Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Martin Shields <enkidu AT bigpond.net.au>]

On 29/09/2005, at 3:08 AM, Vadim Cherny wrote:

> Reading Genesis 2:5, "for there was no man to till the ground" is  
> meaningless.

Why is it meaningless?

Gen 2:5 seems to describe the reasons why there were no cultivated  
crops: the absence of rain and the lack of anyone to cultivate them.  
These two problems are addressed in the subsequent verses where the  
entire land is watered and the man is formed to work the ground.

It also seems unlikely that עבד would be understood to mean "to  
irrigate" when the hif of שקה is used here and elsewhere with this  
meaning (e.g. Deut 11:10; Joel 4:18 [3:18]; Qoh 2:6) while עבד is  
used as "to till" elsewhere with no real indication that it means "to  
irrigate."

Regards,

Martin Shields,
Sydney, Australia.