And now that the Creation here affirmed was an absolute origination, a bringing into being of the primordial elements out of which the heavens and the earth were subsequently "formed," is the doctrine of the best Hebrew lexicographers. It is held by many of the best authorities that the particle אֵת (ayth) means "the very substance of," "the very or real essence." Fürst, in his recently published Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, gives "being, essence, substance," as the meaning of "ayth." Gesenius, in his Hebrew Grammar, says "'ayth' means being, substance" (p. 216). And furthermore, he says "'_ayth_' is a substantive derived from a pronominal stem, and signifies essence, substance, being." "The particle '_ayth_,'" says Aben Ezra, "signifies the substance of a thing." Kimchi, in his famous "Book of Hebrew Roots," gives a similar definition. In the Syriac version, "_yoth_" takes the place of "_ayth_," and is very appropriately rendered in Walton's Polyglot, "_esse cœli et esse terræ_"--the being or substance of the heavens and the earth. It is not, therefore, a fanciful and altogether unauthorized reading of this opening sentence of Divine revelation which the Christian idea of God, and of his relation to the world, seems to demand--"_In the beginning God originated, brought into being, the primordial elements of the heavens and the earth._" For manageable clearness, in dealing with the Mosaic primeval history, we shall find ourselves under the necessity of accepting the distinction made by theologians between _creatio prima, immediata_, and _creatio mediata, formativa_. 1. _An absolute Creation_, a pure supernatural origination--the Beginning of all beginnings. 2. _An artistic, architectonic Creation_, a supernatural formation out of a first substance--the production of new things or beings by aggregation, organization, and development according to pre-established laws and archetypal ideas. The first notion of Creation is grounded on the Omnipotence of God, the second on the Infinite Wisdom of God, and both are united in and ultimately grounded on the unconditioned Will. And now let us confine our attention to the first conception of Creation--_creatio prima, immediata_, or ABSOLUTE CREATION.