First, It exhibits the consistency of the whole narrative in itself. It is the language of One who has special relationships with Noah and with his family. (Genesis 2:1-3). It remains yet to be seen whether he will be good in act and habit. It is not man placed in his moral relationships, but man the head of this kingdom of creation, as they say; but still even so with remarkable dignity. He offers of the firstlings of his flock that which passed under death to Jehovah. There was the whole matter. There was no longer trial in Paradise, because man was turned out. But the will of man pits itself invariably against the known will of God, and the very man who was doomed to be a fugitive sets to work that he may settle himself here below. And here in a secondary sense of the word is the propriety of the phrase "created" in verse 21; and we shall see it also when a new action comes before us in imparting not animal life but a rational soul. In judgment as in grace God is always wise. And so, even the tri-unity of God is expressed in the first verse, "in the beginning God," Elohim. , from , lit., a shadow, hence sketch, outline, differs no more from , likeness, portrait, copy, than the German words Umriss or Abriss (outline or sketch) from Bild or Abbild (likeness, copy). of formless points to the "formlessness" of the earth in contrast to the creative order God will create in Ge 1:3-26. The word , which indicates that God created the man and woman as two human beings, completely overthrows the idea that man was at first androgynous (cf. We don't know for sure.Emmanuel Vilikovski again in his book, "Worlds in Collision" as you get into the book, we'll find out that his theory that the introduction of the planet Venus into our solar system that caused the change of the Earth's orbit around the sun. They may indulge in speculations of the mind, or visions of the imagination a substitute for what is real, and a cheat of the enemy. 1. Absence of evil in earth; innocence in man; it was a sinless, unfallen world. In the New . If you are speaking in the intimacies of the family, you do not adopt the same language towards your parents, wife, child, or servant, still less towards a stranger outside. Please enter your email address associated with your Salem All-Pass account, then click Continue. In his place and authority: Let us make man in our image, and let him have dominion. the cause of causes said to "`jod', he, Hence man was wise in his mind, holy in his heart, and righteous in his actions. *We may judge how little the LXX. 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Those who often bring up Genesis 1:26 hope we will won't be able to provide a good answer. Of the trillions of snowflakes that fall every year, God just likes variety so much. Yet his government of himself by the freedom of his will has in it more of God's image than his government of the creatures. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth." The whole creation was built by the Word of God from the mouth of God. Had it been spoken of in the first chapter, there might have been grave exception taken whether such an account could have been inspired; but, coming in as it does, it is exactly as it ought to be. Genesis 3:21) we are told, that "to Adam also and to his wife did Jehovah-Elohim make coats of skins and clothed them." We can see afterwards how verified the curse was, as it will be yet more. Genesis 1:26 It is not too much to say that redemption, with all its graces and all its glories, finds its explanation and its reason in creation. And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (Gen 1:24-27). The primitive condition is described too. This chapter is also to be read with wonder and adoration by man; as he finds himself to be constituted lord of the earth, next in rank under the Creator of all, formed in the image of his Maker, and therefore capable not only of studying the works of nature, but of contemplating and reverently communing with the Author of nature. Philosophy believes neither, in a vain effort to account for all by what is, or rather appears; for it knows nothing, not even the present, as it ought to know. of food to man, no mention as yet is made of any other meat than God is the fountain whence this spirit issued, hence the stream must resemble the spring which produced it. Departed from God, they hid themselves, and He had but to utter those solemn and searching words to Adam, "Where art thou?" I can speak to you.Now, when God speaks, He doesn't necessarily need all the vocal apparatus that I have; a voice box, a larynx and a tongue and all of this. It's just called a light holder. The insertion of the substantive verb, as has been remarked, expresses no doubt a condition past as compared with what follows, but pointedly not said to be contemporaneous with what preceded, as would have been implied in its omission; but what interval lay between, or why such a desolation ensued, is not stated. When fallen he acquired the internal capacity of knowing right from wrong, apart from a law to inform or forbid; and in this respect became like God at the very time when he lost God and intercourse with Him as an innocent creature. So, the parents fly off to Hawaii, leaving their kids in Alaska! Exciting days, we'll have a lot of things to share with you soon, as soon as we get all of our information packets put together. 