The Elohim of Creation

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Genesis 2.4 Insight

March 20th, 2022 Because we are just starting the Old Testament, it’s important to layout some O.T. fundamentals that will repeat themselves throughout the text. We will be doing that today as we go.

So let’s move on to the retelling of the creation beginning at chapter 2:4, which gives us another view, in some cases a different view, and in many ways a more specific view. And so we read:

Genesis 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,

The big difference in this verse is first the use of the term generations, which we discussed is TO-LET-DA and means the “beginnings or the birth of something” – here, the beginnings of the heavens and the earth.

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground.

This is really interesting because in the first chapter’s rehearsal, it sounded like God just called the earth to produce the plants and trees as we read at verse 11 of chapter 1:

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

But here we have God BEFORE the plants were in the earth and the herbs BEFORE it grew being CREATED, and the reason Moses gives is because there was no rain upon the earth yet AND no man to till the ground. That sounds like some real planning going in here. And to me, it sounds like the plants were fully formed and ready to go once Man appeared – but I could be wrong.

Encounter at the Burning Bush

The second biggie we get from this verse is the Name of God that Moses uses, saying

“for the LORD God . . . had not caused it to rain upon the earth,”

We remember that Moses has quite a history before leading the Nation out of Egypt and writing this account. We will read all about his birth and upbringing in Exodus. But let’s jump out to Exodus 3 and learn about when Moses first heard the proper pronoun name of God, remembering that what we are “about to read” has already happened prior to Moses writing these things.

To begin, Moses fled Egypt (as a citizen after killing an Egyptian) and we read in verse 1 of Exodus 3:

1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. 2 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 4 And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. 7 And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; 8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians

Understanding the Use of the Term 'Lord' in the Bible

10 Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. 11 And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? 12 And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain. 13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? 14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. 15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

When God says in Exodus 3:14 I AM, the Hebrew word for, “I Am” is constructed of four consonants YOD, VEY, WAW and a VEY again. This name is transliterated into the name Yahwey or JEHOVAH, and is most frequently written in the scripture as LORD (all upper caps).

Variations in Writing 'Lord'

So how did we go from the Hebrew word God gave Moses made of four consonants (Yod/Vey/Waw/Vey – which we really cannot positively say we know how to pronounce it because it lacks any vowels) to writing LORD in all caps in our English versions? You may have noticed, especially when you are reading your Bible in the King James Version (other versions will use these words similarly) that you frequently come across the word lord, but you may not have noticed that this word is written three different ways:

ON BOARD all lower-case letters (lord), and only the first letter in upper-case (Lord). all upper-case letters (LORD)

Each of these ways of writing the word “lord” identifies different Hebrew words.

For instance, in Genesis 18:12 we will read:

Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?

When you see the word “lord,” written in all lower-case letters, it is the Hebrew word “adon,” (Strong’s #113) and means “lord” or “master,” or one who has authority over another.

Historical Context of the Term 'Lord'

Now, our English term Lord does not give the particular meaning of the original word, but it does convey a strong and noble sense of it. Let me explain:

HLAFORD, LOVERD, LORD = Bread (Anglo Saxon) LORD = LOAF

Lord is a contraction of the Anglo-Saxon Hlaford, afterwards written, loverd, and lastly Lord, from the Anglo Saxon word for bread and where we get our English word, loaf. The word itself, therefore, has a historical meaning of “the giver of bread,” or he who deals out all the necessaries of life.

Anciently, English noblemen were accustomed to keep a continual open house, where all their vassals, and all strangers, had the liberty to enter and eat as much as they would; and hence those noblemen had the honorable name of lords, (meaning, the dispensers of bread). Interestingly, the term Lady, (as apposed to Lord) in the Anglo Saxon literally meant "bread-kneader" or "loaf-eater."

Lord and Lady = Loaf giver and loaf kneader or eater.

So, there is where the English term, “Lord” originates and it’s easy to see why Jesus is called Lord in English (with Him being the bread of life that came down from heaven and is given for life in the world).

Then we have Lord with a capital L but all lower case “ord” letters after.

Whenever this word is written as “lord” (all lower-case), this word is referring to men, but when this word is referring to God, then the first letter is written in upper-case. And example of this is Genesis 18:3 where we read

And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant: (Genesis 18:3, KJV) Besides the few times the Hebrew word adon is written as “Lord,” the word “Lord” (first letter in upper-case) is used for the Hebrew word (Adonai,

Understanding Hebrew Terms for God

Strong’s #136). While this word is translated as “Lord,” it doesn’t exactly mean “Lord.” This gets a little weird, but as I just said, the Hebrew word for “lord” is “adon.” When this word is written in the first person, possessive (my lord), it is written as “adoniy,” (Genesis 18:12). Then the plural form of the word “adon” is adonim, (Exodus 26:19), and the first person, possessive, plural form (my lords) is written as "adonai” (1st Kings 22:17).

