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Genesis 2:1

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

“The heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.”

EOB Footnote:

The MT includes “and all their host” (referring to the heavenly bodies or angelic beings that fill the heavens), which is also present in the LXX as “and all their adornment/array.” The Hebrew term emphasizes a military or organized host, while the Greek term suggests ordered beauty or arrangement, though both convey the fullness of creation. No significant variants exist among the major LXX manuscripts for this verse. A DSS witness (4QGen-b) exists for this verse and agrees substantially with the MT.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

WEB (World English Bible):

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their vast array.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole host of them.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

“So the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the furniture of them.”

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their host.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And the heaven and the earth and all things in them were complete.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 2:1 – Commentary

The Completion of Creation and Its Theological Significance

This verse marks a pivotal transition in the creation narrative, declaring that the heavens and earth were completed along with all their host (tsaba in Hebrew). The term “host” encompasses the entirety of created beings—celestial bodies, angels, living creatures, and all that fills creation. The Septuagint renders this as kosmos, emphasizing the ordered beauty and arrangement of all things.

Patristic Interpretation

Saint Basil the Great, in his Hexaemeron, reflects on the completeness indicated here, noting that God brought forth creation in its fullness, lacking nothing. The Fathers understood this completion not as God ceasing from inability but as the perfection of His creative work. Saint John Chrysostom emphasizes that the word “finished” (sunetelesthēsan) indicates that everything necessary for creation’s purpose was accomplished, pointing toward the eschatological completion of all things in Christ.

Christological Reading

The Church Fathers consistently read this verse in light of the New Covenant. Just as creation was completed through the Word, so too the new creation finds its completion in Christ. The Gospel of John opens with deliberate echoes of Genesis, and Christ’s words from the Cross—”It is finished” (tetelestai)—deliberately mirror the completion language of Genesis 2:1. What was begun in the first creation reaches its ultimate fulfillment in the Paschal mystery.

Liturgical Connections

This verse finds resonance in the Orthodox liturgical tradition, particularly in the services of Great and Holy Saturday. The Church contemplates Christ’s Sabbath rest in the tomb as the completion of salvation, paralleling God’s rest after creation. The Vespers hymns of Holy Saturday speak of Christ resting from His saving work, just as God rested from creation. The connection between the first Sabbath and Christ’s entombment reveals the deep typological reading the Church maintains.

Additionally, the phrase “all their host” is echoed in the Cherubic Hymn, where the faithful join the heavenly hosts in worship. The liturgy constantly reminds us that earthly worship participates in the cosmic praise offered by all creation to its Creator.

Spiritual Significance

For Orthodox spirituality, this verse speaks to the theme of divine completion and rest. The spiritual life moves toward theosis, the completion of the human person in God. Just as creation was brought to its intended fullness, so the Christian journey aims toward the eschatological rest promised to the faithful. The Sabbath rest foreshadowed here finds its fulfillment not merely in weekly observance but in eternal communion with God, the true rest toward which all creation groans and labors.

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