God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.
Bereshith (BDB 912) is the Hebrew title of the book. We get Genesis from the Septuagint translation. This is the beginning of history but not of God's activity (cf. Matt. 25:34; John 17:5, 25; Eph. 1:4; Titus 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pet. 1:19-20; Rev. 13:8). R. K. Harrison says it should be translated by way of beginning (Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 542 footnote 3). John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One says it introduces a period of time (p. 45).
Elohim (BDB 43) is a PLURAL form of the general name for God in the ancient Near East, El (BDB 42). When referring to the God of Israel the verb is usually (6 exceptions) SINGULAR. The rabbis say that it speaks of God as creator, provider and sustainer of all life on planet earth (cf. Ps. 19:1-6; 104). Notice how often this word is used in chapter 1.
I believe that this verse is an independent clause: Ibn Ezra says that it is a dependent clause with the emphasis on Gen. 1:2 while Rashi says that Gen. 1:2 is a parenthesis and the emphasis is on Gen. 1:3. Modern dispensational commentators say that Gen. 1:1 is a dependent clause in order to support their view of a previous fall (the gap theory). Notice that there is no explanation of the origin of God. It does emphatically assert that God created matter and did not fashion existing matter (Greek cosmology). In Enuma Elish, (Babylonian creation account), like Greek thought, Spirit (which is good) and matter (which is evil) are co-eternal. The Bible does not discuss or reveal the origin of God. He has always existed (cf. Ps. 90:2). There is surely mystery here. Mankind simply cannot grasp the fullness of God!
This discussion of clauses is theologically significant. The Jewish Publication Society of America has translated Gen. 1:1 a temporal clause, When God began to create the heaven and the earth the earth being unformed and void. . . This translation might conclude that God and matter are co-eternal like Greek cosmology (cf. Creation and Cosmology in Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 5, p. 1059). The Sumerian account of creation, Enuma Elish, begins with when in the beginning. . . See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY.
Bara (cf. Gen. 1:1, 21, 27; 2:3, 4) is the Hebrew VERB (BDB 135, KB 153, Qal PERFECT) used exclusively for God's creative activity. Its basic meaning is to fashion by cutting. God willed into being everything but Himself. Psalm 33:6, 9; Heb. 11:3 and 2 Pet. 3:5 present creation (cosmology) by God's spoken word (fiat) from nothing (ex nihilo), although water is never said to be created (cf. Gen. 1:2). Greek (gnostic) and Mesopotamian philosophies emphasize an eternal dualism between spirit and matter. Whatever bara implies it accentuates God's activity and purpose!
The Bible asserts that creation has a beginning point. Twenty-first century science would characterize this as the big bang. Naturalism can now not assert an unlimited regression back in time. However, it is probable that Genesis 1 refers to the beginning of a functioning earth, not the material beginning of matter (John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One).
The word heavens (BDB 1029, see SPECIAL TOPIC: Heaven) may be used in several senses:
1. it refers to the atmosphere of the earth as in Gen. 1:8 and 20;
2. it may refer to the entire cosmos (i.e. all material existence); or
3. it may refer to the creation of all things visible (material) and invisible (angels, heaven as God's throne). If option three is true then a parallel would be Col. 1:16. If not, then Genesis 1 focuses only on the creation of this planet. The Bible emphasizes a geocentric perspective (i.e. creation seen as a spectator on this planet would have observed it). Some would assert that Gen. 1 is addressing the creation of the universe (i.e. sun, moon, stars, and galaxies), while Gen. 2-3 focuses on this planet and the creation of mankind. This is surely possible because chapters 2-4 form a literary unit. In both (i.e. Gen. 1 and 2-4) creation is geocentristic (i.e. earth focused).
The term (BDB 75, see SPECIAL TOPIC: Land, Country, Earth) can refer to a specific land, country or the whole planet. Genesis 1 is admittedly geocentric (cf. Gen. 1:15). This fits the theological purpose of the chapter, not science. Remember that the Bible is written in the language of description for theological purposes. It is not anti-scientific, but pre-scientific.
