John Calvin Commentary Genesis 1:2

"And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" — Genesis 1:2 (ASV)

And the earth was without form and void. I will not be very concerned about the explanation of these two terms, תוהו, (tohu,) and בוהו, (bohu.) The Hebrews use them when they describe anything empty and confused, or vain and worthless. Undoubtedly, Moses used them both in contrast to all those created objects that contribute to the form, adornment, and perfection of the world.

If we were now to remove, I say, from the earth everything that God added after the time referred to here, then we would have this raw and unrefined, or rather shapeless, chaos. Therefore, I consider what he immediately adds, that darkness was upon the face of the abyss, as a part of that confused emptiness, because the light began to give some external appearance to the world.

For the same reason, he calls it the abyss and waters, since in that mass of matter nothing was solid or stable, and nothing was distinct.

And the Spirit of God—interpreters have twisted this passage in various ways. The opinion of some that this phrase refers to the wind is too weak to require refutation.

Those who understand by this phrase the Eternal Spirit of God are correct; yet not all grasp Moses' meaning within the context of his discourse. This is why there are various interpretations of the participle מרחפת, (merachepeth.) First, I will state what, in my judgment, Moses intended.

We have already heard that before God perfected the world, it was an unformed mass; He now teaches that the power of the Spirit was necessary to sustain it. For this question might arise: How could such a disorderly heap stand, seeing that we now observe the world preserved by governance or order?

He therefore asserts that this mass, however confused it might be, was made stable for the time by the secret power of the Spirit. Now, there are two meanings of the Hebrew word (merachepheth) that fit the present context: either that the Spirit moved and stirred over the waters in order to exert power, or that He hovered over them to cherish them.

Since it makes little difference to the outcome whichever of these explanations is preferred, the reader's judgment may be left free. But if that chaos required the secret inspiration of God to prevent its quick collapse, how could this order, so beautiful and distinct, exist by itself unless it derived strength from elsewhere? Therefore, that Scripture must be fulfilled:

Send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth (Psalms 104:30).

So, on the other hand, as soon as the Lord takes away His Spirit, all things return to their dust and vanish away (Psalms 104:29).