Category: Criticism

It seemed so simple to accept the numbers 1 to 7 as having a purely numerical meaning.  After all, they appear as such in the English translation of the seven creation days in Genesis 1:1 – 2:3, then in the four rivers of Eden in Genesis 2: 10 – 14, and in numerous lists throughout the Hebrew Bible. 

However, in looking at the text of Gen. 2: 10 – 14 it became increasingly evident that Strong’s numbering of words is inconsistent, making their Concordance useless at best, misleading at worst.  There is evidence that translators have taken words used to describe each of the seven days in Gen. 1:1 – 2:3, and assigned numerical values, to obscure the meaning of the creation account, what happened in Genesis 2: 10 – 14, and the prophecy in Daniel 9: 24 – 27. 

There are two major problems with Strong’s Concordance:

1.  They have taken the text of the entire Hebrew Bible, some inspired and some added later, and blended it together in their numbering system, resulting in completely different meanings for words of the same, or similar form. 

2.  They have assigned different numbers to words based on prefixes, and/or based on the meaning they want for words, not grouping words of similar form together, which we would expect from a Dictionary.

By applying standard Hebrew word construction rules in a consistent manner, where the meaning of the root, normally a verb, is modified by prefixes and suffixes, to arrive at a meaning, God’s message shines through, and it is quite different than we have been led to believe! 

One or Apart

The noun echad אחד (Strong’s 259 967 occurrences) means ‘one’, but in the sense of being ‘alone, single, another, each’, not ‘united, i.e. One; or (as an ordinal) first’, alike’, the meaning we assume based on Judeo-Christian teachings.  Echad is the same as the verb achad אחד (Strong’s 258 1 occurrence in Ezek. 21:16) that means ‘go one way or other’. 

The root of echad/achad is ach אח (Strong’s 251 630 occurrences) that means ‘brother, kindred’, that with the daleth ד suffix indicates the opposite, separation.  The way ab אב (Strong’s 1 1212 occurrences) that means ‘progenitor’, with the daleth ד suffix forms abad אבד (Strong’s 6 184 occurrences) indicates the opposite, ‘perish, destroy’. 

Echad is often found in the form אחת, the taw suffix means ‘of’, as we see in Gen. 2:21 “the adam deep sleep and took of kindred [echad] from their side”, and Gen. 27:38 where Esau said to his father Isaac “the blessing of kindred [echad], my father bless also me”.  Where echad/achad is used purely as a number, may be evidence of uninspired text, which unfortunately is plentiful in the Hebrew Bible.

The one occurrence of achad is in Ezek. 21:16, in the King James Bible is translated “Go thee one way or other [achad], [either] on [sum/sim] the right hand [yaman], on the left [simel], whithersoever [an] thy face [panim/paheh] set [yaad]”, but in the Berean Study Bible, NIV and NLT, in addition to achad being translated as ‘slash’, sum/sim (Strong’s 7760) that means ‘to put, place, set’ is translated as ‘set your blade’, and panim/paneh (Strong’s 6440) that means ‘face, faces’, is translated as ‘blade’, and the New King James Bible changed to this translation.  This is a perfect example of how translators change the meaning of text, in this case to support a literal sword theme.  

The sword is the Messiah who is the word 1 John 1: 1 – 2, who was with God in the beginning, in him was life, and the life was the light of men, the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it, the true light which coming into the world enlightens every man John 1: 1 – 3, & 9.  The Messiah is the whirling sword guarding the way to the tree of life Gen. 3:24.  “Assyria will be shattered at the voice of Yahweh” Isa. 30:31, “in that day . . . cast down Assyria by sword [chereb] not of mighty one [ish] and sword [chereb] not of mankind will devour . . .”.  Isa 31: 7 – 8.  The sword is the word of God, living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart Hebrews 4:12.  

The Messiah is the sword prophesied in Ezek. 21 that Yahweh will draw out of its sheath and cut off the righteous and the wicked v.3, is sharpened to make a slaughter and polished to flash like lightening, that it may be handled in the hand of the slayer v. 9 – 11, against God’s people, against all the officials of Israel, who are delivered over to the sword v.12, for there is a testing by the rod which despises v. 13.  Ezekiel is told to prophesy and strike upon hands and double sword lord [shelishi – see section ‘three’ below], the sword slays, his sword slays the great, their privy chamber v. 14, that their hearts may melt, and many fall upon their gates, I have set the point of sword kindred [ach], made lightning, grasped for slaughter v. 15.  Mankind to go one way or the other, on the right hand, on the left v. 16, as the Messiah separates us from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats Matt. 25:32.

Looking again at Gen. 1:5, what we know as ‘day one [echad]’, the meaning is most likely ‘day kindred go one way or other’, in alignment with the separation (space between Gen. 1:4) the light and the darkness, when the waters were gathered into place ‘kindred go one way or other’ and see the dry ground in Gen. 1:9.  After the creation of the earth and heavens, when there was no shrubs or plants in the field and Yahweh gods had not rained their judgment on the earth, before man became a slave to the ground, a vapour rose from the earth and poisoned the ground in Gen. 2: 4 – 6, a test that the first man failed, resulting in being made perishable on ‘day two’.

Two or Sleep (in death)

The verb yashen ישן (Strong’s 3462, 3463 & 3465 24, 5 & 6 occurrences) means ‘to sleep’, ‘asleep, sleeping’, and ‘old’ (more likely ‘withered’ in Lev. 25:22 & 26:10) respectively, the yod prefix indicates third person, future tense ‘he/she/they sleep’.  Yashen is the root of  sheni  שני,  shenayim  שנים, and shenah  שנה , the nun suffix ן changes to נ when it occurs at the beginning or half-way into a word.   

The noun sheni  שני (Strong’s 8145 157 occurrences) is often translated as ‘second’, but the root yashen means ‘to sleep’, and the yod suffix either changes a plural masculine noun to the construct form ‘of sleep’, or indicates first person singular possessive ‘my sleep’.  Death is ‘a sleep’, those who are sleeping  (Strong’s groups with yashen but it is sheni ישני) in the dust of the ground, who will awaken at the time of the great tribulation, when Michael, the great prince, takes a stand, some to everlasting life and some to shame, contempt everlasting  in Dan. 12: 1 – 2 (a continuation from Dan. 9: 24 – 27), when judgment began at the house of God 1 Peter 4:17. 

Found in the same form as sheni, shani שני (Strong’s 8144 42 occurrences) is alleged to mean ‘crimson, scarlet thread’, but the occurrences in Exodus (26/42), Leviticus (5/42), and Numbers (2/42) are mistranslations.  In the verses in question, both shani and tola (Strong’s 8438) that means ‘crimson’, are mistranslated to make them fit the context, evidencing these verse to be uninspired, and calls into question the other 9 occurrences, as revealed in the analysis below:

• In Exodus 25 – 39 shani is found 26 times (both sheni and shani are found in Exodus 25:4, 12, 32, 26:1, 4, 5, 10, 20, 27, 31, 36, 27:15, 16, 28:5, 6, 8, 10, 15, 18, 33, 29:19, 39, 41, 35:6, 23, 25, 35, 36:8, 11, 12, 17, 25, 32, 35, 37, 37:3, 18, 38:15, 18, 23, 39:1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 11, 24, & 29) in the phrase “and blue and purple and crimson [tola Strong’s 8438 translated as ‘and’] of sleep [shani Strong’s 8144 translated as ‘scarlet’] and linen and goats (ez  Strong’s 5795 translated as ‘goat [hair])’ . . . ”.
• Similarly, shani is found in the phrase in Lev. 14:4 “two [שתי  shenayim Strong’s 8147] birds living clean and tree cedar and of sleep [shani translated as ‘and’] crimson [tola translated as ‘scarlet’] and hyssop [ezob]”, in Lev. 14:6 “the bird take it and tree the cedar and besides/next [shani translated as ‘yarn’] the crimson [tola translated as ‘the scarlet’], and the hyssop”, in Lev. 14:49 “take to cleanse the house two [שתי  shenayim Strong’s 8147] birds and tree cedar and of sleep [shani translated as ‘and’] crimson [tola translated as ‘scarlet’] and hyssop”, in Lev. 14: 51 “tree the cedar and the hyssop and of sleep [shani translated as ‘yarn’] the crimson [toal translated as ‘the scarlet’] the bird the living”, and in Lev. 14:52 “the bird living and in tree the cedar and in hyssop and in besides/next [shani translated as ‘and’] the crimson [tola translated as ‘scarlet’].
• In Numbers 4:8 shani is found in the phrase “and spread over them garment crimson yarn [tola translated as ‘of yarn] of sleep [shani translated as ‘scarlet’] and cover . . .” and in Numbers 19:6 “and take the priest tree cedar and hyssop and of sleep [shani translated as ‘and’] crimson yarn [tola translated as scarlet] and cast them upon midst burning the heifer”.
• The following verses where shani fits the context of meaning ‘scarlet’ are likely not inspired text: in Gen. 38:28 & 30 where Tamar tied a scarlet thread on the hand of one of her babies to know which one was firstborn, in Isa. 1:18 where Yahweh says “though be your sins like scarlet, like snow be white”, in Joshua 2:18 – 21 where Rahab was asked to tie a scarlet cord in her window to protect her home from being attacked, and she did so, in 2 Sam. 1:24 women of Israel weep over Saul who “clothed you in scarlet with luxury”, in Prov. 31:21 the woman whose household are clothed with scarlet, in Songs 4:3 a woman whose lips are like scarlet thread, and in Jer. 4:30 “plundered for [ki translated as ‘though’] clothed crimson . . .”.

Shanah שנה (Strong’s 8140 & 8141 7 & 876 occurrences) is commonly translated as ‘a/one year’, The he suffix indicating future tense, ‘toward sleep’, perhaps tracking time by counting days (sleeps), in periods of years.  The same as the noun shenah שנה (Strong’s 8139 & 8142 1 & 23 occurrences) that is always translated as ‘sleep’, although it is often found with various suffixes; only  4/23 he ה, 6/23 taw ת, 7/23 taw waw  תו, 2/23 taw yod שנתי , 3/23 taw final nun תם, 1/23 aleph א (which is the same form as shanah/shenah שנא , Strong’s 8132 & 8133 3 & 21 occurrences, that mean ‘alter, change’, the latter found in Ezra & Daniel in various forms).  In the form shenayim שנים (Strong’s 8147 769 occurrences) the yod and final mem suffix can indicate plural ‘sleeps’, or indicate dual form ‘two sleeps’.   On the third day, lights were put in the sky to distinguish between day and night, in evening when we sleep, and morning we rise, which become years [said to be shanah, but is in plural form shenayim שנים] Gen. 1:13 – 14.

The first occurrence of shanah (Strong’s 8141) is in Gen. 1:14 – 15, the day that gods created lights in the heavens to divide the day and night and for signs and seasons, and days and years [in plural form שנים] and for lights in the heavens to shine over the earth.  Also found in:

• The genealogical lists like Adam’s in Gen. 5: 3 – 32, and Shem’s in Gen. 11: 10 – 25, alternating between singular and plural form, in a haphazard manner, translated as ‘years’ because the context is plural.  In Gen. 5:8 שתים is categorized as the noun shenayim שנים (Strong’s 8147) and translated as ‘two’ as it often is.  Similar in form to the proper name Seth שת (Strong’s 8352 8 occurrences) who was named so because as Eve said “God has appointed/granted [shith שת Strong’s 7896] me another offspring in place of Abel, for Cain killed him” in Gen. 4:25, although shith is not found in its standard form שית that means ‘put, set’, in this occurrence is similar in form and meaning to shem except the mem suffix is replace with taw (see fact #94).
• Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream in Gen. 41: 25 – 36, alternating between the form sheni  [שני] and plural form, in a haphazard manner, translated as ‘years’ because the context is plural.  In v. 32 shanah שנה (Strong’s 8138 22 occurrences) that means ‘to repeat, do a second time’, frequently translated as ‘change, alter’, is found in the form השנות,  translated as ‘repeated’.  Also, in v. 32 the noun paam פעמים (Strong’s 6471 118 occurrences) often translated as ‘times’ in the sense of strokes or footsteps, is translated as ‘twice, doubled, two versions’, and in the form הפעם in Gen. 2:23 is translated as ‘now’.