This VERB (BDB 224, KB 243, Qal PERFECT) can only very rarely be translated became. Grammatically and contextually was is preferable. Don't let your (i.e dispensational premillennial) pre-suppositional theology of two falls (the gap theory) affect the exegesis of the text.
NASB formless and void
NKJV without form, and void
NRSV, NJB a formless void
TEV formless and desolate
NIV formless and empty
REB a vast waste
SEPT invisible and unfurnished
JPSOA unformed and void
These two terms are found in BDB 1062, KB 1688-1690 and BDB 96, KB 111. Does this imply water only? The earth is changing form (i.e. tectonic plates) continually (i.e. one original continent called Pangea became several continents). The question again is the age of the earth. These words appear together in Jer. 4:23. They are used in the Sumerian and Babylonian accounts of creation but in a mythological sense. This state of creation shows that God used a progressive process to an inhabitable earth (cf. Isa. 45:18). These two words describe, not the beginning of matter, but a state of undeveloped non-functioning orderly system (John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One p. 49). It is not ready for humanity!
This term (BDB 365) does not represent evil, but original chaos. God names the darkness in Gen. 1:5 as He does the light. These two terms, though often used in the Bible to denote spiritual realities, here are representing original physical conditions.
The Hebrew term is tehom (BDB 1062 #3, KB 1690-91). A similar, but different, Semitic root is personified as Tiamat in the Sumerian and Babylonian creation myths as the monster of chaos and the mother of the gods, wife of Apsu. She tried to kill all lesser gods that came forth from her. Marduk killed her. Out of her body Marduk fashioned heaven and earth in the Babylonian Genesis called Enuma Elish. The Hebrews believed that water was the beginning element of creation (cf. Ps. 24:1-2; 104:6; 2 Pet. 3:5). It is never said to have been created. However, the Hebrew term is masculine, not feminine and it is unrelated etymologically to Tiamat.
There are passages in the OT which describe YHWH in conflict with personified watery chaos (cf. Ps. 74:13-14; 89:9-10; 104:6-7; Isa. 51:9-10). However, these are always in poetical, metaphorical passages. Water is a crucial aspect of creation (cf. Gen. 1:2b, 6-7).
NASB, NKJV,
TEV, NIV the Spirit of God
NRSV,
JPSOA a wind from God
NJB a divine wind
REB the spirit of God
SEPT a breath of God
The Hebrew term ruach (BDB 924) and the Greek term pneuma (cf. John 3:5, 8, see SPECIAL TOPIC: Spirit in the Bible) can mean spirit, breath or wind (cf. John 3:5, 8). The Spirit is often associated with creation (cf. Gen. 1:2; Job 26:13; Ps. 104:29-30; 147:14-18). The OT does not clearly define the relationship between God and the Spirit. In Job 28:26-28; Ps. 104:24 and Prov. 3:19; 8:22-23 God used wisdom (a feminine noun) to create all things. In the NT Jesus is said to be God's agent in creation (cf. John 1:1-3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:15-17; Heb. 1:2-3). As in redemption, so too, in creation, all three persons of the Godhead are involved. Genesis 1 itself does not emphasize any secondary cause.
NASB, TEV moving
NKJV, NIV hovering
NRSV swept
NJB sweeping
This term (BDB 934, KB 1219, Piel PARTICIPLE) developed the connotation of brooding or active hovering (cf. JB). This is a mother bird word (cf. Exod. 19:4; Deut. 32:11; Isa. 31:5). It is not related to Phoenician cosmology which asserts that the earth came from an egg, but a feminine metaphor for God's active parental care, as well as the development of His creation at this early stage!
This is the theological concept of creation by the spoken word, using the Latin word fiat (cf. Gen. 1:9, 14, 20, 24, 29; Ps. 33:6; 148:5; 2 Cor. 4:6; Heb. 11:3). This has often been described as out of nothing matter came into being using, by God's command, using the Latin phrase ex nihilo (cf. II Macc. 7:28). However, it is probable that Genesis 1 is not about the original creation of matter but the organizing of existing matter (cf. John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One, p. 54ff).
This power of the spoken word can also be seen in:
1. the patriarchal blessing
2. God's self accomplishing redemptive word, Isa. 55:6-13, esp. Gen. 1-11
3. Jesus as the Word in John 1:1 and
4. Jesus as returning with a two-edged sword in His mouth (cf. 2 Thess. 2:8; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:6; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21). This is an idiomatic way of creation by God's will through thought and word. What God wants, occurs!
