Thoughts about Genesis (10)

Genesis 1:26-31
²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
²⁷ God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
²⁹ Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;
³⁰ and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.
³¹ God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

How I teach day six may be controversial. I tend to throw out traditional teaching in favor of Biblical teaching. Some of what you are about to read may be entirely new for you. Day 6 contains more detail and description than any other creation day. This increased content is especially interesting when describing the creation of humanity. There is a lot of controversy surrounding day six. Many theologians don’t like the Biblical wording because it goes against conventional theology and tradition. Fortunately for you (or perhaps unfortunately), I don’t care about traditional theology. We will look at the words in the verses and use scripture to see what happened.

⚠ Disclaimer alert! ⚠ I will warn you now that you have probably never heard day six taught how you are about to be taught. You are about to see what the Bible says, and it is not anything like what tradition teaches. I teach this verse in a manner that you may not have heard before. So keep an open mind, I am about to take you outside of the box. So please fasten your seat belts, pull down on the lap bar to ensure it is locked, keep your hands and arms inside the car, and hold on tight; we’re going for a ride. Here we go:

Genesis 1:26
Then God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) said (אָמַר - amar), “Let Us make (עָשָׂה - asah) man (אָדָם - adam) in Our image (עֶלֶם - tselem), according to Our likeness (דְּמוֹת - demuth); and let them rule (רָדָה - radah) over the fish (דָּגָה - dagah) of the sea (יָם - yam) and over the birds (עוֹף - oph) of the sky (שָׁמַיִם - shamayim) and over the cattle (בְּהֵמָה - behemah) and over all (כֹּל - kol) the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets), and over every (כֹּל - kol) creeping thing (רֶמֶשׂ - remes) that creeps (רָמַשׂ - ramas) on the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets).”

Once again we find God speaking something into existence. As discussed in the second lesson (lesson 4), the word Elohim (Strong’s H430) is common noun that means strength, might, and power(ful). Since the word Elohim is a common noun, it is a descriptor, not a name. The phrase and said (Strong’s H559) means to speak from the heart.

We are not given any details on how God created man, other than he spoke adam into existence. In the previous five days of creation, every time the phrase and God said is used, God spoke something into existence. Everything that God has created up to this point has been with words.

•  Day 1: and God said, “let there be light.” How did God create light? With his words.
•  Day 2: and God said, “let the waters be gathered.” How did God gather the waters? With his words.
•  Day 3: and God said, “let the land sprout vegetation.” How did God create plants? With his words.
•  Day 4: and God said, “let there be lights in the sky.” How did God create the sun, moon, and stars? With his words.
•  Day 5: and God said, “let there be sea creatures and birds,” How did God create them? With his words.
•  Day 6: and God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures … cattle … creeping things … and beasts of the earth,” How did God create them? With his words.

Do you see the pattern? However, day 6 presents us with a problem: the creation of mankind. How God created mankind goes completely against tradition and conventional theology. In other words, most theologians don’t like the first seven words of verse 26. Then God said, Let Us make man. How did God create them? With his words. Therein lies the problem; if God spoke adam into existence in chapter one, that contradicts the creation of adam in chapter two. That contradiction is a problem if you translate adam incorrectly. If you translate adam correctly, then there is no problem because God is doing two completely different tasks. So let’s take a look at this common noun, adam.

But first, let’s review what a common noun is. Clarifying the difference: common nouns are words for types of things, people, and places, such as dog, professor, and city. Common nouns are not capitalized, unless they appear at the beginning of a sentence. A common noun is a descriptor in that it describes what something is. Proper nouns are words for specific things, people, and places, such as Max, Dr. Jenner, and London by its name. Proper nouns are always capitalized.¹ The confusion comes when a noun can be both a proper or common noun, such as the word doctor. As a common noun, the word doctor describes what the person does. As a proper noun, the word Doctor is part of their name. The word adam (as it is used in chapter one) is a common noun. Therefore, it is a descriptor, not a name.