Looking again at sheni שני in Gen. 1:8, ‘day of sleep’ is an appropriate title for the day gods divided space between the waters under the firmament and the waters above, mankind were separated from God, the day they went to sleep in death Gen. 1:7 & 8, which points to Gen. 2:7 when man became a living soul.  ‘Sleeping, asleep, in the sleep of death’ are words used to describe mankind who are separate from God, living and breathing, but dead spiritually, as Yahshua told his disciple “let the dead bury their own dead” Matthew 8:21 – 22 & Luke 9:59 – 60.  Similarly, Paul indicated it was the hour to awaken from sleep, for salvation was near Romans 13:11.

Three or Rank and Rule

The root of Shaliysh שליש (Strong’s 7991 17 occurrences) is shal/shel של which is the combination of ש ‘that/ who/which’ + ל ‘to’ = ‘that/who/which’ + ‘to’ = ‘that/who/which [belongs] to’. It is found in Song of Solomon 1:6 where it is translated as ‘my own’, but is not assigned a Strong’s number, and it is found in Song of Solomon 3:7, combined with Solomon של + שלמה (Strong’s 8010) translated as ‘it [is/belongs to] Solomon’. Shaliysh is often translated as ‘captains, officers’ used of a person of high rank who reports to, belongs to, is under the authority of the king:

• In the form שליש in 2 Kings 7:2, 17 & 19, the officer reports directly to the king, thus has a high rank; v.2 “answered the officer [השליש] lord [aser] to king [melek] he leaned [shaan] upon [al] hand [yad]”, similarly in v.17 “the king appointed the officer [השליש] lord [aser] he leaned upon hand”, and v.19 “answered the officer [השליש] mighty one [ish] the gods and said . . .”.  Note: although shin and asher are said to mean ‘‘that, which, who’, we see in fact #119 that asher contains some element of ‘leader, guide, keeper, lord’, and I have changed the translation in v. 2 & 17 to reflect this fact.

• In the form שלישו in 2 Kings 15:25 translated as ‘officer of his’, the shin translated as ‘of’, and the yod indicating third person, possessive, ‘his/its’ translated as ‘his’.  In the form שלישיו in 2 Chr. 8:9 translated ‘of his officers’, followed by “and captains/prince [sar] his chariots and his cavalry”, evidencing an ‘officer [shaliysh]’ to be of a high rank.

• In the form שלשיו in Exodus 15:4 and 1 kings 9:22 translated as ‘his officers/captains’.

• In plural form שלשם in Exodus 14:7 translated as ‘captains’, followed by “over all”, evidencing an ‘officer [shaliysh]’ to be of a high rank.  In the form שלשים twice in 2 Kings 10:25, Ezek. 2:15 & 23 translated as ‘officers’. 

Shelishi  שלישי (Strong’s 7992 108 occurrences) alleged to mean ‘third part, rank, time, three years old’, is often found in the similar form as shaliysh, thus must have the same or a similar meaning.  Similarly, the root of shalosh/shalash/shalosh  שלש (Strong’s 7969, 8027 & 8029 429, 9 & 5 occurrences) and sheloshim שלשים (Strong’s 7970 174 occurrences) is  shal/shel של, which has un element of belonging, ownership.  In Numbers 2:24 “thousands and hundreds to war and captains [shelishi in the form שלשים translated as ‘and the third’] set out”.  Similarly, in 2 Sam. 18:2 it is more likely that shelishi in the form שלשים means ‘the captains’ not ‘a third’ were in the hand of different leaders who are listed by name.  In 2 Kings 1:13, the context of the sentence is Elijah ‘sending’ rulers (sar Strong’s 8269 421 occurrences) army [chamishshim  חמשים mistranslated as five as described under that section below] captains [shelish in the form שלשים] and army [chamishshim  חמשים], and went up and came the leader army [chamishshim חמשים] the captain [shelish  in the form שלישי] and bow upon his knees before Elijah.”

In Hosea 6:2 “They will live [יחינו translated as ‘revive us’] from my waters [identified as yom but more likely mayim Strong’s 4325 in the form מימים, translated as ‘two days’] in day [yom ביום] of the lord [shelishi translated as ‘on the third day’] raise up and we live to his face.”  This is a prophecy for the ‘day of YAHWEH’, when the righteous are raised up from the living waters,  but in this case it is called the ‘day of the lord’.  Although the quotation of this verse in 1 Cor. 15:4 lends credibility to ‘the third day’ translation, in his article Apocryphal Apparitions: 1 Corinthians 15: 3 – 11 as a Post-Pauline Interpolation, author Robert Price provides evidence against these verses.

Shalach שלח (Strong’s 7971 847 occurrences) from the root shal/shel של shows authority which among mankind represents a form of ownership.  Although shalach is often translated as ‘sent’, it more specifically means sending or taking with authority.  For example, in Gen. 3:22 – 23 Yahweh gods said “behold the man has become apart [echad – see analysis in section One above] from us experiencing [daath] good and evil”, now lest he stretch out [shalach] his hand and take from the tree of life and eating and live forever, therefore Yahweh gods sent him [shalach] from the garden of Eden to serve the ground which taken from appointed place [sham].  In Gen. 4:1 the man ‘knew [yada]’ his wife and she conceived and bore Cain, evidencing that yada [and daath that is from yada – see fact #83] goes beyond the definition ‘knowing through observation’, to ‘having a relationship through experience’. 

Looking again at Gen. 1:13, shelishi in the form שלישי, the yod suffix either changes the noun to the construct form ‘of’ or indicates first person, singular, possessive ‘my’, resulting in ‘day of captains’.  Although it is difficult to see mankind began ruling over each other in the text of Gen. 2: 10 – 14, we will look at these verses next which will uncover the real meaning.

Four or Sprawling

Arba  ארבע (Strong’s 702 318 occurrences) means ‘four’ as it is most often translated (167 out of 318), from the verb raba רבע (Strong’s 7250 and 7251 3 and 12 occurrences) that mean ‘to lie stretched out’ and ‘to square’ respectively, that according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is “rather identical with raba’ through the idea of sprawling ‘at all fours’”. 

Where the term ‘four’ ארבע (arba) ‘corners’, ‘ends’ or ‘winds’ are found, in Jer. 49:36, Isaiah 11:12, Ezek. 7:2 & 37:9, Dan. 7:2, 8:8, 11:4, Zech. 2:6, Matt. 24:31, Mark 13:27, Acts 10:11 & 11:5, & Rev 7:1 & 20:8, the whole earth is meant, not ‘four’ literal corners, ends or winds.  In Ezek. 1:17 the creatures likely moved in all directions, or ‘any direction’ as translated in the Contemporary English Version, not ‘four directions’ as translated in other Bible versions which aligns with the meaning of the primitive root ‘sprawling “on all fours”’.  In Ezek. 14:21 ‘four judgments’ means earth wide.

Both Gen. 1:19 and 2:14 contain rebii  רביעי (Strong’s 7243 55 occurrences) that means ‘foursquare, fourth part’,  which is ‘from the same as’ the noun arba ארבע.  The yod between the letters of rebii modifies it to mean a corrupt form of sprawling, just as esh אש (Strong’s 784) that means fire/existence (there), with a yod in the middle becomes ish איש (Strong’s 376) that means ‘mighty one’ (see fact #56 – an ish is not a godly person but a fallen one), and el אל (Strong’s 410) that means god/power, with a yod in the middle becomes ayil איל (Strong’s 352) that means ‘a ram, mighty man, oak, tree’.  The yod suffix either indicates first person, singular, possessive, ‘my’ or changes a plural masculine noun to the construct form ‘of’, so ‘day of sprawling’ in Gen. 1:19, and ‘the sprawling of’ in Gen. 2:14.

In Gen. 2:10 arba is found  in the form לארבעה, the prefix lamed ל means ‘to, for’, and the suffix he ה indicating movement toward (see fact #54 d) ‘sprawling’ which is when God put lights in the heavens to separate the day and night, for signs, seasons and days and years, and made gods sleep of [shenayim] the lights, the greater to rule the day and the lesser light the night, on the ‘day of sprawling’ Gen. 1: 14 – 19. The idea that the lights in the heavens were temporarily put in place for mankind’s enslavement to the ground is supported by the fact that there are no sun nor moon in the New Jerusalem because it is illumined by the glory of God in Rev. 21:23.

Five or Armed for Battle

Chamishi  חמיש (Strong’s 2549 45 occurrences) means ‘fifth’, chamesh and chomesh חמש (Strong’s 2567, 2568 & 2569 1, 344 & 1 occurrences) mean ‘take the fifth part’, ‘five’, and ‘fifth part’ respectively, in plural form chamishshim חמשים (Strong’s 2572 163 occurrences) means ‘fifty’, but the same form chamushim חמש (Strong’s 2571 4 occurrences) means ‘in battle array’.  The context that chamesh in Isa. 30:17 supports its translation as ‘battle’ not ‘five’, “Thousand separate in the face of threat, separate at threat of battle [chamesh] flee . . .”.  Chomesh חמש (Strong’s 2570 4 occurrences) means ‘belly’, but always in the sense of being wounded perhaps representing a serious injury.

So Gen. 1: 20 – 23 describes the ‘day of battle’ (chamishi חמישי with a yod suffix indicating ‘of’), but looking back at my analysis of these verses in the article The Fifth Day, I was unable understand why God would ‘create’ [bara see fact #55] sea monsters and living things for the waters which represents those under Satan’s influence, and ‘bless’ [barak see fact #28] them saying “be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters of the seas . . .”.   We must take another look at these words to better understand what happened on the fifth creation day.

The root of bara and barak/berek  is bar בר that means ‘grain, corn’ (Strong’s 1250 14 occurrences), used in a figurative sense in the day of Yahweh prophecy in Joel 2: 23 – 24, bar is grain on a threshing floor where it is beaten to separate the wheat from the chaff, and in Isa. 1:24 & 25 Yahweh says “comfort from adversity and vengeance enemies, and turn my hand upon you and refine like grain [bor] your dross and take away all your alloy”.  In the same form, bor בר  is alleged to mean ‘pure, clean’ (Strong’s 1249 7 occurrences), but the context in Isa. 1:25 supports it meaning ‘refine’.  Both bor בר (Strong’s 1252 6 occurrences) found in the form כבר, four of which are in 2 Sam. 22:21 & 25 & Psalm 18: 20 & 24 where Daniel states that Yahweh “recompense him, for his righteousness, for clean [bor] hands and returned me, in his sight”, and bar בר (Strong’s 1247, 1248 8, 4 occurrences) means ‘son’, are likely uninspired text.

Bar בר with a yod aleph suffix forms bari בריא (Strong’s 1277 14 occurrences) that means ‘fat’, which according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance (SEC) is “from bara (in the sense of barah); fatted or plump – fat (fleshed), fed, firm, plenteous, rank”.  SEC states that bara ברא (Strong’s 1254 55 occurrences) means create, or does it means “choose, create creator, cut down, dispatch, do, make fat”, from “a primitive root; (absolutely) to create; (qualified) to cut down (a wood), select, feed (as formative processes) – choose, create (creator), cut down, dispatch, do, make (fat)”.  The problem is bara means all of these things at once!