These are JUSSIVES (cf. Gen. 1:3, 6[twice], 9[twice in meaning, not form], 11, 14, 20[twice in meaning not form], 22, 24, 26[in meaning not form]).
( Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31) All creation was good (cf. Gen. 1:31). Evil was not part of God's original creation, but a perversion of the good. Good here probably means fits its purpose (cf. Isa. 41:7) or intrinsically without flaw (BDB 373).
This VERB (BDB 95, KB 110, Hiphil IMPERFECT) is characteristic of how God develops His creation. He divides (KJV) and starts new things (cf. Gen. 1:4, 6, 7, 14, 18).
Remember that there is no sun yet. Be careful not to be dogmatic about the time sequence (i.e. 24 hours for the earth to rotate which has not been constant throughout earth's history).
Light (BDB 21) is a biblical symbol of life, purity, and truth (cf. Job 33:30; Ps. 56:13; 112:4; Isa. 58:8, 10; 59:9; 60:1-3; John 1:5-9; 2 Cor. 4:6). In Rev. 22:5 there is light with no sun. Also notice that darkness is created (cf. Isa. 45:7) and named by God (cf. Gen. 1:5) which shows His control (cf. Ps. 74:16; 104:20-23; 139:12). John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One (p. 55ff), based on Gen. 1:4, 5, asserts that this means a period of light, not the origin of the sun.
( Gen. 1:8, 10) This naming shows God's ownership and control.
This order could reflect the existence of darkness before the creation of light. The rabbis interpreted this as the day as a unit of time beginning in the evening. There was dark and then there was light. This is reflected in Jesus' day also where the new day began at twilight, in the evening.
The Hebrew term yom (BDB 398) can refer to a period of time (cf. Gen. 2:4; 5:2; Ruth 1:1; Ps. 50:15; 90:4; Eccl. 7:14; Isa. 4:2; 11:2; Zech. 4:10) but usually it refers to a 24-hour day (i.e. Exod. 20:9-10).
(YOM)
God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.
This verse has two Qal JUSSIVES ( Let...) From the verb be (BDB 224, KB 243). The same construction is in Gen. 1:14 and Gen. 1:22.
NASB, NET
JPSOA an expanse
NKJV firmament
NRSV, TEV dome
NJB vault
This term (BDB 956, KB 1290) could mean to hammer out or to stretch out as in Isa. 42:5. This refers to the earth's atmosphere (cf. Gen. 1:20) depicted metaphorically as an air vault or inverted bowl above the surface of the earth (cf. Isa. 40:22).
Fresh water and salt water are important elements in extra-biblical creation accounts, but in the Bible they are controlled by God. There is no distinction in Gen. 1 made between salt water and fresh water. The water in the atmosphere is divided from the water on the earth. Analysis of Gen. 1 shows that God separates several things as a process to an inhabited earth (light from dark, water above from water below, water below from dry land, sun time from moon time).
God is in control of watery chaos (BDB 95, KB 110, Hiphil PARTICIPLE). He sets their boundaries (cf. Job 38:8-11; Ps. 33:6-7; Isa. 40:12).
Whatever God willed occurred and occurs (cf. Gen. 1:9, 11, 15, 24, 30).
There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
The initial two VERBS (BDB 876, KB 1082 and BDB 906, KB 1157) are both Niphal IMPERATIVES used as JUSSIVES. Does this imply one continent (i.e. Pangaea)? The earth is changing form (i.e. tectonic plates) continually. The question again is the age of the earth. Notice also God controls all natural phenomenon. There are no nature gods!
This is similar to the original holy hill of Egyptian cosmology. Another example of this sharing of a common world-view throughout the ANE would be humans created from clay. This is common to the creation accounts of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel.
This was not meant to be a technical description for the origin of all plant life. It seems to refer to three types of plants: grasses, grains, and fruit. The animals will eat the first and second; humans will eat the second and third. God is preparing the earth step by step as a stage or platform on which to fellowship with and sustain His highest creation, mankind.
