The Hebrew word *bohuw* (H922), meaning void or empty space and ruin, appears in Genesis 1:2, where the earth is described as being without form and void. This state of waste and emptiness suggests a period of time after the initial creation in Genesis 1:1, when God created the heavens and the earth. According to Isaiah 45:18, God did not create the earth in vain or *tohu*, a related term meaning to lie waste, indicating that the earth's ruined condition in Genesis 1:2 resulted from a later event. This catastrophic state of ruin is linked to the rebellion of the archangel who became satan, leading to his fall to earth and the subsequent need for God to renew the earth in seven 24-hour days, as affirmed in Exodus 20:11.

The Hebrew word *bohuw* (H922), found in Genesis 1:2, is described as deriving from an unused root meaning superficially an undistinguishable ruin, emptiness, void, and waste. According to sources like Blue Letter Bible and Biblehub.com, *bohuw* conveys a sense of vacuity and desolation, painting a picture of an earth in a state of ruin and lifelessness as part of the early description in Genesis. This term, paired with *tohu*, suggests a condition of formlessness and chaos that proponents of the gap theory argue the earth became, rather than being created in such a state by a perfect God.

In Genesis 1:2, we encounter a creation described as "without form and void," translated from the Hebrew words *tohu* and *bohu*, which signify confusion and ruin or chaos. God does not create in confusion and chaos, indicating that something drastic occurred between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, transforming the earth into a shapeless, chaotic mass. This suggests a period of disruption that led to the ruin and desolation captured by the term *bohu*, pointing to a state of emptiness and disorder that necessitated God's recreative work to restore order and productivity on the earth.

At the beginning of the conversion process, we are seen by God as being in a state of spiritual chaos, described as *tohu* and *bohuw* (H922), which signify waste and confusion. Spiritually, we are a mess, far from being in His image, as our nature produces thinking that leads to disorder and disarray. This chaotic state reflects the spiritual darkness and confusion in which we live before God's creative intervention begins. As conversion starts, the veil of ignorance lifts slightly, and the light of God's truth begins to penetrate through the spiritual debris cluttering our minds, marking the initial step away from the waste and confusion of *bohuw*. Each subsequent step in this creative process, as symbolized in Genesis 1, adds clearer definition and greater productiveness to God's purpose, gradually transforming us from the chaotic state of *bohuw* into a new spiritual creation.