Adam (Strong’s #120) can be a confusing word. It is a singular noun but carries a plural connotation. However, sometimes, a singular noun can refer to an entire kind of item rather than an individual entity. For example, the noun עַם people is singular and refers to an entire group of people as a single unit. In Hebrew, the pluralization of a singular word is called collective singular, The word adam is a singular masculine noun used as a collective noun. However, later in this same verse, God speaks of letting them (not only him) have dominion over the creatures of the earth. Therefore, man (adam) here is mankind (plural) and not Adam (singular). At the very end of vs. 27, this idea is reinforced – male and female He created them.² As a common noun, the word adam means “people, mankind, or humanity.³

Genesis chapter one is filled with God said statements, and what he spoke came into existence as in verse three; Then God said, Let there be light; and there was light. Genesis 1:26 also contains the God said statement where God said (emphasis mine), let us make man in our image… and humanity was spoken into being. My point is that what God said, happened.

Let us make (עָשָׂה – asah – Strong’s H6213). Asah means to make or do, to bring about. The word asah translated here, denotes completed action.⁴ In other words, it happened as soon as God spoke the words. The word asah, in this context, reinforces the fact that as soon as God said it, it happened. As soon as God said let us make man, humanity appeared. And so God spoke humanity into existence. The word asah has the prefix letter נ - nun in front of it. (In a Hebrew Bible the word looks like this: נעָשָׂה.) The prefix letter (nun) adds the word we to asah: we make. Naturally, we make is bad grammar in English, so it is translated as Let us make.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this creation act refers to the creation of mankind, or humanity, not Adam and Eve. In verse 26, God populated the planet with humans. How many he created is a who knows. The Bible does not state whether God created thousands or millions of humans. When God created the plants, he created a multitude of them. When God created the fish, he created a multitude of them. When God created the birds, he created a multitude of them. When God created the animals, he created a multitude of them. If we keep humanity in context with how God created everything else, then God spoke a multitude of humans into existence.

I realize that what I am teaching goes against traditional theology. Traditional theology teaches that humanity was not spoken into existence. Traditional theology teaches that God did not speak a multitude of humans into existence. Traditional theology does not like the phrase and God said, but instead teaches that God did not say. Traditional theology points at Adan in Chapter Two and claims he (and later Eve) was the only human that God made. Traditional theology teaches that since God hand-made Adam, verse 26 is wrong (God did not speak humanity into existence). I would rather be Biblically correct than traditionally correct. I choose to believe verse 26 to be true when it claims that God spoke humanity into existence.

At this point in verse 26, God has created humanity. But humanity is different from the rest of creation. God created mankind in our image (עֶלֶם - tselem). The word image (Strong’s H6754 - tselem) means image, a likeness, a statue, a drawing, a shadow.⁵ An image is an outward display or representation of something. Humanity is an outward display of who God is. We display His emotions, creativity, imagination, and thought processes. Since God created humanity as a reflection (or shadow) of himself, humanity could behave and live as God intended.

The word image (עֶלֶם – tselem) has the same root as the word shadow (עֵל) – pronounced tsel. Just as a shadow looks similar to a subject from which it is cast, human beings also resemble God. This idea is repeated by the use of the phrase into his likeness. The word tselem has the prefix letter בּ - bet in front of it, the suffix letters נ וּ - nun, waw behind it. (In a Hebrew Bible, the full word looks like this: בּעֶלֶםנוּ). The prefix adds the word in, and suffix adds the phrase of us. Literally, it would read in the image of us. English translators render this phrase in our image.

The phrase of us or our is plural. However, the use of the plural in Hebrew is not always like that in English. In English, a plural means more than one thing. In Hebrew, it could mean more than one thing, or it could mean something that is the ultimate or greatest.⁶ It is easy for modern Christians to see the Trinity in the plural statements from God. Still, please keep in mind that the concept of Trinity was utterly foreign to the Israelites. The use of plural words, when referencing God, was meant to exalt His greatness and majesty. That hasn’t changed.

The phrase according to our likeness (Strong’s H1823) is the word דְּמוֹת – demuth. It means a resemblance or to be like something else in action or appearance.⁷ This word is often used to create a simile by comparing two unlike things.⁸ The word in this context is not referring to physical appearance, but rather to ethical and Godly actions. God made us to be ethically like him (morally good and live by his moral principles).