Hebrew Terms for "Lord" and Their Variations

ON BOARDS

?????? adon lord ?????? adoniy my lord ???????? adonim lords ????????? adonai my lords

If the Hebrew word Adonai literally means “my lords,” why is it only translated as “Lord” so many times in scripture? Most names attributed to God are in the plural including Elohiym (literally meaning “powers”) and Shaddai (literally meaning “my breasts”). The word Adonai (a plural word) is another name used for God that means “my lords,” meaning, “He is Lords of many things” just like Elohim means he is “mighty in many powers”). So there’s that – Lord with a capital L is usually Adonai and is plural, meaning, Lord of many things.

Finally, we have LORD – which is the way it is written here in Genesis 2 for the first time in scripture but repeated over 1600 times. And as we have said, this is when the Hebrew writes YHWH which is the personal name of God combined with Elohim, a title for the God of all power. And so, we have Yahweh (whose pronunciation is debated) and throughout the Old Testament, the KJV, and most other translations, the Hebrew name Yahweh is translated as “LORD,” in all upper-case.

The Significance of YHWH

By going to the Great Shema of Deuteronomy 6:4 which says:

“Hear O ISrael, The LORD our God is one LORD,”

It more clearly says, “shama Yisra'el, Y@hovah 'elohiym 'echad Y@hovah”

“The YHWH God is One YHWH,” and we are introduced to Him here and now in Genesis 2:5! Hello! Nice to meet you, God of all things, all powers, all might. The name YHWH means, self-existent one, causing Him to say to Moses, just say, “I am that I am,” has sent you. Nothing before. Eternal. Self-existent. The one. The only. The ultimate.

5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. Again, the reason that God did not put the plants and herbs in the ground was because He had “not caused it to rain” (yet) and Moses adds, “there was not a man to till the ground.”

Creation and Human Existence

This was about to change in verse 6 and 7

6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. Many believe that there was no rain in Eden or on earth, but I suggest that what we read in verse 6 is actually describing God making it rain (with Moses describing the evaporation cycles of water becoming clouds, clouds too heavy then rain), and then at verse 7 He begins to describe the making of Man to also be on earth.

7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. While English has just one word for man, ancient Hebrew uses four words to refer to man, each highlighting a different essential aspect of his character and being. The first word translated to man in scripture (over 500 times) is Adam. This gets confusing because this is also the formal name of the first man, but it continued to be used throughout the Old Testament after Adam’s deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. as a term for mankind in general. And Adam is commonly used to describe the condition of human males. For example, Proverbs speaks about man’s existential reliance on God, saying,

The heart of man [adam] devises his way: but the Lord directs his path. Likewise, Ecclesiastes alludes

Understanding the Hebrew Words for Man

To man’s mortality, saying:

If a man [adam] live many years, and have rejoiced in them all, he must remember the darksome time, and the many days: which when they shall come, the things past shall be accused of vanity.

So that is the first Hebrew word for man. The second is “Ish.” This is a name applied to man in the sense of males, and is understood in relationship to females or a women, who was called “ishshah.”

We can see all three terms at work early in the Genesis account of Eve’s creation – listen to this: Then the Lord God cast a deep sleep upon Adam: and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and filled up flesh for it. And the Lord God built the rib which he took from Adam into a woman: and brought her to Adam. And Adam said: This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman [ishshah], because she was taken out of man [ish]. Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh. Genesis 2:21-24

The Significance of 'Ish' in Genesis

Throughout Genesis, ish is often used to denote men, especially in family contexts. Adam was not destined to be adam. Man was not meant to ‘be an island’ as Thomas Merton put it. He was meant to be in relationship to another, in communion with another person—a reality which is captures so well in the names ish … ishshah. According to one analysis, adam and ish parallel the Latin words homo, which refers to universal man, and vir, which is the individual man. In the Old Testament, ish likewise carries that connotation of individuality. This is clearly evident in a text like 2 Samuel 12:7 where we read:

And Nathan said to David: Thou art the man [ish]. Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee from the hand of Saul.

The third Hebrew word for Man is “Enosh” or “enowsh,” which speaks to man in both his physical weakness as well as his moral weakness. This understanding helps us to read Psalm 8:4 in a new light which says:

When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place—What is man [adam] that you are mindful of him, and a son of man [enosh] that you care for him?

So, in this verse David first uses the term for universal man, “adam,” which is fitting since he is talking about man in the context of creation. But that context is both grand and giant—the heavens, the moon, and the stars. Then David makes us think of man in his smallness, his weakness, so it makes sense that David would then switch to enosh. The fact that Enosh can also refer to our moral failings adds a redemptive twist to this verse: not only is it amazing that God considers us despite our smallness, but it’s all that much more incredible that He does so given our sinfulness.

