Genesis 2.4-3.24

[alon]

This Week’s Readings:

Parashah- Gen 2:4-3:24, Part 1
Haftara- Ezek 28:11-26

D’rash: Genesis sets the tone for much of the Bible in that it speaks in human terms; describing the person and actions of God as though He were human. He reaches out to His creation (us) and meets us where we are, speaking in terms we can easily understand. There is a parallelism established between the things of earth and of the heavens; the spiritual mirrored in the physical. In fact, we start out our reading with an interesting parallel in the creation itself:

Geneses 2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
תּוֹלְד tôledâh, generations; (plural only) descent, that is, family; (figuratively) history: - birth, generations.

All creation (absent man) is spoken of here in human terms; like a family. And just after this we are first introduced to the Covenant Name of the Most High: “for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground,” (Genesis 2:5b) “Lord” here is יְהֹוָה YHVH, most typically rendered LORD in English translations and as Adonai in Hebrew. The capitalization of letters and substitution of names are signs of respect, since the proper pronunciation was long ago lost in the Babylonian captivity, and Hebrews only ever heard it used in the Mishkan or Temple by the priests before that. However the main point here is the relationship presented by God to His creation, to Himself, and only two verses later to adam, man.

Up to this point, the only words we’ve heard spoken were those of Yeshua, also called “The Word” (John 1:1) as He accomplished His work of creation and as He communed with man. But now we hear the words of another, a deceiver, one who wants to undo and destroy what God has done:
Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You [plural] shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”  And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,  but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good טוֹב ṭôv and evil רַע ra‛.”

The term רַע ra‛ does not just mean evil, but also: wrong; bad or (as noun) evil (naturally or morally). This includes the feminine form רָעָה râ‛âh; as adjective or noun: - adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, + displease (-ure), distress, evil ([-favouredness], man, thing), + exceedingly, great, grief, harm, heavy, hurt (-ful), ill (favoured), + mark, mischief, misery, noisome, sad (-ly), sore, sorrow, trouble, vex, wicked (-ly, -ness, one), worse (-st) wretchedness. [Including feminine ra’ah; as adjective or noun.] Looking at the feminine רָעָה râ‛âh the scond letter ע Ayin carries the meaning “to see,”especially to have spiritual sight or insight. An alternate spelling is ראה ra’ah, which connotes strong insight; possibly spiritual. So they, being created in the image of God had the capacity for a lot of knowledge, which our English translations do not show.

There is some controversy as to whether the serpent actually was ha’satan, or was it just another parallelism. Let’s try to settle this. The serpent, or ha’satan tempts Chavah, saying by eating of the forbidden fruit she would “be like God, knowing good and evil.” She would bridge the gap and become her own god, herself able to say what is right.

Genesis 3:12-19 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring [seed] and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”
 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to [shall be toward] your husband,
    but he shall rule over you.”
 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 
thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

God pronounced His curses in the reverse order to the excuses given by the first couple. And note the last one, “for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Man was not (as some teach) made to be immortal:
Genesis 2:7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Dust in Hebrew thought lacks permanence. Had God wished to imply immortality He’d have made Adam out of clay. But since man was not made to live forever, he needed something to sustain life:
Genesis 2:9b “The tree of life was in the midst of the garden”

So Chavah’s being her own god was predicated on things staying as they were. She still needed the Tree of Life to sustain her. This certainly sounds like the enemy of our souls in action, holding out promises he cannot fulfill, hiding the details that make all the difference.

The parallel idea of immortality in the physical world was dependent on the grace of God, Himself a Spirit:
John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Without access to the Tree of Liife Adam, Chavah, and all mankind will surely die:
Genesis 3:24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

When God blesses us we tend to take for granted those blessings will continue even in our disobedience. Chavah in thinking to be “as God” failed to consider He might withdraw the blessings she then enjoyed.

In our haftara we see a prophecy against the King of Tyre. This is a historical figure, however the description given is so clearly that of ha’satan before and after the fall as to be an unmistakeable parallel. It was (and still is) not uncommon for rulers to think themselves gods. Our adversary was once a ruling cherub, the light bearer:
Isaiah 14:12-15 (NKJV))
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations! 
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north; 
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’ 
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.

H1966  הֵילֵל hêylêl- brightness; the morning star: - lucifer is Latin for “light bearer.”

Note the parallel to our haftara reading. Even cherubim must depend on God to maintain their existence. But in his pride and arrogance ha’satan never considered that God might withdraw His blessings. The enemy thought to claim the highest throne, that of God Himself. Instead his future lot will be the lowest recesses of Hell.

The first thing the LORD did was He cursed the serpent.
אָרַר 'ârar; to execrate: bitterly curse; to bind, thwart, restrict

The serpent was cursed, limited, restricted more than other animals. However the original Hebrew text does not positively identify the serpent as ha’satan. Another passage hints that it was him:
Ezekiel 28:13-15 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
    and crafted in gold were your settings
    and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared. 
You were an anointed guardian cherub.
    I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
    in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
You were blameless in your ways
     from the day you were created,
     till unrighteousness was found in you.

This only places ha’satan there as an archangel, not as a serpent. But when we get to Revelation we see:
Rev. 20:2b ο οφις ο αρχαιος ho ofis ho archaios “that ancient serpent,”
Rev. 20:2c ος εστιν διαβολος και ο σατανας. hos estin diabolos kai ho satanas “who is the devil and Satan”

So while parallelism was certainly used in reference to ha’satan, I think we must conclude that the serpent actually was ha’satan, possibly as a willing host.