From the beginning, Gen. 1:1 and 1:21, Yahweh ‘fed to grow and refine [bara]’.  Yahweh promised to “search for my sheep . . . shepherd them in good pasture  . . . shepherd my flock and lead them to rest . . . seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy, I will feed them with judgment . . . I will judge between one sheep and another . . . judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep . . . I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them, he will feed them himself and be their shepherd” in Ezek. 34: 11 – 23. Yahweh allows the wheat and the tares to grow together until the harvest when the reapers gather the tares and burn them, and gather the wheat into the barn Matt. 13:30.

Although barak ברך (Strong’s 1288 330 occurrences) is often translated as ‘bless’, according to SEC it means ‘abundantly, altogether, at all, blaspheme, bless, congratulate, curse, greatly’.  Barak is sometimes found in the form ברכ, as are most occurrences of berek (Strong’s 1290 25 occurrences) that means ‘knee’, perhaps some of the reason for the confusion.  When found in the form ברך  there is an underlying element of feeding in the sense of ‘bounty’.  For example,  in Ex. 23:25 ‘bountiful  [barak] your bread and your water’, and in Num. 23:11 & 24:10 barak in the form ברכ is translated as ‘blessed’ and in the form ברך as ‘bountifully’.  In Gen. 1:1 “in beginning abundance gods the heavens and the earth”, and in Gen. 1:22 “abundantly gods sea monsters great and every soul living that creeps which abounded the waters according to their kinds . . .”

The ‘day of battle’ was the ‘day of Yahweh’ prophesied in Joel 2: 1 – 3, “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads over the mountains a people numerous and strong like of which never has been from antiquity and after, nor again years ages, to face devours fire and behind them blazing flame like garden of Eden the land before them and behind them a wilderness desolate and surely become escape none of them.” 

The ‘day of Yahweh’, is the great tribulation prophesied in Matthew 24:1 – 2, Mark 13:2, and Luke 21: 5 – 6 when the temple was torn down, not one stone left upon another, which occurred in 70 AD, at the end of the seven year war against the Roman army.  Yahshua’s disciples were warned that when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies, her desolation was near, and those in Judea must flee to the mountains and those in the midst of the city must leave because these were the days of vengeance, so that all things written were fulfilled, there was great distress upon the land and the people, and they fell by the edge 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 Luke 21: 20 – 24.

That generation Matt. 23:36, was the time when Michael the great prince took a stand and there was a distress such as never has occurred from the beginning of nations until then, and everyone whose name was found written in the book escaped Dan. 12:1.  Michael and his angels waged war with the dragon, the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world, thrown down to earth and his angels with him, having great wrath, causing woe to the earth knowing he had a short time Rev. 12: 7 – 12. The son of man came in a cloud with power and great glory and the saints were redeemed Matt. 16: 27 – 28, 24:30, 26:64, Mark 13:26, Luke 21: 27 – 28, Rev. 1:7, and Dan. 7:13.

Six or Make White

Shesh שש (Strong’s 8337 215 occurrences) allegedly means ‘six’, although it is from shayish שיש (Strong’s 7893 1 occurrence) that means ‘alabaster’ from an unused root that means ‘to bleach, i.e. whiten, white, i.e. marble’, tied to shesh שש (Strong’s 8336 41 occurrences) that means ‘fine linen’, translated as ‘marble’ in Esther 1:6 and Songs 5:15.  Sheshak ששך (Strong’s 8347 2 occurrences) that means ‘thy fine linen’ is apparently a name for Babylon.  Shishsha  (Strong’s 8341 1 occurrence) means ‘give a sixth part’, but found in the form ששיתם in Ezek. 45:13, within the temple chapters 40 – 48, and sus שוש (Strong’s 7797 27 occurrences) that means ‘to exult, rejoice’, sometimes found in the form שש or שישי, four in Deut., 2 in Job, 3 in Jer. & Lam., likely uninspired text.

In Dan. 9: 25 & 26 shishshim ששים (Strong’s 8346 59 occurrences) that means ‘white’, is found in combination with shenayim שנים, that we see under the two section above means ‘sleep’, but in these verses is translated as ‘sixty-two’.  Daniel’s prophecy is referring to the ‘fullness of time [shabua – see seven section below], when the white [shishshim] sleeping [shenayim] return [shub] and build the street and the wall even in troublesome times’ v. 25, and ‘after the fullness [shabua] when white [shishshim ] and sleeping [shenayim] made a covenant [karath] anointed [mashiach] . . .’ v. 26. Daniel’s prophecy continues in Dan. 12: 1 – 4, the day of Yahweh, the great tribulation when those who sleep [yashen in the form מישני as discussed above] in the dust of the ground awake, to everlasting life but others to disgrace and everlasting contempt, and those who have insight shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever, at the end of the age, which was fulfilled in Yahshua’s generation evidenced by the destruction of the temple Matthew 24:1 – 3.

On the day whiteness in Gen. 1: 26 – 31 gods made man in their image, male and female, to rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and blessed them saying “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and every plant was given for food and to every beast of the earth and bird of the sky and to everything that has life”.  This is the thousand year reign of the Messiah and the saints that began after the great tribulation during which Satan is bound in the abyss to not deceive the nations until the thousand years were completed when he is released for a short time, those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and hand, came to life and reigned with the Messiah for a thousand years Rev. 20: 1 – 5.

Seven or Fullness

Saba/soba/sabea  שבע (Strong’s 7646, 7647, 7648, 7649 99, 8, 8, & 8 occurrences) mean ‘to be full, sated, satisfied’.  Shibah שבע (Strong’s 7651 394 occurrences) alleged to mean ‘seven’ is often found in reference to time, or quantity of something, but does it in fact refer to a full compliment of years or things, as shabua  שבע (Strong’s 7620 20 occurrences) refers to a week, which is ‘a period of seven’ days, and the plural form shibim שבעים (Strong’s 7657 91 occurrences) refers to a lifespan of ‘seventy’ years, thus ‘generation’ is implied.

In the case of sibah/sobah  שבעה (Strong’s 7653 & 7654 1 & 5 occurrences), the he suffix changes the meaning to future tense, movement toward being ‘full, satisfied’, not ‘seven’ shibah/sheba  שבעה (Strong’s 7655 6 occurrences – 1 in Ezra and 5 in Daniel), which are likely uninspired text.  Four of the five occurrences of sibah/sobah are in Isa. 23:18 ‘to eat to fullness’, Isa. 55:2 ‘wages for not to satisfy’, Ezek. 39:19 ‘eat fat until full’, and in Haggai 1:6 ‘eat and not to satisfy’.  The last of the five occurrences and the 1 occurrence are in Ezek. 16:28 & 49, in the form שבעת, the taw suffix should add ‘of’ to the noun, which in v.28 doesn’t fit the context of the sentence, perhaps indicating a problem with the text, although v.49 does fit the context.  Ezekiel 16 is suspected to be uninspired for its pornographic theme wherein God is characterized as male, and Jerusalem as his adulterous wife, genderization that contradicts the fact that God is both male and female, and does not show preference.

In Daniel 9:24 there are two back to back shibim שבעים, translated as ‘seventy weeks’, but the meaning is ‘seventy [generation]’ ‘seventy [generation]’, that we know means ‘seventy seven generations’, the number of generations from Adam to Yahshua Luke 3: 23 – 38.  Dan. 9:24 should read “Seventy seven generations determined upon your people for city your set apart to finish the transgression, and to make atonement iniquity and to bring in righteousness everlasting, and to stop vision and prophecy and to anoint set apart, sacred.”  We know this is true because all things were fulfilled in the generation Yahshua was born Mark 13:4 & 30, the blood of all the righteous shed on earth Matt. 23:32 – 36.

In Dan. 9:25 there is a shibim שבעים, a sibah/sobah  שבעה (assigned Strong’s 7651) and another shibim שבעים (once again assigned Strong’s 7620), translated as ‘weeks seven and weeks’, rather than ‘seventy seven fullness generations’.  Dan. 9:25 should read “know and be prudent, from going forth of command to restore and build Jerusalem upon anointed the prince seventy seven fullness generations when the white [shishshim] sleeping [shenayim] return [shub] and build the street and the wall even in troublesome times”.

In Dan. 9:26 there is a shibim שבעים (once again assigned Strong’s 7620), translated as ‘the weeks’, rather than ‘the seventy [generations], the fullness’.  Dan. 9:26 should read “and after fullness [shabua] when white [shishshim ] and sleeping [shenayim] cut off anointed [mashiach] and not if only [low] and the city and the sanctuary destroy the people of the prince to come and at the end in outburst until the end war decreed desolation”.

In Dan. 9:27 berith ברית (Strong’s 1285 284 occurrences) is translated as ‘covenant’, but according to SEC “from barah (in the sense of cutting (like bara)); a compact (because made by passing between pieces of flesh) – confederacy, (con-)feder(-ate), covenant, league”.  Also, shabua שבוע (Strong’s 7620 20 occurrences) is translated as ‘weeks’, but only found in this form in Jer. 5:24 where it is referring to “the later in season time of appointed harvest reserved for us”.  Dan. 9:27 should read “and confederacy to many at time appointed [shabua] separation [echad] and midst appointed time [shabua] rest [shabath] sacrifice and offering  and upon the wing abominations be stupefied and upon consummation and decreed poured upon stupefied.”

Now, armed with this insight, we can better understand what happened in Genesis 2: 10 – 15 which we will cover next.

Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents

The text of Genesis 2: 4 to 9 appears as follows:

Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation

Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 2:4 to 9 from tanakh.info:

Facts About Hebrew

We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:

57.  The Hebrew noun toledoth תולדת (Strong’s 8435 – 39 occurrences) is normally translated as ‘generations’ or ‘genealogies’.  Genealogies meaning ‘line of descent from an ancestor’ is a more appropriate translation for toledoth, to distinguish it from the noun dor דור (Strong’s 1755 – 167 occurrences) that refers to ‘generations’ in the sense of periods of time.

Toledoth is from the verb yalad ילד (Strong’s 3205 – 497 occurrences) that means ‘to bear, bring forth, beget’, used of woman/women ‘bearing’ offspring in pain as prophesied in Gen 3:16 (fulfilled in the woman Israel giving birth to the Messiah, a son, a male, who is ruling all nations with a rod of iron Rev 12: 1 to 5), and Eve ‘giving birth to/bearing’ Cain and Abel in Gen 4: 1 & 2, and ‘giving birth to’ and naming Seth in Gen 4:25, (excepting Gen 4:17 to 24 which I believe are an interpolation – see fact #84).  In contrast to this, Adam is said to ‘father/beget’ and name Seth in Gen 5:3, which continues from that time forward, supporting that Patriarchy was established in Adam’s generation.

The Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament is correct in saying, “The words ‘these are the tholedoth of the heavens and the earth when they were created,’ form the heading to what follows.  This would never have been disputed, had not preconceived opinions as to the composition of Genesis obscured the vision of commentators.  The fact that in every other passage, in which the formula ‘these (and these) are the tholedoth’ occurs (viz., ten times in Genesis; also in Numbers 3:1; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chronicles 1:29), it is used as a heading, and that in this passage the true meaning of תולדות precludes the possibility of its being an appendix to what precedes, fully decides the question.”

58.  The noun yeled ילד (Strong’s 3206 – 89 occurrences) is the same as yalad except for vowel points that are not part of the inspired text, said to be masculine and mean ‘son, boy’ but often used in reference to children generally.  The noun yaldah לדה (Strong’s 3207 – 3 occurrences) is alleged to be yeled’s feminine counterpart meaning ‘girl’ but all 3 occurrences show evidence of being interpolations,  Joel 3:3 (4:3 in the Hebrew Bible) (see fact #85), Zech 8:5 (see fact #86), and Gen 34:4 (see fact #87), leaving no evidence to support that the word yaldah existed in ancient Hebrew.

59.  The noun siach שיח (Strong’s 7880 4 occurrences ) meaning ‘a bush, shrub, plant’ from the verb siach שיח (Strong’s 7878 21 occurrences) meaning ‘a shoot (as if uttered or put forth)’ or ‘to utter, muse, complain’. 

