Parashah 01 BeReshit Genesis 1:1 – 6:8 By Dr. K. Blad © Second edition 2013-14 Lucrative copying not permitted. Torah Readings: 1:1-13 1:14-23 1:24 – 2:3 2:4 – 3:21 3:22 – 4:26 5:1-24 5:25 – 6:8 Maftir: 6:5-8
Haftarah: Isaiah 42:5 – 43:10 Bible versions used:[1] Auth – The author’s translation JPS – Jewish Publication Society Bible MRC – Messianic Renewed Covenant NIV – New International Version HNV – Hebrew Names Version BBE – 1949/1964 Bible in Basic English CJB – Complete Jewish Bible KJV – King James Version (1859 revision) MKJV – Modern King James Version BeReshit Means “In the beginning of” or “For the First’s Sake” Comments The First Aliyah, 1:1-13 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Auth) – In contrast to pagan beliefs the Torah begins by revealing the fact that the universe has a beginning and that there is One who is above the Universe, and who has set everything in motion. This knowledge causes people to avoid worshipping the created instead of the Creator. Idolatry is, basically, to worship creation instead of the Creator, as it is written in Romans 1:20-25, “For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen” (NIV) The fact that there is One who has begun everything and brought everything into existence, teaches us that he is the owner of everything that exists and he has the right to rule over everything that is his. This fact makes him the great Lawmaker of the universe. If there is One who has begun everything that exists, both in heaven and on earth, then everything that exists must fulfill his purposes. This higher Being started time, space, matter, vegetation, and the living creatures, because he had a very specific purpose in mind. He has the complete power and right to do what he wants with the things that he has created, causing absolutely everything to lead to the fulfillment of his purposes. That makes him the great Commander of creation. This principle is what lies behind the requirements that he places on man when he commands him to keep his commandments. Everything that exists has been placed under a Torah, an instruction. Every created thing has a law to fulfill. That law is the Creator’s purpose for that specific thing. Man is a being that was created with the very special purpose of serving the One who created man and placed him in His universal plan. The purpose for man is that he should fulfill the Torah that the Eternal has set for him. If a person does not serve the Creator according to the Torah he rebels against the very principle of existence for creation and goes beyond his right to exist. Everything that is, exists because the Eternal has made it, and because he has a specific plan with that creation. Not one detail in creation lacks meaning. This text speaks of a beginning. This teaches us that time is created and that the Creator is outside of time. Thereafter it says that the heavens and the earth were created. This teaches us that space and matter are not eternal, but that they were brought into existence at a certain historic point in time, when time began. What was before the beginning? Only one: God. There were, however, plans within God that have been there for eternity, a timeless state, since time only began when everything was created. Everything that existed within the Creator before creation is timeless. But it was not there as something that existed, in the way we understand existence, but as part of a thought, a council, a plan, and a project. The Midrash teaches that this plan is the Torah, which the unlimited wisdom the Only and Eternal One has conceived from eternity, a timeless state. According to Talmud,[1] seven things were created before the world came into being: 1. The Torah, compare with Proverbs 8:22. 2. Repentance, compare with Psalm 90:2-3. 3. The Garden of Eden (paradise), compare with Genesis 2:8. 4. Gehinnom (the lake of fire), compare with Isaiah 30:33. 5. The Throne of Glory, compare with Psalm 93:2. 6. The Temple, compare with Jeremiah 17:12. 7. The name of the Messiah, compare with Psalm 72:17. The world was created out of these seven things. The Torah is the architectural outline for all of creation. The fact that repentance is mentioned as something that precedes creation, teaches us that even though the Eternal had not determined beforehand that man would sin, he had already planned a solution for man’s sin, as it also is written in Revelation 13:8b, “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (MRC) In 1 Peter 1:20 it is written, “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” (NIV) The Hebrew word that is translated “In the beginning” is bereshit. It is a made up of the two words; “be” which means “in”, “within”, “with”, “through”, “because of”, and reshit[2], which means “first (in space, time, order, and rank)”, “first fruit”, “beginning”, “main thing”, “the best”. According to Strong’s concordance, this word comes from the same root as rosh[3] which means “head”, “upper part”, “ruler”. Rashi[4] teaches that every time the word reshit occurs in the Scriptures, it is constructive (Hebrew smichut) in relation to the noun that follows. This grammatical phenomenon is very common in the Scriptures. It constructs a relationship between two nouns, of which one is submitted to the other which determines all. One example is found in the expression simchat Torah. The word simchah is feminine in form and it means “joy”. When it is written in this “constructive form”, the last letter “he” is traded for the letter tav and the word has a meaning that is submitted and is “possessed” by the following noun. In other words, the expression simchat Torah means “the Torah’s joy”. The letter tav at the end of the word bereshit shows us that it is written in “constructive form”. The meaning is then, “the beginning of” or “(creation)’s beginning”. The word that follows is barah, which literally means “created”, and which is not a noun, but a verb. Even so Rashi says that it should be understood as “the creating”. The literal meaning is then, “In the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and the earth, when the earth was without order and empty, with darkness covering the surface of the deep and the breath of God sailed over the surface of the water, then God said: “Be light!” And there was light.” (Auth) This means that the first verse does not explain in which order everything was created. According to one of the rules in the third level of interpretation, (in Hebrew drash which means “seeking”) a similar expression or word found several times in the Scriptures, is compared and connected. The word reshit is found 20 times in the Chumash[5] and over 50 times in the entire Tanach.[6] It is used in relation to the beginning of a king’s reign, compare with Genesis 10:10, a firstborn son, compare with Genesis 49:3; Deuteronomy 21:17, the firstfruits of the land, compare with Exodus 23:19; 34:26 and so on. In Proverbs 8:22, wisdom, which is the Torah, is called “the beginning (reshit) of his way”. In Jeremiah 2:3, the people of Israel are called “the first (reshit) of his harvest”. In the Scriptures there is a very intimate relationship between reshit and the Messiah. The Messiah is the Reshit of everything, as it is written in Colossians 1:15-18, “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For in Him all things were created, in Heaven and on Earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, whether lordships, whether rulers, whether authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and all things in Him consist. He is also the head of the body, the assembly; He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.” (MRC) The Messiah is also the first fruits of the resurrection, Reshit, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23, “But now, in fact, the Messiah has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep… But each in his own order: the Messiah, the first fruit, afterwards those who are Messiah’s at His coming.” (MRC) The Messiah is the project that is behind everything created. From eternity the Messiah is in the bosom of the eternal Father, as it is written in John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time; the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” (MKJV) Here it does not say that the Son was in the bosom of the Father, but that he is in the Father’s bosom, in present tense. Since the Father is outside of time, his Son, the Messiah-Project, is also outside of time, within the Father from eternity and in the constant present forever, as it is written in John 17:5, 24b, “Now, Father, glorify me with your own self with the glory which I had with you before the world existed… that they may see my glory, which you have given me, for you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (HNV) The Eternal has decided to reign over the universe through the Messiah. Therefore, in the Scriptures, the word reshit relates to the beginning of a king’s reign. Furthermore, the Messiah-Project is the reason that everything was created and why everything has been made. The Eternal created everything through the Mashiach Plan and for the sake of the Mashiach, who would later appear as a person, as it is written in 1 John 1:1-2, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.” (NIV) In John 1:14 it is written, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (NIV) The Hebrew prefix “be” in the first word of the Torah, beReshit, means “in”, “through”, “because of”, “with thought of”, “with the purpose of”, etc. This teaches us that God created the heavens and the earth “in Reshit”, or “with the purpose of Reshit”. As we saw earlier, Reshit is the Torah, Israel, and the Messiah. The fact is that these three are one. The Torah is the eternal plan through which the world was created. Israel is the firstborn son of the Eternal (compare with Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1). The Messiah is the Torah revealed as a man, compare with John 1:14, and in whom all of Israel is summed up, compare with Matthew 2:15; John 12:32. Everything was created, therefore, through the Torah and for the sake of Israel. And everything was created through the Messiah and for the sake of the Messiah, as it is written in John 1:1-3, ”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and separately from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” (MRC) This Word, this Torah and Mashiach Project, later materialized gradually through the creation of everything. But in spite of the fact that the Messiah had not appeared as a man, everything was prepared for his sake, since he later would come and be placed to reign over all things created. Therefore the text can be translated like this, “For the sake of the Foremost, God created the heavens and the earth.” The first letter in the Torah is “bet”, which means, “house”. Therefore, the first verse could also be understood this way, “A house for Reshit created God the heavens and the earth.” This teaches us that the heavens and the earth are Reshit’s house. Reshit is the Messiah. A house and clothing are principally the same things. Creation is Messiah’s clothing, as it is written in Psalm 102:25-27 and Hebrews 1:10-12, “And, ‘In the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They all will become old like a garment, and like a mantle you will roll them up; as a garment they will also be changed. But you are the same and your years will never cease.” (MRC) Why did the Creator not begin his story with himself? Isn’t he before all things and should therefore be mentioned