Questions tagged [creation]
The creation of the world, described most prominently in Genesis 1-2; other creation traditions are scattered throughout the Hebrew Bible.
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In Genesis 1:26, is there a play on the Hebrew words translated “image” and “likeness” to represent male and female?
I do not know Hebrew but will often look up keywords in passages to get deeper meaning out of passages. I was studying the creation story (namely the creation of mankind) and looked at the words ...
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What is the exact meaning of הׇיְתָה in Genesis 1:2?
In the first clause of Genesis 1:2 there is a verb הׇיְחׇה. Some versions translate it as "was" when it also bears the meaning "to become" and many more. My question is what should הׇיְחׇה be ...
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Why עשה instead of ברא in Genesis 1:7?
Genesis 1:7
ויעש אלהים את־הרקיע ויבדל בין המים אשר מתחת לרקיע ובין המים אשר מעל לרקיע ויהי־כן׃
And God made the firmament, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and ...
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Is the idea that there were no predators in Eden (Genesis 1:30) original?
The author portrays an utopian animal kingdom by stating that in the beginning all animals ate the green herb for meat.
But what about the predators? Either the author want us to believe that lions ...
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Genesis 1:5 How can God call the light “Day” when light and day are two different concepts?
(Genesis 1:5) ויקרא אלהים ׀ לאור יום ולחשך קרא לילה ויהי־ערב ויהי־בקר יום אחד׃ פ
(My translation of the bold part) And God called to the light, "Day"
Just to make it clear, I understand that ...
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Can Adam in Genesis 2 be interpreted as referring to “humanity” rather than a specific man?
In the Minnesota Public Radio News story "Female faith leaders preach #SilenceIsNotSpiritual", guest speaker Lisa Sharon Harper went on a tangent while discussing attitudes towards women in church ...
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Does a wasted, formless and void earth in Gen. 1:2 imply a previously existing world?
Jumping off of the question asked in Jul 2016 here about the similarity of Gen. 1:2 with the prophesy of Jer. 4:23 -
Jer. 4:23 - 26:
"23 I looked [to] the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto ...
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What is the meaning of “Let” in the phrase “Let there be light”?
Genesis 1:3 (KJV)
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
What's the meaning of the word "let"?
Is the meaning closer to:
cause/effect, i.e. physics-related; or
allow/permit (cf), ...
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Night and Evening Gen 1:5
Genesis 1:5 says God called the darkness Night. Then he turns around and says the evening and the morning were the first day. He does not say the night and the day were the first day.
Why might God ...
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Does the order of cursing & curses reflect the gravity of transgression Genesis 3:14-19?
Genesis 3:14-19 (NKJV)
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall ...
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Is 'darkness upon' in Genesis 1:2 cosmic, rather than merely terrestrial, despite that the central subject and Biblical grammar suggests the latter?
Is 'darkness upon' in Genesis 1:2 cosmic, rather than merely terrestrial, despite that the central subject (Earth) and Biblical Hebrew grammar (ex:Luke 23:44, Exodus 14:20, Deuteronomy 4:11, Joshua ...
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In Genesis 2:22-23 did the material from Adam's side provide Adam's life to Eve or just the material from which she was made? [closed]
I am reading from the book of Genesis where it is written,
Genesis 2:20-23 New International Version (NIV)
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky
and all the wild ...
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In Psalm 148:4 are the waters above the highest heaven?
This verse seems to reflect the understanding that there are multiple heavens (aka "skies"), one above the other:
New American Standard Bible Psalm 148:4 Praise Him, highest heavens,
And the ...
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In John 1:3 why does the author use ἐγένετο instead of ἐποίησεν?
The extant versions of the LXX Genesis 1:1 describes the making of the world using ἐποίησεν ("made") but the author of John, who seems to be commenting on Genesis 1:1 fails to follow the LXX verbiage ...
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In Hebrews 11:3 what is the meaning of κατηρτίσθαι?