1. g De confusione Ling. The word of God is before them. *As Eve at the birth of Cain seems to have been unduly excited, and expecting I think a deliverer in the child whom she named as gotten from Jehovah, so she seems to me to express a sobered if not desponding sentiment in saying at Seth's birth, "Elohim hath appointed me another seed," etc. He makes a religion from his own mind, and brings of the fruit of the ground now under the curse; whilst Abel by faith offers the firstlings of the flock, and of the fat thereof. ." He made man the master over the earth. The copulative would render it improper, and impossible to bear the character of a general introduction. It may be observed, that the plural number is used, "let Humans were created in God's image, with the ability to cultivate and manifest qualities that God possesses, such as love, empathy, and justice. See Notes 2 and 5, at page 75. The world has been established now. It may be well to glance at it just to show the importance of heeding the word of God, and all His word. If men, and men too of ability and learning, have tortured the signs of its very perfection into proofs of defective and clashing documents, ridiculously combined by a man who did not perceive that he was editing not fables only but inconsistent fables, what can believers do but wonder at human blindness, and adore divine grace ' For themselves, with glowing gratitude they receive it as the precious word of God, where His love and goodness and truth shine in a way beyond all comparison, and yet meeting the mind and heart in the least, no less than in the most serious, wants that each day brings here below. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the fowl multiply in the earth. Seth therefore was begotten in Adam's own likeness, not in God's. Thirdly the dry land appears, and the earth bringing forth grass, and herb, and fruit-tree. And those instinctive abilities in the birds!I'm always fascinated by that little bird in Hawaii that goes up into the Aleutian chain in order to mate. It has been gathered from the varying names of God, etc., by speculative minds that there must have been different documents joined together in this book. Genesis 1, Genesis 1:26, there is actually one word ( " 'asah " meaning to do or make ) originally translated, into 3 words in English translation.The Strongs Exhaustive Concordance & comparison on this site, also reference the meaning in the " singular " form. The spirit of prophecy comes upon him, and, like dying Jacob, he tells his sons what shall befal them, Gen. 49:1. This honour indeed God has put upon the body of man, that the Word was made flesh, the Son of God was clothed with a body like ours and will shortly clothe ours with a glory like that of his. And so you get the feeling, an irritation in your ankle, and you reach down and pull that seed out and throw it down. These are both very good. It may be observed, that the plural number is used, "let them", which shows that the name "man" is general in the preceding clause, and includes male and female, as we find by the following verse man was created: and over the cattle, and over all the earth; over the tame creatures, either for food, or clothing, or carriage, or for all of them, some of them for one thing, and some for another; and over all the wild beasts of the earth, which seem to be meant by the phrase, "over all the earth"; that is, over all the beasts of the earth, as appears by comparing it with Genesis 1:24 so as to keep them in awe, and keep them off from doing them any damage: and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; to make use of it as should seem convenient for them. "The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." *, *It is deplorable but wholesome to see how superstition and rationalism agree in the grossest ignorance of man's condition before the fall and through it. Those who enter on them had better be cautious, and well weigh alleged facts, and above all their own conclusions, or those of other men. Matthew 19:4; Mark 10:6). THE COMMENTARY The use of the word "us" and "our" in verse 26 once again implies the triune nature of God. They take off over the thousands of miles without suitcases, without spare gas tanks, without compasses or navigational equipment. This only may be remarked in addition, that "the sons of God," in my judgment, mean the same beings in Genesis as they do in Job. We have here the second part of the sixth day's work, the creation of man, which we are, in a special manner, concerned to take notice of, that we may know ourselves. Now comes the first mention of evening and morning, and of days. From Genesis 1:1 to 2:4, the Bible briefly relates the steps that God took in creating the earth and all living things on it, including the first man and woman.After this general outline, the Bible gives a more detailed account of the creation of man and woman. The rebellious spirit of the forefather shows itself in the descendant Lamech. By no means. In the will is unfolded that freedom of action which chooses the good and refuses the evil. He was gone from God. Here man is at sea; but where he does arrive at conclusions, this at least is the common consent, as far as I know, of all who have given their minds to the study, that there are three, and only three, divisions into which nations properly diverge. Is there then any contradiction to be surmised? The narrative of it is introduced with something of solemnity, and a manifest distinction from the rest. As if, in truth, that barbarous style of speaking, which has grown into use within a few past centuries, had, even then, prevailed in the world. May we seek to be taught more and more His truth, leaning on His grace! In this too God's own glory is brought before us, and so much the more because there is not the smallest effort. *This moral and typical bearing is the true key to the record in Genesis 2:4-25, and truly accounts for the differences from 1 - 2: 3, which ignorance and unbelief pervert into the discrepancies of two separate and inconsistent writers. Put them out of their order, and all becomes confused; receive them as God has written them, and there is perfection in the measure in which you understand them. God made heaven and earth in six days: it is never said He created heaven and earth in six days. