Genesis 1

[JJWhite]

Not really sure why the period is there either. I believe in another edition there is a comma and the "now" is dropped from the second verse. Why were you surprised?

I always thought 'bara' was a verb... it's like that in Arabic, and that's how I learned it in Hebrew, too. My copy of the Tanakh translated by The Jewish Publication Society also has it translated as a verb.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

 

[durangodawood]

This assumes that mythology is inherently inferior in communicating truth than "just the facts" journalism.

Frankly, I think mythology has the capacity to speak in ways that can't be done when simply describing the facts.

For example, how does simply describing the naturalistic processes of the Big Bang or the accretion of left-over solar material to create the current eight planets in our solar system convey the power and meaning of creation, the purpose and value of the things we observe in the cosmos?

Genesis 1 simply isn't interested in describing a bland series of events, but rather in presenting a rich tapestry of divine creativity which has been imbued into the universe which we observe. Namely, it places an objective value on creation, all these things--everything that exists--is called "exceedingly good".

-CryptoLutheran

I cannot fathom how one could find the unfolding of the universe as it appears to have happened.... as a "bland series of events".
.
I'm especially dismayed that it would still seem bland when the hand of God was revealed to be behind these otherwise material events. And how God did it. And for what purpose. How could the reality of that be outshined by any mythological presentation? (Assuming it that actually IS the reality of things.)
.
Why "sex it up" when the events themselves are awesome?
.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

I always thought 'bara' was a verb... it's like that in Arabic, and that's how I learned it in Hebrew, too. My copy of the Tanakh translated by The Jewish Publication Society also has it translated as a verb.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

What is often rendered as a verb, bara, can also, depending on where you put the vowel points, be rendered as some kind of gerund: "In the beginnig of God's creating ..."

Or at least that is the way I understand it.

 

[JJWhite]

What is often rendered as a verb, bara, can also, depending on where you put the vowel points, be rendered as some kind of gerund: "In the beginnig of God's creating ..."

Or at least that is the way I understand it.

Ah! Okay... I see.

I've always seen and heard it pronounced like a verb, though.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Ah! Okay... I see.

I've always seen and heard it pronounced like a verb, though.

Check out the NRSV and Young's Literal for two example translations.

 

[JJWhite]

Check out the NRSV and Young's Literal for two example translations.

Excuse my ignorance, but were those translated from Hebrew manuscripts or the Septuagint (translation of translation)... just curious.

This is what I'd learned before:

[Genesis] 1:1 - In the beginning

 

[JJWhite]

I checked them out, btw... thanks, L.E.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Excuse my ignorance, but were those translated from Hebrew manuscripts or the Septuagint (translation of translation)... just curious.

I would suppose Hebrew. And according to Wikipedia that seems true.
New Revised Standard Version - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Young's Literal Translation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And as an aside, I wouldn't know what would be the point in trying to produce a literal translation or so, and then to use the Septuagint.

 

[simplegifts]

[FONT=&quot]Bereishit - Genesis - Chapter 1[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]...[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]29. And God said, "Behold, I have given you every seed bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed bearing fruit; it will be yours for food.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]30. And to all the beasts of the earth and to all the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves upon the earth, in which there is a living spirit, every green herb to eat," and it was so.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]...[/FONT]

Makes me think God intended for us to be vegen.

 

[LoAmmi]

Makes me think God intended for us to be vegen.

Or that because death didn't exist at the time eating flesh wouldn't make sense.

 

[LoAmmi]

I cannot fathom how one could find the unfolding of the universe as it appears to have happened.... as a "bland series of events".
.
I'm especially dismayed that it would still seem bland when the hand of God was revealed to be behind these otherwise material events. And how God did it. And for what purpose. How could the reality of that be outshined by any mythological presentation? (Assuming it that actually IS the reality of things.)
.
Why "sex it up" when the events themselves are awesome?
.

Maybe it wasn't what the Israelites needed at the time. I still don't view the Torah as something for everybody else. The Torah is about truth but not necessarily facts.

 

[Thetruefaith]

I do not believe that Genesis 1 is a factual account of the creation of the Earth, but rather it is a story that teaches us. It shows G-d took an active role in the creation process, even if it wasn't six days as shown. It also shows Him creating each being and then creating humans in His image.