first? Why didn’t he write “God created in the beginning…”? He did not begin by talking about himself but about that which he has done through Reshit. This teaches us two things. First of all, God is very discreet concerning creation. He does not begin by introducing himself, but stands behind Reshit. This is also the reason a person who knows the Eternal doesn’t begin letters by writing about themselves, or if they are with other people they do not begin by introducing themselves. They always begin with something else, or someone else, before mentioning themselves. The second thing that we learn is that no one can know the Creator directly, but only through that which he has created, as it is written in Romans 1:19-20, “Because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse.” (HNV) The Creator is invisible and impossible to be reached by the created. It is only possible to get to know him through that which he reveals of himself. In this text he teaches us that the way to get to know him is through creation and through Reshit. In this way the Son, the Messiah, becomes the most important agent through which the Invisible One reveals himself in the world, as it is written in Hebrews 1:1-3, “God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds. His Son is the radiance of his glory, the very image of his substance, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself made purification for our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (HNV) In John 14:6, 9b it is written, “Yeshua said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me…He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ”Show us the Father”?’” (MRC) The Father reveals himself in this world through the Son. But, we cannot fall into the trap of thinking that the Eternal is like man or like animals in the way that he can reproduce and have children as we do, or associate himself with humans and have children. This thought is found in pagan religions and among people who do not know the truth of the Torah. When it says Son, it is referring to the function of being a successor and a representative, just as a son would imitate and represent his father in a family. King David was Ishai’s eighth son. In spite of that, he was still called firstborn (compare with Psalm 89:20, 27). When Shaliach[7] Shaul writes in Colossians 1 that the Messiah is the firstborn of all creation, it does not mean that he was born of the Father through reproduction, but that he was pre-destined to be ruler over everything created, invisible as well as visible. The firstborn son is the one who takes the father’s name and right to rule the family when the father is not present. In the same way the Messiah is called Son, not because the Father had a child, or reproduced, but because the Messiah has been placed as ruler over everything created. The Son is the one who represents the Father in creation. The Hebrew concept of being a son has to do with succession, representation, and delegation of authority. The disciples were called sons in the Hebrew Scriptures (translated into English as “disciples”) in spite of the fact that they were not born of their master biologically (compare with 1 Kings 2:12; 20:35; 2 Kings 2:3ff; John 8:39, 41; Ephesians 5:1). These “sons” later received delegated authority to act on behalf of their master. Therefore, when the Scriptures speak of “God’s sons” it is talking about angels or people who have received the power from the Creator to judge and rule over a certain area of creation. This is a matter of delegated authority (compare with Job 1:6; Psalm 82:6; John 10:34-38). This means that all those who accept Yeshua will be given power, or authority, to be God’s children, or sons, as it is written in John 1:12, “But as many as received him, to them he gave the power to become God's children, to those who believe in his name.” (HNV) To be made a son of God means receiving a leadership position and an area of authority in some place in creation. “In the beginning… created…” – The Hebrew word that is translated “created” is barah.[8] This word is found approximately 50 times in the Scriptures and each time it is talking about the production of something that had not previously existed. It speaks about bringing something into existence. In the strictest sense of the word, only the Creator can create. Only He can make something begin to exist that never did before. The expression “create out of nothing” is a way of trying to express this concept. But that expression does not describe the concept as accurately as the word barah, since the Eternal did not create out of nothing. Before he created, it all existed as a project in the mind of the Creator. Therefore, all things visible are a result of the invisible that was in the Creator’s mind, as it is written in Hebrews 11:3, “By faith, we understand that the universe has been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen has not been made out of things which are visible.” (HNV) Everything visible came from the invisible. Visible things are results of invisible things. Everything that happens in the visible world is a result of what has first happened in the invisible world. “In the beginning God (Elohim) created…” – The Hebrew word Elohim[9] is the plural form of Eloah[10] which means “Mighty”. It comes from “El”[11] which means “mighty”, “powerful”, “might”, “strength”. These three words, El, Eloah, and Elohim are used in the Scriptures as synonymous expressions referring to the Creator. All three words are translated as “God” in the English Bible translations. The Hebrew word “El” is found approximately 200 times in the Scriptures and is referring to the Creator practically every time. A couple of times it has the meaning “might” (compare with Genesis 31:29; Proverbs 3:27; Micah 2:7). The plural form of El is Elim, which never refers to the Creator, but to other mighty creatures, people, or angels (compare with Exodus 15:11; Job 41:25; Psalm 89:6). It is also used to describe pagan idols (compare with Isaiah 57:5; Daniel 11:36). The word Eloah is found 56 times in the Scriptures, mainly in the book of Job. It is only found twice in the Chumash (compare with Deuteronomy 32:15, 17). The plural form of Eloah is Elohim. It is found approximately 2,600 times in the Scriptures. This word is not a personal name, but rather a title and an attribute that expresses might and judgment. In most cases this word is used to describe the Creator. However, it is also used to describe angels, compare with Psalm 8:5, and pagan gods, compare with Genesis 31:30. Moshe received the title Elohim, compare with Exodus 4:16; 7:1, and the judges in Israel were also called Elohim, compare with Exodus 21:6; 22:8-9. The fact that the word Elohim is in plural form does not necessarily mean that it is referring to several people or an entity of personalities. We see this in the case with Moshe, who was not more than one person and who was given the task of being Elohim before the king of Egypt. The expression Elohim has to do with enormous might and the sum of all power, the power to accomplish one’s purposes. The expression Elohim is connected to all the unlimited and eternal powers. In other words Elohim can be translated as “the highest ruler” or “the highest judge”. The attribute Elohim is intimately related to righteousness. In spite of the fact that the passage in Bereshit says that Elohim, in plural, created the heavens and the earth, the verb is not in plural, but in singular. This teaches us that Elohim should not be understood as several gods or a number of people or a unified entity of personalities, but only as one. This is the most important confession of every practising Jew. It is made twice a day with the proclamation: Shema Israel, Ado-nai Eloheinu, Ado-nai Echad, “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one”, compare with Deuteronomy 6:4. “In the beginning God created the heavens…” – The Hebrew word that is translated “heavens” is shamayim.[12] This word is written in dual form. In Hebrew there are three different ways of expressing amounts, singular, dual, and plural. The dual form is referring to two: a pair. In this case shamayim speaks of a pair of heavens. First of all it speaks of the invisible heaven and the visible heaven, as it is written in Deuteronomy 10:14, “Behold, unto HaShem thy God belong the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, the earth, with all that therein is.” (JPS revised) According to a deeper understanding, the word shamayim also hints that there are more than two heavens. The text in Deuteronomy speaks of two heavens in dual form and the two heavens of the two heavens in dual form as well. This teaches us that there are different types of heavens. The higher heavens and the lower heavens can be divided into different groups. In 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 Shaliach Shaul says that he had been in paradise and in the third heaven, as it is written, “I know a man in Messiah who fourteen years ago--whether in the body, I do not know, or out of the body, I do not know, God knows--such a one was caught up to the third Heaven. And I know that such a one--whether in the body, or separate from the body, I do not know, God knows-- was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable spoken words, which a man is not permitted to speak.” (MRC revised) Talmud[13] speaks of seven heavens, according to the different Hebrew terms which are found in the Scriptures. These seven are: 1. Vilon, compare with Isaiah 40:22. 2. Rakia, compare with Genesis 1:17. 3. Shechakim, compare with Exodus 30:36; Job 14:19; Psalm 78:23-24. 4. Zevul, compare with 1 Kings 8:13; Isaiah 63:15. 5. Ma’on, compare with Deuteronomy 26:15. 6. Machon, compare with 1 Kings 8:39. 7. Aravot, compare with Psalm 68:5. According to Rashi, the term shamayim, “heavens”, can be understood in three ways, depending on how the word is built: 1. Sa mayim – “carry water”. 2. Sham mayim – “there (is) water”. 3. Esh mayim – “fire (and) water”, since the heaven was made from a mixture of fire and water. “In the beginning God created the (two) heavens and the earth.” – The Hebrew word that has been translated as “earth” is eretz[14]. This word has several different meanings: o Earth, globe, the earthly round (in contrast to heaven), compare with Genesis 1:1. o Land, ground, terrain, earth (in contrast to the sea), compare with Genesis 1:10. o Land, nation, territory, region (a limited dry area), compare with Genesis 2:11. o The Promised Land, land of Israel, compare with Genesis 12:1; Ruth 1:1; Matthew 5:5; Acts 11:28-29. 1:2 “Now the earth was without order and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Breath was hovering over the surface of the waters.” (HNV revised) – The Hebrew word translated “without order” is tohu[15] which means: o chaos, unformed mass, disorder, confusion o emptiness, vacuum, worthlessness, futility o wilderness, desert According to Rashi, tohu should be understood as an expression of surprise and shock over the emptiness which was found on earth. If man could have seen it he would have been astonished. The Hebrew word which is translated “empty” is bohu[16]. Jonathan’s Targum, an Aramaic translation, says that the earth was void of people and empty of animals. Talmud[17] says that tohu is a green line that encompasses the whole world, out of which darkness proceeds, compare with Psalm 18:11. Bohu means the slimy stones that are sunk in the deep, out of which the waters proceed, compare with Isaiah 34:11. According to Jewish Kabbalah is the narration in Genesis a result of a divine judgment over an earlier world, which was broken. The two words tohu vavohu only exists in two other verses in the Hebrew text, Isaiah 34:11 and Jeremiah 4:23-26. There is also an interpretation in Christian theology[18] based on these two texts, which teaches that the state of “without order and empty” was caused by a divine act of judgment over sin. If this is true, we might imagine that there was an earlier creation that perished by water. In this context 2 Peter 3:3-7 is also quoted, “Know this first, that in the last days mockers will come with mockery, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since our fathers fell asleep, all remains just as it was from the beginning of creation.’ For when they wish this, it escapes their notice that the heavens existed long ago, and the Earth out of water and through water was established by the Word of God, through which the world at that time was utterly ruined, being deluged with water. But the present heavens and Earth by His Word are being stored up for fire, kept for the day of judgment and ruin of impious men.” (MRC revised) This text says that the world which existed earlier was destroyed by water and the heavens and the earth which exist now are being kept for the fire. This could be interpreted to mean that there was an earlier creation that was created through water. It is more probable, however, that Shaliach Kefa is speaking of the destruction which happened during the great flood in Noach’s time. The same theory also teaches that the reason for the destruction of the previous world was that the angel Heilel, “Lightbearer”, fell. Ezekiel 28:12-19 is also quoted to show that this angel had its sanctuary on earth in an earlier creation, “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: 'This is what the Lord HaShem says: ‘You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the consecrated mount of God (Tzion); you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, O guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings. By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching. All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.’” (NIV) This text, however, does not speak of when the fall of this angel happened. Neither does it constitute proof of existence of a previous creation. There is clear proof in the Messianic Writings of the fall of some of God’s angels, compare with 2 Peter 2:4; 1 Corinthians 6:3; Jude 6. In Isaiah 14:12-15 it is written, ”How you have fallen from heaven, Heilel, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit.” (NIV revised) Here the prophet Isaiah is speaking about the rebellion against the Eternal by the king of Babylon. But the text can also be understood on the drash-level as a clear reference to the principality behind this king. When this angel tried to reach the highest position and set his throne there to take control of creation and thus become like the Most High, he was cast out “like a flash of lightning” (compare with Luke 10:18) and the other angels that followed him in his rebellion fell with him (compare with Revelation 12:4, 9). The final destination of the rebellious fallen angels will be the lake of fire, compare with Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10. The Scriptures are, however, not clear-cut about when this fall in the angelic realm took place. Even so it is clear that it happened before Genesis chapter 3, where there is a reference to the old serpent that deceived the woman and caused her to sin. The fall of man was a result of the fall that had already taken place in the spirit world. A Midrash[19] teaches that an angel, by the name of Samael, who was the great master among the angels, came down to the earth and found the cleverest animal, the snake, and possessed it. Through the snake he taught men to do evil. Another Midrash[20] teaches that this Samael will be cast out from his place in heaven because of this sin. According to this Scripture, this rebellious and fallen angel is called satan, compare with 1 Chronicles 21:1. The word satan means: o Enemy, opponent, adversary, rival, antagonist, compare with 1 Kings 11:25. o Accuser, slanderer, backbiter, compare with Job 1:6-12; Zechariah 3:1. The Greek translation of the word satan is diabolos which means: “accuser”, “slanderer”, “backbiter”, compare with Revelation 12:10. The Scriptures give us reason to believe that God is not the source of evil, but this fallen angel is, as it is written in Ezekiel 28:15-16a, “You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned.” (NIV) Falsehood does not come from God, for he is only light, as it is written in 1 John 1:5b, “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (MRC) Messiah Yeshua said that satan is the father of lies, meaning the origin of lies, as it is written in John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own; for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (MRC) In 1 John 3:8 it is written, ”He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.” (NIV) Here it is written that satan is a murderer and has sinned “from the beginning”. This helps us understand that his sin began at the beginning of the work of creation. In James 1:13, 16-17 it is written, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself tempts no one… Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.” (MRC) The question is then, when were the angels created? Was it before or after the creation of the visible world? According to a Midrash[21] and Rashi, the angels were created the second day. In Job 38:4-7, it is written that the angels were watching when the foundation of the earth was laid, “Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone- while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb.” (NIV) According to this text, the angels were already there when the cornerstone of the earth was laid. In Psalm 104:1-9, it is written, “Praise HaShem, O my soul. HaShem, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. He makes winds his messengers, flames of fire his servants. He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth.” (NIV revised) According to this Psalm, it seems that the order of creation was as follows: 1. The light. 2. The heavens. 3. The earth. Talmud[22] mentions two different opinions among the Pharisees when it comes to the order of the creation of the heavens and the earth. Shamai’s house taught that the heavens were made first, compare with Genesis 1:1. But Hillel’s house taught that the earth was made first, compare with Genesis 2:4b. The sages have later said that both were made simultaneously, as it is written in Isaiah 48:13, “My hand also has laid the foundation of the earth, and My right hand has stretched out the heavens. I called; they stood up together.” (MKJV) In Psalm 104:4, it talks about the winds and the flames of fire as HaShem’s messengers and servants. Hebrews teaches that these winds and flames of fire are referring to the angels, as it is written in 1:7, “And of the angels, He says, ‘who makes his angels winds, and his ministers a flame of fire.’” (MRC) These texts also show us that the angels were created before the foundation of the earth. Furthermore, Psalm 104 teaches us that waters had covered the mountains before they were rebuked and submitted to a border. On the mountaintops of Jaen, in southern Spain, there are places where the ocean waves have been polishing the stones for a very long time. This cannot be a result of the great flood in the days of Noach, for at that time the tops of the mountains were only covered by water for a few months. This must have happened before the great flood. Could these mountain cliffs have once been an ocean shore that was moved and raised to the heights after the flood? This is probable. Many mountains on earth today show signs of having been at the bottom of the sea, where different sedimentary layers were formed during the great flood. According to modern calculations, the universe is, in its present state, approximately 15-20 billion years old. Albert Einstein taught us that the cosmology of the Big Bang, not only caused space and matter to exist, but also time. The theory of relativity teaches us that time is not constant. Our understanding of time is dependent on the point of reference that we have when we measure time. Depending on where we are when we calculate time, the results will vary. One minute on the moon passes faster than one minute on the earth. One minute near the sun passes slower. Since the universe is expanding, time is also changing and expanding, measured from our point of reference. How long did it take from the time that the universe was created until man was created? 15 billion years or six days? The answer is: both. From the reference point of the Torah, it was six 24-hour days. But since the universe has expanded, and is continuing to expand, time is also expanding. The first day mentioned in the Torah lasted for 24 hours, seen from the point of reference of the beginning of time. But the amount of time that day lasted, seen from the point of reference that we have today, was 8 billion years, according to the Jewish scientist Gerald Schroeder.[23] The second day lasted for 24 hours seen from the point of reference of the Torah, but from our present point of reference it lasted half as long as the previous day, 4 billion years. The third day lasted half as long as the previous day, 2 billion years. The fourth day lasted 1 billion years. The fifth day lasted 500 million years. The sixth day lasted 250 million years. If we add these six days, we get as a result, that the universe is 15,750 million years old. This is the same result as that of the modern cosmologic calculations. The Hebrew word that is translated “breath” is “ruach”[24], which means both “wind” and “spirit”. The word “ruach” is feminine in nearly every case, but appears also a few times in the masculine tense in the Scriptures. This is the Messiah’s Spirit, the Spirit that later came to rest over Yeshua, when he came up out of the water, compare with Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10. 1:3 “God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light.” (HNV revised) – Whatever God says, he also does, compare with Numbers 23:19; Psalm 33:9. The first thing that God made was the light. The earth was completely covered with liquid, a chaotic mass, possibly something like a black hole. From this point forward we see how the universe is organized. The first thing that is made is the light. Notice that the sun has not yet been created. This teaches us that this is not talking about the light that is later produced by the sun and the stars, but about another light. In 2 Corinthians 4:6, it is written, “For it is God Who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ is the One Who has made His light shine in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Messiah.” (MRC revised) In this text Shaliach Shaul teaches us that light came from the darkness itself. This can of course be understood symbolically as well, according to the second level of interpretation, the level of implication, in Hebrew “remez”. If the Eternal could bring forth light out of the deepest darkness that has ever existed, then there is no darkness in our lives which is so compact that our heavenly Father cannot use it to bring forth something positive. For him all things are possible, even creating light out of darkness! 