In the Beginning

Taittiriya Upanishad
In the beginning this was non-existent (not yet defined by form and name). From it was born what exists. That made itself its Self, therefore it is called the Self-made. That which is Self-made is a flavour (can be tasted), for only after perceiving a flavour can any one perceive pleasure. Who could breathe, who could breathe forth, if that Bliss existed not in the ether (in the heart)? For he alone causes blessedness.

The Book of Genesis, the Holy Bible
1 In the beginning God created heaven and earth.
2 Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.
3 God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.
4 God saw that light was good, and God divided light from darkness.
5 God called light 'day', and darkness he called 'night'. Evening came and morning came: the first day.
6 God said, 'Let there be a vault through the middle of the waters to divide the waters in two.' And so it was.
7 God made the vault, and it divided the waters under the vault from the waters above the vault.
8 God called the vault 'heaven'. Evening came and morning came: the second day.
9 God said, 'Let the waters under heaven come together into a single mass, and let dry land appear.' And so it was.
10 God called the dry land 'earth' and the mass of waters 'seas', and God saw that it was good.
11 God said, 'Let the earth produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants, and fruit trees on earth, bearing fruit with their seed inside, each corresponding to its own species.' And so it was.
12 The earth produced vegetation: the various kinds of seed-bearing plants and the fruit trees with seed inside, each corresponding to its own species. God saw that it was good.
13 Evening came and morning came: the third day.
14 God said, 'Let there be lights in the vault of heaven to divide day from night, and let them indicate festivals, days and years.
15 Let them be lights in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth. And so it was.
16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to govern the day, the smaller light to govern the night, and the stars.
17 God set them in the vault of heaven to shine on the earth,
18 to govern the day and the night and to divide light from darkness. God saw that it was good.

The Shahnama of Firdausi
At the beginning you should correctly grasp
the substance of five elements.
God created things from no things
in order thereby to manifest His power.
He brought the substance without trouble or time.
A shining fire came forth,
between water and wind, along with dark earth.
When fire fell into movement,
it's beat brought about dryness.
Then cold appeared from the unmoving,
and wetness grew up from that coldness.
Once these four elements fell into place
God used them for the realm of two or three days.
He combined the elements one with the other
and they put up their beds in every kind.
The quickly circling dome appeared,
displaying wonders ever new.
The seven days became lord over the twelve
month-each assumed in appropriate place.


The Rig Veda/Mandala 10/Hymn 121
5. By Him the heavens are strong and earth is stedfast, by him light's realm and sky-vault are supported:
By Him the regions in mid-air were measured. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
6. To Him, supported by his help, two armies embattled look while trembling in their spirit,
When over them the risen Sun is shining. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
7. What time the mighty waters came, containing the universal germ, producing Agni,
Thence sprang the Gods' one spirit into being. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
8. He in his might surveyed the floods containing productive force and generating Worship.
He is the God of gods, and none beside him. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
9. Neer may He harm us who is earth's Begetter, nor He whose laws are sure, the heavens' Creator,
He who brought forth the great and lucid waters. What God shall we adore with our oblation?

Shangshu (Chinese Book of Documents)
First we have the five elements water, fire, wood, metal and earth. Water moistens downwards. Fire heats upwards. Wood is both crooked and straight. Metal can be changed into various shapes. Earth is for planting crops. Moistening downwards makes the salty taste. Heating upwards makes the bitter taste. Crookedness and straightness make the sour taste. Changing into shapes makes the pungent taste. Crops make the sweet taste.

Kong Yinda, in the preface of Yijing.

Heaven, being one, created water. Earth, being two, created fire. Heaven, being three, created wood. Earth, being four, created metal. Heaven, being five, created earth.At this point, Heaven and Earth were without spouse.Earth, being six, created water. Heaven, being seven, created fire. Earth, being eight, created wood. Heaven being nine, created metal. Earth, being ten, created earth. In this way yin and yang found their  forms.

The Majjhima Nikaya, Bahudhatuka Sutta of the Buddha
There might be, Ānanda. There are, Ānanda, these six elements: the earth element, the water element, the fire element, the air element, the space element, and the consciousness element. When he knows and sees these six elements, a bhikkhu can be called skilled in the elements.

Empedocles
The Air was first separated out and secondly Fire. Next came Earth, from which, highly compressed as it was by the impetus of its revolution, Water gushed forth. From the water Mist was produced by evaporation. The heavens were formed out of the Air and the sun out of the Fire, while terrestrial things were condensed from the other elements.

Katha Upanishad 
As one fire entering various forms of worldly objects assuming the shapes of such objects, so does the Atma, which, on entering various bodies, takes on various forms, although it remains as one and the same thing and it exists even beyond all such objects within which it is present.
As one air entering various forms of worldly objects assuming the shapes of such objects, so does the Atma, which, on entering various bodies, takes on various forms, although it remains as one and the same thing and it exists even beyond all such objects within which it is present.
As the Sun, the eye of the entire world, is not attacked by the external faults of the eye, so is the Atma, the Atma of the entire world (all the beings), which remains unaffected by any of the worldly sorrows. It stays beyond all that.[...]
The Sun does not shine there; nor do the moon and the stars. Not even the lightning and certainly not this fire. All these shine only by depending on Him who is self-shining and self-illuminating. It is only because of His light that other things are seen and understood.