Everything in the heavens and everything on the earth and everything in between them and everything under the ground belongs to Him. (Qur'an, 20:6

It also teach us that All his creation belongs to him. He is the One who started it and He is the One who will end it.

We did not create the heavens and earth and everything between them, except with truth. The Hour is certainly coming , so turn away graciously. (Qur'an, 15:85)

There will be an end to all of this. Earth and Heaven.

 

[Thetruefaith]

Maybe it wasn't what the Israelites needed at the time. I still don't view the Torah as something for everybody else. The Torah is about truth but not necessarily facts.

I think that the truth should be based on facts (real and logic) evidence. something that leads you to respect God and know Him better.

Let me state something and tell me if this is a fact or a Myth. If its a fact then this is the truth if not then its a Myth.

(It is He Who made the sun to be a shining glory and the moon to be a light (of beauty), and measured out stages for her; that ye might know the number of years and the count (of time)....

 

[LoAmmi]

You are confusing yourself.

From Proverbs
A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.



That is a statement of truth. It is not a statement of fact. All real facts are true, but not all truth is fact.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

I think the most disastrous aspect of many creation myths - this one included - is their rampant anthropocentrism.

It may be understandable that people in the past would believe that the sun was put in the sky to help them distinguish between night and day, that birds sing in order to delight Man (or a very human deity) with their song, or that flowers were created in order for people to have something nice to look at.

But in practice, these beliefs form the foundation of a broken relationship between Man and the rest of the ecosphere - a dysfunctional way of thinking that other world views that are descended from formerly Abrahamaic cultures have inherited.

 

[Jane_the_Bane]

I cannot fathom how one could find the unfolding of the universe as it appears to have happened.... as a "bland series of events".
.
I'm especially dismayed that it would still seem bland when the hand of God was revealed to be behind these otherwise material events. And how God did it. And for what purpose. How could the reality of that be outshined by any mythological presentation? (Assuming it that actually IS the reality of things.)
.
Why "sex it up" when the events themselves are awesome?
.

I agree. In fact, I do not even find that this particular creation myth is a "sexed up" version of the facts (as far as we know them); what we know about the creation of elements in the heart of stars is infinitely more spectacular than an anthropomorphic deity declaring "let there be light", and affixing "lights" to the sky-roof.

 

[Thetruefaith]

You are confusing yourself.

From Proverbs
A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.



That is a statement of truth. It is not a statement of fact. All real facts are true, but not all truth is fact.

thats not what I meant. sorry my mistake

what i meant is if the narrator of Genesis described those ""Facts" of God's creation, then it should be true if the fact is real and apparent, therefore Truth is revealed. right?

because I feel that he is writing a poem or something based on his image of God's work?

 

[toLiJC]

the eternity is a circle with a beginning and an end, in the beginning of each cycle God builds the universal creation just for 6 days, then He falls into a state of somnolence(half-sleep) on the seventh day, which (state) continues until no more than 5-6 millennia, after the 7th day the "darkness" appears in the form of (the) so called "satan", which is its main appearance, and causes the "sin"(i.e. the spiritual/religious iniquity) to enter into the world of humans by using as many of them as its spiritual servants/workers, after God wakes up, He removes all appearances of the "darkness" locking them to the end of the cycle, then the remainder of the time continues with eternal life right to the end of the cycle when the kingdom of God and the creation collapse, and then the "darkness" again breaks loose and the circle of the eternity again starts in the same way, so that only the roles of the souls change/rotate with one step ahead for each cycle

Blessings

 

[ViaCrucis]

I cannot fathom how one could find the unfolding of the universe as it appears to have happened.... as a "bland series of events".
.
I'm especially dismayed that it would still seem bland when the hand of God was revealed to be behind these otherwise material events. And how God did it. And for what purpose. How could the reality of that be outshined by any mythological presentation? (Assuming it that actually IS the reality of things.)
.
Why "sex it up" when the events themselves are awesome?
.

Not that the facts themselves are uninteresting; but that they don't, of themselves, tell us about the imbued purpose and intrinsic goodness of the universe. Which is a big point of what the author of the Creation Narrative in Genesis 1 is all about.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[dlamberth]

Creation stores are important in any culture.

My view is that this one is a mixbag that comes from various sources, the mystical, various cultural beliefs, a mixture of religious dogma, different oral stories passed down through generations, myths, and so on.

.