר׃
וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הָאוֹר כִּי־טוֹב וַיַּבְדֵּל אֱלֹהִים בֵּין הָאוֹר וּבֵין הַחֹשֶׁךְ׃
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃
You have read the first five verses of the Hebrew Bible. The text in your eyes is the text that has carried these words down through history.
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Recap of skills used
What You Just Used
Every consonant and every vowel you just read is one you already learned.
- Consonants: aleph, bet, dalet, he, vav, chet, tet, yod, kaf, lamed, mem, nun, ayin, pe, tsade, qof, resh, shin, tav — plus their finals.
- Vowels: qamatz, patach, tsere, segol, hireq, hireq-yod, holem, holem-vav, shureq, hateph segol, vocal shewa, silent shewa.
- Dagesh: in bet, shin (doubled by the article), kaf, tav, yod (doubled by narrative vav).
- Syllable types: open CV, closed CVC, shewa-syllables.
- Glimpsed (more in later units): narrative vav, direct-object marker et, definite article ha, maqqef, sof pasuq, construct chain, dual ending -ayim.
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⚠ Common mistakes
Don't Trip Here
- Reading left to right. Hebrew runs right to left. Always start from the right edge of the word.
- Voicing the silent aleph. בָּרָא is "ba-RA," not "ba-ra-a." A final aleph closes the syllable silently.
- Missing the doubled consonant after the article. הַשָּׁמַיִם is "hash-sha-MA-yim" — the dagesh in the shin marks doubling.
- Reading the final he in לָיְלָה. A final he with qamatz before it is a silent vowel-letter, not a consonant.
- Stopping at the maqqef. The little dash joins two words into one stress-unit; read them together: "al-pe-NEY."
- Reading qamatz as "a" everywhere. Watch for qamatz hatuf (closed unstressed syllable = short "o").
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Five days
The Drill Plan
Day 1
Read v.1 aloud, slowly, three times. Name each vowel as you say it.
Day 2
Read v.1–2. Pay attention to the rhyme of tohu va-vohu.
Day 3
Read v.1–3. Notice the echo: yehi or — vayhi or.
Day 4
Read v.1–4. Drill the narrative-vav verbs: vayyomer, vayyar, vayyavdel.
Day 5
Read all of v.1–5, three times. Then once at reading speed.
Read aloud, every day. Silent reading deceives you. Hearing your own voice produce the sounds is the only way to find out where you actually stumble.
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Recap
What You Did Today
- You read Genesis 1:1. Seven words: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
- You read Genesis 1:2. tohu va-vohu, the deep, the Spirit hovering.
- You read Genesis 1:3. The first divine speech: "Let there be light."
- You read Genesis 1:4. God saw, God divided light from darkness.
- You read Genesis 1:5. God named. Evening and morning, day one.
- You used every consonant, every vowel, every syllable rule from the previous three lessons — applied to real Scripture.
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Theological note
The Language of the Beginning
There is only one language in which Genesis 1 was originally written. Not Greek — the Septuagint is a translation. Not Latin — the Vulgate is a translation. Not English — every English Bible is a translation.
The Hebrew you have just read is the form in which the doctrine of creation entered human history. When the Lord Jesus said "have you not read?" and quoted Genesis, He was quoting these words. When Paul wrote that "by faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command," he was reading these very letters.
You are not learning Hebrew to gain a credential. You are learning to hear, in the original, the sound of the Word who was in the beginning with God.
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End of Lesson 4
You Have Read the Hebrew Bible
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים
Five verses. Forty-six words. Every consonant you have learned, every vowel you have learned, applied to the opening of Scripture. The same letters Moses wrote, the synagogue chanted, the Lord Jesus knew, and the apostles quoted — sounded out by you.
Next lesson: the Masoretic text and the Hebrew accents — the marks you have already noticed but not yet been told about, which carry the music and grammar of every verse.
Next: Lesson 5 · The Masoretic Text & Hebrew Accents
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