1:4 “God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.” (NIV revised) – This primary light was the light of the Messiah. This was the first thing that the Eternal revealed in creation. But this light was separated from the darkness, it was hidden from this world in order to be revealed later, as it is written in John 1:4-10, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was Yochanan. He came for testimony, to bear witness concerning the Light, that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he bore witness concerning the Light. The true Light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through Him, and the world did not know Him.” (MRC) In Matthew 4:13-16, it is written, “And leaving Natzeret, He came and settled in K’far-Nachum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zevulun and Naftali, that it might be fulfilled what was spoken through Yeshayahu the prophet, saying, ‘the land of Zevulun and the land of Naftali, by the way of the sea beyond the Yarden, Galil of the nations—the people sitting in darkness saw a great light, and to those sitting in the region and shadow of death, upon them a light arose.’” (MRC) In John 3:19, it is written, “And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.” (MRC) In John 8:12; 12:46, it is written, “Again therefore Yeshua spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.’… ‘I have come as a light to the world, that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.’” (MRC) In Acts 26:13-15, it is written, “at midday, O King, I saw on the road a light from Heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who were going with me. And when we had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Ivri dialect, ‘Shaul, Shaul, why are you persecuting Me? It is difficult for you to kick against the prods.’ And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Yeshua Whom You are persecuting.’” (MRC) The rabbis from early generations considered the Mashiach to be the very reason for the creation of the heavens and the earth. The light which was manifested before the formation of the sun and the moon was seen as the light of Mashiach that was seeking for a suitable vessel, through which it could finally appear. An old Midrash[25] says, ‘This is the Mashiach’s light… in order to teach you that the Eternal saw the Mashiach’s generation and his avodah (service) before creation and hid him away… under his throne of glory. Satan asked him: ‘Lord of the universe: This light that is under your throne of glory, who is it for?’ The Eternal answered: ‘It is reserved for him that will crush you.’” Another old Midrash[26] says, ‘And God’s Spirit rested…(Genesis 1:2), it is referring to the Mashiach’s spirit which was moving over the surface of the waters.’ There are two Midrashes from the Middle Ages[27], which both say, ‘Which is the light that comes down over the congregation of the Eternal? It is the Messiah’s light.’ And, ‘This light is the Messiah, as it is written, ‘In your light we see light.’” Another Midrash[28] says, “From the beginning of creation king Messiah was born, for he came into the mind (of God) even before the world was created.” In the prophet Chanoch’s (Enoch’s) book,[29] who was the seventh after Adam, and who is also quoted in Jude 14-15, it is written in chapter 46, “And there I saw One who had a head of days, and His head was white like wool, and with Him was another being whose countenance had the appearance of a man, and his face was full of graciousness, like one of the holy angels. And I asked the angel who went with me and showed me all the hidden things, concerning that Son of Man, who he was, and whence he was, (and) why he went with the Head of Days? And he answered and said unto me: ‘This is the son of Man who hath righteousness, with whom dwelleth righteousness, And who revealeth all the treasures of that which is hidden, because the Lord of Spirits hath chosen him, and whose lot hath the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits in uprightness for ever. And this Son of Man whom thou hast seen shall raise up the kings and the mighty from their seats, and the strong from their thrones and shall loosen the reins of the strong, and break the teeth of the sinners. And he shall put down the kings from their thrones and kingdoms because they do not extol and praise Him, nor humbly acknowledge whence the kingdom was bestowed upon them. And he shall put down the countenance of the strong, and shall fill them with shame. And darkness shall be their dwelling, and worms shall be their bed, and they shall have no hope of rising from their beds, because they do not extol the name of the Lord of Spirits… In chapter 48 of the same book, it is written, “And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible: and around it were many fountains of wisdom, and all the thirsty drank of them, and were filled with wisdom, and their dwellings were with the righteous and holy and elect. And at that hour that Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of Spirits, and his name (was named) before the Head of Days. Yea, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heaven were made, His name was named before the Lord of Spirits. He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, and he shall be the light of the gentiles, and the hope of those who are troubled of heart. All who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits. And for this reason hath he been chosen and hidden before Him (the Lord), before the creation of the world and for evermore…” In spite of the fact that this book has not been recognized among the canonic books, we must recognize the testimony of Yehudah (Jude) who quoted this book in his letter. This gives us the right to consider the books, which this prophet wrote before the great flood, not as inspired Scripture, but as a source of valuable and interesting information. The interesting thing is that, according to this book, Chanoch saw the “Son of Man” and had a revelation of his source. The name of the Son of Man was named before the “Head of Days”, before the sun and stars were made. He will be the light of the people, compare with Isaiah 49:6. This book also says that the Son of Man had been chosen and kept before the Lord of Spirits before the world was created and in eternity, compare with Micah 5:2. 1:5b “And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” (JPS) – The Torah does not describe events in a linear manner alone, but rather in a circular forward motion, like a spiral. Therefore, we cannot understand these words to be a continuation of what was earlier, but as a summary of what happened during that entire day. According to the Torah, the day begins with the night. First there was darkness and then came the light. (This is sometimes translated incorrectly in Bible translations.) Here it says that it was “one day” or “day one”. Since the other days had not yet come, this first day cannot be compared with anything else, therefore this is not the first day in a sequence, but one day. One day, in Hebrew yom echad. The word echad is the same word that is used for the Eternal who is one, compare with Deuteronomy 6:4. Echad is the masculine numeral which is normally used in Hebrew to describe a thing or an object. The echad-day was unique, because at that time God was the only one. From this both Midrash literature and Rashi derive the idea that the angels were not created until the second day. According to Nachmanides, the words vayehi erev do not mean “and it was evening”, but rather “and it was disorder”, since the root of the word erev[30], means “chaos”, “mixture”, “disorder”. The night is called erev, because when the sun goes down the ability to see is distorted. The Torah’s word for “morning”, boker[31] is the opposite. When the sun comes up, the world is bikoret, “ordered”, clear to be discerned. In this way we can understand why the first days are counted in relation to the work that is done, when things are put into order after having earlier been in disorder. When the elements are transformed from disorder to order, it is spoken of as evening and morning, “from chaos to harmony”. The Hebrew word for day, yom[32], has four primary meanings: o Day, when it is light, approximately 12 hours, compare with Genesis 1:5a. o Day, a 24-hour period, compare with Genesis 1:5b. o A longer, limited time, a time era, compare with Genesis 2:4. o A thousand years, compare with Psalm 90:4. 1:6 “And God said: ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’” (JPS) – According to Rashi, the heavens that were created on the first day were in a liquid state. Talmud[33] teaches that the heavens were expanding and trembling until God gave the order that they should stop, compare with Job 26:11. According to Nachmanides, the universe was created as a small seed, which later expanded. This little seed was the only physical creation that was made, the rest of creation was spiritual. According to him, the animals’ nefesh (soul) and man’s neshamah (higher soul), were spiritual creations. In this little seed was all the raw material needed for everything else. When this seed, which was so small that there was no substance in it, expanded, it was transformed into matter and that is when time began. Modern science has shown that energy is the only thing that actually does not have any substance in itself but can be transformed into matter. Einstein’s famous equation e=mc2 teaches us that energy can be changed into matter. 1:7 “And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.” (JPS) – It seems as though this text is saying that water already existed (probably in the form of steam) above the atmosphere, around the earth. In that case, this water is what later fell down over the earth during the great flood in Noach’s time. Such a water coating would protect the earth from any radioactive radiation from space harmful to biological life. If such a water coating existed, it would mean two things. The air pressure would be higher and there would be a tropical climate on the whole earth because of the green house effect that this would have. The loss of this protective covering could be the reason that the life span of man was reduced by 90% after the great flood. The new conditions of life, which came after the flood, give a logical explanation as to why the dinosaurs died out. We ought to point out the fact that the fall of the angel Heilel is not mentioned in Genesis chapters 1-2. In chapter 3, satan uses a snake to speak lies to the humans. It seems as though this fallen angel set up his kingdom in the air around the earth during the second day, compare with Ephesians 2:2. This is possibly one of the reasons that the second day was the only day that God could not say that it was good. Rashi points out the fact, however, that the work of organizing the waters was not finished on the second day, but on the third day. Therefore on the third day God says twice that it was good. Every completed work was evaluated and declared to be good. According to a Midrash,[34] Gehinam, the lake of fire, was made on the second day. Evildoers will be thrown into fire and burned up. This place was not made for man, but for satan and his angels. However, those who rebel against the Torah of the Eternal will suffer the same fate as the rebellious angels, compare with Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10-15. 1:8 “And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.” (JPS) – The word “heavens”, in Hebrew “shamayim”, is in dual form, “a pair of heavens”. This could mean that there are two types of heavens in the universe, the atmosphere and the space beyond the atmosphere. 