The verb κτιζω (ktizo) is commonly translated with to create, but instead of emphasizing the beginning of that which is created, it rather emphasizes the will of the creator (Revelation 4:11). In the Greek classics our verb is used to mean to willfully found (of a city), to willfully plant (of a grove), to willfully set up (of an altar), to willfully establish (of a tradition), to willfully produce or create (of an invention or work of art), or even to willfully perpetrate (of any kind of deed).

Our verb stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "tkeyti-" of similar broad meaning, which in turn is a subset of the root "tek-", to beget, from which also comes root "teks-", to weave, hence English words like architect, technology, textile and text, and Greek words like the verb τικτω (tikto), to beget, and the noun τεκτων (tekton), assembler (Jesus' and Joseph's earthly profession).

In the New Testament, our verb and its derivatives are mostly used to refer to the creative initiative of God, but it must be emphasized that the authors of the Bible never regarded God as the distant Prime Mover envisioned by Aristotle (an erroneous pagan model that still strongly influences modern and popular concepts of God). As we discuss more elaborately in our articles on the verb πασχω (pascho), to experience, and the noun θηριον (therion), wild animal, the singular nature of the Creator is reflected in dynamic creation (Romans 1:20), which runs on a set of immutable laws called Logos (Matthew 5:18), humanity's waxing knowledge of which is embodied by Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:14), who thus reflects the Creator (Hebrews 1:3). That means that God is not merely the singular once-upon-a-time Creator, but continues as the perpetual Maintainer and Facilitator of all goings on the universe, and ultimately functions as the singular Attractor upon which all lines of evolution inevitably converge. In the New Testament, the Creator is only once described by the noun κτιστης (ktistes), creator (see below) and twice rather by the participle of our verb: κτιζων (ktizon), the creating (Romans 1:25, Colossians 3:10).

Our verb κτιζω (ktizo) means to come into being because of the will of a κτιστης (ktistes), a founder (see below), and applies to anything that's made to exist by anyone with a will to do so. In the New Testament, our verb is commonly translated with to create, but the obvious objection to this is the inevitable exclusive association with the divine Creator and the whole of the created reality in which we creatures live. Folks like Aristotle and Alan Guth imagine an instantaneous creation event that happened long ago, whose residual momentum still drives all action in the universe today. Models that derive from a casual reading of Genesis stretch the creation "event" to 144 hours (6 days), but agree that the universe still reels from the residual momentum of this one week.

There are many things wrong with these views. Time, to start with, is essentially a matter of particle interaction, and particle interaction is a function of the universe. That means that the universe did not begin at a point in time, but rather that time began at a point in the universe. The universe is more fundamental than time, and the word "creation" does not describe the earliest point in time (or the earliest event in time) from which the rest of time followed, but rather a most fundamental structure within complexity from which the whole rest of all structures within complexity forever follows.

As we discuss in some detail in our article on the noun αστηρ (aster), meaning star, the six days of creation are not about the first 144 hours of existence, but rather the basic pattern in which everything that naturally evolves must evolve, for all eternity. Nature is a fractal, and the six days of creation are the six most fundamental phases through which any kind of evolving continuum must transit, at any scale, at any level of complexity and at any time. This basic pattern roughly starts with a singularity, followed by a series of symmetry breaches, then global expansion and local contraction, the production of multiple singularities, which somehow find each other and begin to exchange information, which causes convergence, and ultimately the arrival at a whole new singularity, which is backed by the vast complexity it sustains.

The light that comes to be on day one (Genesis 1:3), again comes to be in the Messiah (Isaiah 9:2, John 1:5). The firmament that separates the waters on day two (Genesis 1:6) separates the murderers on Golgotha (John 19:18). The waters below the firmament gather into dry land (Genesis 1:9, Luke 23:43), over which the stars come out (Genesis 1:15, 15:5, Nehemiah 4:21, Galatians 3:7). In the Bible, the complexity-backed singularity upon which all evolution is designed to converge is envisioned as a city (a highly dynamic and complex society) called the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2).

Our verb κτιζω (ktizo) means to willfully initiate and is used 14 times in the New Testament; see full concordance. From this verb derive:

The verb κταομαι (ktaomai) means to procure or acquire: to add to oneself. It stems from the same PIE root "tek-", to beget, as the above.

In the classics, this verb's object may be any sort of object that one acquires and thus becomes one's possession (and makes one a property-owner). It may be a prize one wins, or a living one makes, a favor won, or some dire consequence that one brings upon oneself. By practicing, one may acquire mastery of some art, have benefits in store, or have a hand in what happens next.

This verb is not necessarily reserved for commercial acquisitions but is still closely associated to it. The invention of legal property, and subsequent property rights, is the fundamental tenet of any complex economy, which in turn is the foundation of modern humanity (see our article on Abraham). When property rights are violated, all economy (and humanity) immediately comes to a halt (and humanity reverts to jungle law: Jude 1:10). And when an economy must be restored (after, say, a war or destructive plague), the restoration and protection of property rights are the first and foremost item on any agenda. Property right is a crucial element of modern humanity, which is why it is guaranteed by three of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:15-17).

Our verb κταομαι (ktaomai), to acquire, is used 7 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and from it derive: