Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents
The text of Genesis 1: 24 to 31 appears as follows:
Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation
Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 1:24 to 31 from tanakh.info:
Facts About Hebrew
We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:
29. The Hebrew noun t’hom תהום (Strong’s 8415 36 occurrences) translated as ‘deep(s)’ also means ‘abyss, sea’, the figurative meaning is ‘large difference’, and its origin is possibly related to the Arabic hama which means ‘to be thirsty, to crave’. In English the word abyss means ‘hell, the bottomless pit, primeval chaos, unfathomed depth, & moral depravity’. In Rev 20:13 the sea is indicated to be one of the places the dead are sleeping at the time of the final judgment.
30. The Hebrew verb yatsa יצא (Strong’s 3318) means ‘to go or come out’. In Gen 1:12 & 24 it appears as תוצא, which according to the Dictionary means ‘effect’. The noun ‘effect’ means ‘a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause’ and verb means ‘cause to happen, bring about’. In Gen 19:12, it is used of the angels sent to ‘take’ תוצא Lot and his family out of Sodom before its destruction.
31. The Hebrew noun behemah בהמה (Strong’s 929 with 190 occurrences) means ‘a beast, animal, cattle’, the root is a verb that means ‘to be mute, properly ‘a dumb beast’’. The translation of behemah is fairly evenly distributed between ‘beast, animal and cattle’ but in Gen 1: 24 & 25 it is mostly translated as ‘livestock or cattle’, indicating a domesticated animal (it is even translated as ‘domestic’ in the Good News and God’s Word Translations). In Lev 1:2 offerings to Yahweh were behemah, either from the herd, baqar בקר (Strong’s 1241 ‘cattle, herd, an ox’), or the flock, tson צאן (Strong’s 6629 ‘small cattle, sheep and goats, flock’), evidencing ‘livestock’ which means ‘farm animals regarded as an asset’ as the best translation.
32. The Hebrew noun remes רמש (Strong’s 7431 with 17 occurrences) is the same as the verb ramas רמש (Strong’s 7430 with 17 occurrences) except for the vowel points, meaning ‘creeping things, moving things’ or ‘to creep, move lightly’ respectively, in reference to a reptile or any other rapidly moving animal. This word is used in Gen 1:21 in verb form of the great monsters and living souls ‘that creep’ which swarmed the waters according to kinds. In Gen 1:24, 25 & 26, remes functions as a noun, referring to a type of living soul that comes forth from the earth.
33. The Hebrew particle hinneh הנה (Strong’s 2009 841 occurrences) means ‘lo, behold’, the same word (except for the vowel points) is identified as the Hebrew pronoun hennah (Strong’s 2007 48 occurrences) means ‘they’, the adverb hennah (Strong’s 2008 50 occurrences) means ‘hither’. These words are all from the interjection hen הן (Strong’s 2005 318 occurrences) that means ‘lo, behold’, or ‘if, whether’ (Strong’s 2006 18 occurrences). According to the Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Hebrew Language by Ernest Klein (1987), in addition to the meanings stated above, hinneh could be a verb meaning ‘to be agreeable, be pleased’ but the context of its use in Gen 3:22 in reference to the man knowing good and evil, and in Gen 6:12 to the earth becoming corrupt do not support this meaning.
34. The Hebrew verb asah עשה (Strong’s 6213) means ‘do, make’, but can also mean ‘attend to, put in order’, ‘appoint’, or ‘bring about’.
35. The Hebrew noun adamah אדמה (Strong’s 127) meaning ‘ground, land, soil’, is “from the same as” adam אדם (Strong’s 120) meaning a human being, common person, or ‘to be red’. Adam is determined to be the proper name Adam (Strong’s 121) when prefixed with the definite article he ה, or the context indicates adam to be referring to one human being specifically as in Gen 3:17 where God said “to Adam” לאדם .
After Adam האדם was put to sleep and his/her side formed into a woman in Gen 2:21, the male is called man/Adam and the female woman in Gen 2: 22 & 23, which continues into Genesis 3 where Adam names the woman, Eve in Gen 3:20. There is an overarching maleness in the name ‘man/Adam’ from that point forward that we need to consider in order to comprehend what it means to be male or female.
