Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew
Genesis 1:1 is the Bible's opening line, and reading it in Hebrew rewards the effort. Below is the pointed Hebrew, a transliteration to sound it out, and a close English meaning — with a look at bereshit ("in the beginning"), bara ("created"), and the little word et that Hebrew uses but English leaves unspoken.
Working with a passage of your own? Hebrew translator translates Biblical Hebrew both ways.
Verse in Biblical Hebrew
Genesis 1:1
Transliteration
How to say it
What it means in English
In beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The familiar wording (KJV 1611, Genesis 1:1):
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
A few things worth knowing
- The Hebrew word אֵת marks a definite direct object; it is not translated as a separate English word.
- בָּרָא is the verb "created" with God as subject in this verse.
- The text is pointed and accented; unpointed Torah scrolls look different but preserve the same consonantal words.
Bereshit and the opening grammar
בְּרֵאשִׁית is usually rendered "in the beginning." The Hebrew form has generated careful grammatical discussion, but the traditional English opening captures the force of the line for ordinary readers.
Why et is visible but not translated
The small word אֵת points to what God creates: the heavens and the earth. English marks objects by word order, so the marker disappears in translation.
Where this text comes from
We use Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex UXLC 2.5, Genesis 1:1, a public-domain edition, so the wording here is stable and free to read, copy, and share. You can check the source for yourself.
More prayers and verses in their original languages
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you say Genesis 1:1 in Hebrew?
- A common classroom pronunciation is Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve-et ha-aretz.
- What does bara mean?
- בָּרָא means "created" in Genesis 1:1.
- Why is et not translated?
- אֵת is a Hebrew direct-object marker. It has a grammatical job but no simple standalone English equivalent.