Did Yahweh (Jehovah) God Almighty Create Evil?

Question: Did God create evil?

Answer: No, Yahweh did not create evil. Evil is simply the result of disobedience to His moral laws. Where there is no light, there is darkness. Likewise, where God's principles and precepts are not kept, there is evil.

Some people point to the King James Version translation of Isaiah 45:7 to say that God did create evil. The verse says, "I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things." However, this verse does not indicate that God creates moral evil.

First, the word "evil" is translated from the Hebrew word "rah," which speaks of anything unpleasant. It can mean anything from "bad," as a bad land, to "rotten," as a rotten fruit, and any adversities or hardships we may face, from natural disasters to divine punishments from God. Yes, "rah" can also mean moral evil or wickedness. Thus, depending on the verse and context, "rah" has been translated into various words, such as trouble, affliction, bad, wickedness, ill, evil, calamity, sad, harm, adversity, grievous, mischief, and hurt. Below are a few verses where "rah" is present:

"Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan didn't please ["rah"] Isaac, his father." (Genesis 28:8)

"Why do you look so sad ["rah"] today?" (Genesis 40:7)

"See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad ["rah"]?" (Numbers 13:19, NLT)

Second, Isaiah 45:7 is contrasting opposites: light and darkness, peace and disturbance. "Moral evil" is not the exact opposite of "peace," so a better translation is, "I form the light, and create darkness. I make peace, and create calamity. I am Yahweh, who does all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, WEB) The "calamity" Yahweh creates can be in the form of judgments.

Third, the entire Bible does not support the idea of God creating evil. We're told that Yahweh is the only Being who is purely good, and that everything He created is very good (Matthew 19:17; Genesis 1:31).

However, Yahweh does indirectly cause moral evil to exist. When He establishes moral laws and those laws are not followed by others, then evil is the outcome of that disobedience and rebellion.