How long to name the animals?

[philadiddle]

I'm wondering how long Adam would have taken to name the animals, and how you come up with your answer.

 

[Assyrian]

Scientists are still discovering and naming new species and genera, so I would say Adam has been at it at least 6000 years. [/ok i'll shut up now]

 

[Crusadar]

I'm wondering how long Adam would have taken to name the animals, and how you come up with your answer.

For a man who could walk talk and get married within the same week after being created - I would say not too long.

 

[busterdog]

For a man who could walk talk and get married within the same week after being created - I would say not too long.

We might as well ask how long the honeymoon was. Well, maybe not.

The naming thing, though, certainly challenges the imagination.

 

[laptoppop]

I would think that he would only be naming the root "kinds" -- i.e. dog, cat, lizard, elephant, etc. This would go MUCH faster than having to name all the allowed upcoming variations within these kinds.

 

[juvenissun]

Scientists are still discovering and naming new species and genera, so I would say Adam has been at it at least 6000 years. [/ok i'll shut up now]

People suggested that many knowledge has been lost since Adam got kicked out. I think Adam did name EVERY species, include those we do not know yet and those "yet to come" according to your theology.

 

[crawfish]

In ancient cultures, the act of "naming" actually conferred attributes to what was being named. It may be safe to assume that in this, God was allowing Adam to take part in creation by allowing him to define the basic characteristics of the animals.

Also in ancient cultures, it was a common belief that if you knew something's "true name", you would have power over that thing.

Yeah, yeah, I know.

 

[Assyrian]

I would think that he would only be naming the root "kinds" -- i.e. dog, cat, lizard, elephant, etc. This would go MUCH faster than having to name all the allowed upcoming variations within these kinds.

Kinds, whatever they are, are not actually mentioned in this account. Genesis 2:19 So out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. What we do see is an emphasis on 'every' beast, 'every' bird.

 

[Assyrian]

People suggested that many knowledge has been lost since Adam got kicked out.

You know I have come across this idea, but I have never seen it actually supported in scripture. Arguably it was an increase in knowledge, at least of good and evil, that got him kicked out, a knowledge he did not have in his innocent state. Then Genesis goes on from describing Adam as a simple gardener to describing the development of building, metallurgy music etc after Adam was licked out.

I think Adam did name EVERY species, include those we do not know yet and those "yet to come" according to your theology.

Seeing as Adam was God's name for the human race, Adam is still naming them as they are being discovered.

 

[Mallon]

According to Ham's new house of wax, Adam named every animal "kind" in one afternoon. Apparently, there were less than two hundred species to name... although Ham conveniently refuses to say just what those original kinds might have been. Creation 'science' doesn't answer those questions.

 

[shernren]

According to Ham's new house of wax, Adam named every animal "kind" in one afternoon. Apparently, there were less than two hundred species to name... although Ham conveniently refuses to say just what those original kinds might have been. Creation 'science' doesn't answer those questions.

200, eh? Let's see.

A day has 24 hours, so Adam would have had about 0.12 hours to name each species - or about 7.2 minutes each "kind". That's a very short time, considering a few things:

1. Adam just woke up. He would have been a bit slower in the morning, wouldn't he?
2. Naming is theologically significant. Naming in the Old Testament represents the identity of the named, and that Adam named animals shows that he was exercising authority over them. How would you like it if your parents spent under 10 minutes to come up your name?
3. Adam had never seen any of these creatures before. In fact, he didn't realize, until after examining them, that none of them was suitable to be his mate.

Mind you, if you take Genesis 1 and 2 literally (in the NIV ), Adam didn't have a full 24 hours to name the animals.

1. God created from morning to evening. Most theological arguments for the chronology of the world say that God would have created the world on an equinox, so that the daytime would have been 12 hours. Regardless, it was a lot shorter than 24 hours.
2. God needed to take time to create the animals, and then man himself, before they could have been named.
3. Adam needed to realize that none of the animals were suitable to be his mate, and God had to put Adam to a deep sleep to make Eve.

Furthermore, there is no Scriptural evidence that God made only two of each kind to begin with. Biologically speaking it would have been impossible to cram the genomes of every single "kind-descendant" the creationists postulate today into one ancestral pair. Lions' manes, tigers' stripes, savannah sociality, leopards' spots, jungle solitary psychology, and the tabby cat had to be crammed into the first "cat" pair, according to the creationists - methinks they wouldn't have looked like cats at all! And we know from Scripture that God must have created at least four lambs to begin with, or we wouldn't have had any left today.

So to take into account our more realistic estimates, say Adam had 15 hours to name 300 animals. That gives him about 0.05 hours per animal - or a minute and 12 seconds. This looks more like a game show gone wrong than Creation Week!

 

[Jadis40]

Here's another point: how could "Adam" have named a creature if he'd never seen one? I'm thinking specifically of creatures that inhabit the abyss in the deepest parts of the sea.

Creatures that I wouldn't want to meet up with...like the Viperfish and Anglerfish. Fish, I might add, that have a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, and ways of attracting prey. If you've ever seen pictures of these, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[philadiddle]

According to Ham's new house of wax, Adam named every animal "kind" in one afternoon. Apparently, there were less than two hundred species to name... although Ham conveniently refuses to say just what those original kinds might have been. Creation 'science' doesn't answer those questions.

You'd think if Ham was trying to replace a well established theory he would at least have some of the details worked out.

Here's another point: how could "Adam" have named a creature if he'd never seen one? I'm thinking specifically of creatures that inhabit the abyss in the deepest parts of the sea.

Creatures that I wouldn't want to meet up with...like the Viperfish and Anglerfish. Fish, I might add, that have a mouthful of razor sharp teeth, and ways of attracting prey. If you've ever seen pictures of these, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

He didn't name the sea creatures. Genesis 2:19 says he named the beasts of the field and the fowl of the air.

 

[Assyrian]

Which were ostriches

 

[philadiddle]

Which were ostriches

Since they don't fly I'd guess they are not "of the air".