Although i personally prefer the King James Version because of the elegance of the English used therein, i know that it is not the most commonly used translation. (Christian sources do not agree on this point. Some allege that the King James Version is the most popular version
in the United States, based on polling. Some allege that the New International Version is the most popular based on dollar sales. Some allege that the New Living Translation is the most popular based on unit sales. The Christian Business Association list the New International Version as number one in montary and unit sales.) In this example i have used the text of the New International Version, which not only has the largest gross sales, but the sales of which has been growing for decades.
From the New International Version:
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. 6 And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” 7 So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. 9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. 14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
This is a very confused account. Note that "the deep" and "the waters" and "the vault of the sky" are all existent at that time. Leaving aside the very obvious question of who or what created the "god" mentioned in the text, it is important to take into consideration that the Torah was heavily revised at the time of the Babylonian captivity. Although there may have once been a single author (which i personally doubt), during the Captivity, a class of scribes arose, and the Pentateuch was heavily edited. It cannot be considered to be the work of a single man nor an individual account of a vision or revelation. From the
Wikipedia article on the Babylonia captivity:
Quote:This period saw the last high-point of biblical prophecy in the person of Ezekiel, followed by the emergence of the central role of the Torah in Jewish life. According to many historical-critical scholars, the Torah was altered during this time, and began to be regarded as the authoritative text for Jews.