The Literal Meaning of Genesis
earth put forth on the third day was not pleasant to the sight and good for food, for it was among the works which God made, and all were very good.
He must also explain the meaning of the words, Again God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of heaven,75 as if these had not all been made at the beginning, or rather as if none of these had been made before. For Scripture does not say, "And again God formed from the earth the other beasts of the field and the other birds of heaven," as if these were the ones that the earth did not produce on the sixth day or the water on the fifth. But Scripture plainly says, a// the beasts and all the birds.
He must also give thought to how God made all things in six days: on the first day, day itself; on the second, the firmament; on the third, sea and earth, and from earth, plants and trees; on the fourth, the lights of heaven and the stars; on the fifth, the living beings of the waters; on the sixth, the living beings of the earth. And then he must explain the words, When day was made, God made heaven and earth and every green thing of the field,'® for when day was made, He made only day itself. Moreover, how did God make every green thing of the field before it appeared above the earth and all the grass before it sprang forth??? For who would not say that it was made when it sprang forth, not before it sprang forth, unless the words of Scripture instructed him otherwise?
Let him remember also that Scripture says: He who lives forever created all things together.'?® And let him see how all things can be said to have been created together if their creation is separated by intervals not of hours only but even of days. He should take care also to show how these two statements, seemingly contradictory, can both be true: first, that on the seventh day God rested from all His works, which the Book of Genesis says; and second, that He works even until now, as our Lord says.'? He should also explain how things said to be finished are also said to have been begun.*°®
42. Because of all these testimonies of Sacred Scripture, of which no one doubts the truth except an infidel or a scoffer, I have been let to hold that God first created all things simulta-