Human Beginning (KT 4)

Genesis 2:4 almost sounds as if the story of creation is beginning again. Genesis 1:1 states, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," while Genesis 2:4 begins, "These are the records of the heavens and the earth." The contrast between these two creation accounts has led many scholars to speculate that they represent separate traditions of God's creative work. However, this need not be the case. Genesis 1 provides a broad overview, emphasizing the home God prepared for his image bearers. Genesis 2, by contrast, is like a zoomed-in insert on a map, detailing the creation of the image bearers themselves.

The Human as a Living Being

Verses 4–7 read:

4      These are the records of the heavens and the earth, concerning their creation at the time that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5      No shrub of the field had yet grown on the land, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not made it rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground.

6      But water would come out of the ground and water the entire surface of the land.

7      Then the Lord God formed the man out of the dust from the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being.

Focusing on the last clause, "the man became a living being," the term "being" is used in translations such as the HCSB, NIV, NKJV, and NET. The KJV translates it as "soul," the ESV as "creature," and the NASB as "person." While none of these are necessarily incorrect, "being" likely conveys the best sense. The Hebrew word nephesh refers to the whole living individual. "Soul" might suggest only the invisible, immaterial part, whereas nephesh encompasses the body as well. "Creature" captures the idea but may underemphasize human uniqueness since nephesh is also used for animals (Genesis 1:20, 21, 24, 30). On the other hand, "person" might overemphasize human uniqueness, as nephesh can refer to animals as well. "Being" strikes the best balance. This is not merely a linguistic issue but an ontological one: a human is neither just a body nor merely a metaphysical soul but a body-soul combination.

The First Human: Male or Female?

The subject of the clause, "man," comes from the Hebrew adam, which later becomes the name of the first human. However, a more precise translation might be "human." In Hebrew, adam can refer to a single male or to humanity as a whole (like "mankind" in English). In modern contexts, "human" is clearer when the gender is not specified. While tradition assumes the adam of verse 7 is male, this is not necessarily the case. Many scholars, particularly Jewish ones, argue that the first human was initially neither male nor female. The first indication of sex/gender occurs only after this one human is divided into male and female.

This aligns with the narrative in Genesis 2:18, where God declares, "It is not good for the human to be alone." The Hebrew word translated "alone" (bad) can also mean "one." Thus, God saw that the single, non-male, non-female being needed a relational counterpart.

Humanity as the Image of God

Humans were meant to image God fully. God exists as multiple persons in one essence. Likewise, humans, to image God, should be multiple persons in one essence. Instead of creating multiple people from the soil, God designed them to procreate and, therefore, divided the first human into two so they could come together and reproduce. Additionally, humans, being limited, require relational support. The division into male and female reflects this need for relationship.

God then brings the animals to adam for naming. Naming in the Old Testament often reflects distinguishing characteristics (e.g., Esau means "hairy" because he was born with noticeable hair). Adam studies the creatures, assigning them descriptions, but realizes that none are like himself. This was the lesson God intended: for adam to recognize the need for a suitable companion.

After this realization, God puts adam to sleep and performs what is essentially surgery—not merely taking a "rib" but dividing the human into two. With this, adam becomes male and female. The process is completed in verse 24, where the two are reunited in marriage. This reveals how they bear God's image: God takes one, makes two (multiplicity), and the two come back together in one to create life.

Thus, before the division into sexes, the best term to use for adam is "human" rather than "man."

Life as Relationship with God

One key detail in Genesis 2:7 is that life did not come to adam immediately after being formed from clay; rather, life began when God breathed into adam. This demonstrates a profound relational connection. In Psalm 36:9, we read, "For with you is the fountain of life." Life, biblically speaking, is being in relationship with God.

A parallel appears in John 20:

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

Jesus's breath on the disciples mirrors God's breath on adam. It is a breath of communion and relationship—the very essence of life. If relationship with God is life, then death is its opposite: separation from God.

The Origin of Death and Evolution

God introduces the concept of death in Genesis 2:

The Lord God took the human and placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and watch over it. And the Lord God commanded the human, "You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die."

Since adam had never seen death, he likely understood God's warning in terms of relationship. If life meant being in relationship with God, then death meant separation from him.

This raises the question: Did God create humans through evolution? The biblical answer appears to be no, as evolution requires death, and death did not exist before sin. Genesis 2:17 warns that death was not part of the original design. Genesis 3:19 states that death came as a consequence of sin. Romans 5:12 affirms this: "Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."

Even for animals, death was not originally intended. Genesis 1:29–31 describes a world where both humans and animals eat plants, not each other. Romans 8:19–22 confirms that creation itself longs for redemption from death and decay.

A Better Translation for Genesis 2:4–7

A clearer rendering of Genesis 2:4–7 is as follows:

This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were brought into order—at the very beginning, when the Lord God made the earth, the heavens, and all vegetation before it had begun its natural cycle. The Lord God had not yet sent rain, and there was no human to cultivate the soil. Moisture rose from the earth, sustaining the land. Then the Lord God shaped the human from the fine soil and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being.

This translation emphasizes that God created mature plants and that the natural cycle of growth was just beginning. The passage supports the idea that God's creation was immediate rather than a long, gradual process.