Hello arrepto veritate
As I said previously, I think ground zero is your research, prayer and interpretation of
Gen 6:1-4. I recommend an in depth, word-for-word research of the translated Hebrew words in these four verses (
Gen 6:1-4).
For example, my first start at this topic began with
Gen 6:1. More specifically, around whether
Hā-’ā-ḏām should be tranlsted 'men' or 'mankind' and the translated word "began" (
hê·ḥêl).
The Hebrew word “
hê·ḥêl” in its exact form occurs 19 times in the Bible. The root word is chalal which has a “defile”, “break”, “eat as common things” hint. Of those 19 occurrence of
hê·ḥêl in this exact form it appears only 2 other times in Genesis. In
Gen 10:8,
hê·ḥêl is used within the context of Nimrod (trans: “rebel” or “lord of rebellion”), he is a “rebel” that is “in face” of God (lip̄·nê
Gen 10:9); And in
Gen 44:12,
hê·ḥêl is used within the context of Joseph testing his brothers to see if past defilement is also current defilement of their character.
Of the other 16 uses of
hê·ḥêl in the OT, 15 of the 16 are within the context of defilement. In
Num 16:46 &
16:47,
hê·ḥêl is used within the context of the plague that had begun; In
Judges 20:39, within the context of the moral degeneration of Israel and Benjamin “strik[ing] and killing” men of Israel; In
1 Samuel 14:35, where Saul built an altar to the lord but it was defiled by the sin of Jonathan who had eaten honey (forbidden as a burnt offering (
Lev 2:11)) after an oath was given;
2 Kings 10:32,
hê·ḥêl is used when defilement began with Israel and God “cut off parts of Israel” (NKJ); In
2 Kings 15:37, when in Jotham’s reign God sent “Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah against Judah” (NKJ) for defilement; In
1 Chr 1:10,
hê·ḥêl is again used within the context of Nimrod (trans: “rebel” or “lord of rebellion”); In
2 Chr 29:27, twice in the context of the beginning of the burning of the burnt offering for defilement atonement; In
2 Chr 34:3, in the context of a purge of defilement beginning in Juda; In
Eze 20:9,
20:14 &
20:22, the word
hê·ḥêl is translated “profaned” (NKJ, ESV, NIV) and is in the context of God not wanting his “name” to be defiled... you get the point.
We see other forms of a Hebrew phrase suggesting a translation of “began” more frequently pointing toward good use or with a verse where there is no sin or defilement. In
Gen 4:26, the first use of any Hebrew word translated for “began” in Genesis when the Hebrew word of
hū·ḥal is used, as “people began to call on the name of the Lord” (NKJ, NIV, ESV); In
Gen 9:20, the Hebrew
way·yā·ḥel translated “began” is within the context of Noah working the soil; In
Gen 26:13, the Hebrew word phrase
way·yiḡ·dal translated “began” is within the context of Isaac being prosperous, the root word being
gadal which means to grow up or become great.
So it seems to me, it is very clear from above that the Hebrew
hê·ḥêl, commonly translated to only “began”, can intend to carry with it a notion of defilement. So my preferred, more awkward, interpretation of
Gen 6:1 would be (reading it in Interlinear order)…
Gen 6:1 And it came to pass, - when - defile/began - men - to multiply - on - the face - of the earth
In other words, it should be, IMO, "men" not "mankind" and the reason for the distinction is that these "men" are possibly being identified as a restrictive group by the Hebrew word
hê·ḥêl.
This interpretation impacts
Gen 6:2.
. This post is then followed up by 4 or 5 other posts. One of which you quoted and asked the above question.