(We'll finish this reading next week.)

[alon]

Note the Lord did not truly curse Adam or Chavah, instead issuing strong disciplinary measures. Chavah was made to suffer during childbirth, and her desire, or longing was for her husband. And on account of Adam’s disobedience the ground which before had born such bounty was cursed. He was sentenced to hard toil now for his sustenance.

Since the command not to eat of the tree was given directly to Adam, the fall of man is laid ultimately on Adam: “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you.” Adam and the serpent were the only ones the Lord said “because” to before passing sentence. They are the ones He held most accountable. Because the serpent tempted, it was cursed. And because Adam yielded, mankind fell from grace.

God blamed Adam, and His judgements are just. However it is not for us to place blame. Frankly, I doubt any of us could have done better. Also, while many blame Chavah for this disaster, the Almighty told Adam directly and he was in charge. So in God's view (the correct view) Adam was to  blame. 

However in the expression of God’s judgement we do see another type of parallelism. A mirroring effect used often in Hebrew writings (especialy poetry) called a “chiasm.” This short chiasm is structured:
- the serpent blamed
-- Chavah is implicated
- Adam blamed

In this mirror we also see the ground Adam was to work is cursed, and the serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly on this cursed ground and to eat the dust of impermanence. In this too I see a sort of a parallel, as the existence of ha’satan is also limited. He faces a terrible end:
- and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were,    and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Revelation 20:10

Notice I call “Satan” (sic) "ha’satan," which means “the adversary.” Before the fall he was described as Lucifer, the light bearer, which was an office not a name. In fact, we are not given a proper name for him. I think God removed his name, which was the worst insult for someone, especially a powerful person in mid and near eastern thought. To remove someone’s name is to say they are unimportant, like they never existed. In the end we know he will not exist to vex mankind further. That is why I refer to him as ha’satan. I will not give him back what God took from him. He became ha’satan, the enemy with no name and ultimately of no importance, though now he has power and influence. But his authority even now is limited by Melech ha’Kavod, the King of Glory (Ps 24:7):
- Job 2:4-6 Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life.  But stretch out  your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.”  And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in  your hand; only spare his life.”

So ha’satan had permission to afflict Job, but was told by Ha’Elyon, The Most High (Deu 32:8) he could not kill Job. And reading on we see he did not.

Genesis 3:8-11  And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool [rûach/ wind] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

This is another type of parallelism, called “anthropomorphism,” where God acts and presents Himself as human. An all knowing God was aware what Adam and Chavah had done. He knew where they were hiding:
- Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and active and 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. And there is no  creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
Yet here He presents Himself to them as if He were human, wanting them to confess what they had done.

“Anthropomorphism” is a compound word from the Greek anthropos, or man and morphe, form. Theologically, anthropomorphism is referring to God as having human characteristics. Scripture often refers to Him in human terms in describing Him or His actions in ways we as humans can more easily understand. A few examples:
- He sets His face against, opposing evil- “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face  against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” Leviticus 20:6 On the other hand he shows favor when “the Lord  make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;” Numbers 6:25
- His eyes are said to be on Ha’Eretz as He watches over it- “a land that the Lord your God cares for. The eyes of the Lord your  God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.” Deuteronomy 11:12 And He has both eyes and  ears in other verses- “Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib,  which he has sent to mock the living God.” 2 Kings 19:16
- We see the work of His hands as He sets events in motion to destroy Tyre- “He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has  shaken the kingdoms; the Lord has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.” Isaiah 23:11
- His might is said to be in His arms- “You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.”  Psalm 89:10
- He sits on a heavenly throne, his feet resting on the earth- Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; Isaiah 66:1a,b

Then we have the ultimate parallel example::
- Philippians 2:5-8 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did  not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the  likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on  a cross.

Not strictly an anthropomorphism, as God Himself invested a part of Himself in actual human form. God had manifest Himself many times and in many ways in the TNK. Just a few:
Genesis 15:1,17
Genesis 16:7-13
Genesis 28:10-17
Genesis 31:11-13
Exodus 3:3-6
Exodus 13:21
Daniel 5:5

However in the name אדם Adam, which also means man, God invested a poignant meaning. The term for the soil from which he was created is אדמה adamah. The word for blood, in which is the life is דם dam. So the name connects all of creation in man. More than this however the plural for blood is דמים damim, which also means money, payment, retribution, or restitution. The blood of the second Adam made restitution for our sins, the payment that secured His title to His own creation and made it possible for us to share in it.

“Jesus Christ is “the lastAdam” (1 Cr 15:45-49). The first Adam’s disobedience plunged us into sin, but the lastAdam’s obedience brought salvation (Rom 5:12-21). The fist Adam was a thief and was cast out of Paradise. The last Adam told a thief he would enter Paradise (Luke 23:43). In Adam we die, in Christ we have eternal life.” Warren W Wiersbe.

Mekorot: the ESV translation of the Bible (unless otherwise noted); JPS Study TNK; Dr. Schasser and Dr. Eli of the IBC;
Dr. D Ben’gigi; Dr. Chaim Bentorah; Dr. FT Seekins; W Wiersbe; Strong’s and Vines (ref books); e-Sword X; My Dad and others

Note: it is beyond the scope of this darash, but the study of the word אדם adam shows it connects all of creation: life, sound, color, frequencies; everything.

Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Gen 2:4-3:24, Part 2
Haftara- Ezek 28:11-26
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot