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  • From: "George Athas" <gathas AT hotkey.net.au>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Plants in Genesis
  • Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 11:38:59 +1100


Dave,

I'm not sure if I'm missing something here. Gen 2:5 uses the word TEREM to
temporally locate the
creation of man, and it is before the plants. This is regardless of the
nuance of the wayyiqtol
form. Just looking at the narrative, there seems to be a bare ground that is
watered by a mist.
Then man is made. Then a grove is planted and man is put in it.

Now, my wife tells me I suffer from domestic blindness (I can never find
anything around the house,
even when it's right before my very eyes!), so am I missing something that
you are plainly seeing
here?

In response to Bill's answer, Gen 2:5 uses the expression SYX HSDH - "field
bush". This is not a
cultivated plant, but any shrub growing out in the open countryside. It also
uses another word,
(SB, which is also used in Gen 1 - it's the generic term for vegetation. So,
I don't see how Gen 2
refers to cultivated plants rather than wild plants. In fact, the opposite
seems to be the case.

BTW, Dave, I agree to some extent about the non-temporal nature of the
wayyiqtol form. I think it
has more to do with logical sequence than temporal sequence (though often
these overlap
significantly).


Best regards,

GEORGE ATHAS
(Sydney, Australia)






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