Westcott and Hort / [NA27 variants] Πίστει νοοῦμεν κατηρτίσθαι
τοὺς αἰῶνας ῥήματι θεοῦ, εἰς τὸ μὴ ἐκ φαινομένων τὸ βλεπόμενον
γεγονέναι.
This is rendered variously as "formed", "made", "created", ...
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According to 2 Maccabees 7:28, from what is mankind created?
2 Maccabees 7:28 (GNT) states,
So I urge you, my child, to look at the sky and the earth. Consider everything you see there, and realize that God made it all from nothing, just as he made the human ...
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Hebraically, did God ordain the weekly Sabbath in Genesis 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. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He ...
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Genesis 2:18 - How to interpret “before”, in “helper before him”?
Closely Related:
- What was Eve's role in relation to Adam?
Question : What does "Before" Imply?
What is the significance of the word choices, between "going before" in Hebrew as "לפניך", (in ...
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What is the nature of Eve's desire in Gen. 3:16 [duplicate]
In Genesis 3:16, the ESV and NASB, (respectively) each convey very different meanings for this verse:
ESV (2016)
To the woman he said, "I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in ...
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In Genesis, Did God Work and Rest on the Sabbath?
Closely Related:
- Judaism.Stackexchange - Did God Create the Sabbath Rest?
1. Question - Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Analysis :
Setting aside Jewish and Christian doctrines, and traditional ...
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What is the origin of ANE Creation myths? [closed]
The origin of the Genesis 1 creation story typically is believed to be Ancient Near East creation myths. Especially, many secular scholars believe that some Jewish priests decided that their nation ...
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In Genesis 3:2 did Eve receive the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good & evil directly from God or through Adam?
Genesis 2:15 (NKJV)
15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may ...
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How can we reconcile Genesis 1:24-26 & Genesis 2:18-20?
Genesis 1:24-26(KJV)
24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God ...
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Question with regard to dual meanings in the Hebrew words “Erev” and “Boker” in Genesis 1
This is a long and sometimes rambling account of my investigation into the creation account, specifically with regard to the word "Boker" or morning. It is one of the most fascinating concepts I have ...
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Proverbs 8:22-31. Woman Wisdom personification or actual divine being? [duplicate]
In Proverbs 8:22-31, a figure known as "Woman Wisdom" is described as being present when God was creating the world. Obviously, "Woman Wisdom" serves as a great personification to teach about the ...
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“In A Beginning” vs. “In THE beginning”? Different implications?
Possibly the most famous phrase in the Hebrew Bible is: "In the beginning." Anyone can recite it without ever having read the Hebrew Bible. But is that the accurate translation? With a background in ...
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About the Greek grammar in Matthew 19:4-5, 8
I have two questions about the Greek grammar in the divorce teachings in Matthew 19 and Mark 10.
(1) In Matthew 19:5, the phrase "and said" (καὶ εἶπεν) appears before the quotation of Genesis 2:24. ...
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Does Genesis 2:5-7 suggest the passage of time?
On Day 2 the dry land was uncovered. It had formerly been under salt water. And on the same day God "brought forth vegetation, plants...trees...":
Gen 1:9 And God said, "Let the waters under the ...
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In Genesis 1:11-13, were there trees by the end of Day 3?
It appears that in Gen 1:12, by the end of Day 3 there were plants and trees covering the dry land:
Gen 1:11 And God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants
yielding seed, and fruit trees ...
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Does Genesis 2:4 to Genesis 3:24 Describe Events Which Took Place on the Same Day?
There are several questions on this site concerning the differences between the account of creation in Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 and some related topics. A few: Differences in Genesis creation stories **...
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In Genesis 2:18, was Eve made during or after the 7 days?
In Genesis 2:18, was Eve made during the same day as Adam, or after the 7 days of creation?
Gen 2:18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an help ...
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Is Genesis 2:18-24 saying that the making of Eve was an afterthought?
Is Genesis 2:18-24 saying that the making of Eve was an afterthought?
It appears that the making of Eve occurred after the six days of the making of the skies and dry land and it appears to be ...
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Does the book of Job describe a Dragon?