Gheber: The Strong and The Mighty

The last Hebrew term for man is Gheber which might be best understood as the antonym to Enosh and means “one able-bodied, well-developed, physically strong male, that is, “a mighty one in the case of a man.” It can also mean “a mighty man who has lost his strength,” (as in Jeremiah 23:9 which says)

My heart is broken within me, all my bones tremble: I am become as a drunken man [ish], and as a man [geber] full of wine, at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his holy words.

So Ancient Hebrew presents man in four major senses that are recognizable to us today: man as universal (adam); man in his particularity (ish); man in his moral and mortal weakness (enosh); and man in his strength (geber) or once strength. One consistent thread is how man, however we look at him, must be seen and understood in relationship to others — to woman, to the circumstances around Him, to the heavens and ultimately, to God.

And so back to verse 7 where Moses writes:

7 And the LORD God (the self-existent one – YHWH ELOHIM) formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The word for formed is similar to the words “squeezed and/or molded,” like we would do with clay and the word for ground.

Humanity's Connection to the Earth

“Adam-ah,” meaning soil.

Almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of six elements: oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. Only about 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. All 11 are necessary for life. The earth's soil or clay contains most of the same elements. Our bodies are therefore of the ground, and we, therefore, live by or from the elements and compounds the earth provides. When our bodies fail to receive what the earth provides, our bodies die. And so, we can see that there is a connection to the Genesis 2 account of our physical make-up and God molding, squeezing, or shaping the first man from the dust or clay of the earth.

But we are not just Clamation figures puppeted about. We were animated. By what? Let’s read the text again:

7 And the LORD God (the self-existent one) 1) formed man (Adam) of the dust (Adam-ah) of the ground, and 2) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;

The Breath of Life

Interestingly, the Hebrew does NOT have God breathing His Spirit into the clay per se, meaning the word ruach (translated spirit) is not here. Instead, we read that God first formed man of the dust of the ground and the “breathed” (NAW-FAKH – puffed) into his nostrils the “breath of life” (again, not ruach but neshaw-ma, which means “wind or vital breath.”

That being said, we also know from other passages that what God “breathed” (or puffed) was His Spirit as Job 33:4 says, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” From this passage we know that the breath of Life is synonymous with the Spirit of God and the Breath of the Almighty. It gives life. Brings things to life. Is life and without it there would be no human life or existence. His breath animates those made in His image.

Man Becomes a Living Soul

Finally, we read the last line of the creation of Man when it says: And the LORD God (the self-existent one) 1) formed man of the dust of the ground, (we got that) and 2) breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; (got that, and then finally, 3) “and Man became a living soul.”

Because Ecclesiastes 12:7 reads, “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it,” Many people see the spirit and the soul as synonymous with each other. I do not. So I do not see verse 7 as describing God depositing a Spirit or His Spirit into the flesh of Man. Instead, I see God as forming Adam from the ground, giving Him a puff of His Spirit – which is the life-giving force – and the combination of His life-giving force in the clay form caused man to become a living soul – meaning the soul of Man, animated by the Spirit of God – started here.

So while the Spirit that God gave animated the clay, and created within the clay a living Soul, the soul is the Man, the Spirit returns to God who gives it, and the body returns to the dust of the earth or clay when all is said and done. I suggest that this animation of Man that we are reading about here is the beginning of Humankind – of all humans – that we, ignited to life by the “Breath of Life” entering the clay of our mortal bodies, become mind, will and emotions in our own right, and we possess these souls forevermore as a result. Therefore, the life-giving force that animates us, His spirit, certainly returns to Him who gave it (at our death), but each of us continue to exist as the souls we’ve been become – and in whatever state we allowed them to become – and will go to God with our respective final outcomes.

Here, at the creation of Man, I believe that the body, indwelling Spirit of God, and the created soul of Adam (man) were good, right, and in complete harmony and unity one with the other. No division. Total unity. Complete Man. I believe that there was integration of body, soul, and the spirit of God, and that Man was, in fact, good, perfect, or complete with God’s animated power in Him.

Genesis and the Garden of Eden

Spirit or breath back to where it came from, and we will all continue on with the souls we have created with the time we’ve had on earth. We will talk more on this later. Before we wrap today up let’s read verses 8 and 9.

The Creation of the Garden

Genesis 2:8-9 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

We know that God has created heaven and earth and all that in them is – the hosts – but at verse 8 and then again at verse 15, we read about “a Garden that God planted.”

8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

We note that Eden is a place not the garden itself. The garden was in Eden so it can be called the Garden of Eden but God planted a garden in the vicinity of Eden – eastward of it. Eden signifies pleasure or delight, so much so that the Septuagint translates this passage this way, saying, “God planted a paradise in Eden,” which as we will see was a very specific place with a very specific location on earth.