1:9 “And God said: ‘Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.’ And it was so.” (JPS) – In the beginning, the dry land was one connected continent. Later on the earth was divided, compare with Genesis 10:25. According to Job 38:6, the Eternal placed a “cornerstone” for the earth. The most important stone on earth is Mount Tzion, which in Scripture is called the navel of the earth, compare with Ezekiel 38:12. According to Ezekiel 28:13-14 it was there that the high priestly angel had his place of worship before he fell into sin. According to Hebraic tradition, that was where Adam was created. It seems like this was where the two trees, the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, stood. On the same mountain Avraham laid his son Yitzchak on the altar. On that place Sh’lomo built the temple. On that place God’s Son was sacrificed to atone for the sin of Adam and to cleanse the world from its transgression. The Messiah will come back to that place to raise up David’s kingdom and to reign over the whole earth. 1:11-12 “And God said: ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.’ And it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” (JPS) – At God’s words the earth started producing growth. There is no mention of any act of creation here. According to a Midrash,[35] on the first day God created the raw material, which he used to build the rest of the world. During the following days, God formed the matter and modeled it so that things would take the shape, which they have today. A Midrash[36] teaches that the Garden of Eden grew up at the same time as the rest of the growing things. Besides, it is written that HaShem himself planted this garden, compare with Genesis 2:8. Midrash literature[37] also teaches that the trees and the grass in Gan Eden, as opposed to the rest of the world, are eternal and that every tree is a symbol of a higher spiritual object. Paradise is the Eternal’s palace on earth. At some point in history, this garden was taken from the earth, and now it exists in the third heaven, compare with 2 Corinthians 12:4. In the future it will be restored on earth and the righteous ones will be able to enter it, as it is written in Revelation 2:7, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.” (MRC) The Second Aliyah, 1:14-23 1:14-15 “And God said: ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so.” (JPS) – The three light sources, the sun, moon, and stars (which include the planets), were placed in the heavens primarily to fulfill seven divine purposes: - To divide the night from the day. - To be signs. - To mark the divine appointed times. - To mark days. - To mark years. - To be lights in the firmament. - To give light upon the earth. 1:16 “And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.” (JPS) – There are three Hebrew words used in the Torah to describe the creation of everything: - Barah – created, gave existence to something which did not exist, compare with Genesis 1:1, 21; 27-28. - Asah – made, completed, brought to completion, gave something its final shape, compare with Genesis 1:16. - Yatzar – formed, modeled, shaped, compare with Genesis 2:7. On the fourth day God made the sun, the moon and the stars. He did not create them. There was already enough material created on the first day. From this point we see clearly that the earth began spinning around its own axle. In Psalm 104:19, it is written, “He appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows its going down.” (MKJV) The Torah’s calendar is marked by the moon, not by the sun. The moon year is at the present approximately 354.36 days long, and the sun year is approximately 365.25 days long. But at the time of creation it does not seem as though this was the case. However, it seems that the moon year lined up with the sun year, each having 360 days. Historic and archeological discoveries[38] show, that there was a delay in our solar system around the time 600 BC. Since that time, in order to make up for the difference between the moon year and the sun year, the Jewish calendar, which goes by the moon, has added one month every second or third year. All together there are 7 months added in a 19-year cycle. In this way, the feasts of the Eternal are not celebrated at the wrong time in relation to the rotation of the earth. In other words, the first feast, Passover, must be celebrated in the spring, when the grain harvest is ripe in Israel. Pentecost is celebrated when the wheat harvest begins, and the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated after the fruit has been gathered from the trees. 1:21 “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.” (NIV) – In Job 40:19, it is written that “behemoth”, some type of dinosaur, was the “beginning of the ways of God”. That lines up well with this text that says that God “created”, barah, the “great creatures of the sea”. That was the first thing he created after the raw material which later became the heavens and the earth. At this time, the nefesh, (soul), of the biological creatures was created. It seems as though the dinosaurs are mentioned in the Scriptures as contemporaries of the humans, during the time of Job, approximately 1700 BCE, compare with Job 40:15-24; 41:1-34. The Hebrew word for “create”, barah, is found only three times in the Torah’s account of creation: o The creation of the heavens and the earth, matter, 1:1. o The creation of the great animals of the sea and the rest of the animals in the water and in the sky, the biological soul, 1:21. o The creation of man, the higher soul, 1:27. The Third Aliyah, 1:24 – 2:3 1:25 “And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that crepes upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.” (JPS revised) – During the sixth day God “made” the land animals. It does not say that he created them. The animal soul already existed after the fifth day, and therefore God did not need to create anything new in order to make the land animals. It was quite different with man, however, who required an act of creation in order to exist, compare with 1:27. First God “formed” the human body out of mud from the ground, compare with 2:7. Thereafter he created the human life by breathing the spirit of life into the nose. The first thing that man breathed, therefore, was the Spirit of God. This teaches us that humans exist on a higher level than animals. Man needed an act of creation separate from the animals. Man has something that animals do not have, a higher soul, in Hebrew neshamah. 1:26-27 “And God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that crepes upon the earth.’ And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.” (JPS revised) – A Midrash[39] interprets this text in the following way, “Moshe wrote the Torah at HaShem’s dictation. When HaShem asked him to copy this pasuk (1:26) – ‘Let us make the human being’ – Moshe made a protest. -Lord of the universe, he asked, why do you give the false teachers opportunity to sin by being able to draw the conclusion from this plural form that there was more than one God who created the universe? -Write as I say, answered HaShem, if someone wants to sin, let him. I have expressed this in plural form, in order to teach man a lesson. An important person generally believes that it is unnecessary to ask those submitted to him for advice. Let them study this verse and see that even the Creator, who created the higher and the lower world, asked the angels for advice before creating man.” This teaches us that before man was created, there was a judgment passed in the heavenly council. The Eternal has surrounded himself by higher beings that are actively involved in his project, compare with 1 Kings 22:19; Job 1:6; 2:1; Daniel 4:17; Revelation 4:4; 5:11. The angels also cooperate with the Eternal by carrying out his works. They are sent out to fulfill divine commands, compare with Psalm 103:20. Here, the angels were invited to make a corporate decision concerning the creation of man. But, in spite of the fact that they were allowed to make this corporate decision, they had no active role when man was created, for it is written in verse 27: “God created man”. The verb is written in singular form. It is not written “they created”, with the verb in plural form, thus ruling out the involvement of angels from this creation. There are other texts where the verb is written in plural form after the word “God”, and these texts suggest that they had an active role and were involved in those acts, compare with Genesis 20:13a; 2 Samuel 7:23. In the physical world, man was to reflect the Eternal’s way of being, just as the angels were to reflect him in the spiritual world. The two words that are translated as “in our image, after our likeness”, be-tzalmenu ki-d’mutenu, have two different prefixes, be and ke. Be means “in” or “with”, and ke means “like”, “according to” and shows comparison. According to Rashi, the word tzelem[40], which means “shadow”, “image”, means that man was made with a pattern. When it says tzalmenu, “our image”, it means that the Eternal had made this image together with the angels especially for man. According to him, this text, therefore, means “let us make man with our pattern (which we earlier created together), to be like us”. Rashi interprets the Hebrew word be-tzelmoh, in verse 27, as “with his image”, that is to say, with the pattern, which is just for man, with the pattern which was made to create man and that was made for him, the pattern of man. The sages discuss whether this pattern has to do with the spiritual or physical characteristics of man. Maimonides[41] regarded both words, tzelem and demut, only as speaking of intellectual and spiritual characteristics, as opposed to the words toar, “appearance”, and tavnit, “figure” or “shape”. Rashi goes on to say that “in our likeness” has to do with the ability to understand and discern oneself, which is an inner characteristic. Another interpretation of this text could also be that the angels have been created with a kind of physical form that expresses the spiritual characteristics of the Eternal. There are heavenly bodies and spiritual bodies, see 1 Corinthians 15:40, 44. This way man would also, with his physical form, reflect the characteristics of the Invisible One, as it is written in verse 27, “in the image of God he created him” (JPS) And since these characteristics of the Eternal are also reflected in the angels, he could say to them, “our image”. Man would be created because of and in accordance with the Messiah, who was in the Father’s womb from eternity and for whose sake all things had been created, as it is written in Romans 5:14b “Adam, who is a picture of him who was to come.” (BBE) Adam was created according to the Messiah Plan. Since the Messiah was predestined to be a reflection of the Eternal, Adam had to be made according to that plan, according to the pattern that was the original man. “Let them have dominion” – Man was created to have dominion over the animals and the earth. In that way he reflects the Creator’s power over everything. This power that man received is dependent on to what degree he submits to the Owner of everything. It was authority given in trusteeship, not independently. Man’s independence of his Creator became his ruin. “male and female created He them.” – The Hebrew word that is translated “man” is adam[42], which does not primarily mean “man”, but “mankind”, and even “humanity”. Therefore