The earth, as described in Genesis 1:2, became without form and void, expressed by the Hebrew words *tohuw* and *bohuw*, meaning to lie waste and to be empty or in ruin. Isaiah 45:18 clarifies that God did not create the earth in *tohuw*, indicating it was not originally in a state of waste. Initially, at the creation described in Genesis 1:1, which may have been millions or billions of years ago, God formed the heavens and the earth in beauty, as evidenced by the angels shouting for joy in Job 38:4-7. However, following the rebellion of the archangel who became satan and his subsequent casting down to earth, as noted in Isaiah 14:12-15 and Luke 10:18, the earth fell into a catastrophic state of waste and ruin. This necessitated God to re-form or renew the earth in seven 24-hour days, as affirmed in Exodus 20:11, where He declares that in six days He made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, resting on the seventh day.

The Hebrew term tohuw (H8414) appears in Genesis 1:2 as part of the phrase translated without form and void, where it is paired with bohuw to describe the earth after an implied period of chaos. BlueLetterBible.org defines tohuw as deriving from an unused root meaning to lie waste, conveying desolation and confusion, and notes additional senses including formlessness, wasteland, and a place of chaos. Biblehub.com similarly renders the related term as a vacuity or undistinguishable ruin. This linguistic evidence supports the view that the earth did not originate in such a condition but instead became tohuw and bohuw through subsequent events. Isaiah 45:18 reinforces the point by stating that the Lord formed the earth and did not create it in vain, employing the same word tohuw rendered vain. Jeremiah 4:23 presents an identical construction when prophesying divine judgment on sinning Judah, where the earth is seen as without form and void with no light in the heavens, indicating that the state described in Genesis 1:2 resulted from rebellion rather than original creation. The Pulpit Commentary accordingly glosses the phrase as waste and wild or, more literally, formless and lifeless. These details integrate with the broader gap interpretation by establishing that a perfect Creator would not produce an initial earth marked by desolation, darkness, and ruin, thereby aligning the text with an earlier flawless creation later subjected to judgment before renewal.

Genesis 1:2 presents a picture of creation that was without form and void, translated in the King James as "tohuw" and "bohuw," which mean confusion and ruin or chaos. God does not create things in confusion and chaos, indicating that something drastic happened between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, turning the earth into a shapeless, chaotic mass. This confusion and chaos recorded in verse 2 likely resulted from the rebellious destruction caused by Satan and the demonic angels that followed him, suggesting a significant gap in time between the original creation and the reordering of the earth by God.

At the beginning of the conversion process, we are seen by God as being in a state of *tohuw* and *bohuw*, which translates to waste and confusion. Spiritually, we are a mess, far from being in His image. Our nature produces thinking that leads to chaos, a state of disorder and disarray, potentially even mayhem and havoc. Physically, a person may appear to have it all together before God's calling, but spiritually, in the heart as God sees it, chaos reigns. By the time God initiates His creative effort, a person's mind is in spiritual chaos, deceived and enslaved by the spiritual environment, unable to be dressed and kept as God desires. There is only one dominating way of thinking, influenced by satan, resulting in adversarial, competitive, and violent cultures filled with corruption worldwide. Without God's intervention, the mind inevitably moves toward randomness and disorder. At the time of God's calling, the mind lacks sufficient spiritual truth to produce the fruit God desires, so He begins the conversion process by letting in the light of His truth, lifting the fog of lies, and allowing a glimpse of spiritual realities.