During my first 20 years of teaching Genesis 1 to classes of all sorts, I experienced the nagging feeling that I was missing something very important that was just out of my grasp. Since my wife was trained as a scientist, conversations between us about the interface of Genesis 1 and science were common. All of my own training and research in Hebrew language and exegesis as well as in ancient Near Eastern languages and literature brought regular insights and progress, but there were still