Hebrew Without Vowels of Accents
The text of Genesis 2: 1 to 3 appears as follows:
Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation
Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 2:1 to 3 from tanakh.info:
Facts About Hebrew
We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:
45. The verb kalah כלה (Strong’s 3615) means ‘to be complete, at an end, finished’ from a primitive root that can be intransitive (to cease, be finished, perish), or transitive (to complete, prepare, consume).
46. The noun tsaba צבא (Strong’s 6635 486 occurrences) means ‘army, war, warfare’, from the verb tsaba צבא (Strong’s 6633) that means ‘to wage war, serve’, a mass of persons, especially organized for war (an army). Most often translated as ‘host(s)’ (322/486) or ‘army/war’ (139/486). The word ‘host’ fails to capture that God’s army serve and protect, not entertain which means ‘provide with amusement or enjoyment’.
47. The noun melakah מלאכ (Strong’s 4399 – 167 occurrences) means ‘occupation, work’, from the noun malak מלאך (Strong’s 4397) that means ‘a messenger’. The word ‘work’ means ‘mental or physical effort done to achieve a purpose or result’ is so broad nothing is excluded. The word ‘occupation’ or ‘craftsmanship’ narrows the meaning to ‘job, profession’, which aligns with malak which means ‘messenger’, a specific occupation.
‘Messenger’ work, angels delivering vision and prophecy, is done away with when the perfect comes 1 Cor 13: 8 to 10, stops (Hebrew verb chatham חתם from a primitive root that means to seal, make an end, stop) during the thousand year harvest Daniel 9: 24, in keeping with Sabbath Law commanding that work cease.
48. The adjective shebiith שביעי (Strong’s 7637 – 97 occurrences ) means ‘seventh’. The verb shabath שבת (Strong’s 7673) means ‘to cease, desist, rest’, as a noun means ‘Saturday’. Both are from shibah שבע (Strong’s 7651 – 394 occurrences) that means ‘seven’.
49. The verb qadash קדש (Strong’s 6942) means ‘to be set apart, consecrated’, from qodesh קדש (Strong’s 6944) a noun meaning ‘apartness, sacredness, holy’. The word ‘consecrated’ means ‘to dedicate to a higher purpose’, and ‘sacred/holy’ mean ‘connected with God or dedicated to a religious purpose’, both fail to convey the necessity for separation from things which are unrighteous. The words ‘set apart’ more accurately support the intended meaning.
50. The noun olam עולם (Strong’s 5769) means ‘long duration, antiquity, futurity’. To know whether ‘perpetual, eternal, everlasting’ or ‘long duration’ is meant, we need to understand the intricacies of God’s plan. For example, with respect to the Sabbath Law in Exodus 31:16, some Bible’s translate olam as “lasting” NIV, “for all time” NLT, “forever” ESV, or “perpetual” NASB & KJ not understanding that Yahshua and those who walk according to the Spirit have fulfilled the ritualistic elements of the Law Romans 8:1 to 4 & Luke 24:44, and the only eternal commandments are to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as our self Matthew 22: 37 to 39. Loving our neighbor means we will do them no wrong, thus sums up the commands to not commit adultery, murder, steal, or covet, therefore is the fulfillment of the law Romans 13: 9 & 10.
51. The verb naphash נפש means ‘to be refreshed’, from nephesh נפש that means ‘living being, soul’, from a primitive root meaning ‘to breathe, to be breathed upon’. All mortal life is created by the breath of God, but eternal life requires the indwelling of God’s Spirit to perfect us, so we are able to stand before him and not be consumed by God’s fire Acts 17: 25 to 31, 1 Peter 5:10 & Hebrews 12:18 to 29, and enter God’s rest in the kingdom of heaven John 3:3 to 7.
52. The noun maaseh מעשה (Strong’s 4639 – 235 occurrences) means ‘a deed, work’, from the verb asah עשה (Strong’s 6213 – 2628 occurrences) that means ‘do, make’. The root of both of these words is ash עש (Strong’s 6211 – 12 occurrences), that Strong’s identifies as a noun meaning ‘moth’, but when we look at the text, ash functions as a verb meaning ‘perish’ or an adjective/noun meaning ‘perishable’:
- In Psalm 39:11 “with rebukes upon iniquity chasten mighty ones (ish איש – see fact #56) and dissolve like perishable (ash כעש)”.