The phrase and let them rule (רָדָה - radah - Strong’s H7287) means to have dominion, to subdue, to rule over. However, I don’t think that God ever intended for humanity to rule over all the earth like dictators. God’s view of leadership tends to be that of a servant leader. A servant leader has humility and respects those who he leads. Since God created the animal kingdom, they serve as an expression of his glory. We should rule over the earth with humility and respect for what God has created.

Over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. The last part of verse 26 spells out what humanity is to rule over. Humanity is to rule over the entire animal kingdom, including aquatic, avian, reptilian, and insect life. The only things left off the list are the sky and the land. Every creature that is alive is put under mankind’s guidance and protection.

Genesis 1:27
God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) created (בָּרָא - bara) man (אָדָם - adam) in His own image (עֶלֶם - tselem), in the image (עֶלֶם - tselem) of God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) He created (בָּרָא - bara) him (אֹת֑וֹ - eth); male (זָכָר - zakar) and female (נְקֵבָה - neqebah) He created (בָּרָא - bara) them (אֹתָֽם - eth).

The word created (bara – Strong’s H1254) contains the dual prefix וי (waw yod). The prefix ו (waw) means and and the prefix י (yod) which means he. In a Hebrew Bible, the word looks like this: ויבָּרָא. The word translates as: and he created. Creating is simply bringing something material into existence. That also brings with it the understanding that the created thing did not previously exist. Theologians use the Latin term ex nihilo, meaning from nothing, to emphasize this fact. The word bara emphasizes the initiation of the object especially appropriate to the concept of creation by the authoritative command of God.⁹ In other words, God spoke mankind into existence using no preexisting material to create them. The power of God’s words created humanity.

The word adam (Strong’s H120), has the definitive article ה (ha-adam) which causes adam to mean mankind, or humanity. The word image (Strong’s H6754 - tselem) as we discussed previously, means a likeness, a shadow.

The interesting word is him (אֹת֑וֹ), which is the letters aleph tav (אֹת֑) with the prefix waw (וֹ). It is interesting because it is not the traditional word for him, which is אותו or oto in English. The word אֹת֑ is a shortened version of אותו. The word אֹת֑ could be translated as with him or with it. Wherever the word אֹת֑ is used in the Old Testament, it is usually translated as him.

The words male and female mean the same thing in English as they do in Hebrew. It is interesting note that noun זָכָר – zakar, which is translated as male comes from the verb זָכַר – zakar, which is translated as remember. (I don’t even want to go there.) The important thing is that God spoke both male and female into existence. When God created the animal kingdom, he did not specifically call out the distinction. Male and female humans are designed to operate as one. Man and woman bring about God’s redemptive plan together. Together, they have the assignment to multiply, steward and oversee the earth. Together, they bring God’s image to bear on the rest of creation. Together, they are His regents.¹⁰

The last phrase in the verse is He created them. God is stressing the point that HE created humanity. He said it several times. It’s almost as if God knew that sometime in the future, humanity would become confused about its origins and think they came from a traffic accident in outer space called the Big Bang. It’s like he knew an idiotic concept called evolution would come into play and that humanity would see it as a solution so they wouldn’t have to believe in God. God wants us to know where we came from; that point of origin is God.

The word them is a plural word. This plurality emphasizes the fact that God created humanity as a whole, not just a single person. How many hundreds, thousands, or millions of humans God created is unknown. The Bible does not give us the answer to that question.