Adam is both male and female. Later on we will see how the woman was created, not outside of the man but as a part of the man. Together they are mankind, Adam, as it is written in Genesis 5:2, “male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” (JPS) The expression “male and female” ought to be understood as “masculine and feminine”. This teaches us that the man should be masculine and the woman should be feminine. They should be different. It also teaches us that man is not complete without a woman to complement him, and that woman is not complete without a man to complement her. Both were created to constitute mankind. One cannot exist without the other and vica versa. When mankind loses the understanding of the fact that it was created man and woman, masculine and feminine, it ceases to fulfill one of the most important functions of creation. That is why the Torah very clearly emphasizes that there are distinct differences between man and woman, and forbids all actions that serve to erase these differences. When mankind loses its identity as men and women, it has reached the most extreme level of deprivation. But, thanks to the Eternal, there is restoration for the fallen, wounded, and depraved person, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor the abusive, nor swindlers, will inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were certain of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and in the Spirit of our God.” (MRC) 1:28 “And God blessed them; and God said unto them: ‘Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.’” (JPS) – This is the first of the 613 commandments in the Torah. Mankind must multiply itself. In order to multiply in a satisfactory way, one is obligated to enter into the marriage covenant and have children. Whoever does not want to marry and have children is defying the original plan made for man. Only in very specific and rare cases can a man or woman be permitted to remain unmarried. The family is the most important foundational pillar of society. The Eternal did not bless the man when he was alone, only when he was together with his wife. This teaches us that marriage between man and woman has been blessed by heaven. The Hebrew word that has been translated “blessed” is barach[43], which originally means “to kneel”. A blessing involves words charged with spiritual power, which can generate many positive results for the recipient. A blessing serves to benefit a person in both a spiritual and material way, see Genesis 27:37. In this case the blessing over man resulted in the ability to reproduce and have many children, which is one of the greatest blessings a person can have, see 1 Samuel 2:20; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 17:6. 1:29 “And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed - to you it shall be for food’” (JPS) – Man was not allowed to eat meat until after the great flood, see Genesis 9:3. 1:30 “and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, I have given every green herb for food.’ And it was so.” (JPS) – All animals ate fruits and vegetables. No animal killed another to eat it. The world was created to be very different than what we see today after the fall, see Romans 8:19-22. 1:31 “And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” (JPS) – For man death is not something good – It is an enemy. Therefore death did not exist at this occasion. Death did not only enter one man when he sinned, but it also entered the rest of the world, as it is written in Romans 5:12, “Because of this, even so through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (MRC) The text in Genesis 1:31 shows us that the events of chapter 2, where it says that it was not good for man to be alone, see 2:18, was not written chronologically. Chapter 2 is a more detailed explanation of what happened during the last days of creation, which are spoken of in chapter 1. As we said earlier, the Torah does not recount things in a linear fashion, with one event following another, but in a circular fashion, by going forward and then going back and giving more detail to what has already been said. If we do not understand this principle, we will not understand many of the texts. This is the way the human brain works and the Torah was written to be compatible to human beings. The last letter of this verse is yod. If we count every seventh letter forward starting from this yod, ending with verse 2:2a, we get the letters yod, sin/shin, resh, alef, and lamed, which spells the word “Israel”. 
This suggests to us that Israel was in the mind of the Eternal at the end of the sixth day and throughout all of the seventh day. The father of every Jewish home reads this text over a cup of wine when he consecrates the Shabbat on Friday evening, in the beginning of the Shabbat. The Shabbat was given to the people of Israel in a special way around 2500 years later, as a sign of the covenant, see Exodus 31:13ff. But, already in the very beginning when the Shabbat was created for all mankind, the Eternal thought of Israel. 2:1-2 “And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He refrained on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” (JPS) – According to the first part of verse two, it seems as though God worked on the seventh day and completed his work. But in the second part of verse two and in verse three it is written that he stopped, or refrained, from all his work. What did he do, then, during the seventh day, that completed the work of creation? He refrained from his work. Therefore, by not working, he completed his work. 2:3 “And God blessed the seventh day, and set it apart; because in it he rested from all his work which God had created to do.” (Auth) – The seventh day was blessed by God. There is a special blessing spoken over and hidden in this day. None of the other days of the week has received a special blessing. Earlier the living beings, animals and humans, were blessed. But in this moment a period of time consisting of 24 hours is blessed. However, not only did he bless the seventh day, he also set it apart. The Hebrew word that is translated “set apart”[44] is kadash[45]. It has two primary meanings, “to set apart from something” and “to set apart for something”. In this case the seventh day was set apart from the other days, to be different. But not only that, it was also set apart for the Eternal, to be consecrated and to belong to him exclusively. Something that has been set apart, or consecrated, can only be used for the purpose that it was set apart for. If it is used for another purpose, it becomes profane. The Shabbat was set apart from the other days to be different, and it was set apart to be the Eternal’s exclusive possession. That day is his. He has set it apart for himself, as his day. Therefore he calls it, “my consecrated day” in Isaiah 58:13-14 where it is written, “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my consecrated day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and HaShem’s consecrated day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking (forbidden) words, then you will find your joy in HaShem, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Yaakov.’ The mouth of HaShem has spoken.” (NIV revised) The Shabbat is the Eternal’s day. He has a very specific purpose for this day. After having finished all the work of creation over a period of six days, he prepared a special day through which he would be able to have a very specific relationship with man and work in him in a special way, to set him apart, consecrate him, sanctify him, as it is written in Exodus 31:13, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am HaShem, who sanctifies you.’” (NIV revised) Man was created in God’s image and likeness. Therefore he is God’s child, his son. (In Hebraic thinking there is no big difference between being created and being born. It says, for example, in Psalms 90:2, that the mountains were born.) This means that man was created to reflect and imitate his heavenly Father. And just as the Father stopped his work on the seventh day, man also does this, as it is written in Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it consecrated. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to HaShem, your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days HaShem made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore HaShem blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.” (NIV revised) In practicality, this means that on the seventh day, there is to be nothing done which intrudes on the natural order of what was created. During six days of the week, man may intrude on creation and show his power over everything. He may plant, break branches, and pick flowers. He may build and tear down, unite and separate, write letters and transport things. He may work with all the things that the Eternal has placed in his hands. But on the seventh day he may not do any of those things, because his Father gave him an example to follow. An obedient son does the same things that his father does. A rebellious son does not take after his father. What should man do on the seventh day? Two main things: cease from the activities that he does during the rest of the week, and devote himself in a special way to God. Through this, he can partake of the blessing, which was spoken over this day. The Hebrew word that is translated “rested” is shavat.[46] This is where the word shabbat comes from. It means “taking distance from activity”, “interruption of activity”, “breaking from production”, or simply “to pause”. The word Shabbat occurs the first time in Exodus 16:23, where it is written, “He said to them, ‘This is what HaShem commanded: “Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a consecrated Sabbath to HaShem. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.”’” (NIV revised) It is important to note that the word shabbat does not mean “rest”, as in gathering new strength. The Eternal did not need to rest after his work of creation, for he does not become tired, as it is written in Isaiah 40:28, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? HaShem is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.” (NIV revised) Therefore the seventh day was not primarily made for man to rest from his strenuous labor. To begin with, man did not have work, which caused him to sweat or become tired so that he would need to rest one day of the week. This is not the most important meaning of the Shabbat. It has to do with, as mentioned earlier, refraining from intrusion into creation. Whenever the word shavat is translated as “rested” and the word shabbat is translated as “day of rest”, the primary meaning and purpose of that day is easily lost. If the Shabbat is a day to cease the activities, which intrude on creation, then the purpose of the Shabbat must not be to rest, but to devote oneself to the Eternal in a different way than what is done during the other weekdays. On the other hand, it is true that the concept of rest is built into the context of the Shabbat, but it is mainly the fall, which made man’s labor into something strenuous. Therefore man needs one day of rest in the week, as it is written in Deuteronomy 5:14, “but the seventh day is a Sabbath to HaShem your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do.” (NIV revised) In Exodus 20:11, it is written, “For in six days HaShem made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore HaShem blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.” (NIV revised) Here