Trees in the Garden

At verse 9 we are introduced to a very significant image in God’s economy – one that forever blows my mind – ready?

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

First, we begin with God making all trees that are 1) pleasant to the sight and 2), good for food. We know that these attributes are not bad because God made them this way for us, I suppose, to want to eat from them. Later we will read that two of the three reasons Eve will eat of the forbidden tree is because she thought it was pleasant to the eyes and good for food. Unfortunately, she also saw the fruit as having the ability “to make her wise” and chose it over gaining wisdom through her relationship with God directly.

In any case, verse 9 says:

9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; (And then he adds) the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

So right out of the gate, in Genesis, we are presented with a mystery. God spoke everything into existence or recalled it to life and then in the process we discover that in the midst of many good trees God produces two specific trees – and he places both in the middle of the Garden of Eden. One tree – which gets the most attention – is called the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil – and God will tell Adam not to eat of its fruit. Another is called the Tree of Life but nothing is said about its fruit – at least not yet.

Isn’t it interesting that the idea of “fruit bearing” is already introduced into the biblical narrative through trees? This is a repetition of multiplying and replenishing. It is also interesting that the fruit that God forbids them from eating is from a tree called the tree of KNOWLEDGE of Good and Evil?

And isn’t it intriguing that the second tree’s fruit is from a tree called, “the Tree of Life!?” Think about these facts for just a second… (beat). We’ll talk more about them in the weeks to come.

The Trees and Their Significance

Now, we have to remember that these two trees were both available for Adam and Eve to eat from an equally accessible location as they were both said to be in the “middle of the garden.” Prior to the Fall, which occurred due to Adam and Eve choosing to eat of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tree of life appears to represent a fruit or substance that would maintain life or living. Aside from this we really little insight.

Without having sinned, perhaps the food of the Tree

The Mystery of the Tree of Life

The Tree of Life represented Adam and Eve's direct relationship with God, possibly providing literal sustenance for their bodies made from clay. Some think it symbolized eternal life and the nourishment of Adam and Eve while they lived their created existences on earth. However, we cannot say for sure what the Tree of Life was, or how it benefited the first couple. All we know is:

• It was in the midst of the Garden
• After the Fall, if Adam or Eve ate from it, they would have lived forever, ostensibly in their fallen state without a reprieve through death
• God “drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”

With this scant information, we are left with a mystery surrounding this tree.

The Tree of Life in Revelation

Adding to the mystery, a Tree also called the Tree of Life appears at the end of the Bible in Revelation. Here it is referred to as The Tree of Life, as if in reference to the same one mentioned in Genesis, but placed in the heavenly Kingdom of the New JerusalemThe spiritual reality of God's fulfilled presence with humanity—replacing Sheol after 70 A.D. and accessible only to those who “overcome” and those who “do His commandments.” After all events of the Revelation of Christ are revealed, in the last chapter, John describes the heavenly Kingdom and the New Jerusalem, adding:

Revelation 22:2: "In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

Twelve verses later, John adds:

Revelation 22:14: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."

From these brief descriptions, we can say that the Tree of Life, which was in the Garden of Eden at the creation and later represented in heaven, only accessible to those qualified, remains important. John confirms the location and significance again:

"In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."

The Biblical Connection

This refers directly to Ezekiel 47:12 which states:

"And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."

We know Adam and Eve lost the right to the Tree of Life because of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace., and God mercifully prevented them from consuming its fruit in their fallen state or they would have lived forever without reconciliation. From this, we understand:

• The Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden and also in Heaven – whether a figure, representation, or actual, we cannot say.
• To eat of it (in either place), one had to be qualified, which scripture describes as people who have “overcome” and who have “kept His commandments.”
• Those qualified to eat of it in the heavenly realm were allowed to enter the gates of the City of God (or the New Jerusalem).
• Eating its twelve fruits (produced monthly) was some sort of blessing or benefit and its leaves were for healing the nations.

The Symbolism of Trees

Pretty wild. And truly not easy to assign absolute meaning to. The importance of it, however, at least in this situation, is to show how important trees are of a symbol to God from start to finish. Let me wrap up with a little insight on trees. They are said “to communicate” in scripture, to protect, provide shelter, and to bear fruit or food.

Biblical References to Trees

Moses said in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 to those under the Law

And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

And Paul appropriated these passages to Jesus who, nailed to a wooden cross (made by a tree) says in Galatians 3:13

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Trees in Scripture

Scripture describes trees speaking and even seeking to elect kings over them; it speaks of trees that feed, trees that hold, trees that are grafted, trees that are forbidden, trees that are available to only some, and trees that provide wood – for warming and building or for making idols.

Roman Catholic Alfred Joyce Kilmer, once famously wrote

“I think that I shall never see
a poem lovely as a tree.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.”

We’ll stop here and continue to see how these trees will ultimate affect all of us in the very near future.

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