Genesis 1:27 is an unusual poetic verse in the Bible. The basic structure of biblical poetry is the two-part verse (bicolon) where the halves parallel each other.¹¹ Well over 95% of Hebrew poetic verses have this structure—and in it, the two verse-parts are tightly connected (or parallel).¹² Gen 1:27, on the other hand, is an infrequent biblical tricolon, and in tricola, all three verse parts need not be tightly connected. Thus, some tricola may be read as a bicolon plus an additional thought. If this is so here, then the verse may be read as:

God created person in His image = in the image of God did He create him/it;
and, in addition, male and female did he create them.¹³

Genesis 1:28
God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) blessed (בָרַךְ - barak) them (אֹתָם - otam); and God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) said (אָמַר - amar) to them (לָהֶם - lahem), “Be fruitful (פָרָה - parah) and multiply (רָבָה - rabah), and fill (מָלֵב - male) the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets), and subdue it (כָּבַשׁ - kabash), and have dominion (רָדָה - radah) over the fish (דָּגָה - dagah) of the sea (יָם - yam) and over the birds (עוֹף - oph) of the heavens (שָׁמַיִם - shamayim) and over every (כּל - kol) living thing (חַי - chay) that moves (רָמַשׂ - ramas) on (עַל - al) the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets).”

The word blessed (Strong’s H1288) is a verb in the piel form. In Hebrew, the piel form intensifies the verb. Blessed means to kneel and present a gift.¹⁴ Another definition explains it as to endue with power for success, prosperity, fecundity, longevity, etcetera.¹⁵ This is not the first time we see God pronouncing a blessing on his creation. God also blessed the animals as he created them. As with the animals, God isn’t commanding humanity to be fruitful and multiply; instead, he gave them the gift of reproducing and multiplying and told them to use it.

The word fruitful (Strong’s H6509) means to bear fruit, or produce, to reproduce.¹⁶ It is an agricultural term that farmers and herders, such as the Israelites, easily understood. From their perspective, if God blessed a fig tree, it would produce a lot of fruit. Since God was blessing humanity, they would obviously produce many offspring. This ability to reproduce is the result of God’s will and design.

The word multiply (Strong’s H7235) means to become numerous, to increase. It conveys the idea of multiplication, to increase in number.¹⁷ It amplifies the blessing. God wants his humans to fill the land. When we combine the words fruitful and multiply, we get reproduce and become numerous. Remember that God’s words in this verse are a blessing, not a command. The blessing of abundance has been poured out on humanity so that they can procreate and reproduce.

The word subdue (Strong’s H3533) literally means to place your foot on the neck of your conquered enemy signifying a submission of the enemy to his defeater.¹⁸ However, we need to look at this word from God’s perspective since he is the one issuing the command. Subdue has the idea not of humiliation or force against will but of making things as they should be, of peace and tranquility. That is, subduing something in line with its nature and for its own good and the good of all else.¹⁹

As we discussed in verse 26, the phrase and let them rule (Strong’s H7287) means to have dominion, to subdue, to rule over. However, I don’t think that God ever intended for humanity to rule over all the earth like dictators. God’s view of leadership tends to be that of a servant leader. A servant leader has humility and respects those who he leads. Since God created the animal kingdom, they serve as an expression of his glory. We should rule over the earth with humility and respect for what God has created.

The use of the two Hebrew verbs subdue and rule over implies that mankind is to rule over the animals as his subjects, not as a dictators, but as benevolent leaders. Mankind is also to walk among and have a relationship with his subjects so that they can provide for man and learn from them.²⁰ We must remember that humanity is operating under God’s authority. If we abuse that authority, God will hold us accountable.

Genesis 1:29
Then God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) said (אָמַר - amar), “Behold (הִנֵּה - hinneh), I have given (נָתַן - natan) you every (כּל - kol) plant (עֶשֶׂב - eseb) yielding (זָרַע - zara) seed (זֶרַע - zera) that is (אֲשֶׁר - asher) on (עַל - al) the surface (פָנִים - panim) of all (כּל - kol) the earth (אֶרֶץ - erets), and every (כּל - kol) tree (עֵץ - ets) which has fruit (פְּרִי - peri) yielding (זָרַע - zara) seed (זֶרַע - zera); it shall be (הָיָה - hayah) food (אָכְלָה - oklah) for you;

The word behold (Strong’s H2009) is used in a variety of situations to draw attention before speaking. It like the announcement, May I have your attention!²¹ The word behold is the equivalent of an exclamation point.²² While we translate this word as behold, I think the word attention would work better in modern English.

