Genesis Unbound by Sailhamer John

Author:Sailhamer, John [Sailhamer, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781935651338
Publisher: Book Villages
Published: 2011-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

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CHAPTER 15

THE SIXTH DAY

GENESIS 1:24–31

THE ACCOUNT OF THE CREATION of the land creatures on the sixth day distinguishes two types of creatures: the “living creatures” that dwell upon the land, and humankind. In turn, the “living creatures” of the land are divided into three groups: “livestock,” “creatures that move along the ground,” and “wild animals.” Human beings are distinguished as “male” and “female.”

AN IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

Once again the author begins with a divine command (“And God said...”) in verse 24, and then he follows with a comment to the reader (“So God made...”) in verse 25. On first sight, the comment in verse 25 doesn’t appear to add significantly to verse 24. However, a comparison of these verses with Genesis 1:11 and 12, which are similar, shows that verse 25 does add an important clarification. In 1:11, God had said, “Let the land produce vegetation.” In the comment which followed (1:12), the author has added, “So the land produced the vegetation....”

What was the point of that comment in verse 12? Apparently it was to say that the land, not God, produced the vegetation. In verses 24 and 25, however, there is a marked shift in emphasis. Verse 24 has reported a command similar to verse 11: “Let the land produce living creatures....” But the comment which follows in verse 25 stresses a quite different feature—it was God who made the living creatures, not merely the land: “So God made the wild animals....”

Apparently the author wanted to show that although the command was the same for creating the vegetation and the living creatures on land, there was an important distinction between the origin of the two forms of life. Vegetation was produced from the land, but the living creatures were made by God Himself. “Life” stems from God and is to be distinguished from the rest of the physical world.

A SERIES OF SUBTLE CONTRASTS

The creation of human beings is set apart from the previous acts of creation by a series of subtle contrasts.

First, the creation of mankind is marked in verse 26 by the usual “And God said....” However, the words of God which follow are not the expected impersonal command: “Let there be a man....” Instead, the words are in first person; they are the personal expression of the will of God: “Let us make man....” The contrast is striking and shows the central importance the narrative attaches to the creation of the man and woman. The effect would be the same as if a speaker in the midst of a formal presentation suddenly broke the cadence of his words and began to talk personally to the audience.

Second, throughout the previous account each living creature has been made “according to its own kind.” Yet it is specifically noted that the man and woman were made “according to the likeness of God.” Man’s likeness is not shared merely with all other human beings; rather, he shares a likeness with his own Creator!

On the day he was created, the biblical Adam

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