Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Genesis 2:17

"'but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.'"  Genesis 2:17

Here's the "but" statement following the last verse.  In the Qbible it notes that "surely die" is a casual statement and "die" can be either "die" or "kill."  Maybe the end of that verse should be read more like "the day you eat of it, it will cause your death."

This article states the proper translation should be "dying you shall die."  It argues that eating from this tree would cause them to begin dying immediately.  When you think about our one bodies that the older we get the more and more they wear out, this does make some sense.  Eating from this tree started the dying process.  It may have taken years or centuries, but in the end both Adam and Eve died.

This verse may also be pointing out that killing would enter the earth.  Nowhere before this point does God give any creature anything but plants to eat.  One eventual outcome from eating of this tree would be not only the killing of other humans, but also animals killing other animals.  It's amazing the impact of one sin had on all creation.  How much of an impact do our individual sins today have?

Genesis 2:16

"And the Lord God commanded the man, 'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;'" Genesis 2:16

Man has a home and food to eat.  Both needs that must be filled to live.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Genesis 2:15

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."  Genesis 2:15

The Qbible has several meanings for "put."  One of those is "to settle," and another is "to deposit."  The idea this brings to mind is that God put man in the garden to live there, with it as his home.  
The next thought is that God put him there to work it and take care of it.  Another definition of "work it" is "enslave it."  So Adam was to be the master of the garden, but that didn't just involve forcing it to his will, it also meant that he was to guard and protect it.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Genesis 2:14

"The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates."  Genesis 2:14

Ashur is probably a region named for another one of Noah's grandsons.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Genesis 2:13

"The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush."  Genesis 2:13

Cush, may be a region named after one of Noah's grandsons, which is believed to be Ethiopia.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Genesis 2:12

"(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.)"  Genesis 2:12

The Qbible translates "aromatic resin" as "bdellium" which means "something in pieces, a fragrant gum" maybe amber.

Genesis 2:11

"The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold." Genesis 2:11

The Qbible translates "winds through" as "borders."  Havilah comes from the Hebrew word Chavilah.  Some believe that Havilah is a region named after one of Noah's grandsons.  So of the four rivers that branched off the river that flowed through Eden, the Pishon was the first.