Contradictory Creation account? (Gen. 2:5-7)

Gen. 2:5-6, "Now no shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate the ground. But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground."

• "Now . . . yet": Hebrew ṭe-rem (Strong's 2962) - exact word is translated as "before", "now before", or "that before" 9 out of 14 times in the NASB; can also mean "ere" or "not yet"; the word comes from a root word meaning to interrupt or suspend; the word is first used in Gen. 2:5--all remaining NAS translations in Genesis (Gen. 19:4, 24:15, and 24:45) read as "Before . . .", with the word placed at the beginning of the sentence.

• "of the field": Hebrew haś-śā-ḏeh (Strong's 7704) - when associated with plant(s) refers to agricultural field (25 times out of 131 total instances of the word); this excludes instances of association with plants in II Kings 4:39, Psalm 103:15, Isaiah 40:6 (which appears to quote Psalm 103:15), Isaiah 55:12 (prophecy), Ezekiel 17:24 (prophecy), and Ezekiel 31:4 (prophecy).

• "to cultivate": Hebrew la-‘ă-ḇōḏ (Strong's 5647) - means to work or serve; the only other translation as to "cultivate" or "till" in the NAS, KJV, and INT is in Gen. 3:23, "therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken."

Gen. 2:7, "Then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."

• "Then . . . formed": Hebrew way-yî-ṣer (Strong's 3335) - formed/fashioned by human hands (i.e. by a potter or wood-carver), or formed/fashioned by God; the exact word is used only twice, here in Gen. 2:7 and in Gen. 2:19.

• "and breathed": Hebrew way-yip-paḥ (Strong's 5301) - means to breathe or blow; the exact word only occurs in this verse, Gen. 2:7.

• "the breath": Hebrew niš-maṯ (Strong's 5397) - only three other instances of exact word: Gen. 7:22, "breath of the spirit of life" (Noah's flood); Prov. 20:27, "The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD"; Isaiah 30:33, " . . . The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire."

• "of life": Hebrew ḥay-yîm (Strong's 2416) - exact word first occurs in Gen. 2:7; the word's following occurrences in Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, I Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, and II Chronicles all refer to either physical aliveness, physically dwelling in a land, flowing water, or the living God. 

Set off by the transitional word ṭe-rem, these verses appear to jump back to the sixth day, similar to a literary flashback. The chronologizing of passing days with morning and evening is no longer seen in the text. Instead, one sees a much more detailed picture of God at work. 

Just 31 verses to Creation climax--and then?

Immediate Context:

Gen. 1:31-2:3, "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. 1) Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. 2) By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3) Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

• ‘ā-śāh (Strong's 6213) - Gen. 1:31, Gen. 2:2--Gen. 1:31 is the first occurrence of this exact word; see below for definition

• la-‘ă-śō-wṯ (Strong's 6213) - Gen. 2:3--first occurrence of this exact word in Genesis; see below for definition

Focus Verse:

Gen. 2:4, "This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven."

• "account": Hebrew ṯō-wl-ḏō-wṯ (Strong's 8435) - genealogical succession or begettings (see the Genesis geneologies: Gen. 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, etc.)

• "of the heavens": Hebrew haš-šā-ma-yim (Strong's 8064) - apparently starry heavens when unaccompanied by "expanse" (see post "Are there multiple 'heavens'?")

• "and the earth": Hebrew wə-hā-’ā-reṣ (Strong's 776) - apparently means the whole earth (see post "Whoah (slow down) . . . double-check the Hebrew.")

