וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחֹשֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל־פְּנֵי הַמָּֽיִם׃
Now the earth was unformed and empty, with darkness over the surface of the abyss, and the Spirit of God was brooding over the surface of the waters.
(Genesis 1:2 · Biblical Hebrew)
2 — Genesis 1:2 · Biblical Hebrew · Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA, cantillation stripped) · Chapter 1.
ውእቱ፡ ይከውን፡ በትረ፡ ለጻድቃን፡ ከመ፡ ቦቱ፡ ይትመረጐዙ፡ ወኢይደቁ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ብርሃነ፡ አሕዛብ፡ ወውእቱ፡ ይከውን፡ ተስፋ፡ ለእለ፡ የሐምሙ፡ በልቦሙ፡፡
He will be a staff for the righteous on which to lean without stumbling; He will be the Light of the Peoples and the hope of those who ache in their hearts.
(1 Enoch 48:4 · Classical Ethiopic Ge’ez)
22 — 1 Enoch 48:4 · Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez) · Chapter 2.
ܕܟܕ ܒܪܢܫܐ ܐܢܬܬܐ ܥܕܟܝܠ ܠܐ ܢܣܒ ܪܚܡ ܘܡܝܩܪ ܠܐܠܗܐ ܐܒܘܗܝ ܘܠܪܘܚ ܩܘܕܫܐ ܐܡܗ ܘܠܝܬ ܠܗ ܪܚܡܬܐ ܐܚܪܬܐ
For while a man has not yet taken a wife, he loves and honours God his Father and the Holy Spirit his Mother, and he has no other love.
(Aphrahat the Persian Sage, Demonstration 18.10 · Classical Syriac)
42 — Aphrahat, Demonstration 18.10 · Classical Syriac · Chapter 3.
סתים גו סתימין דרזא דאין סוף בקע ולא בקע אוירא דיליה לא אתיידע כלל עד דמגו דחיקו דבקיעותיה נהיר נקודה חדא סתימא עלאה בתר ההיא נקודה לא אתיידע כלל ובגין כך אקרי ראשית מאמר קדמאה דכלא.
What is sealed inside the sealed, the secret of the One without end, broke open and did not break open. Its air is not known at all, until, from within the pressure of its breaking-through, one sealed upper point shone. After that point it is not known at all, and therefore it is called Beginning, the first saying of all.
(Sefer ha-Zohar I:15a · Zoharic Aramaic)
52 — Sefer ha-Zohar I:15a (Bereshit) · Zoharic Aramaic (unpointed consonantal text) · Chapter 6.
Every primary source in this companion is printed in its original ancient script — Biblical Hebrew, Classical Ethiopic (Ge’ez), Biblical and Zoharic Aramaic, Koine Greek, and Syriac — with our own fresh translation beneath it, translated directly from the original languages for this edition by Afterglow Publishing. Where a source text licence requires attribution: Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic text from Miqra according to the Masorah (CC BY-SA); Koine Greek apparatus readings from the SBL Greek New Testament (CC BY).