That God the Lord created water first.

Although learned men in general disagree about this, there is no dispute among the Hermetic philosophers. For although the word Schamaym, occurring here in the Hebrew original, has been translated “heaven,” I have also found some theologians who hold that almighty God first of all created the waters, and that Schamaym means “waters” in this passage. The context of the first chapter of Genesis makes this quite clear to us: God the Lord first created the waters, and from them the earth; then, only on the second day, he created the firmament, thereby bringing about a division of the waters and distinguishing them, appointing one part above the firmament and another below it.

According to the common version and German translation, the all-wise God called this firmament “heaven,” as we still call it. Hence it follows once again that, although the firmament is likewise designated here—in verses 6, 7, and following—by Schamaym, that word nevertheless means “waters” in the earlier passage. Consequently it was the waters, rather than heaven, that were created first. Nor can those who understand the four elements by the words “heaven and earth” in our German Bibles at Genesis 1:1, and interpret them accordingly, exclude themselves from this opinion. For the elements in themselves are nothing other than water, and all the others arise and are created from it. This can be demonstrated by experience and will be discussed more fully later, also in the Second Part. Thus there follows: