The basic components of an ex nihilo creation story are below. the first sentence of the story is provided. complete the ex nihilo story by putting the correct sentences in the proper order. a long time ago, there was nothing but darkness. god pointed at the darkness and uttered a command. the animal dived into the water and brought up a small piece of mud, which started expanding. suddenly from the darkness emerged a bright, translucent sphere hanging in midair. within the sphere was an animal. the bright light from the sphere fell on the vast expanse of water. this action led to the creation of earth. inside the sphere sat god, creator of everything.

The numbers used in parentheses are from the order of the sentences in the question part. The sentences are arranged properly as following;

1 (1) A long time ago, there was nothing but darkness. 2 (2) God pointed at the darkness and uttered a command. 3 (4) Suddenly from the darkness emerged a bright, translucent sphere hanging in midair. 4 (8) Inside the sphere sat God, creator of everything. 5 (6)The bright light from the sphere fell on the vast expanse of water. 6 (5) Within the sphere was an animal. 7 (3) The animal dived into the water and brought up a small piece of mud, which started expanding. 8 (7) This action led to the creation of Earth.

Explanation:

"Ex nihilo" is a Latin phrase meaning "out of nothing". It figuratively means that God created the cosmos out of nothing.

First sentence is the beginning of the story as shown by the traditional starting phrase "A long time ago"

The second sentence tells us what happened to the darkness (given a command by God). It is also important to note the use of article "the" before "darkness", since it has been mentioned before.

The third sentence tells us what happened as the result of the command. (Note the use of article "a" before sphere).

The fourth sentence tells more about the sphere and uses "the" before "sphere". It also mentions God.

The fifth sentence tells about the bright light (light of God).

The sixth sentence introduces animal using article "an".

The seventh sentence tells us what the animal did (use of "the" before "animal").

The eighth and last sentence concludes the story with the creation of Earth.

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