Origins and Value of the Universe

Creation in Genesis: a world with purpose

Jewish belief in God as creator gives the universe meaning and value: it is not merely a collection of materials available for human use. Genesis, the opening book of the Torah, connects the origin of the world with questions about who is responsible for it and how humans should behave within it.

Genesis 1 describes God bringing order to creation through commands such as ‘Let there be light’ (Genesis 1:3). Its sequence is:

• Day 1: light, separated from darkness.
• Day 2: the sky, separating the waters above from those below.
• Day 3: dry land and seas, followed by vegetation.
• Day 4: the sun, moon and stars.
• Day 5: creatures of the waters and birds.
• Day 6: land animals and humans.

God repeatedly sees creation as good. At the end, everything is described as ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31). Genesis 2:1–3 completes this account: God rests on the seventh day and makes it holy. Creation therefore establishes a pattern of work and rest, important in Jewish observance of Shabbat.

Genesis 2 gives a more personal account. God forms the man from the dust of the ground, breathes life into him and places him in the Garden of Eden. God later creates the woman as his partner. The man is given a task: ‘to till it and keep it’ (Genesis 2:15). This combines working the land with looking after it.

Genesis 3 describes the humans eating the forbidden fruit after the serpent’s temptation. Their disobedience brings consequences: they leave Eden, and obtaining food involves painful toil on ground producing thorns and thistles. For this topic, the important connection is that humans are accountable to God. Being able to use creation does not give them unlimited permission to do whatever they wish.

The scientific explanation of the universe’s origins

The Big Bang explains the development of the universe from an extremely hot, dense early state roughly 14 billion years ago. As the universe expanded, it cooled. Over time, matter formed the structures from which stars, galaxies and planets developed. Expansion continues today.

Two important pieces of evidence support this explanation. Observations show that distant galaxies are generally moving away from us, supporting an expanding universe. Scientists also detect cosmic microwave background radiation: radiation remaining from the hot early universe, now cooled as the universe has expanded.

The Big Bang is not an explosion into an already empty space from a central point. It describes the expansion of space itself. Its strength as a scientific explanation is that it is supported by observations, rather than relying on the authority of a sacred text.

However, describing the universe’s physical development does not by itself establish whether God exists or whether creation has a purpose. A non-religious person may accept the scientific explanation without believing in a creator. A religious person may accept the same explanation while believing that God made these processes possible.

Why Jewish responses to science differ

Jewish responses depend partly on how Genesis is interpreted. These differences do not divide neatly into ‘religious people’ and ‘people who accept science’.

Some Orthodox Jews, including some ultra-Orthodox Jews, favour a literal interpretation. They believe the Torah has divine authority and therefore trust its account of creation. If its days are ordinary days, a universe developing over billions of years appears to conflict with the text. Belief that God is omnipotent—all-powerful—means that rapid creation is possible for God. From this perspective, scientific explanations may be rejected where they contradict Genesis.

Other Orthodox Jews accept compatibility between Genesis and science. They may understand the days as stages or long periods rather than ordinary days. Alternatively, they may see Genesis as teaching truths about God’s relationship with creation rather than providing a scientific timescale. God could have created through the processes described by the Big Bang.

Many Reform and Liberal Jews read the account symbolically. They accept scientific evidence while understanding Genesis as a meaningful religious account: God is the creator, the world is good, and humans have responsibilities within it. Its religious meaning need not depend on every detail being a literal description of physical events.

The central issue is therefore how to understand the purpose and authority of Genesis. A literal reading prioritises its account as factual revelation. A symbolic reading allows scientific explanations of how the universe developed alongside religious explanations of its meaning. Compatibility does not require claiming that the Genesis sequence is an exact scientific account.

Why the universe has value

In Jewish teaching, creation’s value comes from God, not simply from its usefulness to humans. Genesis calls creation good before describing what humans might earn from it. Psalm 24:1 expresses divine ownership: ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’. Humans are therefore users and caretakers of a world that ultimately belongs to God.

Genesis gives humans dominion, or authority, over other living creatures (Genesis 1:26–28). Read alongside the command to keep the garden, this can be understood as stewardship: authority exercised responsibly rather than permission to abuse nature.

The Jewish Declaration on Nature of 1986 states that humanity was given dominion but commanded to treat the rest of creation with ‘justice and compassion’. It places the defence of nature at the centre of Jewish responsibility. Tikkun olam, meaning ‘mending the world’, also encourages action to improve the world. Environmental care is one expression of this wider concern for both people and creation.

Can the universe be used as a commodity?

A commodity is something treated as a resource or item for use, purchase or sale. The debate turns on whether this means legitimate use of nature or reducing nature to nothing more than economic value.

An argument allowing responsible use draws on Genesis itself. Humans receive authority over creation, plants are provided for food (Genesis 1:29), and the man is told to cultivate the garden. Nature is therefore not something humans must leave entirely untouched. Using and trading resources can provide food, shelter and livelihoods. On this interpretation, economic use can be acceptable if it remains within the responsibility to care for creation.

An argument against treating creation simply as a commodity stresses that the world belongs to God and is good in its own right. Its value cannot be reduced to how much profit humans can obtain from it. Dominion must be balanced by keeping the garden, justice and compassion. Destroying nature merely for financial gain would neglect these duties.

For example, a proposal to clear woodland for farmland brings these emphases into tension. The argument for using it would stress food production and human needs. The argument for protecting it would stress damage to living creatures and the duty to preserve creation. A Jewish evaluation would ask whether the benefit justifies the damage and whether a less harmful alternative is available.

A justified conclusion can therefore distinguish using creation from using it without restraint. Genesis permits productive use, but it also places humans under God’s authority. Responsible use can fit Jewish teaching; treating the universe simply as a commodity, with no value beyond usefulness or profit, is much harder to reconcile with stewardship.