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" So it was that the serpent envenomed morally the heart of the woman first, and then of the man. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. We were . "The tri-unity of God is found in the first verse of the Bible, "in the beginning God," the word in Hebrew is "Elohim". No later revelation in the smallest degree corrects the very first. Explanation and Commentary of Genesis 1:26 On the sixth day, God created the crown jewel of his creation, mankind. Here accordingly we find in Genesis 2:1-25, with a fulness and precision given nowhere else, God's entering into relationship with man, and man's relation to Eden, to the animal realm, and to woman specially. So all of the animals at that point lived off of the grasses and vegetation. But along with this we find no haste to reveal: all is in season. I do not think that the expression means a sin-offering, as is sometimes supposed; for it does not appear that there is ground for inferring that the truth of a sin-offering was understood in the slightest degree till long afterwards. God divided light and darkness, waters and dry land, the world above from the world below. We have no ground, therefore, for transferring it to the style of the heavenly King. What value would it be for me to have the capacity to choose if there was nothing to choose? Any one who is acquainted with the chief writings of the old idolatrous world, of the Greeks and Romans especially, will see that what God has veiled in this brief statement, which passes calmly over that of which more had better not be spoken, is what they have amplified into the Titans and the giants and their greater deities. And hence we infer what was the end for which all things were created; namely, that none of the conveniences and necessaries of life might be wanting to men. Does the image of God in man include his body? But this is not the meaning of verses 1 and 2. On the first the darkness on the face of the earth is removed; on the fourth that on the face of the sky. Man. It is not as if it were a new thing for man to deny the immortality of his own soul. Noah might have been enabled to shut himself in; but how much more blessed that Jehovah should do it! And let them rule. The days that follow I see no ground for interpreting save in their simple and natural import. Angels were created, but they are spirits, lacking potential. You say, "oh, they remember the way they flew out. A man who despises him whom he is bound to honour, not to speak of the special distinction which God had shown him, must come to shame and degradation, must be not merely a servant but "a servant of servants." This is the highest honor with which he has dignified us; to a due regard for which, Moses, by this mode of speaking would excite our minds. I mean, you know, when you see them they just, they can dart in several directions, and then they can land on the ceiling and walk. Their goal is to alter our beliefs and cause us to align with them. Where all was bright and good around man in innocency the scope for labour would not have its place. They were all merged in one; and hence it is that we find that Job's friends, though guilty in the Lord's sight, yet alike with him offer burnt-offerings. It is evident therefore that in the one case we have that which was generally necessary, in the other case that which was special and due to the relationship in which man was placed with Jehovah. Human lusts and passions were not yet in question, but they soon followed the desire of having what God had forbidden. 4. [Note: Gorman Gray, The Age of the Universe: What Are the Biblical Limits?] Scripture is divine from first to last. Will it be so always? However, this explanation does violence to the Hebrew text. Leave out the fall; fail to keep it before you and test all with that in mind, and you will be wrong about every result. A likeness to the angels cannot be inferred from Hebrews 2:7, or from Luke 20:36. We should not have known anything of paradise from the first chapter. The very first rule on which the interpreter is bound to proceed is to assign to each word the meaning it commonly bore in the time of the writer. [Note: See John F. Kilner, "Humanity in Gods Image: Is the Image Really Damaged?" *Is it not the more captiousness of criticism to set the general phrase "the day," etc., against the precision of the six days in the previous section? And again the design, and the variety! Modern science has revealed so much about the wonders and the size of the physical universe that human beings may seem almost to be nothing. It recognizes, as far as can be expected, the relative importance of the heavens and the earth, the existence of the heavenly bodies from the beginning of time, the total and then the partial absence of light from the face of the deep, as the local result of physical causes. Yet none did or could anticipate it. And it is able to take out of the soil just the necessary chemicals to support that particular plant; able to tell the difference between the chemicals, knows just the chemicals that it needs out of the soil to feed the particular plant that it's coming from, to bring the moisture up out of the soil and all. What is the ground of God's dealings now? The victims of sin knew shame, now fear. It is that of sovereignty. