“I will remember My covenant with Jacob, also My covenant with Isaac, also My covenant with Abraham I will remember, and the land I will remember” (Leviticus 26:42). “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” That is what is written: “You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork” (Psalms 102:26). Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel, Beit Shammai say: The heavens were created first and then the earth, as it is stated: “In the beginning, [God] created [the heavens and the earth]” (Genesis 1:1).
Beit Hillel say: The earth was created first and then the heavens. These and those cite a rationale for their statements. The rationale for Beit Shammai, who say the heavens were created first and then the earth, is that it is analogous to a king who crafted a throne for himself. After he crafted it, he crafted its footstool.
Likewise, “so said the Lord: The heavens are My throne and the earth My footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). The rationale for Beit Hillel, who said the earth was created first and then the heavens, is that it is analogous to a king who built a palace; after he built the lower story, he then built the upper story. Likewise it is written: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4). Rabbi Tanḥuma said: And I cited a source:1This supports the opinion of Beit Hillel.
“You set the foundations of earth in the past; the heavens are Your handiwork.” Rabbi Ḥanina said: From the place where the verse supports Beit Shammai, from there Beit Hillel refutes it. According to the opinion of Beit Shammai, who said that the heavens were created first and then the earth, it is from that which is written: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).
According to the opinion of Beit Hillel, who said that the earth was created first and then the heavens, it is from that which is written: “The earth was emptiness and disorder” (Genesis 1:2), [which indicates that] the earth had already been created.2This is before God created in the heavens, as detailed in Genesis 1:6–8. Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of the Sages: Regarding creation, the heavens were first, but regarding completion, the earth was first; “on the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens” (Genesis 2:4).
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said: I wonder, how is it that the fathers of the world disagreed regarding the creation of the heavens and the earth, as I say that the heavens and the earth were created like a stew pot and its lid.3The pots of that time were created from clay. At first the craftsman would create a closed box and then he would separate the top part from the bottom, thereby creating the pot and the lid.
That is what is written: “My hand also laid the foundation of the earth and My right hand measured the heavens” (Isaiah 48:13). Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Shimon said: According to the opinion that my father said, [it can be explained why it is that] in every place it mentions the heavens before the earth, and in one place it says: “On the day that the Lord God made earth and heavens.” It teaches that the two of them are equal, equivalent to one another.
In every place, it mentions young pigeons before doves, and in one place it says: “And a dove or a young pigeon” (Leviticus 12:6). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions Moses before Aaron, and in one place it says: “It is Aaron and Moses” (Exodus 6:26). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another.
In every place, it mentions Joshua before Caleb, and in one place it says: “except Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite, and Joshua son of Nun” (Numbers 32:12). It teaches that the two of them were equivalent to one another. In every place, it mentions honor of one’s father before honor of one’s mother, and in one place it says: “Each of you shall fear his mother and his father” (Leviticus 19:3). It teaches that the two of them are equivalent to one another.
But the Sages said: The father is mentioned before the mother in every place, because [a child] and his mother are obligated in the honor of his father. In every place, it mentions Abraham before the [other] patriarchs, and here it says: “I will remember My covenant with Jacob.” It teaches that the three of them are equivalent to one another.