60.  The noun sadeh שדה (Strong’s 7704 – 333 occurrences) means ‘field, land’, which is the same as shadday  שדי (Strong’s 7706 – 48 occurrences) said to mean ‘field, land’ but always translated as ‘almighty’, from the verb shadad  שדד (Strong’s 7703 – 57 occurrences) that means ‘to deal violently with, despoil, devastate, ruin’.  Recognizing the he suffix means ‘towards’ (see fact #54 d) we can deduce that the noun sadeh figuratively means ‘towards devastation/ruin’.  ‘Field’ is a better translation choice to distinguish sadeh from yabbashah (see fact #60) the ‘dry land/ground’ that appeared when the waters were gathered together in Gen 1:9.

61.  The verb tsamach צמח (Strong’s 6779 – 33 occurrences) means ‘to sprout, spring up, bear, bring forth’, transitive or intransitive, literal or figurative.  In Gen 2:5 & 9, the tsamach has a yod prefix indicating pronominal, third person imperfect, that in Zech 6:12 is personified in reference to ‘the Branch’ צמח (Strong’s 6780) ‘he shall branch out’ יצמח (Strong’s 6779), supporting a similar translation which has the added advantage of distinguishing tsamach from dasha דשא (Strong’s 1876 – 2 occurrences), in Gen 1:11 where the earth ‘sprouted’ vegetation. 

As a noun, ‘branch’ means parts of a tree growing out from the trunk, and as a verb means ‘divide into one or more subdivisions’, harkening to the ‘branch’ analogy found John 15: 1 to 10, representing how the Messiah judges mankind based on the fruit they bear, some are pruned to bear more fruit and unproductive branches are burned in the fire.  In Romans 11: 16 to 24 natural branches represent the nation of Israel of which some were broken off and branches from the gentile nations grafted in place of them, with only holy ones remaining on the holy root which is the Messiah.  The Messiah’s separation work was taking place before man was made from the dust of the earth in Gen 2:7.

62.  The noun eseb עשב (Strong’s 6212) means ‘herb, herbage’, from an used root used of grass or any tender shoot, said to sow seed in Gen 1: 11 & 12, and given for food in Gen 1:30.  

63.  The verb matar מטר (Strong’s 4305 – 17 occurrences) means ‘to rain’, always used in reference to Yahweh sending something from heaven, hail or fire and brimstone Gen 19:24 & Ezek 38:22, manna and meat Psalm 78:24 & 27, or withholding rain in judgment Amos 4:7.  The noun matar (Strong’s 4306 – 38 occurrences) is used of Yahweh sending rain water from heaven, as a sign Exodus 9:33 & 34, or a blessing Deut 11: 11 to 14, 28:12, or dust and powder in judgment Deut 28:24.  Matar with the suffix aleph א or he ה forms the noun mattara מטרא or mattarah מטרה (Strong’s 4307 – 16 occurrences) that mean ‘guard, ward, prison, target, mark’ or ‘a jail (as a guard-house), also an aim (as being closely watched), mark, prison’ respectively.  Most of the occurrences (11 of 16) are found in Jeremiah of a location ‘the courtyard of the prison’, and (2 of 16) similarly in Nehemiah 3:35 & 12:39 of the ‘courtyard of the prison’ and ‘gate of the prison’ respectively.

64.  Abad עבד (Strong’s 5647 – 289 occurrences) is a verb that means ‘to work, serve’, or a noun (Strong’s 5650 – 800 occurrences and Strong’s 5649 – 7 occurrences) meaning ‘slave, servant’.  There are 28 occurrences in Ezra and Daniel where abad is assigned Strong’s 5648 because it is translated into a variety of different words like ‘carried/carrying, celebrated, committed, do/does/doing/done, executed, going, held, incited, observe, perform, torn, waging’ which requires further investigation to get to the bottom of.  Analyzing the legitimate occurrences of abad, we see that it does not refer to the work of our hands, which is melakah (see fact #47), but submitting to someone or something in servitude, be it as a servant of God, or as slave to the ground which represents our desire for material things.

The noun abodah עבדה (Strong’s 5656 – 145 occurrences), which is abad with the he suffix (see fact #54 d), indicates future servitude, as in the case of Jacob’s future service for Rachel to become his wife in Gen 29:27, to ongoing slavery of Israel in Egypt in Exodus 1:14 & 2:23 or deliverance from it Exodus 6:9, and future service in the tabernacle in Exodus 12:25, 26 & 13:5.  Included under Strong’s 5656, is abad with the taw suffix  ת that can mean ‘of’ like in Isaiah 32:17 “servitude of עבדת the (toward) righteous הצדקה”, that can also indicate second person singular ‘you’, first person singular ‘I’ with a yod תי as in Gen 29:25, second person plural with a final mem or nun (masculine and feminine respectively).

65.  The noun ed אד according to Strong’s means ‘a mist’ (Strong’s 108 – 2 occurrences), but ‘a vapor, a fume’ is more in alignment with the noun ud אוד (Strong’s 181) it is sourced from that means ‘a brand, firebrand’, from an unused root meaning ‘to rake together; a poker (for turning or gathering embers)’.

66.  The verb shaqah שקה (Strong’s 8248 – 61 occurrences) means ‘cause to drink water, give to drink’, from a primitive root meaning ‘to quaff, i.e. (causatively) to irrigate or furnish a potion to’.  In Gen 19: 32 to 35 and Habakkuk 2:15 shaqah is used in reference to getting someone drunk to corrupt them, harkening to Babylon the great drunk with the blood of the saints and the witnesses of Yahshua in Rev. 17: 5 & 6, and all the nations drank the wine of the passion of her immorality in Rev. 18:3.

67.  the verb yatsar יצר (Strong’s 3335 – 63 occurrences) means ‘to form, fashion’, identical to yatsar יצר (Strong’s 3334 – 10 occurrences) that means ‘be distressed, be narrow, be straitened in straits, be vexed’, the same as the verb tsarar צרר  (Strong’s 6887 – 52 occurrences) that means ‘adversary, to bind, tie up, be restricted’.

68.  The noun aphar עפר (Strong’s 6083 – 110 occurrences) means ‘dry earth, dust’, but also “ashes, rubbish’, from the verb aphar עפר (Strong’s 6080 – 1 occurrence) that means ‘to throw dust’.

69. The verb naphach נפח (Strong’s 5301 – 12 occurrences) meaning ‘to breathe, blow, give up, cause to lose life, seething, snuff’, from a primitive root meaning literally ‘to inflate, blow hard, scatter, kindle, expire’ or figuratively ‘to disesteem’.  In order to avoid confusing naphach with neshamah נשמה (Strong’s 5397 – 23 occurrences) that means a persons ‘breath, soul, spirit’, and ruach רוח (Strong’s 7307 – 377 occurrences) the means Yahweh’s ‘breath, wind, spirit’, naphach is best translated as ‘blow’ and allow the context to tell us if it is in anger or not.

70.  The noun aph אף (Strong’s 639 – 276 occurrences) means ‘a nostril, nose, face, anger’, most often translated as ‘anger/angry’ – 212 our of 276 occurrences, from the verb anaph אנף (Strong’s 599 – 14 occurrences) that means ‘to be angry’, from a primitive root meaning ‘to breathe hard’ i.e. ‘be enraged – be angry (displeased)’.

71.  The verb nata נטע (Strong’s 5193 – 58 occurrences) means ‘to plant’ literally, or figuratively in the sense of establishing a people.

72.  The noun gan גן (Strong’s 1588 – 42 occurreces) meaning ‘an enclosure, garden’, from the verb ganan גנו (Strong’s 1598 – 8 occurrences) meaning ‘to cover, surround, defend’ used of God defending his people.

73.  The noun eden עדן (Strong’s 5731 – 16 occurrences) the same as the noun eden (Strong’s 5730 – 5 occurrences) that means ‘a luxury, dainty, delight’, from the verb adan (Strong’s 5727 – 1 occurrence).

74.  The noun qedem קדם (Strong’s 6924 – 87 occurrences) means ‘front, east, formerly’, in relation to time ‘a-fore-time, ancient time, before, side eternal, everlasting, forward’, the same as qadam קדם (Strong’s 6923 – 26 occurrences) that means ‘to come or be in front, meet’, also ‘flee before, disappoint, prevent’, from a primitive root that means ‘to project (ones self), i.e. precede, hence to anticipate, hasten, meet (for help)’. 

75.  The verb sum/sim שים (Strong’s 7760 – 583 occurrences) meaning ‘to put, place, set’, also ‘appoint, bring, call a name, care, cast in, change, charge’.  In Gen 2:8 & 4:15 the form of sum/sim וישם is possibly the adverb sham (see fact #76) with a yod י prefix, indicating the imperfect tense (future), jussive (3^rd person command), expressing a desire that something should happen.  In modern Hebrew ישם means ‘to implement, to be implemented’.

76.  The adverb sham שם (Strong’s 8033 – 833 occurrences) meaning ‘there, thither’, but frequently translated as ‘where’, from a primitive particle meaning ‘there (transferring to time)’. 

77.  The conjunction asher אשר (Strong’s 834 – 5502 occurrences) means ‘who, which, that, what’ or ‘after, alike, as soon as, because, every, for, for-as-much, from whence (where)’.

78.  The verb chamad חמד (Strong’s 2530 – 28 occurrences) means ‘to desire, lust, take pleasure in’, translated in Exodus 20:17, 34:24 and Deut 5:21 & 7:25 as ‘covet’. 

79.  The noun mareh אדמה (Strong’s 4758 – 104 occurrences) means ‘sight, appearance, vision’.  The he suffix supports movement toward (see fact #54 d) in Gen 12:11, 24:16, 26:7 where it is translated as ‘to look upon’, from the verb  raah ראה (Strong’s 7200 – 1306 occurrences) that means ‘to see’.  Raah is found in the form וירא in Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31 translated as ‘and saw’, in Gen 22:13 & 24:63 is translated as ‘and looked’, but the context would support ‘and saw’, and in Gen 26:2 & 24 as ‘appeared’, but these verses appear to be an interpolation as Yahweh could not have ‘appeared’ to Isaac because ‘no one has seen God at any time’ John 1:18 & 1 John 4:12.

80.  The preposition min מן (Strong’s 4480 – 1223 occurrences) means ‘from’,  but is translated often as ‘than, because, before, above, outside, too, etc.’, as it describes movement ‘from or out of in many senses’.   Found in the form ממנו in Gen. 2:17, 3:3, 5, 11, 17 & 22 that means ‘from him’.  The same as the noun men  (Strong’s 4482 – 2 occurrences) that means ‘string’, from an unused root meaning ‘to apportion; a part; hence a musical chord (as parted into strings)’, unlikely given the lack of evidence to support this alternate meaning.

81.  The noun maakal מאכל (Strong’s 3978 – 29 occurrences) means ‘food’, from the verb akal אכל (Strong’s 398 – 810 occurrences) that means ‘to eat’ literally or to ‘burn up, consume, devour’ figuratively. 

82.  The noun/adjective ra’ רע (Strong’s 7451 – 667 occurrences) means ‘bad, evil, adversity, affliction, calamity, displeasure, distress’, from the verb ra’a’ רעע (Strong’s 7489 – 98 occurrences) that means ‘afflict’, from a primitive root that means ‘to spoil (literally by breaking into pieces); figuratively, to make (or be) good for nothing’.  Although the basic form of ra’a’ is רעע  it never occurs in this form, only with one ayin ע with various prefixes and/or suffixes, thus is the same as ra’.

83.  The noun daath דעת (Strong’s 1847 – 95 occurrences) means ‘cunning, ignorantly, knowledge’, from the verb yada ידע (Strong’s 3045 –  occurrences) that means ‘ acknowledge, acquainted with, advise, answer, assuredly, be aware’, from a primitive root that means ‘to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing) used in a variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation). 