- In Isaiah 50:9 “they act wickedly (rasha רשע) behold (hen הן) all treacherous (beged בגד) decay (balah בלת) , perish (ash), consumed (akal אכל)”.
- In Isaiah 51:7 & 8 “do not fear the reproach of sick people (enosh אנוש) and their reviling words (gidduph גדופ) , be shattered (chathath תחת) that treachery (beged בגד) consume (akal אכל) perishable (ash), and like wool consume (akal אכל) moth (sas סס)”. Note – sas סס (Strong’s 5580 – 1 occurrence in Isaiah 51:8) means ‘moth’, but is translated as ‘grub/worm’, perhaps because it would be obvious that ash is mistranslated, having two different words both translated as ‘moth’ in the same sentence.
- In Daniel 4: 25, 32, 33 & 5:21 ash is translated as ‘grass’ with respect to Nebuchadnezzar eating ‘grass’ (a perishable thing) like an oxen in the field, but the book of Daniel is different from other books and interpolated so no conclusions can be drawn from it.
When we analyze some verses that contain maaseh מעשה, we see that it always used in relation to perishable work, because it is the root ash modified by the prefix mem מ (see Fact #53 a), and the suffix he ה (see fact #54 d). In Gen 40:17 maaseh is translated as ‘goods’ in context of “Pharaoh goods baked” making it a work of his hands, a perishable thing that the birds ate. In many cases, the context of the sentence supports that maaseh is referring to a perishable things mankind has made (Isaiah 2:8, 5:12, 17:8, 19:25, 29:23, & “the work hands” Hosea 14:3) or deeds they have done (Ezek 16:30), or even or Yahweh’s accomplishments on earth Jer 51:10, which are not permanent.
53. In Hebrew, prefixes modify the meaning of nouns and verbs. Although some have been mentioned as we’ve come across them in our study, having a somewhat comprehensive list may help us to understand the possible effects prefixes can have on words:
a) The prefix mem מ can function to convert a verb to participle or noun form, or as the preposition ‘from’.
b) The prefix nun נ can function as the pronoun ‘we’ in future tense of a verb, or convert a verb from active to passive voice.
c) The following Hebrew letters as prefixes function as inseparable prepositions; the letter lamed ל means ‘to, for’, the letter bet ב means ‘in, with, by’, and the letter kaf כ means ‘as, like’.
d) The prefix he ה can function as a definite article, or indicate a question. Scribes have marked the he with vowel point to provide information about the meaning, but because we are using the Hebrew without vowels, we are on our own, and won’t have the scribal markings to lead or mislead us.
e) The prefix is taw ת indicates either third person, singular, future tense (he/she/you/they will), or second person future tense (you will), or in biblical Hebrew, third person, plural, future tense (they will).
f) The prefix (initial) yod י indicates the imperfect (future) tense, called the jussive that expresses a desire that something should happen, normally used in the 3rd person (he/she/it) but may be 2nd person (you).
In The Beginning article, I mentioned the internet site shebanq.ancient-data.org as a resource for our study of Hebrew, that will come in handy to help us distinguish between words that begin with he, versus those with the definite article or interrogative. When we select the ‘Words’ tab at the top, it functions like a dictionary, listing the letters of the Hebrew alphabet to the left, and when we select the letter ה, we see a list of 164 words, the first and second being the definite article ‘the’ and interrogative. When we select the ה to the right of ‘the’, we see a list of 30369 occurrences of the definite article he, and when we select the ה to the right of ‘interrogative’, we see a list of 743 occurrences of the interrogative he. This example displays the amazingly robust drill down capability of the Shebanq database and the advantage of separation of prefixes and suffixes from words.
The definite article he is very common, often translated as ‘the’, implying that the specific person, place or thing being mentioned has already been mentioned, or is common knowledge, or is about to be defined. In Gen 1:1 heavens and earth both have the prefix he, and the context supports that he means ‘the’ in this sentence. We discussed the meaning of this prefix with adam אדם (Strong’s 120) in fact #35, with the prefix he, indicates ‘the’ adam being referred to is a specific person, in some instances considered to be the name Adam (Strong’s 121).
