.
● Gen 2:6 . . a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
The Hebrew word for "mist" is 'ed (ade). It's a very rare word and appears only one more time in the whole Bible at Job 36:27 where it's apparently speaking of the process of evaporation; which typically produces water in the form of vapor. From thence comes things like fog, rain, dew, humidity, and snow.
Left to itself, nature would've been producing plenty of rain at this point in time, but none is on record prior to the Flood.
Heb 11:7 testifies that God gave Noah a head-up about things coming that no one had ever seen before. One of those things was rain; it was unheard of in his world. When you think about it, water falling from the sky is pretty amazing; and in Noah's day, no doubt beyond imagination.
The reason for the 'ed is something I learned in a high school science class. Had God brought rain prior to flourishing ground cover, the land would have eroded something awful and millions of cubic yards of perfectly good dirt would have washed into creeks, and streams, and rivers to be carried out to sea where it would be lost in perpetuity. Water in the form of dew, fog, and/or humidity is a whole lot more gentle on bare ground than falling water. (California's coastal redwoods obtain a large percentage of their moisture from fog.)
● Gen 2:7a . . And Yhvh God formed a man's body
Mankind's creator didn't give birth to man like women give birth to children or like baby chicks hatch from eggs; no, humans aren't God's biological progeny-- humans are God's handiwork like the glass products manufactured by craftsmen in Murano; where they make things from scratch using mostly sand for their base material.
NOTE: The natural human body is sometimes thought to be the sum total of human existence, but according to 2Cor 5:1-4 it's just a temporary abode like a tent or a hut.
● Gen 2:7b . . from the dust of the ground
The Hebrew word for "dust" is a bit ambiguous. It essentially refers to powder, but can also be translated clay, earth, mud, mortar, ashes, and/or rubbish; viz: the human body wasn't spoken into existence ex nihilo; God constructed it from already-existing physical matter.
● Gen 2:7c . . and breathed into it the breath of life
The word for "breath" is neshamah (nesh-aw-maw') which means: a puff. Neshamah is a bit ambiguous and has been variously translated air, soul, spirit, blast, and inspiration.
This isn't speaking of artificial respiration because it doesn't do a bit of good pumping air into the lungs of a corpse. They won't come alive like that; it's been tried.
The breath of life is a mysterious, supernatural energy that can animate otherwise normally lifeless things; even stones. (Luke 19:40)
● Gen 2:7d . . and man became a living soul.
The Hebrew word for "soul" is nephesh (neh'-fesh) which isn't unique to human beings. Its first appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to aqua creatures and winged creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies, and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature; and yet again at Gen 9:10 to classify every living thing aboard Noah's ark.
Soul is somewhat ambiguous. It can be said that creatures are souls and also that they have souls. But here in the beginning, nephesh simply refers to consciousness, individuality, and self awareness.
NOTE: According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However; though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_
● Gen 2:6 . . a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
The Hebrew word for "mist" is 'ed (ade). It's a very rare word and appears only one more time in the whole Bible at Job 36:27 where it's apparently speaking of the process of evaporation; which typically produces water in the form of vapor. From thence comes things like fog, rain, dew, humidity, and snow.
Left to itself, nature would've been producing plenty of rain at this point in time, but none is on record prior to the Flood.
Heb 11:7 testifies that God gave Noah a head-up about things coming that no one had ever seen before. One of those things was rain; it was unheard of in his world. When you think about it, water falling from the sky is pretty amazing; and in Noah's day, no doubt beyond imagination.
The reason for the 'ed is something I learned in a high school science class. Had God brought rain prior to flourishing ground cover, the land would have eroded something awful and millions of cubic yards of perfectly good dirt would have washed into creeks, and streams, and rivers to be carried out to sea where it would be lost in perpetuity. Water in the form of dew, fog, and/or humidity is a whole lot more gentle on bare ground than falling water. (California's coastal redwoods obtain a large percentage of their moisture from fog.)
● Gen 2:7a . . And Yhvh God formed a man's body
Mankind's creator didn't give birth to man like women give birth to children or like baby chicks hatch from eggs; no, humans aren't God's biological progeny-- humans are God's handiwork like the glass products manufactured by craftsmen in Murano; where they make things from scratch using mostly sand for their base material.
NOTE: The natural human body is sometimes thought to be the sum total of human existence, but according to 2Cor 5:1-4 it's just a temporary abode like a tent or a hut.
● Gen 2:7b . . from the dust of the ground
The Hebrew word for "dust" is a bit ambiguous. It essentially refers to powder, but can also be translated clay, earth, mud, mortar, ashes, and/or rubbish; viz: the human body wasn't spoken into existence ex nihilo; God constructed it from already-existing physical matter.
● Gen 2:7c . . and breathed into it the breath of life
The word for "breath" is neshamah (nesh-aw-maw') which means: a puff. Neshamah is a bit ambiguous and has been variously translated air, soul, spirit, blast, and inspiration.
This isn't speaking of artificial respiration because it doesn't do a bit of good pumping air into the lungs of a corpse. They won't come alive like that; it's been tried.
The breath of life is a mysterious, supernatural energy that can animate otherwise normally lifeless things; even stones. (Luke 19:40)
● Gen 2:7d . . and man became a living soul.
The Hebrew word for "soul" is nephesh (neh'-fesh) which isn't unique to human beings. Its first appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to aqua creatures and winged creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies, and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature; and yet again at Gen 9:10 to classify every living thing aboard Noah's ark.
Soul is somewhat ambiguous. It can be said that creatures are souls and also that they have souls. But here in the beginning, nephesh simply refers to consciousness, individuality, and self awareness.
NOTE: According to Matt 10:28, the body and the soul are perishable. However; though the body is perishable by any means, the soul is perishable only by divine means; i.e. the deaths of body and soul aren't necessarily simultaneous, viz: the soul lives on until such a time as God decides to give it either a thumb up or a thumb down.
_