it clearly says that the Eternal rested on the seventh day. But rest is not the most important thing on the Shabbat. The most important thing is to cease from all creative and productive activities. Thus the Shabbat becomes a temple in time. This was the first type of temple that HaShem made. Later he also chose a physical place for a temple. There are both consecrated places and consecrated times. These are integrated principles in creation, which help man to have a proper relationship with the Creator. The Shabbat, the temple of time, was made so that man would need to admit that he is not the one who owns creation or has all power over creation. During one day of the week, 14.3% of his time, man must admit that he is not the highest authority over creation. By keeping the Shabbat, he can, therefore, show his submission and devotion to the Creator. Whoever works on the Shabbat does not acknowledge his Creator, but assumes the attitude of ownership over things, which do not belong to him, not respecting the laws of nature. Whoever intrudes on creation during the Shabbat defies the trusteeship that was given to man and makes himself lord instead of being a servant of the Eternal, and takes a place, which does not belong to him. He pushes out the lordship of his heavenly Father from his work life, and makes himself god in that area. The principle of the Shabbat was not established on Mount Sinai when the Torah was given to Israel, but in creation itself, not in relation to Israel, but in relation to man. The Shabbat was instituted immediately after the creation of man. The first thing that man experienced after having been created was the Shabbat of the Eternal. This teaches us that the Shabbat was made for man, as it is written in Mark 2:27, “And He said to them, "The Shabbat was made for mankind, and not mankind for the Shabbat.” (MRC) The Shabbat was not made for the Jews, but for mankind, for the descendants of Adam. There is not one text in the Scriptures, which proves that the Shabbat has been changed to another day, has ceased, or has been fulfilled in a spiritual way. All attempts to bring in such teachings are doomed to fail in light of a deeper research in the message of the Scriptures, inspired by the Spirit of the Eternal, including the Messianic Writings, known as the “New Testament”. It is interesting to note that the Torah does not say, “there was evening and there was morning the seventh day”. A Midrash[47] interprets this to mean that the primary light, which was made the first day, shone on the Shabbat night, so that there was no darkness for Adam and Chavah. In Talmud[48] there is a discussion between two rabbis about which day Adam was created. According to Rabbi Yehoshua, Adam was created on the sixth day in the month Nissan (March-April). According to Rabbi Eliezer, he was created the first day in the seventh month Tishri (Sept.-Oct.). Rabbi Eliezer’s interpretation was given preeminence over Rabbi Yehoshua’s interpretation and therefore, for thousands of years, the Jews have celebrated the creation of the world on the first day of the seventh month, the day called Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year. If this is correct, it means that the month which originally came first, now called Tishri, was changed in Exodus 12:2, to become the seventh month for Israel. And the month, which now is called Nissan, was established as the first month of the year for the children of Israel. The month of deliverance is the first month for the people of the Eternal. “created to do” – Rashi quotes a Midrash[49] which says that this is speaking of the double work that is done on the sixth day, which corresponds to the need that is on the seventh day. The work that should have been done on the seventh day is pushed back and is done on the sixth day. We can see this in what happened in the desert when the Eternal said to the people that they should gather a double portion of manna, in Hebrew “man”, on the sixth day, in order to not do it on the seventh day, see Exodus 16:5, 22-24. The Fourth Aliyah, 2:4 – 3:21 2:4 “These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that HaShem God made earth and heaven.”(JPS revised) – The Hebrew word that has been translated “generations” is toldot,[50] which comes from the root yalad,[51] meaning “to birth”. The word toldot can be understood in the following two ways: in reference to man or historically. When understood as referring to man, it has to do with descendants. When it has to do with history, it is referring to the historical events, which were produced. In this case it is referring to the things that were produced during the creation of heaven and earth. Here again, we see the connection between creation and birth. “HaShem God” – This is the first time that God’s personal name, YHWH, is presented. That Name occurs over 6,500 times in the Tanach. It is the only personal name with which the Eternal introduces himself in the Scriptures. All his other names are titles. But this is the Eternal’s own name. This is what he is called. This Name is what reveals who he is more than anything else. We don’t know exactly how it is pronounced, and therefore we prefer not to speak it, or write it out completely, out of respect. We also avoid speaking his Name out of respect. Instead of writing that Name we substitute it with the word HaShem, which means “the Name”. This is a very ancient custom that can be found in the Messianic Writings, see 3 John 7. Since the root of YHWH has to do with life and autonomous existence, we also use the term “the Eternal” when referring to the Name. According to Rashi, when both the names YHWH and God are written together, it should be understood as HaShem, who is God, who rules and judges over everything. The name YHWH is intimately connected with grace and compassion, see Exodus 34:6-7. In chapter one, we see God’s work of creation from a distance, but in chapter two the details of some acts, which were only described in a comprehensive way in chapter one, are revealed. When the Eternal reveals himself from a distance, he is making known his righteous character, with the title God. But when he allows us to see him more closely, he is making himself known by his personal name, YHWH, which relates to his character of compassion. This teaches us that the closer we get to the Eternal, the more we will come to know his love. Therefore it is written in 1 John 4:8, 16, “The one who does not love does not know God; for God is love… And we have come to know and believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”(MRC) 2:7 “Then HaShem God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”(JPS) – The Hebrew word that is translated “formed” is va-yiytzer, which in this case is spelled with an extra yod. When, in verse 19, it speaks about the animals being formed, the same word is written with only one yod. But when it is speaking of man being formed, there are two yods. How should this be understood? It is evident that the Hebrew text wanted to show that there is a difference between the forming of the human body and the forming of the animal body. The human body has something more, something that the animal body does not have. Using a Midrash, Rashi says that there were two acts of forming the human body; one for this world and one for the resurrection of the dead. The animals were not created for the resurrection. The human body is like a seed, which has a small part, called a sprout, which holds a potential resurrection life. When a seed is planted in the ground and dies, this resurrection life is activated. In the same way, the Eternal has designed the human body to be able to resurrect, see 1 Corinthians 15:42-44. Man is the only being that has been equipped to live in two worlds simultaneously, the lower material world, and the higher spiritual world. This required a unique act of creation, different than the one used to create the angels or the animals. Man is a combination of dust from the earth and the life giving breath of the Eternal. When these two are united, the man is changed into a living soul, in Hebrew nefesh chayah. Rashi says that the text specifically says that man was made into a living soul in order to show that he is not exactly like an animal, which also is called a living soul, see 1:24. Targum marked this difference by translating it as “living being” when referring to the animals, and “talking spirit” when referring to humans. The life giving breath of the Eternal is what causes every human to live. Man is not eternal in and of himself. The pagan idea of the soul’s immortality does not come from the Scriptures, but from a Greek philosophical concept, which has infiltrated both Judaism and Christianity. Man’s soul is dependent upon the Spirit of the Eternal in order to exist. There is only one who is immortal in and of himself, as it is written in 1 Timothy 6:16, “Who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; Whom no man has seen or has the power to see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”(MRC) Man can only reach immortality through a deep relationship with Him who exists autonomously, the heavenly Father. Independent immortality is a myth. That myth was sold to Chavah when she was tricked to setting herself free from the Life Giver by believing the words, “you will not surely die”. Apart from the Eternal, there is no eternal life or eternal existence. The Scriptures teach that the soul is mortal, destructible, and can be lost, see Ezekiel 18:4, 10; Mathew 10:28. 2:8 “And HaShem God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed.”(JPS revised) – This teaches us that there were three main areas on the earth: the garden, Eden, and the rest of the world. These three correspond to the three temple areas; the most consecrated, the consecrated, and the outer court. Man was placed to live in intimacy in the most consecrated place, to serve the Eternal as priest. 2:9 “And out of the ground made HaShem God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”(JPS revised) – In the middle of the garden were two trees, which stood close to each other. The tree of life represents the Torah, which is called “the tree of life” in Proverbs 3:18, where it is written, “She (the wisdom) is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.”(NIV) It is probable that the tree of life grew on the place that today is called the Temple Mount in Yerushalayim, and that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew on the Mount of Olives. 2:11 “The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Chavilah, where there is gold.”(NIV revised) – Pishon[52] means “overflow”, “spread out”, “brim over”. According to Rashi, this is the river Nile. In the beginning, man was surrounded by abundance. Lack is the result of a curse. 2:12 “and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone.”(JPS) – Man was created to have economic abundance and to value gold highly. The Torah is what gives gold its value. Gold is valuable because the Torah says that it is good. Gold is not something evil. Material riches are not evil, they are good. The love of money is evil, as it is written in 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and some by craving for it have gone astray from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pain.”(MRC) 2:13 “The name of the second river is the Gichon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.”(NIV revised) – According to Rashi, Gichon[53] means rumble. 