In this Tuesday study, we are asking “What did the book of Genesis mean to its first audience?” The nation of Israel fed on these stories while they were in Egypt under slavery. You might want to re-read, or at least meditate on, the account of mankind’s creation in Genesis 2.
Man was put into the garden to work. In the Ancient Near Eastern religions, humans worked to serve the needs of the gods. In Genesis, humans do not need to fulfill God’s needs. Other religions did not provide a story for the origin of woman, at least not in a way that portrays her as an equal with man. The helper would “correspond” to Adam, the word means “that which is opposite, that which corresponds.”
Man named all the animals of God’s creation. In the process, the man saw that there was no helper corresponding to him among the group. God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, took from Adam’s side and He fashioned the woman. According to Mathews’s commentary, this detailed description of Eve’s creation is unique in the ANE. This “lofty estimation of womanhood” was not widely held.
Now, what insights from “The Origin of Humanity” would have been relevant for the nation of Israel in Egypt? As Adam worked in the garden, Israel would have to “till” the ground: Exo 5:18; 20:9; 34:21. Israel should “keep” its own soul diligently (Deut 4:9) and their livestock under control: Exo 21:29, 36; 22:9.
Israel should have recognized the importance of God’s “commands” (2:16) and the penalty for disobedience that would follow. The verb to obey is found 496 times in the OT with more than half (about 252) found in the Pentateuch. Over half of the occurrences (280) have God as the subject; Moses is the subject of 85 occurrences.
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The woman, the female counterpart of the “man,” “corresponded” to the man – there is an element of equality in that designation. In the ANE, “naming” was an act of dominion. In Israelite theology, man governed the animal world, including naming them; thus, exercising authority over them.
Just as the man was to be “joined” to his wife, Israel was to be “joined” to their God: Deut 10:20; 11:22; 13:5; 30:20. This verb might play a role in the later imagery of God as the husband of Israel: Isa 54:5. Wenham in his commentary suggests that the “first days of the first marriage remain a goal to which Israel hoped to return when the promises to Abraham were fulfilled (pg 69).”
Briefly, what are some lessons for our present generation? Man is to work: 2 Thess 3:12. We are also to be concerned about the commands of the Lord: 2 Thess 1:8. There is an equality of value that exists between man and woman: Galatians 3:28. In Matthew 19:5, Jesus puts Genesis 2:24 into the mouth of God. “What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (19:6).
Humanity has a unique and special origin in the heart of God.
Paul Holland
