Biblical Hebrew Forum

["George Athas" <george.athas AT moore.edu.au>]

Hi Harold!

I have a question mark over your methodology. I think your method is reading
another context into Gen 3.8. Word choice is obviously meaningful in a
larger literary context, like a book, and you do mention this in your
previous post. However, meaning begins with the immediate clause in which
words are located. I feel that you are perhaps ready to let the immediate
clause context of other verses stand, but subsequently importing these into
Gen 3.8. My question is, why not let Gen 3.8 be the starting point for
understanding Gen 3.8, in the same way you are doing for other verses?

 

Best Regards,

GEORGE ATHAS

Moore Theological College

1 King St, Newtown NSW 2042, Australia

Ph: (+61 2) 9577 9774

 

BTW - please be mindful of changing the subject line when replying to
something in the Digest form of B-Hebrew.

 

 

Thanks for the replies Steve, George, and Karyn.

Genesis 3.8

I would translate as such; "They heard the voice of the Lord God walking in
the garden in the Spirit on that day" for the following reasons:

1. Genesis 1.2 states that the Spirit of God was active in creation and
Genesis 2.7 carries that movement onward by stating that God breath into the
nostrils of the man and he became a living soul. In Genesis 7.22, we read
from the Hebrew text that God destroyed all flesh that had the spirit of the
breath of life. It appears that the spirit of Genesis 7.22 and Genesis 2.7
are the impartation of life from the source of life, which is the Spirit of
God. The translation above follows in this same vein. The voice of God that
came walking and the Spirit were presence at that confrontation.

I am beginning with a New Testament concept and reading back into the Old
Testament text. However, the New Testament concept has its foundation in the
Old Testament text. The first chapter of the Gospel of John points us in
that direction.

2. I find some support for this translation in:

BDB 1st Edition page 516

l - 6a

Gesenius 2nd English Edition page 297

101 Prepositions b

3. Of the seven Hebrew text locations where this grammatical form of
 "spirit" with the preposition prefixed is found, six of them are translated
with a meteorological meaning (Gen 3.8; 2 Chr 18.21; Job 28.25; Ecc 5.15;
Jer 5.13; Jer 13.24; Eze 5.2). However, the one in 2 Chronicles 18.21 uses
the translation of "spirit." In this text the "lying" is an adjective
modifying the noun "spirit." Whereas, in Genesis 3.8 it is the "spirit" that
is in the construct state governing the meaning of "day."

4. There is nothing in the text to substantiate the translation of "cool or
evening." It must be assumed that it was at the end of the day that the Lord
God came to Adam and Eve, and then it would be assumed that since it is
evening it would be cool among the trees. However, there is nothing in the
context to substantiate such a translation. Whereas, my translation is more
in line with what we find throughout the message of the Bible that God comes
to us in the person of His Spirit and we hear His voice.

Harold Jenkerson

New Mexico


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