There have been several modern scientific theories as to the order of the development of plant life. Some scientists would assert this very order. But we must be careful because scientific theories change. Christians do not believe the Bible because science and archaeology confirm a matter. We believe it because of the peace we have found in Christ and the Bible's own statements of inspiration.
This is a Hiphel JUSSIVE of the verb sprout (BDB 205, KB 233).
Creation is structured (cf. Gen. 1:12, 21, 24, 25; 6:20; 7:14) so that once created, plants, animals and humans can reproduce and adapt in and of themselves. God created life to adapt. At this level, evolution to varying conditions surely occurred through time (micro-evolution or horizontal evolution).
There is a growing trend in theology toward the concept of progressive creation which implies that God may have created mankind (1) in stages or (2) Adam and Eve were created at a later stage, fully developed (cf. writings of Bernard Ramm and Hugh Ross).
In contrast to the ancient Near East where fertility was worshiped as twin gods, this shows the source of life as God, not a sexual act. In many ways this creation account diminishes the gods of the ancient Near East (water; light/dark; heavenly bodies; forces of nature; and fertility gods) as the plagues of the Exodus depreciated the gods of Egypt. The sole initiator is the one and only God!
There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
The heavenly lights were to mark feast days (cf. Gen. 18:14; Lev. 23; Deut. 31:10) and cycles of rest, work, and worship (cf. Ps. 104:19-23). The sun was created to divide the calendar and each day into segments of time to help humans fulfill all their responsibilities (i.e. physical and spiritual).
God is creator of the heavenly bodies (cf. Isa. 40:26). They are not deities to be worshiped (Mesopotamian astral worship, cf. Deut. 4:19; Ezek. 8:16) but physical servants (cf. Ps. 19:1-6). This is a theological statement!
The parallel structure of the Hebrew implies three purposes in addition to Gen. 1:14.
There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
Invertebrates appear in the Cambrian Period suddenly and in abundance of forms. There is no physical evidence of a gradual development.
The verbs swarm (BDB 1056, KB 1655) and fly (BDB 733, KB 800) used in Gen. 1:20 are both IMPERFECTS used as JUSSIVES.
This same word, nephesh (BDB 659), is used of humans (cf. Gen. 2:7) and animals (cf. Gen. 2:19; Lev. 11:46; 24:18). It represents life force (cf. Ezek. 18:4) related to and dependent on this planet.
Literally this is flying things (BDB 733) because in Deut. 14:19-20 it can also refer to insects.
This is the term bara (BDB 135, KB 153, Qal IMPERFECT) as in Gen. 1:1. It implies divine creation. Man and the animals are made in Gen. 1:24-25 which implies out of previously existing matter (i.e. dirt). However bara is used for man in Gen. 1:27 (three times).
This special term is used of (1) the universe (or earth) in Gen. 1:1; (2) of the sea creatures in Gen. 1:21; and (3) of mankind in Gen. 1:27.
NASB, NRSV,
TEV, NJB the great sea monsters
NKJV, NIV great sea creatures
LXX, KJV, great whales
JB great sea-serpents
This may refer to leviathan (BDB 1072, cf. Ps. 104:26; 148:7; Job 41:1ff). Sometimes the word is associated with Israel's enemies: (1) Egypt, Isa. 51:9; Ezek. 29:3; 32:2 (sometimes referred to as Rahab cf. Ps. 89:10; Isa. 51:9) and (2) Babylon, Jer. 51:34. Often it is associated with cosmic/spiritual enemies, Job. 7:12; Ps. 74:13; Isa. 27:1. The Canaanite creation account makes this a god fighting against Baal but in the Bible it is a good creation of the one true God.
This includes everything that flies, birds and insects (cf. Deut. 14:19-20).
As the plants were made to reproduce, so too, the animals. God wants His planet filled with life (series of Qal IMPERATIVES [and one JUSSIVE], cf. Gen. 1:28; 9:1, 7). This was one of the rebellion issues (i.e. unwillingness to separate and fill the planet) of the Tower of Babel (cf. Gen. 10-11).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. How is science related to the Bible?
2. The real questions are the who and why of creation, not the how and when. If this is true, how then should we interpret Genesis 1-2?