Towards the end of Job are two passages which describe beasts that resemble dragons:
Job 40:15-20: “Behold, Behemoth, which I made as I made you; he eats grass like an ox. Behold, his strength in ...
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Why was the serpent punished since it was only “used” by Satan?
The serpent was created by God. It couldn't be Lucifer since it is listed as a "wild animal...God has made." And Lucifer isn´t an animal. What kind of serpent are we talking about here?
Gn 3:1a (...
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Are the three distinctive Hebrew terms, translated “breath of life,” suggesting there was a different mankind at creation than there was at the flood?
The same English phrase, "breath of life," is used to describe three distinct Hebrew phrases.
"Neshamah chay" is in Genesis 2:7 (creation). "Ruwach chay" is in Genesis 6:17 (intention for death at ...
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Are the two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 likely to be from different sources? If so what sources?
Are the two creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 likely to be from different sources? If so, what sources? What are some arguments for this?
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How many (direct) children do people think Adam & Eve had or Adam had?
This question relates to any history related a question raised by
Gen 5:4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters.
The statement that Adam had other sons and ...
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Do we know that the Enuma Elish came before Genesis? [closed]
Can the text of Genesis be dated before Enuma Elish?
Are there any evidences for or against
I know a common idea is that the Genesis narrative, at the least, takes elements from other Near Eastern ...
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Is Genesis 1 a type of Hebrew Poem?
Is Genesis 1 structured so that there is a general category and then with what will fill it, which would be a type of Hebrew poem of parallel ideas? In this case day one (light), would relate to day ...
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According to Genesis, where do the birds fly?
Genesis 1:20 reads:
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יִשְׁרְצ֣וּ הַמַּ֔יִם שֶׁ֖רֶץ נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֑ה וְעֹוף֙ יְעֹופֵ֣ף עַל־הָאָ֔רֶץ עַל־פְּנֵ֖י רְקִ֥יעַ הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ (WLC)
Which translates as:
And God said, ...
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What was the logic behind changing “firmament” to “sky”?
The King James version (as well as many other versions in various languages) states in Genesis 1:8 -
And God called the firmament Heaven.
The wording in the American Standard version is exactly ...
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Is the translation “rib” for the Hebrew צֵלָע (*tsela*) in Genesis 2:22 justified?
Why is it that Biblical translators choose to translate the Hebrew word צֵלָע (tsela) as "rib" when referring to the formation of Eve from Adam in Genesis 2:22? Never is this word translated as rib ...
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Is this a contradiction in the first sentence of Genesis 1?
In Gen. 1:1-2, it states,
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved ...
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What does Genesis 1:2 Mean? [duplicate]
In some translations, Genesis 1:2 says ..."and the earth was waste and void" . However some translations add a footnote stating "but the earth became waste and void". if the second translation is ...
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What are the Hebrew words for Man and Woman? [closed]
I was reading through Genesis where it notes:
"she shall be called 'woman' for she was taken out of 'man'" - Genesis 2:23 (NIV)
I found out that man is 'Adam' in Hebrew and now I'm wondering what ...
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Does Genesis 1:2 refer to the Spirit or a wind?
Genesis 1:2 reads (KJV):
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Other translations (ESV, NIV, NASB, JPS 1917) also indicate that the subject of this sentence is the “Spirit of ...
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Not good for Adam or Mankind to be alone? Genesis 2:18
We read in Genesis 2:18 (ESV)
Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”
I'm not a Hebrew scholar by any means, but what little I ...
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Creation of Man narrated twice with different God name
In the Hebrew of Genesis, there are 2 verses that describe the creation of man:
Genesis 1:27:
So ´Élöhîm אֱלֹהִים created man in his [own] image, in the image of ´Élöhîm created he him; male and ...
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Plants created before the sun?
I've read Differences in Genesis creation stories but there's one aspect that's not discussed: how did plants survive without sunlight?
Genesis 1:11 recounts the third day:
And God said, "Let the ...
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Where was Adam created?
Genesis 2 describes Adam being put in the Garden of Eden:
7then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living ...
