Genesis 1: God’s Cosmic Temple

God’s Cosmic Temple
Genesis 1 as Ancient Near Eastern Cosmology

John H. Walton, Old Testament scholar and professor emeritus at Wheaton College, has significantly shaped contemporary understanding of Genesis 1. In his influential book The Lost World of Genesis One, Walton argues that the chapter should be read in its ancient Near Eastern context. Rather than describing the material origins of the universe, Genesis 1 presents the cosmos as a cosmic temple that God orders and then inhabits. The seven days culminate in God’s “rest” on the seventh day—the inauguration of the temple when the Creator takes up residence in his creation. This functional, temple-oriented reading removes many unnecessary conflicts between the biblical text and modern science while remaining deeply theological.