3. How did God create the physical world? Should we push fiat, ex nihilo if this is poetry?
4. What is the major thrust of Gen. 1?
5. How is the Bible like/unlike other creation accounts?
SOME HELPFUL RESOURCES
A. Objections Sustained by Phillip Johnson
B. Darwin on Trial by Phillip Johnson
C. Creation and Time by Hugh Ross
D. The Creator and the Cosmos by Hugh Ross
E. The Genesis Question by Hugh Ross
F. The Christian View of Science and Scripture by Bernard Ramm
G. The Scientific Enterprise and Christian Faith by Malcolm A. Jeeves
H. Coming to Peace with Science by Darrel R. Falk
I. The Language of God by Francis S. Collins
J. Who was Adam? by Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross
K. The Lost World of Genesis One, IVP (2009) by John H. Walton
CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS INTO
INTRODUCTION
A. In the past two centuries, OT scholars have often asserted that Genesis records two creation accounts by different authors, using different names for God. However:
1. this may be typical eastern literary form of a general account followed by a more specific account
2. Genesis 1:1-2:3 may be a summary account of the creation of this planet and Gen. 2:4-25 refers to the creation of the first couple.
3. this may reflect the different aspects of God's character (i.e. rabbinical, see SPECIAL TOPIC: Names for Deity)
a. Elohim - creator, provider and sustainer of all life
b. YHWH - savior, redeemer and covenant God of Israel
B. There seems to be a distinction made between God creating out of nothing and created things bringing forth. Example: God created in Gen. 1:21 yet in Gen. 1:20 the water produces; in Gen. 1:25 God made yet in Gen. 1:24 the earth produced. Augustine noticed this distinction and postulated two acts of creation: (1) matter and spiritual beings and (2) their organization and diversification.
C. This passage clearly teaches that humans are like the higher land animals:
1. both have nephesh, Gen. 1:24 and 2:7;
2. both were created on the sixth day, Gen. 1:31;
3. both were created from the ground, Gen. 2:19;
4. both eat plants for food, Gen. 1:29-30;
5. both procreate.
However, humans are also like God:
1. special creation, Gen. 1:26; 2:7;
2. made in the image and likeness of God, Gen. 1:26; and
3. have dominion, Gen. 1:26, 28.
D. Genesis 1:26 Let us . . . (cf. Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8) has been greatly discussed.
Several theories have emerged:
1. The plural of majesty (but no early example in the Bible or in rabbinic literature)
2. God speaking of Himself and the heavenly court of angels, 1 Kgs. 22:19
3. Points toward plurality in God, and therefore, foreshadowing of the Trinity, see SPECIAL TOPIC: The Trinity, Gen. 3:22; 11:7; Isa. 6:8. It is to be noted that (a) Elohim is PLURAL and (b) divine persons are mentioned in Ps. 2:2; 110:1, 4: Zech. 3:8-10.
E. Theories as to the meaning of image and likeness:
1. Irenaeus and Tertullian:
a. Image physical aspects of humanity
b. Likeness spiritual aspects of humanity
2. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius, Hilary, Ambrose, Augustine, and John of Damascus
a. Image nonphysical characteristics of man
b. Likeness aspects of man that can be developed such as holiness or morality, and if not developed then are lost.
3. The Scholastics (Thomas Aquinas)
a. Image mankind's rational ability and freedom (natural)
b. Likeness original righteousness and supernatural gifts that were lost at the fall.
4. The Reformers
a. All basically denied any distinction between the terms ( Gen. 5:1; 9:6).
b. Luther and Calvin both express this concept in different terms, but basically expressed the same truth.
5. I think that they refer to our (1) personality; (2) consciousness; (3) language skills; (4)volition; and/or (5) morality.