I think we naturally read the rest of this verse as a statement of vegetarianism. It seems to make more sense that God is instead emphasizing his great provision of food in general, All of this is for you. We assume that verse implies that mankind was not allowed to eat animals, but it also doesn’t explicitly state that animals were not allowed to be eaten. The general argument is that since God did not explicitly include animals (deliberately does not include them) they are not included in the diet. The debate over this verse has gone on for thousands of years.

The implication, however, is that mankind was only allowed to eat plants that produced seeds. Non-seed-producing plants were off the menu. Sorry, mushrooms were off the menu as spores, not seeds, produce them. Ferns and mosses would also have been prohibited.

Genesis 1:30
and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so.

This verse I am not going to take apart word-by-word. Verse 30 is a continuation of verse 29. The two verses are one sentence. The first part stipulates what humans can eat, while the second part stipulates what animals, birds, and creeping things can eat. It is that, at this moment, God does not expressly offer animals as food for humans or for other animals. Many Bible scholars interpret these verses to mean that all creatures were initially created as herbivores: plant eaters. Nothing in the fossil record, however, suggests that carnivores, like lions, ever had herbivore teeth that would allow them to eat and digest plants. Regardless, focusing on this point misses the take-home lesson of this verse. The lesson in these verses is that they clearly define God as the provider of food. It is God who who provides for the needs of his creation.

Genesis 1:31
God (אֱלהִים - Elohim) saw (רָאָה - raah) all (כּל - kol) that (אֲשֶׁר - asher) He had made (עָשָׂה - asah), and behold (הִנֵּה - hinneh), it was very (מְאֹד - meod) good (טוֹב - towb). And there was (הָיָה - hayah) evening (עֶרֱֶ - ereb) and there was (וַֽיְהִי - wayhi) morning (בֹּקֶר - boqer), the sixth (שִׁשִּׁי - shishshi) day (יוֹם - yom).

In this verse, we find God examining the totality of his creation. It is as if there is a divine pause while God sits back and performs a meticulous analysis of his creation. God’s findings require the use of the attention-grabbing word, behold. It was very good. The word very (Strong’s H3966) means exceedingly. On the previous days of creation, when God examined his handiwork, he pronounced that it was good. But now, as God looks at everything as a whole, it is exceedingly, way beyond good; it is very good; it is perfect.

There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day. Remember, an evening and a morning was simply another way of stating that another twenty-four hours had passed. The evening is at sunset, and the morning is at sunrise. Another way of looking at this portion of the verse is, There was sunset, and there was sunrise, the sixth day.

Summary

You will rarely hear that God spoke humanity into existence on day six because most theologians disagree with the Bible’s words about this event. This disagreement with the Bible is indeed unfortunate. I did a Google search and found many websites that taught that God did not speak humanity into existence. Some even go so far as to say the phrase then God said does not mean God spoke any words. It is interesting that they do not apply the same logic to the other days of creation. Most theologians believe God only created Adam (as a single entity) on day six (without using the spoken word). On the other hand, the majority of Jewish theologians I researched do believe that God created all of humanity on day six (by speaking us into existence). I find it fascinating that so many Protestant and Catholic theologians completely disagree with Jewish theologians on this issue.

Humanity is divided into three primary races at the genetic level. They are: Caucasoid, Negroid, and Mongoloid.²³ There many sub-levels to each race. Scientists also recognize genetic variations within and between the three races. What this means is that evolution is impossible. Only God could create three races at the genetic level. It cannot happen on its own. Even evolutionists have difficulty explaining the genetic differences between the races and how that happened. They explain that anything is possible given enough time (millions of years). Yeah, right, I’ll stick with the God created them that way answer. God obviously loves diversity.

The verses about day 6 leave us with the certainty that God had everything planned before he even spoke the first word. Just in days 1 – 5, on day 6, God spoke everything into existence. In verse 27, when God created humanity, the word created is used three times. When God repeats himself, it’s important. This repetition is important because it refutes the theory of evolution. God created everything, and that is the end of the story.

© 2024 by Steven P. Wickstrom, all rights reserved.