What Scripture says

Genesis 1:2 uses hayah, commonly translated “was,” but capable in context of expressing becoming. The Earth is described as tohu va-bohu. Isaiah 45:18 says God did not create the Earth tohu, but formed it to be inhabited. Jeremiah 4 uses the same desolation language in a scene of judgment. Job 38 speaks of the Earth’s foundations and witnesses who were present when they were laid.

How I understand it

I understand Genesis 1:1 as the original creation and Genesis 1:2 as a subsequent condition. The days that follow describe restoration for this flesh age. This reading allows the Biblical account to include an earlier world, the dinosaurs, and the rebellion that Scripture associates with Satan without forcing the Earth into a six-thousand-year history.

What you should examine

Compare every use of tohu and bohu in Genesis 1:2, Isaiah 34:11, Isaiah 45:18, and Jeremiah 4:23. Trace how hayah is translated elsewhere. Ask whether the surrounding Scriptures describe pristine creation or a condition reached through judgment.