Article 7a - The Book of Genesis – The Adam Cycle - I Chapters 1-2

By Adrian Mathew

Note: It is recommended to read chapters 1 and 2 from the Book of Genesis before reading this article. Re-reading the article is also a suggestion to get a better understating of the text.

Disclaimer – The following article is meant for educational purpose only and not for any commercial purpose.

A Re-look at the Structure of Genesis:

Another legitimate way to understand the literary structure of the book is when the sacred author has used genealogical formulas to mark what he considered key divisions of his text. The stock phrase “these are generations of” (Hebrew ‘elleh toledoth) is used at the junctures between blocks of narrative called “cycles” that largely follow one of five dominant figures in the book: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. We discover that Genesis appears to have been compiled as five major cycles, each distinguished—and, at the same time, joined—by “genealogical” (toledoth) formulas. This five-cycle structural analysis is presented in the following table and will be used as the basis for our comments on Genesis.

 

The Adam Cycle:

Genesis 1: The book of Genesis begins with a grand prologue giving the account of the creation of the heavens and the earth within the framework of six days. The opening line of Genesis reads, according to the Hebrew Masoretic Text and all ancient versions: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1). This grand opening line serves as a summary statement and suggests the calling into existence of the cosmos without the presence of any preexisting substance. In the first sequence of three days, God creates the forms of day and night (time), sky and seas (spaces), dry land and vegetation (habitat). Over the following three days, he populates these three realms with appropriate rulers: the sun, moon, and stars (markers of time); the birds and fish (who traverse the great spaces); animals (who dominate the land); and finally, man (who rules over all). This process can be diagrammed as follows:

The Six Days of Creation as Temple-Building

Within this overarching framework, the creation of man is special. The narrative shows that more is said about man than about anything else God has created. Man is said, first of all, to be made in the “image” and “likeness” of God (Gen 1:26). What does it mean to be in the “image” and “likeness”? Scholars have rightly pointed out that “images” of the emperors of the ancient Near East used to be placed throughout their realms to represent their authority. So, the sacred author is suggesting that man is the representative of God’s royal rule on earth and the bearer of God’s authority. He is the divine vice-regent.

On the other hand, if we look ahead briefly in Genesis for insight, we read, “(Adam) became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image” (Gen 5:3). Taking this knowledge back to Genesis 1, we realize that “image” and “likeness” is also the implicit language of sonship. Adam is, in some sense, created as the son of God. But in what sense is he a son? Antiquity knew two kinds of sonship: natural and adoptive. Is Adam the natural son of God? Apparently not, because, in sharp contrast to other ancient Near Eastern creation myths, there is no notion of man arising from some kind of sexual process among the gods or of being birthed from a goddess. Adam is not, therefore, a son of God in any natural sense: instead, he is a creature. Therefore, the sonship of Adam, described as “image” and “likeness”, can only be adoptive sonship. Significantly, in antiquity, adoptive sonship was established by means of a covenant.

As the adopted son of God, Adam is blessed: “Be fruitful and multiply!” (Gen 1:28). He is also commissioned explicitly with vice-royal activity: “Fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea.” These are good reasons to conclude that Adam is being established as the first visible king over creation, who acts as representative of the invisible divine King. This royal status and original blessing of Adam will continue to be an important theme throughout Genesis. All things culminate on the seventh day, the Sabbath: the day of divine “rest”, the fundamental day of worship in Israel’s later liturgical calendar. This suggests all creation was ordered to the divine rest and worship of the Sabbath.

Genesis 2: The account that begins in Genesis 2 is often called “Another Account of Creation” or “The Second Creation Story” with much focus on the creation of man and woman in the Garden of Eden. “The LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

Functions of the garden of Eden: Eden is not simply synonymous with the “garden” (Greek paradeisos, from which we get the English word “paradise”) planted by God for Adam. Eden is described as a mountain or mountaintop—this can be deduced from the fact that all four primary rivers of the earth (from an Israelite perspective) flow out from Eden. That would make Eden the highest point of the known world, and this accords with Ezekiel’s reference to Eden as “the mountain of God.” There are also clear signs that point to Eden and its garden as the original sanctuary or “temple of God”. The sacred author notes the presence near Eden of gold as well as precious stones, such as “onyx” and “bdellium” (Gen 2:12). These materials were necessary for the decoration and ornamentation of temples: we will see them in large quantities in the Tabernacle and Temple. The water flowing out of Eden is also an image associated elsewhere with the Temple mount. Onyx in particular was a “sacred stone” much used for liturgical vessels and vestments. There was also the presence of angelic beings known as cherubim by the garden (Gen 3:24). Images of cherubim also protect the later Tabernacle and Temple. Finally, the garden has only one east-facing entrance (Gen 3:24), something also true of the eastward-facing Tabernacle as well as the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Steward of Eden: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and to keep it.” Adam’s mission in the garden, to “till” and to “keep”, has a double meaning. In Hebrew, the words are literally “work” and “guard.” On one level, they refer to horticultural duties. On the other hand, this combination of verbs—“work” and “guard” is not used elsewhere in the Pentateuch until the same two words are found in a description of the duties of the Levitical priests in the Tabernacle.  Thus, the second level of meaning is that Genesis is also depicting Adam as a priestly figure, commissioned to serve in Eden, the primordial garden-sanctuary.

Adam was also the mediator of a covenant between God and creation. Covenants typically included an element of law that governed the covenant relationship, accompanied by sanctions: blessings for covenant fidelity and curses for covenant infidelity. There is only one prohibition: “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat” and one sanction: “in the day that you eat of it, you shall die.”

Adam’s first task is to name the animals (Gen 2:18-20), a duty that rightfully belongs to God the Creator but is deputed to Adam as vice-regent. This activity has Adam speaking for the first time and, indeed, speaking on behalf of God, because God recognizes and confirms whatever Adam, his vice-regent and priest, says: “Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (Gen 2:19). Thus, Adam is the first prophet.

A fitting partner: None of the animals were “fit” for Adam so Adam is put into a deep sleep, and God takes from his flesh a “rib”—literally, one of his “sides” and “builds” a woman and brings her to the awakened man. At this point we have the first recorded words of Adam in Scripture and also the first lyrical poetry: “Bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” Adam is formally declaring Eve to be his wife and, hence, his family. The sacred author proceeds to an explanation of marriage: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.” In sacred time (the Sabbath, the “sign” of the covenant) and sacred space (Eden), the priestly man (Adam) establishes the sacred covenant of marriage with his bride (Eve).

 

Video Links:

Genesis 1 (by Bible Project): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afVN-7vY0KA

 

Genesis 1-2 | Creation | Bible Study (by Spoken Gospel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFHefc6WwfQ

 

References:

The content of the above article has been taken/summarized from an online pdf of the textbook -

A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament by Dr. Brant Pitre and John Bergsma

Page numbers: Structure of Genesis – [pg. 108,109], Genesis 1 – [pg. 109,110,111, 112], Genesis 2 – [pg. 114, 115, 116,117,118]