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Bite Sized Theology Hermeneutics

Recapitulation

Genesis 1-2 provides the initial account of creation. Scripture makes the practice of recapitulating the creation account in some form or fashion.

What is recapitulation?

re·ca·pit·u·la·tion/ˌrēkəˌpiCHəˈlāSHən/
Noun:
An act or instance of summarizing the main points of something

Scripture is replete with recapitulation of the creation story. Creation is not the only subject that is recapitulated; the Exodus, Matthew recapitulates Israel’s history via Jesus’ life, the Psalmists recapitulated (rehearsed) the works of God (i.e. Psalm 40:5), are a few other examples.

Preaching the Gospel is recapitulating the Person and Work of Jesus to others (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15). Paul recapitulates the Gospel to Christians in all of his letters.

Recapitulation is standard fare in Scripture

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. ~Genesis 1:1, 31

You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ~Nehemiah 9:6

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. Here is the sea, great and wide, which teems with creatures innumerable, living things both small and great. ~Psalm 104:24-25

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ~Colossians 1:15-16

Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. ~Deuteronomy 10:14

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all. ~1 Chronicles 29:11

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. For ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.’ ~Psalm 24:1-2; cf. Psalm 89:11; 1 Corinthians 10:26

He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. ~Psalm 33:5-6

The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. ~Psalm 145:9, 13; cf. Psalm 145:17

In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind. ~Job 12:10

You are the LORD, you alone. You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and you preserve all of them; and the host of heaven worships you. ~Nehemiah 9:6

He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? ~Psalm 94:9

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. ~Psalm 104:24

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: ~Isaiah 42:5

Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: ‘I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself, ~Isaiah 44:24

It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me. ~Jeremiah 27:5

The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: ~Zechariah 12:1

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ~John 1:3

Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ~Acts 14:15

The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. ~Acts 17:24-25

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ~Romans 1:20

But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. ~1 Corinthians 15:38-39

and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, ~Ephesians 3:9

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ~Colossians 1:16-17

And he said with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.’ ~Revelation 14:7