36. The Hebrew noun tselem צלם means ‘an image, idol, semblance’. Semblance means “the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different”, which the best choice given the first man’s name, Adam, means ‘ground’ (see fact #35), who Paul contrasts with Yahshua saying “the first man is from the earth, earthy, the second man is from heaven” in 1 Cor 15:45.
37. The Hebrew noun demuth דמות means ‘likeness, similitude’, as Adam’s offspring Seth bore his likeness in Gen 5:3. In Ezekiel 1, 8 & 10, it is found in reference to the outward appearance of the beings in Ezekiel’s visions, and is translated as ‘pattern’ in 2 Kings 16:10, thus not likely to be referring to personality. The best choice for translation is ‘image’.
38. The Hebrew noun dagah דגה (Strong’s 1710) the feminine counterpart of dag דג (Strong’s 1709) mean ‘fish’, and are from the verb dagah דגה (Strong’s 1711) that means ‘to multiply, increase’. The word identified in Gen 1: 26 & 28 the feminine dagah has taw ת instead of he ה at the end, which changes a singular feminine noun to the construct form ‘of’, appropriately translated as “over fish of” in these verses.
39. The Hebrew noun zakar זכר ( Strong’s 2145) means ‘male’. Zakar is from the verb zakar זכר (Strong’s #2142) meaning ‘to remember’ but in the sense of ‘to prick, pierce – fix in one’s mind’.
40. The Hebrew noun nequbah נקבה (Strong’s 5347) means ‘female’. Nequbah is from the verb naqab נקב (Strong’s 5344) meaning ‘pierced, perforated, with holes – in the sense of ‘designate, distinguish, specify, prick off’’ from a primitive root meaning ‘to puncture, literally (to perforate, with ‘more or less violence’)’.
41. The Hebrew adverb neged נגד (Strong’s 5048) means ‘in front of, in sight of, opposite to’ translated mostly as ‘before’, ‘front’, and ‘opposite’, from the verb nagad נגד (Strong’s 5046) that means ‘to be conspicuous’ mostly translated as ‘told/tell’ and ‘declare(d)(s)’, from a primitive root that means ‘to front, stand out boldly opposite, to manifest, figuratively to announce’.
42. The Hebrew verb radah רדו (Strong’s 7287 27 occurrences) means ‘to have dominion (dominate) also subdue, rule, prevail against, bear’ from a primitive root meaning ‘to tread down, i.e. subjugate; specifically ‘to crumble off’’. Radah could not mean ‘dominion’ which means exercise control over, or ‘rule’, which means exercise ultimate power or authority over, because Yahshua said the rulers of the gentiles ‘lord it over’ them, but it is not this way among you, who must become like the youngest and the servant in Matthew 20:25 & 26, Mark 10:42 & 43, & Luke 22:25 & 26. Thus in Gen 1: 26 & 28 radah must mean ‘prevail’, meaning ‘be victorious, persuade to do something’ because the ‘fish of the sea’ are those being lorded over by the gentile rulers.
43. The Hebrew verb kabash כבשה (Strong’s 3533 -14 occurrences) means ‘to subdue, bring into bondage’, in Aramaic ‘to tread down, beat or make a path, subdue’ from a primitive root meaning ‘to tread down, disregard, violate, force, conquer’. The noun kabsah כבשה (Strong’s 3535 – 8 occurrences) means ‘ewe lamb’, from the same as kebes כבש (Strong’s 3532 107 occurrences) which means ‘lamb’, from an unused root which means ‘to dominate; a ram (just old enough to butt)’. Each of these words is the exact same but marked by scribes with vowels to distinguish between them, used of lambs as a sacrificial offering or describing their gentle nature in Isaiah 11:6 & Jer 11:19.
We can deduce that kabash is a verb that has some connection to lamb, whether their peaceful grazing, or ‘like lamb’ being easily shepherded as Yahweh wishes Israel was in Hosea 4:16, not ‘conquer’ or ‘subdue’ or ‘bring into bondage’ which all have a negative, possibly violent, connotation. For example, in Numbers 32:22 & 29, we see that ‘peaceful’ is a more fitting translation, “when the land is peaceful before Yahweh . . . “, “the land is peaceful before you . . .” respectively. Similarly in Joshua 18:1, the land was ‘peaceful’, not ‘subdued’ which means depressed, gloomy, or downcast. In 2 Chr 28:10, Neh 5:5, Jer 34:11 & 16 where kabash is used in reference to slavery, instead of ‘forcing’ it likely means ‘allowing’, as lamb’s being easily shepherded supports this meaning.