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. I believe that they are what are called, or used to be called in ancient times at any rate, the Phasis and the Aras or Araxes. It should seem as if this were the work which he longed to be at; as if he had said, "Having at last settled the preliminaries, let us now apply ourselves to the business, Let us make man." It is not needful to say more now. Give up the immortality of the soul, and you deny the ground of that relationship, man's special moral responsibility to God. So God is a superior trinity. When a compendious statement of what follows is intended, the "and" is never put. last, and beside me there is no God: and three jods (yyy) testify concerning him, that Cyrus, "The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth" Ezra 1:2. , over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers, Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament. Genesis 2:18.). I can choose what I want. I don't, I want God to leave me alone!" Genesis 1:25-26 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the . Not to speak of the destroyed cities of the plain, they had in Joshua's day sunk into the most shameless of sinners that ever disgraced God and defiled the earth. Such is the very essence of a test for an innocent man. But with that wing, it begins to spin almost like a helicopter rotor and it spins on out far enough away from the pine tree so that when it lands, it can fine a suitable place to grow up into a new pine. Creation and redemption bear witness to His glory, instead of communicating aught of His own dignity. First, that interpretation only is valid which is true to the meaning of the author. . mind of man thinks it a mighty difficulty that what appears to be so small a matter should be pregnant with such awful results. I'm made in the image of God, who is a self-determinant being.Now, if God created me with a capacity of choice, it would be totally meaningless unless He gave me a choice. It was sin not as such against God in leaving Him, like Adam's, but against man, his brother accepted of God. As to how, when, and why it was, there is silence. And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. Your eyes are picking it all up and sending all those messages into the brain. Here he gave them, 1. This then may suffice. And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters he called the Seas: and God saw that it was good. Conclusion: God desired that man would be like Him. Man alone, as deriving that which gave him the breath of life not from his body but from the breath of Jehovah-Elohim, gives an account to God. The water systems are all there, the animals, and now man to rule over it. How small are the remains of it, and how great the ruins of it! Cain was born, and the fallen mother gave the name: but, oh, what a mistake! 1. God at least was pleased to form woman, as well as to reveal her formation in a way that ought to make ashamed him who recognises her as his own flesh and bone, yet slights or misuses a relationship so intimate. Unquestionably. There we have delight in the man who had found grace in His eyes. "Where is Abel thy brother?" How remarkably this has been made good in the providential history of the world I need not stay to prove, how Jehovah God connected His name with Shem, to the humiliation of Canaan, and how Elohim enlarged Japhet, who would spread himself not merely in his own destined lot, but even dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan humbled there too. These words are directed not to the earth, out of which man was made, as consulting with it, and to be assisting in the formation of man, as Moses Gerundensis, and other Jewish writers f, which is wretchedly stupid; nor to the angels, as the Targum of Jonathan, Jarchi, and others, who are not of God's privy council, nor were concerned in any part of the creation, and much less in the more noble part of it: nor are the words spoken after the manner of kings, as Saadiah, using the plural number as expressive of honour and majesty; since such a way of speaking did not obtain very early, not even till the close of the Old Testament: but they are spoken by God the Father to the Son and Holy Ghost, who were each of them concerned in the creation of all things, and particularly of man: hence we read of divine Creators and Makers in the plural number, Job 35:10 and Philo the Jew acknowledges that these words declare a plurality, and are expressive of others, being co-workers with God in creation g: and man being the principal part of the creation, and for the sake of whom the world, and all things in it were made, and which being finished, he is introduced into it as into an house ready prepared and furnished for him; a consultation is held among the divine Persons about the formation of him; not because of any difficulty attending it, but as expressive of his honour and dignity; it being proposed he should be made not in the likeness of any of the creatures already made, but as near as could be in the likeness and image of God. 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