F. See SPECIAL TOPIC: Natural Resources, below
SPECIAL TOPIC: NATURAL RESOURCES
God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
Elohim (BDB 43) is the ancient plural name for God which dominates chapter 1. The etymology is uncertain. See SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY. The rabbis say that it shows God as creator, provider and sustainer of all life on planet earth. The PLURAL seems to be theologically significant when connected with Gen. 1:26; 3:22; 11:7 and the plurality of the word one which is found in the great prayer of monotheism(Shema), Deut. 6:4-6. When used of the God of Israel the VERB is almost always SINGULAR. The term elohim in the OT can refer to (1) angels (cf. Ps. 8:5); (2) human judges (cf. Exod. 21:6; 22:8, 9; Ps. 82:1); or (3) other gods (cf. Exod. 18:11; 20:3; 1 Sam. 4:8).
This (BDB 422, KB 425) is a Hiphil JUSSIVE. There is a distinction made in Gen. 1 between God creating by the spoken word out of nothing and that which He created, reproducing (i.e. adapting). Compare Gen. 1:20 and 21 and Gen. 1:24 and 25.
Gen. 1:24-25 describes the land animals both large and small, domestic and wild. Notice the term living creatures (BDB 659 and 311) is based on the term nephesh which is the word used for humans in Gen. 2:7. It is obvious that the uniqueness of mankind is not found in the term nephesh, often translated in Greek as soul. See note at Gen. 35:18.
Literally this refers to gliding, or sliding (BDB 943). This is the same word that is used in Gen. 1:21, that moves. It seems to refer to all animals which do not walk on their legs or that they have such short legs that they are unnoticeable.
God's desires became reality! See note at Gen. 1:7.
God's creation was good (BDB 373) and is proclaimed to be very good in Gen. 1:31. This may be a Hebrew idiom meaning adequate for an assigned purpose. Theologically it may also speak of the absence of sin from God's original creation. Sin is the result of rebellion, not creation.
God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
The form (BDB 793, KB 889) is Qal IMPERFECT, but is used in a COHORTATIVE sense. There has been much discussion over the PLURAL us (cf. Gen. 3:22; 11:7). Philo and Eben Ezra say it is the plural of majesty, but this grammatical form does not occur until much later in Jewish literary history (NET Bible says it does not occur with VERBS, p. 5); Rashi says that it refers to the heavenly court (cf. 1 Kgs. 22:19-23; Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6; Isa. 6:8), but this cannot imply that angels had a part in creation, nor that they have the divine image. Others assume that it is an incipient form of the concept of a Triune God. See Special Topic: Trinity.
Interesting is the fact that in the Mesopotamian accounts of creation the gods (usually linked to individual cities) are always contending with one another but here not only is monotheism evident but even in the few PLURAL expressions there is harmony and not capricious discontent.
This is the Hebrew word Adam (BDB 9), which is an obvious play on the Hebrew term for ground, adamah (cf. Gen. 1:9). The term may also imply redness. Many scholars believe that this refers to humanity being formed out of the red clods or clay of the Tigris/Euphrates River valley (cf. Gen. 2:7). Only in these opening chapters of Genesis is the Hebrew term Adam used as a proper name. The Septuagint uses the word anthropos to translate this term which is a generic term referring to men and/or women (cf. Gen. 5:2; 6:1, 5-7; 9:5-6). The more common Hebrew term for man or husband is ish (BDB 35, cf. Gen. 2:23 the etymology is unknown) and ishah (BDB 61) for woman or wife.
At this point in my theological understanding it is very difficult to relate the Bible's account of the creation of the original pair with the fossil remains of several types of bi-pedal Homo erectus. Some of these ancient grave sites include the burial of items apparently connected to a belief in an after life. I am not offended by evolution within species. If this is true, then Adam and Eve are primitive humans and the historical time-frame of Gen. 1-11 must be radically expanded.
Possibly God created Adam and Eve at a much later period of time (i.e. progressive creationism), making them modern humans (Homo sapiens). If so, then their relationship to Mesopotamian civilization demands a special creation sometime close to when culture begins. I want to emphasize that this is just speculation at this point in time. There is so much moderns do not know about the ancient past. Again, theologically, the who and why, not the how or when are crucial!