84.  Genesis 4: 17 to 24 contain a record of Cain’s genealogy which appear to be interpolated into the text which is describing the offspring of Adam and Eve – Cain who slew Abel resulting in his banishment from the presence of Yahweh Gen 4: 1 to 16, and Seth who God provided as a replacement in place of Abel Gen 4: 25 & 26.  Cain is never mentioned again in scripture other than in respect of him murdering his brother in Hebrews 11:4, 1 John 3:12 & Jude 1:11 because his actions and offspring after his banishment are meaningless.  The names of his descendants appear to be stolen from Jared’s, Jared fathered Enoch, Enoch fathered Methuselah, and Methuselah fathered Lamech in Gen 5: 18 to 26.  That Lamech also murdered a man in Gen 4:23 tarnishes the reputation of the Lamech who fathered Noah in Yahshua’s lineage in Luke 3:36.  For these reasons I reject this text as inspired of God.

85.  Joel 3:1 to 3 is a prophecy for the ‘day of the Lord’, as indicated by the phrase “in that day” and/or “at that time” found in Joel 3:1.  That the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem would be restored at that time Joel 3:1, contradicts other ‘day of the Lord’ prophecies which reveal it to be the beginning of judgment when God took vengeance against the enemy (sin) and the ancient ruins of Zion began being rebuilt Isaiah 61: 1 to 4. 

That God gathers ‘the nations’ הגוים (goy Strong’s 1471) for judgment Joel 3:2, contradicts the warning in Joel 1, to all the inhabitants of Israel v2 of a day when a mighty nation would invade their land, with teeth of a lion v6, cutting off the grain and drink offerings of the priests and ministers of Yahweh v9, causing them to wail v13, a destruction from the Almighty v15.  The prophecy continues into Joel 2 about the testing by fire that would consume those who fail to return to Yahweh, when the bridegroom (the Messiah) and bride (righteous Israel) come out of their rooms, and the sons of Zion will rejoice with Yahweh being in their midst (in Zion as stated in Isaiah 61:4).

That the nations scatter Yahweh’s people and divide up Yahweh’s land in Joel 3:2, contradicts that Yahweh scatters them when they go astray Ezek 34:6, Yahweh brings a sword on Israel, destroying their high places, leaving their altars desolate, slaying them in front of their idols, which are broken, and the remnant scattered among the nations to remember how Yahweh was hurt by their adulterous hearts that turned away, and as warned Yahweh inflicted disaster on them Ezek 6: 1 to 14. 

John Barton, in his book Joel and Obadiah: A Commentary, states of Joel, “On one interpolation there is wide agreement: 3: 4 to 8.  This passage is usually thought to be in prose and may represent, as Muller puts it, an attempt to “Anchor” the massive vagueness of 2:28 – 3:21 in some specific historical events.” p 12.  Barton is critical of the text after Joel 2:27, agreeing with Merx who described them “as a muddle without consistency or clarity”, when “the rot sets in, at precisely the point where we have the telltale formula ‘then afterward’, indicating here as elsewhere in the Old Testament that new material has been added to an old collection” p 13.  This would explain why Joel 3:3 is strangely disconnected from the surrounding text, as if it was added solely to present yeled and yaladah as meaning boys and girls respectively. 

86.  There are numerous Zadokite interpolations in the Hebrew Bible which have a different message than inspired text.  In these interpolations, mankind continues their fleshly existence, the priesthood and sacrifices continue in a physical temple, things which no longer exist in the heavenly Zion.  These interpolations are easily spotted when we understand God’s salvation plan and question all text that is not in alignment. 

One example is found in Ezekiel 40 to 48, which speaks of a massive temple where the sons of Zadok and Levi minister to Yahweh Ezek 40:46, and sacrifices, sin offerings to make atonement, continue in this physical temple Ezek 43: 18 to 27.  These elements contradict that God and the Messiah are the temple in the heavenly Jerusalem Rev 21:22, all who receive the inheritance of eternal life are priests of God Rev 1:6, and sinners are destroyed in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone before the holy city comes down out of heaven and fills the earth Rev 21:1 to 10.  The author uses language similar to the inspired text of Ezekiel, the ‘visions of God’ on a ‘very high mountain’, and ‘son of man’ Ezek 40: 2 to 4, perhaps to mislead or perhaps they believed God was inspiring them to write.

Another example is found in Zech 8: 1 to 8, which has Yahweh promising to “return to Zion and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem” and “old men and women will again sit in the streets”, contradicts that the righteous inheriting eternal life in Zion which comes down from above to fill the earth and Yahweh dwells among them Rev 20 & 21. In the article ‘Zechariah 8 As Revision and Digest of Zechariah 1-7’ by Elie Assis who states the presently accepted approach is that 8:18 – 19 is the prophet’s answer to his question in 7: 1-3, and there are three different theories about the verses in between, one being it was introduced by a redactor, and another is simply that the material in between is not connected. 

87.  The Book of Jubilees, also known as The Little Genesis, is a rewriting of the history of Israel from creation until the Law was given to Moses at Mount Sinai.  There is strong evidence that the narrative in Jubilee 30: 1 to 26 that portrays Simeon and Levi’s revenge in a positive light, is the source drawn upon by the author of Genesis 34.  Some scholars accept the authors message that strife with Israel meant death to its neighbors, failing to consider that the narrative in Gen 34 which has two of Jacobs sons killing the perpetrator, his father and every male in the city, then looting it in Gen 34: 25 & 27, is a breach of God’s commandment to love your neighbor (see fact #88) as yourself in Lev 19:18, and they fail to see all the contradictions that come with it.

Claus Westermann, author of Genesis 1 – 11, attributes the content of Genesis 34 to an independent author.  He sees  Genesis 35:5 as an interpolation “which originally followed 34:29 and concluded chapter 34, is to integrate his conclusion more closely with the preceding narrative” p. 244. He sees Genesis 49: 5 – 7 as “a secondary composition.  Simeon and Levi had to be included because they were part of the twelve.  They are probably called ‘brothers’ only because they cooperated in the escapade of verse 6b.  They are accused of an act of violence; the form of the accusation recalls the accusations of the prophets.  The motivation for the charge is stated in verse 6b.  Here, as in verse 4, the author is borrowing from tradition; it is generally accepted that the reference is to the surprise attack on Shechem in Chapter 34.  But a variant of the account must be involved, because 34:30 and 35:5 look upon the brothers’ action in avenging their sister as an honorable deed.” P 328. 

Daughters are not mentioned in the Hebrew Bible except those who marry an important male figure, but Dinah is mentioned only in this account, and Gen 30:21 & 46:15 to lend credibility to the account.  That the name Dinah דינה (Strong’s 1783 8 occurrences) is the same as the noun din (Strong’s 1780 5 occurrences) that means ‘judgment’ which is found with the he suffix in 4 out of 5 occurrences (1 in Ezra 7:26, and 3 in Daniel 7:10, 22, & 26), and judgment being the theme of the account in Jubilees 30 is no coincidence.  Dinah is called a ‘young woman’ (נער naarah Strong’s 5291) in Gen 34:3, then a ‘girl’ in verse 4, likely because the Book of Jubilees 30:2 says “she was a little girl, a child of twelve years”, evidence that Jubilees is the source of the Genesis 34 account. 

Mentions of Shechem, son of Hamor, outside of Genesis 34 insert information that contradicts other text.  The claim that Jacob bought a piece of land from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for one hundred pieces of money in Gen 33:19, which is where Joseph was buried Joshua 24:32, is contradicted in Act 7:15 & 16 it states Jacob and ‘our fathers’ (Stephen speaking) died and were removed to Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham purchased a tomb for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor in Shechem (“sons of Emmor the father of Shechem” in the King James,  and in Gen 49:29 & 30, & 50:13 Jacob was buried in the cave at Machpeleh which Abraham had purchased from Ephron the Hittite, as described in Gen 23:8 to 17. 

In the census Moses took of Israel, in the tribe of Joseph, of Manasseh, of Gilead there is a son named Shechem of the family of the Shechemites Numbers 26: 1 to 4, & 28 to 31.  The territory named Shechem in Joshua 17:7, 20:7, 21:21 and 24:1, 25, & 32, Judges 8:31, 9:1 to 25 & 46 to 57 is likely referring to Shechem, son of Gilead who received part of his great grandfather Joseph’s land inheritance.  Shechem son of Gilead is different then Shechem son of Hamor in Judges 9:28, but Gaal is only mentioned in Judges 9:26 to 41 which is thought to be from a different source then the rest of chapter 9. 

88.  The noun rea רע (Strong’s 7453 186 occurrences) means ‘friend, companion, fellow, another’ from the verb ra’ah רעה (Strong’s 7462 164 occurrences) that means ‘companion, keep company with’ from a primitive root that means ‘to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it’.  The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon states that ‘friend, intimate’ is the primary meaning, or in a weaker sense ‘fellow, fellow-citizen, even another person’, which contradicts Yahshua’s definition of who a neighbor is in in his story of the  ‘good Samaritan’ in Luke 10: 29 to 37, where he commands us to show mercy to all our neighbors, who are everyone we meet regardless of nation, tribe, tongue.

Constructing The Sentences

Let’s construct the sentences:

Gen 2:4  The subject is ‘genealogies the heavens and the earth’, with compound verbs ‘in the creation’ and ‘in day made’, and the object ‘Yahweh Gods earth and heavens.

Gen 2:5  The first sentence has compound subjects ‘in earth shrub the field’ and ‘all herb the field branched out’, with compound verbs ‘before become’ and ‘before branched out’, and the compound objects  which are independent sentences – the first with the subject ‘Yahweh Gods’, verb ‘not the rain’, and object ‘on the earth’, – the second with the subject ‘man’, verb ‘not to serve’, and object ‘the ground’.

Gen 2:6  The subject ‘vapor’, verb ‘ascended’, and object ‘from the earth’, and the verb ‘irrigate’, and object ‘all face the ground’. 

Gen 2:7  The subject ‘Yahweh Gods’, verb ‘molded’, and object ‘man dry earth of the ground’, and the verb ‘snuffed in anger’, and object ‘breath of life’, and the verb ‘become’, and object ‘the man soul living’.

Gen 2:8  The subject ‘Yahweh Gods’, verb ‘planted’, and object ‘a garden in Eden in the east’, and the verb ‘put’, and object ‘the man whom formed’. 

Gen 2:9  The subject ‘Yahweh Gods’, verb ‘grow’, and object ‘out of the ground every tree we will desire to see and good to consume’, subject ‘tree’, verb ‘life’, and object ‘in midst the garden’, and verb ‘awareness’, and objects ‘good and evil’.

Literal and Figurative Translation

The paragraph translates as follows:

These genealogies the heavens and the earth in the creation in day made Yahweh Gods earth and heavens.  And all shrub the field before become in the earth and all herb the field before it branched out because not they rain Yahweh Gods on the earth and man not to serve the ground.  And vapor ascended from the earth and irrigate all face the ground. And molded Yahweh Gods the man dry earth of the ground and snuffed in anger the breath of life and became the man soul living.  And planted Yahweh Gods a garden in Eden in east and put there the man whom formed.  And grow Yahweh Gods from the ground every tree we will desire to see, and good to consume ,and tree of life in midst the garden and tree the awareness of desire and evil.

Analysis

Instead of Gods אלהים as found in Genesis 1, in Genesis 2 to 4 we find Yahweh יהוה Gods אלהים, evidence of different authorship, and the passage of time after the prophesies of Genesis 1 were given. 

The ‘genealogies’ (toledoth see fact #57) of the heavens and the earth Gen 2:4, indicates the beginning of mortality, the tracking of time and familial relationships for the purpose of inheritance, power and status.   

