We seem to be dancing around literary and contextual meanings without confronting the main issue. Genesis 1 cannot be scientific (modern) so to try and establish any sort of reality meaning is pointless. It does not matter whether creation came from a void (ex nihilo) or a vast quantity of water. What matters is the God created the universe as we know it. But, what Genesis does seem to say is that God created humanity specifically rather than the more popular Evolutionar progression whereby humanity is a cosmic fluke. The truth of Genesis 1 is that God was in control of his creation right up to Humanity which pours hot coals on any version where nature is left completely to its own devices. If we are going to accept that Scripture has any meaning then we cannot just rule God out of Evolution and claim He sat back and watched it. That is not what Genesis 1 states.
Richard