The term image can also be found in Gen. 5:1, 3; 9:6. It is often used in the OT to denote idols (KB 1028 II). Its basic etymology is to hew into a certain shape. There has been much discussion in the history of interpretation to identify the exact meaning of image (BDB 853, KB 1028 #5) and likeness (BDB 198). Comparable Greek terms are found in the NT to describe humanity (cf. 1 Cor. 11:7; Col. 3:10; Eph. 4:24; James. 3:9). In my opinion, they are synonymous and describe that part of humanity that is uniquely capable of relating to God. The Incarnation of Jesus shows the potential of what humanity could have been in Adam and will be one day will be through Jesus Christ. See Who was Adam? By Fazale Rana and Hugh Ross, p. 79.
This is literally trample down (BDB 853, KB 1190, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense). This is a strong term that speaks of mankind's dominion over nature (cf. Ps. 8:5-8). This same concept is found in Gen. 1:28. The two terms, rule in Gen. 1:26 and 28, and subdue in Gen. 1:28 have the same basic etymology which means to tread upon or trample. Although these VERBS seem hard they reflect the image of God's reign. Mankind has dominion over the created earth because of his/her relationship to God. They were to reign/dominate as His representatives, in His character. Power is not the theological issue, but the way it is exercised (for self or for the good of others)!
Notice the PLURAL, which implies mutual dominion of male and female (cf. Gen. 5:2). Also notice the PLURAL IMPERATIVES of Gen. 1:28. The submission of the woman only comes after the Fall of Gen. 3. The real question is, Does this submission remain after the inauguration of the new age in Christ ?
There is a threefold use (Qal IMPERFECT followed by two Qal PERFECTS) of the term bara (BDB 127) in this verse, which functions as a summary statement as well as an emphasis on God's creation of humanity as male and female. This is printed as poetry in NRSV, NJB and acknowledged so in NIV footnote. The term bara is only used in the OT for God's creating.
It is extremely interesting that the PLURAL of Gen. 1:26 in now a SINGULAR. This encompasses the mystery of the plurality, yet the unity, of God. God's image (BDB 853) is equal in men and women! See Special Topic: Women in the Bible.
Our sexual aspect relates to the needs and environment of this planet. God continues to separate (see note at Gen. 1:4). Notice the mutuality here, in Gen. 2:18 and 5:2. Our divine image allows us to uniquely relate to God.
Part of God's blessing (BDB 138, KB 159, Piel IMPERFECT) was procreation (cf. Deut. 7:13). This blessing was both on the animals (cf. Gen. 1:22) and on man (cf. v. 28; 9:1, 7). In the Mesopotamian creation accounts the noise of the overpopulation of humans is the reason for the gods' destruction of humanity. The Genesis account urges population growth. It is surprising that one of the first acts of rebellion (cf. Gen. 10-11) was mankind's reluctance to separate and fill the earth.
There are two commands in the Hebrew text which are parallel to Be fruitful and multiply (series of three Qal IMPERATIVES). This makes both human sexuality and human control God's will.
Both the Hebrew verbs, subdue (BDB 461, KB 460) and rule (BDB 921, KB 1190), can have a negative (i.e. cruel domination) connotation. The specific context must determine whether the meaning is benign or aggressive.
The plant kingdom is divided into three different groups. The food chain begins with photosynthesis in plants. All earthly animal life depends on the miracle of plant life. In this verse, mankind is given the grains and the fruits for his food (cf. Gen. 2:16; 6:21), while the third group, the grasses, is given to the animals. It was not until after the flood that humans were allowed to eat flesh (cf. Gen. 9:3). This may be connected with the fact that there was no harvest possible that year. It is theologically inappropriate to draw universal dietary food laws from Gen. 1.
It is also possible that this description is only related to the Garden of Eden. Death and carnivores go back to the earliest fossils relating to the Cambrian layer 500,000 years ago where the fossilized record of life begins with profusion.
The thrust of this statement is that all life is based on the process of photosynthesis (i.e. the food chain).
This is an extremely important conclusion to creation because in later gnostic Greek thought, matter is evil and spirit is good. In this Greek system (as well as some Mesopotamian texts) both matter and spirit are co-eternal which serves as their explanation of the problems on earth. But the Hebrew account is very different. Only God is eternal and matter is created for His purpose. There was no evil in God's original creation, only freedom !
It is important to note that, like the third day, the sixth day has two creative acts, so there are eight creative acts in six days. The rabbis begin the new day at twilight which is based on this phrase, evening and morning.