When we study Genesis 2: 5 to 8 in English, we see the literal meaning, a one dimensional view that sounds benign.  Only when we take a close look at the Hebrew text, can we see that the figurative meaning describes the fall of mankind:

• In Gen 2:5, before any shrub (musing, uttering, complaining – see fact #59) or tender shoots of the field (toward ruin – see fact #60) had branched out (see fact #61), because Yahweh Gods had not rained (God’s judgment – see fact #63) on the earth, and adam not in servitude (caused by desire for material possessions – see fact #64) to the ground (Adam was named after – see fact #35).
• In Gen 2:6, a vapour (from fire not water – see fact #65) ascended from the earth and irrigate (cause to drink/quaff/furnish a potion to – see fact #66), all the face of the ground. 
• In Gen 2:7, formed (tied up/restricted – see fact #67) Yahweh Gods man dust (ashes/rubbish – see fact #68) of the ground and snuffed (caused to lose life – see fact #69) in anger (see fact #70) breath life and became the man a soul living.
• In Gen 2:8, planted (establish a people – see fact #71) Yahweh Gods a garden (enclosure that God defends – see fact #72) in Eden (luxury – see fact #73) in the east (a fore time – see fact #74) and put (appointed – see fact #75) the man whom formed (tied up/restricted – see fact #67). 

The trees God sprouted from the ground in Gen 2:9, the tree of life and the tree of awareness of good and evil, represent following the Messiah or Satan, the mutually exclusive choices before all humanity from that day forward.  The Messiah is the true vine and Yahweh is the vine dresser, and every branch in him that does not bear fruit, God takes away and every branch that bears fruit, God prunes so it may bear more fruit John 15: 1 & 2.  To be a branch of the Messiah requires that we abide in him, keep his commandments, just as he kept Yahweh’s commandments John 15: 4 to 10.  The two commandments we must keep are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and love our neighbor (see fact #88) as our self Mark 12: 30 & 31. 

Next we will look at Genesis 2: 10 to 14.

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 3^rd person (he/she/it) but may be 2^nd 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 77^th 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.

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.

Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents

The text of Genesis 1: 20 to 23 appears as follows:

Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation

Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 1: 20 to 23 from tanakh.info:

Facts About Hebrew

We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:

24.  The Hebrew adjective/noun chay  חי (Strong’s 2416 – 503 occurrences & 2417) means ‘alive, living’ forms part of the verbs chaya  חיי (Strong’s 2418) and chayah חיה (Strong’s 2421) translated as ‘live(d)’.  In Gen 1:24, 25, & 30, chayah חיה (Strong’s 2421 – 263 occurrences) are assigned Strong’s 2416, and translated as ‘beast’.  In Gen 1: 20, 21, 24, 30, 2:7 & 19 the adjective/noun chay (Strong’s 2416) is found in conjunction with the Hebrew noun nephesh  (Strong’s 5315) means ‘a soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion’, and translated as ‘living creature’ until Gen 2:7 where they are translated ‘living being’ in reference to ‘adam’, then back to ‘living creature’, of the animals the man named in Gen 2:19.  This is an example of translator bias, where English words are chosen, not based on literal meaning, but to align with theology, which is the reason we can’t understand the meaning of scripture from English translations.

25.  The Hebrew tannin תנינם (Strong’s 8577) by definition means ‘serpent, dragon, sea monster’.  Only the NASB, Tanakh, and Jubilee Bibles translated tannin appropriately as ‘monster’ or ‘dragon’ in Gen 1:21.  Other Bible’s translate it as ‘creatures’ and the King James Bible as ‘whales’ which is incorrect.  Outside the Genesis creation account, tannin is never translated as ‘creatures/whales’, only as ‘serpent, dragon or monster’, evidencing this to be a mistranslation.

26.  The Hebrew adjective gadol  גדול (Strong’s 1419) most often translated as ‘great’, is from the verb/adjective gadal גדל (Strong’s 1431 & 1432) that means ‘to grow/growing up, become/becoming great’, the noun godel גדל (Strong’s 1433) that means ‘greatness’.  

The word ‘great’ conveys a positive sense, as an adjective it means more of something than average, and as a noun in it is used in reference to a distinguished person, but in scripture, ‘great’ isn’t always positive.  Gadal is used positively in relation to the ‘great’ things Yahweh will do in Joel 2:21, and the Messiah, the ruler in Israel whose ‘greatness’ will reach to the ends of the earth Micah 5:4.  It is used in a negative context of the ‘great’ things Satan’s northern forces do in Joel 2:20, of boasting Obadiah 1:12, arrogance Zeph 2: 8 & 10, magnifying ones self above another Dan 8: 4 to &  Zech 12:7, or ‘great’ mourning in Zech 12:11.

We must look at the context to determine whether ‘great’ is meant in a positive or negative sense. 

27.  The Hebrew noun sherets שרץ (Strong’s 8318), is the same as the verb sharats (Strong’s 8317) except for the vowel points, meaning ‘an active mass’ or ‘swarming/teeming’ respectively.  Although sherets/sharats occurs twice in Gen 1:20, most Bible versions translate it once as ‘teem’,  ‘swarm’, ‘abundantly’, or ‘be filled/full’, except the ESV where it is translated as ‘swarm with swarms’, and NASB as ‘teem with swarms’.  The duplication emphasizes the volume of monsters in sea in comparison to the birds in the heavens, an important part of the account that should not be omitted.

28.  The Hebrew verb barak ברך (Strong’s 1288 – 330 occurrences) and berak (Strong’s 1289 – 5 occurrences in Daniel) mean ‘to kneel, bless’, and are most often translated as ‘bless(ed)(es)’.  The masculine noun berek ברך (Strong’s 1290 – 25 occurrences), and feminine berak, (Strong’s 1291 – 1 occurrence in Dan 6:10) which are the same except for the vowel points, both mean ‘knee’, and they are the same as barak and berak except for the vowel points. 

Translating barak as ‘bless’ makes it appear the object to which it refers is favored by God, when that is not the case.  For example, in Gen 1:22 the verb barak is specific to the monsters and birds generating offspring, not an indication that they have God’s favor.  Similarly in Gen 1:28, the verb barak is specific to man being fruitful and multiplying and filling the earth and subduing it and having dominion over every living thing that moves upon the earth.  In Gen 2:3, the verb barak is specific to the seventh day being set apart.  A more fitting translation would be ‘authorize, consent, allow, sanction, grant, enable, entitle’ which is what seems to be meant by God ‘kneeling’.

Constructing The Sentences

Let’s construct the sentences – subject, verb, object:

Gen 1:20 has a major clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, and within the object are two subordinate clauses, first – the verb ‘teem’, and object ‘the waters with an abundance of souls living’, and second – the verb ‘fly’, and object ‘birds above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens’.

Gen 1:21 has a major clause, the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘create’, there are three  et את that indicate they are direct objects of the verb ‘create’; ‘monsters great’, ‘every soul living that moves which swarmed the waters according to kind’, and ‘every bird winged  according to kind’.  Then a major clause, with the subject  ‘gods’, the verb ‘saw’, and the object ‘good’.

Gen 1:22 has a major clause, the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘sanction’, there is plural  et אתם (indicated by the prefix ם) indicating two direct objects of the verb ‘sanction’; the first for the monsters (although this isn’t stated directly it is clear from the context that only the monsters fill the seas and the birds multiply on earth) to ‘be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas’ and the second for the birds to ‘multiply on earth’.  In the first direct object there is an et את indicating ‘the waters in the seas’ is a direct object of the verb ‘fill’.

Gen 1:23 has a major clause with the subject the ‘fifth 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 “let swarm the waters with an abundance of souls living and birds let fly above the earth across the face firmament the sky”.  And created gods monsters great and every living soul that moves swarmed the waters to kind and every bird winged to kind and saw gods that good.  And sanction gods saying “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas and birds let multiply in earth”.  And be evening and be morning fifth day.

Analysis

The ‘great monsters/dragons’ and ‘birds’ are opposites, and like the greater and lesser lights God created in separate spaces in Gen 1: 14 to 19, they are separated as a result of monsters being created for the ‘waters’ and birds for the ‘earth’ respectively in Gen 1:21 & 22.  Just as the separation of the greater and lesser lights on the second day was declared ‘good’, meaning acceptable for the time being, the separation of the monsters and birds on the fifth day is declared good in Gen 1:21.

The active mass of monsters or dragons living in the water, represent  monstrous leaders and king’s of the nations under Satan’s influence. In Ezek 29:3 Pharaoh is called a “monster great crouching in the midst river”, similarly in Ezek 32:2 God says Pharaoh is “like a monster in the seas”, and in Isaiah 13:22 & 34:13 there are monsters in their palaces/temples.  God destroys Jerusalem, Judah, Hazor (the greatest city in the land of Israel in the late Canaanite period, “the head of all those kingdoms” Joshua 11:10, which today is Tel Hazor), and Babylon, leaving them desolate, a place where only monsters live Jer 9:11, 10:22, 49:33, & 51:37. God destroys the mighty ones like Pharaoh by the sword of other mighty ones, desolating them, bringing them down to the pit, to Sheol where the strong and mighty ones slain by the sword end up Ezek 32: 11 to 32. 

Birds flying in the heavens represent Israel, however “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” Romans 9:6.  The nation of Israel became Babylon the great, glorified itself and lived sensuously, and was burned up with fire Rev 18:2, 7 & 8.  Which is what Paul meant when he quoted Isaiah “though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that will be saved” in Romans 9:27.  Righteous Israel (Israel of God) are represented as doves that God settles in their houses in Hosea 11:11 & Isaiah 60:8.

God had a plan from the beginning, ancient times, that was brought to pass Isaiah 37:26, established an ancient nation and let them declare the things that are coming, events that are going to take place Isaiah 44:7, declared the end from the beginning Isaiah 46:10, the purpose of rebuilding the ancient ruins Isaiah 58:12, on the favorable year of Yahweh Isaiah 61: 1 to 4, which Yahshua stated was fulfilled in Luke 4: 16 to 21.

In order to rebuild the ancient ruins, “God, intending to show wrath and make power known, bore with great patience the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction” Romans 9:22.  Throughout time, God uses the nations to refine and test Israel, that those who call on God’s name, God will answer and say “they are my people” and they will say “Yahweh is my god” Zech 13:9.   When judgment takes place, mighty ones like Pharaoh are given for food to the beasts of the earth and the birds of the heavens Ezek 29: 5, and birds that fly in mid-heaven are called to the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings, commanders and mighty men and their horses in Rev 19: 17 & 18.

In my next article, I will look at Genesis 1: 24 to 31.

Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents

The text of Genesis 1: 14 to 19 appears as follows:

Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation

Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 1:14 to 19 from tanakh.info:

Facts About Hebrew

We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:

21.          In fact #5, we looked at et את which according to Strong’s and NAS Exhaustive Concordances is not translatable, and up until Gen 1:16 hasn’t been.  In Gen 1:16 there are four occurrences of et את , and the 4^th is translated as “He also made” in NIV and NLT, “He made” in Berean Study Bible, “He made” in NASB and KJB, and is not translated in the Tanakh (see above), ESV, ISV and Christian Standard Bible.

We discussed that in Brown Driver Briggs it states that et is “the mark of the accusative, prefixed as a rule only to nouns that are definite”, which in this verse indicates that “two lights great”,  “the light greater”, “the light lesser”, and “the stars” are direct objects of the verb “made”. 

This is the first instance where the plural gods elohim אלהים is made to appear singular and masculine (male), a false image that permeates organized religion today.

22.          As we discussed in fact #10, Hebrew verb or אור (Strong’s 215) translated as ‘to give light/shine’  in Gen 1:15 is the same word as the noun or (Strong’s 216) translated as ‘light’ in Gen 1: 3 to 5, except for the vowel points.  There is another noun,  or with the prefix mem מ, maor מאור (Strong’s 3974) which means ‘a luminary’, and is translated as ‘lights’ in Gen 1:14 to 16.  In Gen 1:15, maor is preceded by the preposition ל that means ‘to, for’ (fact #15), translated as ‘for’ which makes it function as a noun, ‘for light’, but if translated as ‘to’ would function as a verb, ‘to light’.  This is something to keep in mind as we construct sentences – subject, verb, object, whether or not this methodology captures the meaning of the text, and if not, what the alternatives are.