Constructing The Sentences
Let’s construct the sentences:
Gen 1:24 has a major clause with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’ and within the object is a clause with the subject ‘the earth’, verb ‘bring forth’, and object ‘soul living to kind, animals, and creeping thing and living of the earth to kind’. The sentence ends with a subordinate clause the subject is the major clause, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘so’.
Gen 1:25 has a major clause with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘made’, there are three et את that indicate they are direct objects of the verb ‘made’, ‘living the earth to kind’, ‘and animals to kind’, ‘and everything creeping the earth to kind’. Then a major clause, with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘saw’, and the object ‘good’.
Gen 1:26 has a major clause with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, and within the object are two subordinate clauses with the subject ‘mankind’, the first with the verb ‘make’, and object ‘in semblance, in image’, and the second with the verb ‘prevail’, and object ‘in fish the sea, and in birds the heavens, and in livestock, and in all the earth and in everything the creeper that creep on the earth’.
Gen 1:27 has two major clauses both with the subject ‘gods’, the first clause with the verb ‘created’, and an et את that indicates ‘Adam in image in image gods’ is a direct object of the verb ‘created’, and the second clause with the verb ‘created’ and object ‘male and female’, followed by a sub clause with the verb ‘created’ and a plural et אתם indicating ‘Adam’ both ‘male and female’ to be direct objects of the verb ‘created’.
Gen 1:28 has two major clauses, the first clause with the subject ‘gods’, and a plural et אתם indicating ‘Adam’ both ‘male and female’ to be direct objects of the verb ‘sanctioned’, the second clause with the subject ‘gods’, verb ‘said’, and two subclasses, the first sub clause with an et את that indicates ‘the earth’ is a direct object of the verbs ‘fruitful and multiply and fill’, and the second with the verbs ‘shepherd’ and ‘prevail’, and object ‘over fish the sea, and over birds the heavens, and over every living that creeps upon the earth’.
Gen 1:29 has a major clause with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, the interjection ‘behold’, and within the object a subordinate clause with the verb ‘give’, and three objects, the first object ‘every herb sowing seed on face all the earth’, the second object with an et את that indicates ‘every tree which fruit tree sowing seed to you . . . for food’ is a direct object of the verb ‘be’.
Gen 1:30 the third object tied to the subject ‘gods’ and verb ‘give’ from Gen 1:29 is ‘every beast the earth and every bird the heavens and to everything creeping upon the earth which in it soul living every green herb for food’. The sentence ends with a subordinate clause the subject is the major clause, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘so’.
Gen 1:31 has a major clause with the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘saw’, and within the object a subordinate clause with the adverb and verb ‘everything made’, and object ‘indeed good very’. The sentence ends with a major clause with the subject the ‘sixth day’, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘evening’, and a sub clause with the verb ‘be’, and object ‘morning’.
Literal and Figurative Translation
The paragraph translates as follows:
And said gods “bring forth the earth soul living to kind, livestock, and creepers, and living earth to kind”, and be so. And made gods living the earth to kind and livestock to kind and all creepers on the earth to kind and saw gods that good.
And said gods “make mankind in semblance in image, and prevail over fish the sea, and over birds the heavens and over the livestock and over all creeper that creep on the earth”. And created gods Adam, in semblance, in semblance of gods created, male and female created and sanctioned gods and said gods “bear fruit and multiply and fill the earth, and shepherd and prevail over fish the sea and over birds the heavens and over all living that creep upon the earth”.
And said gods “behold, given all herb sowing seed which on face all the earth and every the tree which in fruit tree sowing seed to you be for food and to every living the earth and to every bird the heavens and to every creeper upon the earth which in it soul living every green herb for food”, and be so.
And saw gods everything that made and indeed good very, and be evening and be morning, the sixth day.
Analysis
We discussed the figurative meaning of the plants and trees, which the earth ‘effected’ (yatsa – see fact #30) on the third creation day in Gen 1: 11 & 12, as representing mankind exercising their free will.