• "when they were created": Hebrew bə-hib-bā-rə-’ām (Strong's 1254) - only occurrence for exact word; from root word bā-rā (Strong's 1254), meaning to shape or create (heaven & earth, Gen. 1:1; man, Gen. 1:27)

• "in the day that": Hebrew bə-yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - same word as used for the sun governing the day and the 7th day of creation's completion (see post "Day, night, morning, and evening--here comes controversy . . . ")

[1/2/2016

First occurrence of exact word in Genesis. Remaining occurrences of exact word in Genesis are translated "in the day", ". . . in time", "on the day". Genesis usage is illustrated in Gen. 2:17 (God's injunction about the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil"), Gen. 21:8 (". . . Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned."), and Gen. 35:3 (". . . I [Jacob] will make an alter there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress").           ]

• "made": Hebrew ‘ă-śō-wṯ (Strong's 6213) - only occurrence of exact word in Genesis--to accomplish; do or make (doing right or wrong, "writing" in Eccl 12:12, or "produced" in Isaiah 7:22)

• "earth": Hebrew ’e-reṣ (Strong's 776) - apparently dry land (see post "Whoah (slow down) . . . double-check the Hebrew.")

• "and heaven": Hebrew wə-šā-mā-yim (Strong's 8064) - only occurrence in Genesis; same word as in Isaiah 40:12, where it says that God has "marked off the heavens by the span" (where a "span" is the width of a man's spread hand from the thumb-tip to the tip of the little finger). 

I think the coming verses of Genesis might be a little clearer if Genesis 2:1-4 were included in Genesis 1.

Day, night, morning, and evening--here comes controversy . . .

More English to Hebrew to Genesis:

"Day" - yō-wm, hay-yō-wm, ū-lə-yā-mîm, and bay-yō-wm

• yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - in order of priority, it can mean day rather than night, a day noted by morning and evening, the day of the Lord, or a longer period of time

Gen. 1:5, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

Gen. 1:8, "God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day."

Gen. 1:13, "There was evening and there was morning, a third day."

Gen. 1:19, "There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day."

Gen. 1:23, "There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day."

Gen. 1:31, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

Gen. 2:2-3, "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

• hay-yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - same root word as yō-wm

Gen. 1:14, " . . . 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;'"

Gen. 1:16, "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also."

• ū-lə-yā-mîm (Strong's 3117) - same root word as yō-wm

Gen. 1:14, " . . . 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;'"

• bay-yō-wm (Strong's 3117) - same root word as yō-wm

Gen. 1:18, "and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good."

Gen. 2:2-3, "By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

"Night" - lā-yə-lāh, hal-lā-yə-lāh, and ū-ḇal-lay-lāh

• lā-yə-lāh (Strong's 3915) -  in order of priority, it can mean dark night (as opposed to day), or a figurative night

Gen. 1:5, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

• hal-lā-yə-lāh (Strong's 3915) - same root word as lā-yə-lāh

Gen. 1:14, " . . . 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;'"

Gen. 1:16, "God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also."

• ū-ḇal-lay-lāh (Strong's 3915) - same root word as lā-yə-lāh

Gen. 1:18, "and to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good."

"Morning" - ḇō-qer

• ḇō-qer (Strong's 1242) - in order of priority, it can mean end of night/dawn/sunrise, or bright joy

Gen. 1:5, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

Gen. 1:8, "God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day."

Gen. 1:13, "There was evening and there was morning, a third day."

Gen. 1:19, "There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day."

Gen. 1:23, "There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day."

Gen. 1:31, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

"Evening" - ‘e-reḇ

• ‘e-reḇ (Strong's 6153) - means sunset/onset of darkness

Gen. 1:5, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day."

Gen. 1:8, "God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day."

Gen. 1:13, "There was evening and there was morning, a third day."

Gen. 1:19, "There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day."

Gen. 1:23, "There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day."

Gen. 1:31, "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day."

I know this was really long, but these words seemed important to group together.

Are there multiple "heavens"?

English to Hebrew to Genesis:

"Heaven" - haš-šā-ma-yim, and šā-mā-yim

• haš-šā-ma-yim (Strong's 8064) - can mean the starry heavens, sky, or abode of God

Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

Gen. 1:9, "Then God said, 'Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so."

Gen. 1:14, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years;'"

Gen. 1:20, " . . . 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.'"

