In [a] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Then the earth, [was] a wasteland and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the face of the waters (Genesis 1:1–2).
Although most English Bibles add the definite article "the" to this verse—often interpreting it as the first act of creation—the original Hebrew does not include the article. Therefore, Genesis 1:1 is not referring to the beginning of God’s acts of creation. According to Job 38:7, the first step in creation was the formation of spirit beings, who were present to witness the creation of the universe.
Tohu (תֹּהוּ) refers to a wasteland—a place void of life. It does not convey the meaning of “without a clear or definite shape or structure” in the same way the English concept of formless is commonly understood. Instead, “wasteland” or “void of life” more accurately express the Hebrew meaning.
Bohu (בֹּהוּ) denotes emptiness. It is used to describe Edom after the wrath of God comes upon it—a place of desolation, void of life. Pelicans and porcupines will inhabit it, along with owls and ravens; yet a line of confusion will be stretched out over it, and its nobles and princes will be nothing (Isaiah 34:11–12). This depicts a place devoid of intelligent life. In Genesis 1:2, bohu carries the same meaning: the earth is presented in a condition lacking intelligent life.
The Hebrew phrase tohu va-bohu (תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ) is also used in Jeremiah 4:23 to describe the desolation of the earth under the wrath of God. This demonstrates that, in Genesis, the phrase without form and void (tohu va-bohu) does not describe an earth in a state of formlessness prior to its formation. Instead, it depicts a wasteland—empty and lifeless. The land is desolate and void not because it was created that way, but because of divine judgment. This is the same condition described in Genesis 1:2. Just as in Jeremiah 4, the earth was made to become this way by judgment; it was not originally in such a state. God did not create the earth in chaos; rather, He formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18).
Initially, the earth was not inhabited by humans or biological life. According to Ezekiel 28:13, the earth—Eden—was were Lucifer’s throne resided prior to his fall. The earth is described as a wasteland and empty in Genesis 1:2 because Lucifer attempted to exalt his throne to the third heaven, where God dwells (Isaiah 14:12–14). This act of rebellion resulted in the earth being flooded and light no longer shining upon the surface of the deep where the precious stone lay (Ezekiel 28:13).