On the sixth creation day, the earth ‘effects’ living souls (nephesh chay – see fact #24) according to kind, ‘livestock’ (behemah – see fact #31) and ‘creeping things’ (remes – see fact #32), all that creep (remes – see fact #32) on the ‘ground’ (adamah – see fact #35) in Gen 1: 24 & 25. Cattle and sheep (livestock) and snakes (creeping things) figuratively represent mankind who chose righteousness, or wickedness, the two gates that each and every one of us must choose between Matthew 7:13 & 14.
Livestock represent stubborn persons, who like cattle, are difficult to pasture Hosea 4:16, or flocks of sheep or goats, who are God’s people, the flock of God’s possession Micah 7:14 of whom the Messiah was put in place as the shepherd to separate and feed Ezek 34:23 & 37:24. Jesus was the Passover sacrifice, an unblemished year old, male kid, sheep or goat Exodus 12:5, the slaughtered lamb, in whose blood the sheep must wash our clothes to make them white, under his shepherding we will hunger and thirst no more because he will guide us to the springs of the water of life and God will wipe every tear from their eye Rev 7: 9 to 17.
Creeping things/snakes represent the mighty nations who are cursed to lick the dust and crawl from their holes in the presence of Yahweh in Micah 7:14 to 17, the wicked who speak lies, have venom like that of a serpent Psalm 58:3 & 4, sharpen their tongues as a serpent, the poison of a viper under their lips Psalm 140:3. Yahshua called the Scribes and Pharisees ‘serpents, brood of vipers’ in Matthew 23:33, saying they were of their father the devil (Greek diabolos meaning false accuser), a murderer, a liar and the father of lies John 8:44.
The final act of God’s creation was ‘mankind’, created in the ‘semblance’ of gods, in their ‘image’, created male and female in Gen 1: 26 & 27. Named Adam Gen 5:2 after the ground he/she would be formed from in Gen 2:7, a verb that means ‘to be red’ representing sin Isaiah 1:18 & Romans 1:20 to 25. Semblance (tselem – see fact #36) means “the outward appearance or apparent form of something, especially when the reality is different”, and ‘image’ (demuth – see fact #37) also refers to outward appearance. Neither semblance nor image refers to the condition of the heart, which in mankind is evil from youth Gen 8:21, causing all to sin and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23.
The heavenly Adam was created male and female, like the angels, like we will be in the resurrection as Yahshua stated in Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25 & Luke 20:36. The Hebrew male (zakar – see fact #39) means ‘piercer’ and female (neqebah – see fact #40) means ‘pierced’, opposite sides (neged – see fact #41) of mankind in Gen 2:18 & 20. It was this heavenly, male and female, Adam who was commanded to bear fruit, multiply and fill the earth, and shepherd (kabash – see fact #43), and prevail (radah see fact #42) over the fish of the sea, birds of the air, livestock and creeping things, over all living that creep upon the earth Gen 1:26 & 28.
Fish (see fact #38) represent the multitude of mankind who are in the rivers (seas – see fact #29) of the great monsters, the mighty rulers of the earth, like Pharaoh, and will stick to his scales and be put in the field for the beasts and birds as food Ezek 29: 3 to 5, caught in a net, ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them Eccl 9:12. In a parable, Yahshua equated the kingdom of heaven to a dragnet cast into the sea gathering fish of every kind, the good fish gathered into containers and the bad thrown away, like at the end of the age when the angels come forth and take the wicked from among the righteous and throw them into a furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth Matthew 13: 47 to 50, which is why he told his disciples “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” in Matthew 4:18 & 19.
God granted the heavenly Adam every herb and the fruit of every tree as food for every living soul Gen 1: 29 & 30, which changed to a command to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil in Gen 2:17 after Adam is made from the dust and received the breath of life in Gen 2:7, which is when he/she became perishable, flesh and blood 1 Cor 15: 42 to 50. The command that Adam transgressed Hosea 6:7 & Romans 5:14, was God’s command to ‘shepherd’ and ‘prevail’ in Gen 1:28, which we will explore in our study of Genesis 2.
In my next article, I will look at Genesis 2: 1 to 3, the seventh and final day of the account of God’s creation.