Gen. 1:26, "'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 . . .'"

• šā-mā-yim (Strong's 8064) -  same root word as "haš·šā·ma·yim"

Gen. 1:8, "God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

"Expanse" - rā-qî-a‘, hā-rā-qî-a‘, lā-rā-qî-a‘, and bir-qî-a‘

• rā-qî-a‘ (Strong's 7549) - can mean a general expanse/support to God's throne or a firmament supporting waters above

Gen. 1:6, " . . . 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.'"

Gen. 1:20, " . . . 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.'"

•  hā-rā-qî-a‘ (Strong's 7549) - same root word as "rā-qî-a‘"

Gen. 1:7, "God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so."

•  lā-rā-qî-a‘ (Strong's 7549) - same root word as "rā-qî-a‘"

Gen. 1:7, "God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so."

Gen. 1:8, "God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day."

•  bir-qî-a‘ (Strong's 7549) - same root word as "rā-qî-a‘"

Gen. 1:14, " . . . 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night' . . ."

I'm beginning to be impressed that English doesn't do full justice to the Hebrew.

Whoah (slow down) . . . double-check the Hebrew.

Yes, that may have seemed a pretty quick write-up (it actually took hours). But I do need to check whether some of those thoughts on Gen. 1:1-30 were stretching the Hebrew meaning.

English to Hebrew to Genesis:

"Earth" - hā-’ā-reṣ, wə-hā-’ā-reṣ, ’e-reṣ, bā-’ā-reṣ, hā-’ă-ḏā-māh

• hā-’ā-reṣ (Strong's 776) - in order of priority, it can mean whole earth, land/territory, or ground surface

  Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

  Gen. 1:11, "Then God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind' . . . "

  Gen. 1:15, "'and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth' . . ."

  Gen. 1:20, ". . . 'and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.'"

  Gen. 1:24, "'Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind' . . ."

  Gen. 1:26, "'Let Us make man in Our image . . . 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.'"

  Gen. 1:28, "God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it . . .'"

  Gen. 1:29, "'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 . . .'"

  Gen. 1:30, "'and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant . . .'"

• wə-hā-’ā-reṣ (Strong's 776) - same root word as "hā-’ā-reṣ"
  

  Gen. 1:2, "The earth was formless and void . . ."

• ’e-reṣ (Strong's 776) - same root word as "hā-’ā-reṣ"

  Gen. 1:10, "God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas . . ."

  Gen. 1:24, "'Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind' . . ."

• bā-’ā-reṣ (Strong's 776) - same root word as "hā-’ā-reṣ"

  Gen. 1:22, ". . . 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'"

  [(12/24/2015)
  
  Gen. 6:17, "'Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.'"
  
  
  Exodus 20:4, "You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth."

]

• hā-’ă-ḏā-māh (Strong's 127) - has the same origin as "adam"; in order of priority, it can mean tilled ground, property, earthen material, or ground surface
  

  Gen. 1:25, "God made . . . everything that creeps on the ground after its kind . . ."

Has the Genesis account of creation endured? (Gen. 1:11-30)

(Quotations of Scripture are taken from the New American Standard version)

Gen. 1:11, "Then God said, 'Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them . . .'"

• Yes, we do still see seed-bearing plants.
• Yes, excluding algae, kelp, and a few others (whose seed-bearing, plant nature may be questioned), all seed-bearing plants I can think of must grow on land, or very near land. We don't see subterranean, wind-borne, or oceanic "islands" of seed-bearing plants. 
• Yes, I watch, and see that a grass seed grows into a grass plant, a bean seed grows into a bean plant, and a pine tree seed grows into a pine tree. If not, seed companies would be non-existent or need really good insurance, and gardeners would be extremely frustrated--said from the viewpoint of a past avid gardener.

Gen. 1:14-16, "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years'; God made the two great lights, the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night; He made the stars also."

• Yes, we still have only two great lights: the sun and the moon.

[(12/21/2015) Just realized I accidentally skipped part of these verses.