The first occurrence of the interrogative form of he is found in Gen 3:11, with the verb nagad (Strong’s 5046) often translated as ‘told’ or ‘declared’, where God is asking the man “who told you . . .?”. It is obvious that he is not a definite article in the context of this sentence because the sentence doesn’t make sense with ‘the’ . Similarly, in the case of yesh יש (Strong’s 3426) that is often translated as ‘there’, in the form היש in Gen 24:23, Isaiah 44:8, Jer 14:22, 23:26 & 37:17 is translated as ‘is there?’, in Gen 43:7 & 44:19 as ‘have?’, and in Exodus 17:7 as ‘is?’.
54. In Hebrew, there are several suffixes, called ‘formative letters’, that are pronominal, indicating possession:
a) The yod י indicates first person, singular possessive/objective ‘me/my’.
b) The final kaph ך (normal form כ which takes the form ך, as a pref ix means “like”) indicates second person singular possessive – ‘your’, or similarly ‘thy’, or in reference to things, like in Genesis 2:3 where gods ‘blessed it ברך’ the seventh day.
c) The suffix kap yod יך, indicates second person objective ‘you’.
d) It is alleged that the ה and the waw ו suffixes indicate third person singular feminine and masculine possessive respectively – ‘her/it’ and ‘his/it’, a theory that I reject for the reasons stated in Fact #13. Comparing the verb hayah יהי (Strong’s 1961 – 3561 occurrences) which in its standard form means ‘to be’, with the waw suffix indicates possessive without implying gender in Gen 1:15, where it is translated as “them be היו” in reference to the lights in the sky of the heavens, and with the he suffix indicates future tense in Gen 1:2 “The earth became היתה waste and empty”, in Gen 1:29 “shall be יהיה for food”, and in Gen 2:5 “before became יהיה in earth all herb”. We can spot an error in translation in Gen 2:7, where it states “the man be יהי a living soul”, not ‘become’, as God’s breath caused it to happen immediately, like in the rest of creation.
The future tense indicated by the he suffix is another way of saying it is ‘directional’ in that it “expresses the concept of movement (either in space or in time) toward the word (usually a person or thing) that takes the suffix” as stated in the article Suffix Directional He on uhg.ReadtheDocs.io. They use Gen 15:5 as an example, where the noun heavens שמים with the suffix he is translated as “toward heaven” and in the context of the sentence is future tense because Yahweh said “Now look toward heaven . . .”. Consider the meaning of the name God gave the ‘woman’ in Gen 2:22, ishshah אשה (Strong’s 802), is the noun esh אש (Strong’s 784) that means ‘a fire’, with the he suffix that ‘expresses the concept of movement toward the word’, that is translated as ‘toward’ in Gen 15:5, thus ishshah means ‘toward fire’, and since Yahweh יהוה is like a consuming fire (Exodus 3:2 & 24:17), it isn’t a stretch to conclude that the woman was ‘toward Yahweh’.
What a powerful tool this knowledge is in our Hebrew tool kit!
e) The kaph and final nun כֶן and the kaph and final mem כֶם indicate second person, plural, feminine and masculine possessive respectively – ‘your’.
f) The final nun ן and final mem ם indicates third person, plural, feminine and masculine possessive – ‘their’.
55. The Hebrew verb bara ברא (Strong’s 1254 – 55 occurrences) meaning ‘to shape, create’, from a primitive root that means ‘to create’ or ‘to cut down, select, feed’. In Joshua 17:15 & 18 bara is translated as ‘cut down’, but the context of the sentence would support ‘create’ because it is referring to a new place being created in the land for the nation of Israel. In Ezek 23:47 bara is translated as ‘cut down’ but in verse 45 it says “righteous mighty ones (ish) will judge them”, which contradicts the fact that mighty ones are never righteous in scripture (see Fact #56), a strong indication the text is not inspired.
