Biblical Hebrew Forum

["K Randolph" <kwrandolph AT gmail.com>]

Steve:
Sorry for an even later response.

On Dec 19, 2007 8:11 PM, Steve Miller <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Sorry for such a late response.
>
> Is it possible that God formed Adam on Day 3 of Gen. 1, but the creation
> of
> Adam was not finished until Day 6, when He split Adam into male and
> female?
> That would require, from Gen 1:26, that Adam was not in God's image and
> likeness until he was split into male and female. It would also require
> that
> Adam was not fit to rule the earth until he was split into male and
> female.
> Then Gen 2 would be the details, not just of day 6, but of days 3-6.
>

Does that fit the description given in Genesis 1:24–31? I think not.

>
> I am just toying with this thought. In order for me to think this is true,
> I
> would need at least one, preferably 2 other supports from the Bible, and I
> don't know of any. If anyone has any evidence either for or against, I
> would
> be most grateful.
>
> Like Anthony Becker, I am not satisfied with Collins' explanation to
> translate Gen 2:19 in the past perfect. I read Collins, and to me, his
> argument is unsatisfying. He gives no possible reason for why the Author
> did
> not use a normal way of writing a past perfect: either by starting the
> sentence with "wyhwh elohim", or by saying "And the Lord God brought to
> Adam
> every beast of the field and every fowl of the air, which He had formed
> out
> of the ground." But, it may be that starting the sentence with "wyhwh
> elohim" would indicate a break in the narrative, like 1:2; 2:5; 3:1 & 4:1,
> which would be unwanted here. It may be that saying "which He had formed
> out
> of the ground" loses the emphasis on "formed out of the ground" in
> contrast
> to taken out of Adam's flesh and bone.
>

Genesis 1:2 is a break in the narrative? I read it that Genesis 1:1 narrates
the original creation, verse 2 a description of that original creation, then
verse 3 and following a narration of how God refined and completed his
creation. Therefore, if there is any break, it is at verse 3, not 2.

>
> Sincerely,
> -Steve Miller
> Detroit
> www.voiceInWilderness.info
> The words of the Lord are pure words,
> tried as silver is tried,
> tested in a furnace of earth,
> 7 times purified. (Psalm 12:6)
>

I don't understand why you are struggling to avoid a pluperfect reading of
this verse, one implied by its context. But if you acknowledge that Biblical
Hebrew did not grammaticize tense, then there is no reason not to translate
this as a pluperfect when translating into a language that grammaticizes
tense, such as English.

Karl W. Randolph.