Translating Genesis 1:1 "בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית" to "in the beginning"

Question

Apologies if this is a stupid question (or belongs in a different group). Since I'm not Jewish & only beginning to learn Hebrew I lack the background to pose an intelligent question.

English uses both definite and indefinite articles, but Hebrew has no indefinite article. When a Hebrew word has no definite article I've seen it translated it to English adding an indefinite article.

Thus בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית is literally "in beginning" and tradition adds the "the". Why not translate it "in a beginning"? You'll note he said "the heavens" and "the earth" a few words later.

Are other Hebrew passages translated with "the" added in this way?

If Moses does not say "the" beginning, I do not want to put words into his mouth. (Likewise, if he does not say "a" beginning I dare not add it without warrant.)

The implication is that deity might create (ex nihilo) other heavens & earths separate from the space-time we live in. I don't want to entertain this notion if it lacks grammatical support.

Thanks in advance,

steve

Answer 1

The King James translation "In the beginning God created" is inaccurate. בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית is actually in construct form where the definite article is left out. The Schocken Bible has a better translation: "At the beginning of God’s creating"

Answer 2

Actually, it’s a great question. The most literal translation, completely disregarding correct English form, is “In [a/the] beginning of” with something like a very weak comma after it.

The word doesn’t fit the rest of the sentence at all—not grammatically, not logically, not anything. The simple meaning is “in the beginning”, but obviously the simple meaning is not the basic meaning here. The true basic meaning is the subject of centuries of still-ongoing debate within the Jewish community.