The noun beriah בריאה (Strong’s 1278) from the verb bara, only occurs once in Numbers 16:30 where it is translated “a new thing’ in the King James Bible, and “an entirely new thing” in NASB, which is supported by the context of verse 29 & 30 where Moses says “If like death all the people they die these, and common fate all people are visited upon, not Yahweh has sent me, and if a new thing (beriah) creates (bara) Yahweh and opens the earth mouth and swallows them and their belongings whole and they go down alive into the pit, and understand that rejected mighty ones (ish) Yahweh”.
56. The Hebrew noun ish איש (Strong’s 376), means “god, god-like one, mighty one”, but is translated mostly as ‘man’, ‘men’, or ‘husband’. It becomes evident when we look at the Hebrew text, that ‘man’ (adam’s) and ‘mighty ones’ (ish’s) are not the same Jer 49:18, ‘ish’ lie and ‘adam’ repents Numbers 23:19, ‘ish’ Yahweh rejects Numbers 16:30, ‘ish’ language is evil Psalm 140:11, ‘ish’ devise mischief and give wicked counsel Ezek 11:2, ‘ish’ set up idols Ezek 8:11 & 14:3. It is no coincidence that Adam and Cain were both ‘mighty ones’ (ish) and both had the ground cursed for murder in Gen 3 & 4.
Constructing The Sentences
Let’s construct the sentences:
Gen 2:1 The subject is ‘gods’ (as stated in Gen 2:2), the verb with waw suffix ‘completed them’, and object ‘the heavens and the earth and army’.
Gen 2:2 The subject is ‘gods’, with two clauses, the first having the verb ‘completed’, and object ‘in day seventh craftsmanship they made’, and the second with the verb ‘rested’, and object ‘in day seventh from all craftsmanship which made’.
Gen 2:3 Containing two sentences, the first with the subject ‘gods’, verb ‘blessed it’, and object ‘day the seventh’, and a second verb ‘set apart’, and the second with the subject ‘gods’, verb ‘ceased’, and object ‘from all their craftsmanship which to make’.
Literal and Figurative Translation
The paragraph translates as follows:
And completed the heavens and the earth and all the army. And completed gods in day seventh craftsmanship they made, and rested in day seventh from all craftsmanship which made. And blessed it gods, day the seventh, and set apart for ceased from all their craftsmanship which gods to make.
Analysis
Keeping the Sabbath, was the fourth commandment in Exodus 20: 8 to 11, a long lasting (olam – see fact #50) covenant for generations to come, a sign between God and Israel of long duration (olam), until the time of the Sabbath rest arrived Heb 4: 1 to 13. In six days Yahweh made the heavens and the earth but on the seventh day rested and was refreshed (naphash see fact #51) Exodus 31:17 & 16, and in six days, all persons, including sojourners, and livestock in Israel were to make תעשה your craft מעשיך (asah and maaseh – see fact #52), but on the seventh day cease and be refreshed Exodus 23:12.
The Scribes and Pharisees believed that Yahshua was violating the Sabbath Law when he healed on Saturday (see fact #48), but his explanations reveal that they had taken God’s command beyond that found in the Law. To keep the Sabbath, labor/craftsmanship ceased, not doing good things like healing Matthew 12: 9 to 13, Mark 3: 1 to 5, & Luke 6: 6 to 10, or leading livestock to water Luke 13: 13 to 16, or pulling a son or an ox out of a well Luke 14: 1 to 6. Yahshua said that Moses circumcised on the Sabbath, and told the Scribes and Pharisees “do not judge by appearance, but judge with righteous judgment” in John 7: 22 to 24.
God’s ‘making’ in Genesis 1 was perishable things (see fact #52), and it is this perishable work that God ceased ‘making’ on the Sabbath. When used of God ‘making’ the expanse, two great lights, living (souls), and mankind, in Gen 1:7, 16, 25, & 26, asah (see fact #34) is referring to perishable elements. At the end of time, the new heaven and earth will come down from above and fill the earth and the first pass away, God will no longer be separated from mankind by the expanse, there will be no sun or moon because the glory of God will illuminate it Rev 21: 1 to 3, & 23, and mankind who are born again will inherit the kingdom of God John 3:3, and be given a new name Rev 2:17, no longer named Adam after the ground they were taken from (see fact #35).