• Yes, the lights of heaven have repeatedly served as signs (Strong's 226: "signal, flag, beacon"): 2 Kings 20:9 (King Hezekiah); Matt. 2:2 (Christ's birth); Luke 23:45 (Christ's death); and navigation by the sun, moon, planets, and 58 navigational stars.
• Yes, the sun, by the earth's orbit, still governs the seasons of summer, fall, winter, and spring.
• Yes, man still notes the passing of days by the appearance of the sun and moon.
• Yes, man still notes the passing of years by the earth's orbit around the sun.

]

• Yes, the greater light, the sun, dominates the daytime sky--repelling darkness (excepting extremes like the North Pole, South Pole, and eclipses).
• Yes, the lesser light, the moon, dominates the night sky--without dispelling the darkness of night.

Gen. 1:20-22, "Then God said, 'Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.' God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind . . . God blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.'"

• Yes, the bodies of water on the earth certainly "teem" with living creatures.
• Yes, the birds, or flying creatures, are still seen in the sky.
• Yes, whales, fish, jellyfish, etc. only fill the seas. They die if brought out of water.
• Yes, the flying creatures do not multiply on the oceans, but rather nest or roost on the land.

Gen. 1:24-25, "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind' . . . "

• Yes, apart from the flying creatures and the creatures of the seas, we see many land-bound animals.

Gen. 1:26, "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.'"

• Yes, man stands out pretty distinct from the rest of creation. Man has unique creativity, fabricating increasingly sophisticated dwellings, machinery, and means of recording/exchanging knowledge (books, electronics, TV, wifi, etc.)
• Yes, man does exercise rule over all living creatures, whether fish, bird, or beast of the earth. We have fishermen, whalers, livestock owners, birders, and hunters (of bird and beast).

Gen. 1:28, "God blessed them; and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth . . .'"

• Yes, man has multiplied greatly all across the globe.
• Yes, man still calls the the land home (i.e. homelands, not home-waters or home-airs).

Gen. 1:29-30, "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; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food'; and it was so."

• Yes, I dare not try to number or name all the seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees we harvest for food.
• Yes, every green plant I know of is kept in check by the voracious appetites of various animals (including the small creeping animals/insects/bugs/small creatures) and flying creatures.

. . . Well, that was a little longer than expected.

Has the Genesis account of creation endured?

Gen. 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

• Yes, we still see the starry heavens above.
• Yes, we live on the Earth.

Gen. 1:2, "The earth was formless and void . . ."

• Yes, there are many accounts of creation with the Creator fashioning a relatively "void" world

Gen. 1:3, "Then God said, 'Let there be light . . .'"

• Yes, we definitely still see visible light today.

Gen. 1:4, ". . . and God separated the light from the darkness."

• Yes, we don't see light everywhere.
• We still "see" darkness.

Gen. 1:5, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and morning, one day."

• Yes, we still have a name for lighted time (not talking about the exact word here)--"day" in English.
• Yes, we still name the darkened time--"night" in English.
• Yes, we still combine one lighted time and one darkened time into a single unit--"a day" in English. We talk about six days until Christmas, not six days and six nights.

Gen. 1:6, "Then God said, 'Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.'"

• Sounds like this is talking about an empty space of air, or sky, surrounding the Earth (see Gen. 7:11), but some uncertainty, as the opening of the "floodgates", or "windows", of heaven in the account of Noah's Flood may have changed the nature of this "expanse".
• We do have water on or in the earth separated from water above our heads (which we see fall as rain today).

Gen. 1:9, "Then God said, 'Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear . . .'"

• Yes, we still have much dry land separated from surrounding water.

Gen. 1:10, "God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas . . ."

• Yes, we still name the dry land--"earth", "ground", or "land" in English.
• Yes, we still name large bodies of water visible from the Earth's surface--"seas", or "oceans" in English.

 . . . (to be continued) . . . (unless everyone is bored to death)