23.          The Hebrew noun oth translated as ‘sign’ אות (Strong’s 226) and the noun moed מועד (Strong’s 4150) translated as ‘seasons’ in Gen 1:14, fail to capture the full meaning of this verse.  The noun oth more specifically means ‘pledge, oath’, being the same as the verb uth, that means ‘to consent, agree’, except for the vowel points which were added by scribes.  The noun moed is from the verb  יעד meaning ‘to appoint’, and most often translated as ‘appointed time/meeting’.  In the broadest sense, the message of Gen 1:14 is that  the heavenly luminaries allow mankind to track time, to know when the time for fulfillment of God’s ‘pledge, oath’ has arrived.

Constructing The Sentences

Let’s construct the sentences – subject, verb, object:

Gen 1:14 has a major clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, and within the object are three subordinate clauses, first – the verb ‘be’, and object ‘light in the firmament of the heavens’, second – the verb ‘to divide’, and object ‘between the day and between the night’, third – the verb ‘be’, and object ‘for pledge and for appointed time, and for days and years’.

Gen 1:15 has a major clause, the subject ‘lights in the firmament of the heavens’, the verb ‘be’, and the object contains a subordinate clause, the verb ‘to light’, and the object ‘upon the earth’.  The sentence ends with a subordinate clause the subject is the major clause, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘so’.

Gen 1:16 has a major clause, the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘made’, and the object ‘two the light the great’, and two subordinate clauses – the first with the subject ‘the light greater’, verb ‘to rule’, and object ‘the day’, and the second with the subject ‘the light lesser’, verb ‘to rule’, and object ‘the night and the stars’.

Gen 1:17 has a major clause, the subject ‘gods’, the verb ‘set’, and object ‘them in the firmament of the heavens’, and three subordinate clauses, the first with the verb ‘to light’, and object ‘upon the earth’.

Gen 1:18 the second with the verb ‘to rule’, and object ‘over night’, the third with the verb ‘to divide’, and object ‘between the light and between the darkness’.  Then a major clause, with the subject  ‘gods’, the verb ‘saw’, and the object ‘good’.

Gen 1:19 has a major clause with the subject the ‘fourth 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 “Be light in the expanse the heavens to divide between the day and between the night and be for pledge and for appointed time and days and years.  And be for lights in firmament the heavens to shine upon the earth and it was so.  And made gods two lights great, the light greater to rule the day and the light lesser to rule the night and the stars.  And set them gods in firmament the heavens to shine upon the earth, and to rule over day and over night and to divide between the light and between the darkness and saw gods that good.  And be evening and be morning day fourth.

Analysis

Tradition would have us believe that creation was perfect ‘in the beginning’, until ‘the fall’ in the garden of Eden in Gen 3, but we know from our study that it was not.  Throughout Genesis 1, God was creating separation between the wicked and righteous, and declaring the separation ‘good’.  In Gen 1:14, God made heavenly luminaries to divide between the day and night, and for tracking time, which is only necessary when life is finite.  The lights illumine the earth Gen 1:15 until all righteous mankind are reunited with God through the Messiah and all evil destroyed, along with death itself, at the final judgment Rev 20:11 to 15 & 21:23 to 25.

God, who knows all things, was preparing for the fall of mankind, and had already planned for their future salvation through the Messiah, which is the ‘pledge for the appointed time’, not ‘seasons’ as translators would have us believe.  Daniel’s 77’s prophecy points to the generation in which the Messiah was born as the decreed time the Messiah would come and rebuild Jerusalem Daniel 9: 24 to 27, which is the heavenly Jerusalem, not the earthly one.  The 77 generations are listed in Luke 3: 23 to 38, from Adam to Yahshua.  Yahshua warned that the ‘appointed time’, the ‘tribulation’, the ‘day of the LORD’ would take place in that ‘generation’ Matthew 24: 1 to 44,  Mark 13: 23 to 33, and Luke 21: 10 to 36. 

The ‘greater light to rule the day’ is the opposite of the ‘lesser light to rule the night’ in Gen 1:16 and they are separated having been created in the ‘day’ and ‘night’ respectively, which were separated on the first day Gen 1: 3 to 5.  As the separation on the first day was declared ‘good’, meaning acceptable for the time being, the creation of the greater and lesser lights in their separate spaces is declared good on the fourth day in Gen 1:17.

The ‘greater light’ that rules the day is the Messiah, the light that shines in the darkness, the darkness did not comprehend John 1:4.  Satan is the ‘lesser light’, the moon, and his angels, the stars who rule over the darkness called night Gen 1:5.  Satan is the ruler of the earth John 14:30 & 16:11 until the Messiah (the archangel Michael who stands guard over God’s people Dan 12:1) wages war with the dragon and his angels, a third of the stars of heaven swept away by his tail, and throws them out of heaven Rev 12: 4, 7 & 8.

In the New Jerusalem the illumination of God and the light of the Messiah will be the only lights Rev 21:23.

In my next article, I will look at Genesis 1: 20 to 23.

Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents

The text of Genesis 1: 9 to 13 appears as follows:

Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation

Here’s the interlinear translation of Genesis 1:9 to 13 from tanakh.info:

Facts About Hebrew

We can add the following to our facts about Hebrew:

18.          The Hebrew el אל is translated as a participle ‘into’ in Gen 1:9  (Strong’s 413 which occurs 5517 times and is translated sometimes as ‘against’ in reference to positioning), but allegedly it could be a noun meaning god (Strong’s 410 235 times), or ‘not’ (Strong’s 408 725 times and Strong’s 409 4 times). The fact that the letter lamed ל which means ‘to, for’ is within the word el אל supports the Strong’s 413 definition, and this meaning makes sense in the context of Gen 1:9, makes it more probable. 

Plus, we don’t see  el אל translated as ‘god’, or ‘not’ until well into Genesis (chapters 14 & 13 respectively), and in the case of ‘god’ within known interpolations (4 times in the Melchizedek verses in Gen 14:18 to 22).  When we reach Genesis 13 & 14 in our study, we’ll need to consider whether the translation of  el אל as ‘god’ or ‘not’ is accurate, an error, or an interpolation.   

19.          The meaning of Gen 1:11 & 12 is obscured by translators word choices.  The verb עשה (Strong’s 6213) previously translated as ‘made’ in the form  יעש in Gen 1:7 “gods made the firmament”,  is translated as ‘bearing/yields’, in the form, עשה in Gen 1: 11 “the tree fruit makes according to kind”, and Gen 1:12 “and tree makes fruit whose seed to kind”.  The Hebrew verb zara זרע (Strong’s 2232) is also translated ‘yields’ but means ‘to scatter/sow’, “sprout the earth grass herb to sow seed according to its kind”.  These mistranslations blur the difference between plants which ‘sow/scatter seed’ and fruit trees which ‘make fruit’, which is critical to understanding the broader meaning of the text.

20.              In #4 we discussed the one letter word, beth, that means ‘in’.  In Gen 1:12 we find beth with the suffix waw in the Hebrew bow בו which indicates possessive ‘his, its’ and is translated as ‘in itself’.

Constructing The Sentences

Let’s construct the sentences – subject, verb, object:

Gen 1:9    has two clauses.  In the major clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, the object is what they said, ‘bind together the waters under the heavens into one place and see the dry ground’.  Within the object of the major clause are two clauses, for the first clause the subject is ‘the waters’, the verb ‘bind together’, and the object ‘under the heavens’, and a subordinate clause with the verb ‘see’ and object ‘the dry ground’.  The sentence ends with a subordinate clause the subject is the major clause, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘so’.

Gen 1:10 has three major clauses.  In the first clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘called’, the object is ‘dry ground, earth’.  In the second clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘called’ and the object ‘gathering of waters, seas’.  In the third clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘see’, and the object ‘that good’.

Gen 1:11 has one major clause and three sub-clauses.  In the major clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, the object is what they said, ‘grow the earth grass, herb sows seed, tree fruit makes fruit to kind whose seed in’.  Within the object of the major clause are three sub-clauses with the subject is ‘the earth’, for the first sub-clause the verb is ‘grow’, and the object ‘grass’, for the second, the verb ‘sows’ and object ‘seed in itself’, and the third, the verb ‘makes’ and object fruit tree fruit with a sub-clause ‘to kind whose seed in itself’.

Gen 1:12 has two major clauses, the first with two sub-clauses.  For the first major clause, the subject is ‘the earth’, the verb ‘brought forth’, and the first object  which is a sub-clause the subject ‘grass, herb’, verb ‘sows’, and object ‘seed’, with a sub-clause ‘to kind’, and the second object which is a sub-clause the subject ‘tree’, verb ‘makes’, and object ‘fruit whose seed in itself to kind’.  The second major clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘saw’, and the object ‘good’.

Gen 1:13 has one clause.  The subject is the ‘third 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 “gather together the waters under the heavens into one place and see the dry land”, and be so.  And called gods to dry land, earth, and collected the waters called seas and saw gods that good.  And said gods “sprout the earth, grass, herb, sow seed, tree fruit make fruit to kind whose seed in itself on the earth”, and be so.  And brought forth the earth grass, herb sow seed, to kind, and tree make fruit whose seed in itself to kind, and see gods that good.  And be evening and be morning third day.

Analysis

After God separated the waters above from the waters below, the earth was covered by the sea.  The Hebrew noun t’hom תהום 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.

The ‘dry land’ is ‘the wilderness’ Ezek 19:13.  The land is dry due to the absence of the living waters above, God’s spirit Isaiah 44:3, the result of Satan, king of Babylon, overthrowing the cities of the world, and not allowing his prisoners to go home Isaiah 14:4 to 22.  The wilderness is where mankind are tested, as Israel was tested after their Exodus from Egypt, and those who failed to obey God’s commandments were not permitted to enter the promised land, including Moses for not believing, treating God as holy before Israel Numbers 20:12.

Gods gathered the waters, called seas, to expose dry land, called earth, and declared this separation to be ‘good’ Gen 1:9 & 10.  The Hebrew adjective/verb tob טוב means ‘to do/make good’, not ‘excellent’ as Brown-Driver-Briggs indicates.  The separation improves on the situation, making it acceptable to God until the new heaven and earth come down out of heaven from God, the first heaven and earth will pass away, there will no longer be any sea, the tent of God will be among mankind Rev 21:1 to 3, and the earth will not be dry anymore, it’s righteous residents having access to the water of life without cost Rev 21:6 to 8.

We see the difference between the literal, physical sea and dry land during Israel’s exodus from Egypt, when God divides the sea, allowing Israel to walk on dry land Exodus 14: 16 to 29, but Pharaoh’s army sink like a stone in the sea, the depths covered them Exodus 15: 4 & 5. But ‘dry land’ is not paradise either, yet it is on the ‘dry ground’, in the wilderness, that gods create plants that sow seed/offspring and fruit trees that make fruit Gen 1: 11 & 12!

Throughout scripture, fruit trees are used as an analogy for free will, which is why the seed is ‘in itself’, because all will eat “the fruit of their actions” Isaiah 3:10.  In Yahshua’s parable of the sower, there are two different seeds, the wheat sown by God and those with God’s spirit and weeds sown by the enemy, Satan and those with the spirit of lawlessness 1 John 3:2 to 10, and both allowed to grow together until the harvest when the weeds were gathered in bundles and burned and the wheat gathered into the barn, representing the kingdom of heaven Matthew 13: 24 to 30.