In contrast to asah ‘making’ which refers to perishable things (see fact #52), bara refers to God’s creation of new, permanent things (see fact #55), like great sea monsters in Gen 1:21, and mankind in image, male and female Gen 1:27. God’s creation of the heavenly man in God’s image, male and female in Gen 1:27 reflects the original condition of man at the time of creation, and ‘making’ in Gen 1:26 is referring to man becoming mortal in Gen 2:7 after which the woman separated from the man in Gen 2:22. This supports that idea that Genesis 2 & 3 provide the details of the fall of mankind, how and why they left God’s enclosure (Eden) where God provides and protects, into the dry land to fend for themselves.
To understand what Yahshua meant when he explained that “the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” in respect to picking grain on the Sabbath, which did break the Sabbath Law in Matthew 12: 1 to 8, Mark 2: 23 to 28 & Luke 6: 1 to 5, we need to understand eschatology. As Lord of the Sabbath, Yahshua heard the cries of the righteous against those living in luxury and self indulgence and his coming was near, the judge was standing at the door James 5: 1 to 9. God assigned judgment to the Son, and whoever hears his word and believes God who sent him, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life, and the hour had arrived when the dead who heard his voice would live John 5:22 to 25.
The harvest time arrived and the landowner sent his beloved son to the vine-growers to receive his produce but they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him, unleashing God’s wrath on them and their city Luke 20: 9 to 16. Yahshua confirmed that the favorable year of God had come Isaiah 61:1 & 2 & Luke 4: 14 to 21, and warned that the day of vengeance Isaiah 61:2 & 63:4 was imminent Luke 21: 5 to 32, also called the end of the age and the great tribulation Matthew 24:3 & 21 & Rev 7:14, and the day of the Lord 1 Thes 5: 2 to 10. Fulfillment of the ages came upon that generation 1 Cor 10:11, the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth Matthew 23:33 to 36.
In the 77th generation from Adam Luke 3: 23 to 38, at the decreed time, judgment began at the house of God 1 Peter 4:17, against God’s people and holy city to stop the transgression, put an end to sin, make atonement for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place Dan 9:24. In the 7 year battle, from 66 to 73 AD, God brought Rome against the nation of Israel, in the middle the seven, in 70 AD, the temple were destroyed, causing sacrifices to cease Dan 9: 26 & 27.
The great tribulation when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies indicating her destruction was near, they fell by the edges of the sword and were led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem was trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles were fulfilled, and the temple was destroyed without one stone left upon another, and the coming of the Son of Man in a cloud with power and great glory Matthew 24: 3 & 34 & the days of vengeance when all things written were fulfilled Luke 21: 5 to 32.
God said to his Servant whom he called from the womb “in a favorable time I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you, and I will keep you and give you for a covenant to the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit desolate heritages. Saying to those who are bound ‘go forth’, to those who are in darkness ‘show yourselves’, along the roads they will feed, and their pasture on all bare heights. They will not hunger or thirst, nor will the scorching heat or sun strike them down, for he who has compassion on them will lead them and will guide them to springs of water.” Isaiah 49:1 to 10.
The seven creation days describe God’s creation of the heavens and earth that surround us, while at the same time prophesying how righteous mankind will be saved; from the ancient ruins in Gen 1:2, creation of the light which was separated from the darkness, and shines day by day, throughout time, to separate righteous mankind from the darkness Gen 1:3 to 5. The separation of the dry land called earth from the sea Gen 1:9 & 10, which was the deep, the abyss, the waters separated from those above Gen 1:2. Shepherding the sheep on the dry land called earth, leading them to the living waters above Gen 1:7 & 25, fishing them out of the sea where a multitude are attached to the gills of the sea monsters Gen 1: 26 & 28, teaching mankind by word and example to be trees yielding fruit which provide food Gen 1: 9 to 12, 29 & 30, culminating in the restoration and reuniting on the Sabbath in Gen 2:3.
Next we will look at Gen 2: 4 to 9 where Adam became a living being, formed of the dust of the earth 1 Cor 15:45 & 47.