In his parable of the sower, Yahshua explains that the seed is the word of the kingdom, but unless the soil is good, it fails to yield a crop Matthew 13: 1 to 8 & 18 to 23.  Yahshua was “a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit” Isaiah 11:1, and he set an example for us to follow 1 Peter 2:21.  Yahshua said “I am the true vine, and my parent is the vine dresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, God takes away and every branch that bears fruit, prunes it so that it may bear more fruit” John 15: 1 & 2. 

Again we see that the Genesis creation account is dual, both literal and figurative at the same time.  The literal ‘sea’, ‘dry land’, ‘seed’ and ‘trees’ in our physical reality represent the spiritual choices we have before us.  Bearing fruit means loving the word in deed and truth, keeping God’s commandments, doing things that are pleasing in his sight, believing in the name of his son, Yahshua the Messiah, and loving ‘one another’ (the children of God only, as we are to not associate with those who do not abide in the teaching of the Messiah 2 John 1:9 to 11) just as he commanded, then God will abide in us by the spirit whom he will give us 1 John 3: 18 to 24.  In order to know the truth and God’s commands, we must study scripture and pray for the spirit of truth to teach us John 14:26 & 16:13.  The gate is small and the way narrow that leads to life and there are few who find it Matthew 7:14.

In my next article, I will look at Genesis 1: 14 to 19.

Hebrew Without Vowels or Accents

The text of Genesis 1: 6 to 8 appears as follows:

Samaritan Targum Interlinear Translation

Now let’s look at the interlinear translation of Genesis 1:2 to 5 on tanakh.info:

Facts About Hebrew

We can add to our list of important facts about Hebrew:

14.          In Genesis 1:6 & 7 there are three occurrences of the preposition/substantive בין , translated as ‘between’ but according to Strong’s means ‘an interval, space between’.  The first occurrences of this word were in Gen 1:4, and I didn’t pick up on the full meaning so I will go back and add it to my translation.

15.          In Genesis 1:6 there is another word to add to our list of common, single letter words found in the article In The Beginning, under #4.  At the end of the sentence, the word ‘waters’ מים occurs twice, and the second occurrence is prefixed with the preposition  ל that means ‘to, for’.

16.          In Genesis 1:7 we find the conjunction אשר that according to Strong’s Concordance means ‘that, who, which’, and is mostly translated as ‘which’, or ‘who(m)’, or ‘because’.

Robert Holmstedt in his 2002 dissertation, The Relative Clause in Biblical Hebrew: A Linguistic Analysis states that the relative clause modifies the noun ‘the waters’, “distinguishing between those waters that were above and below the dividing element, the firmament” p 115.  Holmstedt translates אשר as ‘that were’ in both occurrences in Gen 1:7, emphasizing the separation aspect, supporting that the waters above are different from the waters below.  This nuance is captured in some Bible translations as ‘that were’ (ESV) or ‘which were’ (NASB, and KJB), but not all Bible translations (NIV, NLT, and Berean Study Bible).

17.          In Genesis 1:7 we find a new adjective/adverb כן (Strong’s 3651) that according to Strong’s means ‘so, thus’, but according to Brown-Driver-Briggs, as an adjective means ‘right, veritable, honest’, as an adverb means ‘so’.  It doesn’t seem to affect the meaning of this verse, whether it ends with ‘and be so’ or ‘and be right’.

Constructing The Sentences

Let’s construct the sentences – subject, verb, object, like we did for previous verses:

Gen 1:6 has two major clauses.  In the first clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘said’, the object is what they said, ‘let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and let it separation space between the waters and the waters’.    Within the object are two subclauses, the subject of both is ‘gods’ from the first clause, in the first subclause the verb is ‘be’, and the object ‘a firmament in the midst of the waters’, and the second subclause the verb is ‘and be’, and the object ‘separation space between waters for waters’.

Gen 1:7 has two major clauses.  In the first clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘made’, the et את indicates that ‘the firmament’ is a direct object of ‘gods made’.    In the second clause, the subject is ‘gods’ from the first clause, the verb ‘separate/d’, and the object ‘space between the waters that were under the firmament and the waters that were above the firmament’, emphasized by the subordinate clause ‘and be so’. 

Gen 1:8 has two major clauses.  In the first clause, the subject is ‘gods’, the verb ‘called’, the object is ‘to firmament sky’.  In the second clause, the subject is the ‘second day’, the verb ‘be’, and the object ‘evening’, and a sub clause with the verb ‘be’, and object ‘morning’.

Literal and Figurative Translation

Finally, we can translate all the sentences in this paragraph:

And say gods ‘let there be firmament in the midst of the waters and be separating space between waters to waters.  So make gods the firmament and separating space between the waters which were under to firmament and space between the waters which were above the firmament, and be so.  And call gods to firmament ‘sky’ and be evening and be morning second day.

Analysis

Looking at what has transpired so far, there is clearly a major theme of separation.  Analyzing how this unfolded, we see that, at the start, gods ‘created’ the heavens and the earth’ in Gen 1:1, and the earth became formless/waste  and void/empty, and darkness over face of deep/abyss and spirit of gods hovering over face of waters in Gen 1:2.  The cause of the earth becoming ‘formless and void’ was the change in Satan from a perfect creation to unrighteous and was cast from the mountain of God as described in Ezek 28: 12 – 16. 

Gods said ‘let there be light and be light’ Gen 1:3, and the light was separated from the darkness on day one Gen 1:4 & 5.  God’s said ‘let there be firmament in the midst of the waters be separation space between waters to waters’, and ‘made gods the firmament’, and called to firmament ‘sky’ on the second day in Gen 1: 6 – 8.  Gods making, as opposed to creating, or speaking into existence appear to reflect a change to the creation due to corruption, hence the separation space between the waters above and below.

The figurative meaning of ‘waters’ in Genesis is similar to Revelation, where waters from God (those above) are said to be the source of life Rev 7:17 & 21:2, and those on the earth are ‘peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues’ Rev 17:15.  The ‘deep/abyss’ can also mean ‘sea’, a large body of water, representing Satan and his angels, who are also separated from God by the firmament.  The ‘deep’ causes trees to grow lofty, its roots extend to many waters, and its heart haughty in its loftiness, as Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon, which appears to be referring to Adam, who is outside God’s garden Ezekiel 31: 1 to 10.   

 In my next article, I will look at Genesis 1: 9 to 13.

Interpolations (meaning “the insertion of something of a different nature into something else”) play a major part in redaction (meaning edit, censor or obscure) of the inspired word of God. Other forms of redaction include translation into languages other than the original Hebrew and Greek, mistranslation of key words and phrases, and improper chapter division.  Identifying redaction requires a firm understanding of the message of all Bible text in the original Hebrew and Greek, and a comparison to highlight that which has a different message.

A prime example of the opposing messages found in the Bible is in the difference between the traditional teaching about Adam and Eve and Paul’s teaching.  As Jerome Murphy-O’Connor said in his article Interpolations in 1 Corinthians, it was Paul’s opinion that “Adam was the transgressor par excellence (Rom 5: 12-21, 1 Cor 15:21-22, 45-49); and Eve was the prototype of the entire Corinthian community and not merely of the feminine element (2 Cor 11:3)”.  This truth is obscured by interpolations in 1 Cor 14: 34-35 and the Pastoral Epistles in their entirety, tradition which continues to teach that Eve was the cause of the fall, and redaction of the Genesis creation account, all working in concert to support this lie.

This example reveals the intricacy with which tradition changed the word of God into a lie Jeremiah 8:8.    Traditionalists would have us hold their words in the same esteem as the words of God, but in many cases they contradict them, polluting God’s words with theirs, making it impossible to distinguish between their lies and the truth without a comprehensive analysis.  This leads many to question their faith in God or put their faith in the church and its traditions hoping to find salvation which is only found through the Messiah Gal 2:16.

If I had to guess, I’d estimate that at least half the text of the Bible is not inspired by God.  The problem is so pervasive, we need to divide the Bible in sections to test one at a time.  Testing includes researching source and text criticism.  From the example above we see that not all sources are inspired, and some that are have sections added to deceive us.  When we find text we believe is inspired, and that which is closest to the original, we need to test its translation.

With this in mind, let’s begin testing Genesis.

One of the most important and most difficult decisions we must make is whether or not we believe “all scripture is inspired” as stated in 2 Tim 3:16.  As I stated in my article on Katharine Bushnell, there are two opposing schools of thought on this.  Some, like Katharine Bushnell, believe that “all scripture is inspired” and some, like Ray Munson, believe there are interpolations that need to be weeded out. 

According to Dr. Felix Just, 80% of scholars believe  the Pastoral Epistles and Ephesians  were not authored by Paul and “most likely written late in the first century by some member(s) of the ‘Pauline School’ who wanted to adapt his teachings to changing circumstances”.  Although he admits these writings are pseudepigraphic which means “false attribution of authorship”, works composed “as if it were written by a person from the past (the ‘attributed author), while the actual author was someone else (usually anonymous)”, he states that “these writings should not be called false writings”.  In his opinion, “judging a particular letter to be pseudepigraphic does not mean that it is any less valuable than the other letters, but only that it was written later by someone other than Paul” http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Paul-Disputed.htm .   

Jerome Murphy-O’Connor, a leading authority on Paul and Professor of the New Testament, in an article titled Interpolations in 1 Corinthians, states “apart from the manifest contradictions, the principal reason for denying Pauline authorship of 14:34-35 is the invocation of the authority of the Law, as Paul never appeals to the Law in this manner”.  He points out that “vv34-35 are parallel to 1 Tim 2:11-15, not only in content but vocabulary” and opinions that 1 Tim 2:14 “is definitely un-Pauline in its attitude toward Adam and Eve: Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became the transgressor (v14).  For Paul, on the contrary, Adam was the transgressor par excellence (Rom 5:12-21, 1 Cor 15: 21-22, 45-49); and Eve was the prototype of the entire Corinthian community and not merely a feminine element (2 Cor 11:3).  The possibility that 1 Tim 2:11-15 is a return to a position once repudiated by Paul is discounted by what has been said concerning v36.”  In other words, he sees the contradictions as justification for disregarding their message.

I highly recommend going through the four part analysis on Cognitive Discopants titled Did Paul Write The Pastoral Epistles?  The author, Mason Slater, does a comprehensive analysis of the late attestation & mixed reception,  vocabulary & style, and lack of congruence with Paul’s journeys from other Pauline letters, all evidencing the likelihood that Paul was not the author.  He identifies that the Church tradition, teaching against Gnosticism, and Church structure all point to the “post-Pauline era”.  He identifies doctrinal differences between the Pastoral Epistles and Pauline writings, a different meaning for “keeping the faith” from referring to trust in God to trust in Church teachings, and “a more restrictive role for women”.  The alternate message is of great concern because it would leaven Paul’s teachings on vital issues.

The danger of these interpolations, is that they mix Paul’s teachings with a “different gospel” which is exactly what Paul warned against in Galatians 1:6.  The leaven in these verses replace faith in God with faith in Church tradition, subordinate women to men, and men to Church authorities, makes it appear that Paul considers the Law to hold authority over the congregation, and makes it appear that Eve was the transgressor not Adam, all of which are patently false.   Paul warned that those who distort the gospel of the Messiah are accursed in Gal 1:7 – 9. 

This evidences how challenging it is to find the truth.  Not only do we need to study scripture in its original languages, but we need to “test all things” 1 Thes 5:21, “weigh carefully what is said” 1 Cor 14:29, “test the spirits to see whether they are from God for many false prophets have gone out into the world” 1 John 4:1. We need to separate the truth from lies, because the truth sets us free John 8:32 from sin, sanctifies us John 17:17, leads us to holiness, and the outcome, eternal life Romans 6: 18 – 22, but lies are the works of Satan and his children 1 John 3:7 – 10 which keep us enslaved to sin, and the worthless elemental things in the world Gal 4:9. 

In my next article I will present a list of chapters and verses which are suspected interpolations.