2:14 “The name of the third river is Chiddekel: this is the one which flows in front of Ashur. The fourth river is the Perat.”(HNV) – According to Rashi, Chiddekel[54] means that these waters were sharp, chadin, and light, kalin. Perat[55] has to do with fruit, pri, meaning that the water causes fruit to be produced. 2:15 “HaShem God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”(NIV revised) – From the beginning, mankind was meant to multiply and become a big family that could spread over the whole earth and simultaneously spread the loveliness of the garden over the earth, protecting it from all external evil influence, over which Adam was to rule, but not submit. “work it and take care of it” – These two assignments are foundational in order for the activities of life to be successful. It has to do with expansion and protection. It is not enough that your activities expand, they must also be protected and kept. Everything that is alive moves and expands and everything that is alive is vulnerable and needs to be cared for. A congregation that only thinks of expansion will lose many lives. A congregation that only thinks about holding their position will never be able to fulfill the purposes of the Eternal. All life must expand and be protected in order to not die. These two principles are also reflected in the Aharonic blessing, see Numbers 6:24, which says, “HaShem bless you and keep you”. In what way was Adam to keep the garden? Was not everything very good? There were not any enemies or hostile elements that could harm the garden, were there? Yes, there were! Evil already existed. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil proves that there was evil somewhere. It is evident that the partial fall of the invisible creation was already a fact. Man was forewarned about this and was now given the assignment of standing against evil so that it would not harm the Eternal’s Kingdom in the world over which he was placed to rule. This shows us that man was not only created to expand the Eternal’s glory over the whole earth, but also to battle evil. 2:16-17 “HaShem God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you shall certainly eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat of it you will surely die.’”(HNV revised) – This is the first time in the Torah that you can find the word “commanded”, in Hebrew tzavah,[56] which is the root of the word “command”, in Hebrew “mitzvah”.[57] At this time, HaShem gave man the positive command to eat of every tree in the garden except one, and the negative command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The positive commands bless those who obey them and the negative commands bring punishment over those who do not obey them. Through the commandments man is lifted up to a high position. The word “mitzvah” also includes the concept of “assignment”. When someone receives a heavenly assignment, he feels meaningful and is lifted up to the status of being a coworker with the Eternal, deliberately and voluntarily fulfilling His plans. The commandments are tools that the Eternal has placed in man’s hands through which he can keep a devout fellowship with Him, and also to deepen the intimate relationship with Him. If man breaks the commandments, there is a break in this relationship and man experiences a spiritual decline. A man without standards is worse than animals, because the animals fulfill the standards, which were established for them. When man fulfills the commandments he is lifted up to spiritual realms, but when he breaks the commandments he is reduced to the dust from which he was taken. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represents an acknowledgment of God’s authority over man. Every time that man obeyed the negative command of not eating from the forbidden tree, he displayed who was the Sovereign One, the Lord of his life, and his God. This tree helped man to submit and humble himself, and so keep his delegated lordship and trusteeship over everything created. Therefore, this tree would, with time, be turned into a type of altar, a place for sacrifice and worship, where man’s will submits to the Creator’s will. This tree was also evidence of the freedom of man. It was possible for man to sin. He was free to choose between obedience and disobedience. If man did not have any commandments, he would not have had the opportunity to be disobedient. But as it is, his obedience would come from a place of willing submission and it would make him into a higher being than if he had been without this choice. This way, love would be founded on free choice, making it stronger. God longs for our voluntary love, not our forced love. The Eternal did forbid man to eat of this tree, so in one way it could be said that he did not have the freedom to do it. If he were disobedient, it would bring catastrophic results. This result being death, meaning that the elements, alive when knitted together, would fall apart. There are at least three types of death mentioned in the Scriptures: Spiritual death, when man’s spirit is removed from the Well of Life, see Ephesians 2:1. Physical death, when the spirit leaves the body, see Genesis 5:5. Eternal death (the second death), when the whole being is destroyed in the lake of fire, see Matthew 5:29; 25:41; Revelation 20:14.
How are we to interpret the words “the day that you eat of it you will surely die”? The day that Adam sinned, he experienced a kind of spiritual death. His inner man experienced a break in the relationship with God so that God had to come and seek him and call out to him “Where are you?” If we count one day as also meaning 1000 years, we see that Adam did not reach the second thousand-year day of his life. He died at the age of 930 years. The same day (of 1000 years) that he ate of the tree, he died physically. It is possible that Adam died on the calendar day that he was created on, on his “birthday”, 930 years later, the sixth day of the week (Friday). According to tradition God himself buried him, in the cave of Machpelah, which was close to the entrance of the Garden of Eden. In that case, that would be the reason Avraham was so interested in buying that cave as a burial place for both Sarah, himself, and his descendants.
2:18 “HaShem God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his opposite.’”(HNV revised) – Man was not created to be alone. The woman was taken out of the man to be his counterpart and to complement him. This text teaches that woman’s primary purpose is to back up the man so that he can fulfill the purposes of the Eternal together with her. When the Torah speaks of having dominion, in 1:26-28, it is not expressed in singular but always in plural. This teaches us that man cannot have dominion alone. He needs the help of his wife to have the right kind of dominion over creation. Before the woman was made, man was placed in the garden to work it and take care of it. The commandments about eating of all the trees and not eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were not given directly to the woman, but only to the man. Man also began his assignment of having dominion over creation by giving prophetic names to all land animals and birds. This teaches us that there are three things, which are especially related to the function of the man: o Production and care in the work life, expansion and protection. o Studying and practical implementing of the Torah. o The responsibility of discerning and deciding over the environment. Man was already functioning in these three areas without the help of the woman. It was, however, not good that the man was doing these things alone. HaShem wanted to have many children, and man could not fulfill that vision alone. He needed a wife who could help him with this assignment. Therefore, HaShem has formed the woman’s body specifically for bringing forth children. This teaches us that the care of the family and the bringing up of children are the woman’s main assignments. The greatest thing in a woman’s life is to marry, be a help to her husband, have children, and help her husband raise them to be faithful to the Eternal. Man was created to move in a larger circle. Woman was created, primarily, to move in the circle of the home, see Proverbs 31:10-31. In order to be a proper help for man, woman has been equipped in a very special way. The Hebrew word that has been translated as “help” is ezer,[58] the root of which is azar,[59] meaning “surround”, “protect”, “defend”, “help”, and “rescue”. There is nothing degrading in this word, but it reflects the best thing that could be had when there is a need. Man is less equipped than woman for living alone. The Torah teaches that it is the man who needs help, not the woman. The word ezer is mainly found in Scripture as relating to the Eternal, see Exodus 18:4; Deuteronomy 33:7. The help that a woman can give, therefore, is help that comes from heaven. A humble man receives the wise advice and the help that the Eternal gives him through his wife. The fact that the Torah teaches that the man needs help, does not mean that the woman does not need the man. The man functioned in the three areas of responsibility mentioned earlier before woman was formed. The woman is, therefore, dependent on the man in these three areas. The woman needs financial benefit from the man’s work and protection. The woman needs the revelation of the Eternal’s council that was given to man. Not one of the books in the divine Scriptures were written by a woman, but they were given for the woman also. Heavenly revelation comes foremost to the man and is then passed on to the woman through the man. In some cases the Eternal speaks to the man through the wife. This is not as a rule, however. The Eternal did not speak to the woman about the commands that the man had received. This teaches us that the man has the responsibility of teaching his wife the Torah. The man ought to spend more time than his wife in study and so be able to teach her and lead his household prophetically. The man has the last word when it comes to how the family should be led; he is the head of his wife, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 11:3, “But I want you to understand that the Head of every husband is Messiah, and the husband is the head of the wife, and the Head of Messiah is God.”(MRC) The Hebrew word that is translated “as his opposite” is ke-negdoh. The root of this word is neged,[60] which means “against”, “part opposite”, “facing”. This teaches us that the woman was created to be a counterpart that stands in front of, that is to say facing, the man. If the man acts rightly, his wife, who fears the Eternal, will treat him well. But if he does not do as the Eternal has commanded him to, his wife will turn into his enemy. The word ke-negdoh could be translated as “who contradicts him”. The woman was made by the Eternal to be this way. That is the best help a man can get, aside from the Eternal himself. The woman was created to be able to see things differently, from another angle, and to have a different way of understanding her environment. The man has a greater ability to see the full picture, but he does not have the ability to see all the details. The woman has been equipped to see things that the man cannot see. Therefore he is obligated to listen to her in order to get a more complete picture of things so that he can make the final decision and lead his family correctly. 2:19 “And out of the ground HaShem God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof.”(JPS revised) – The animals were formed on the fifth and sixth days. These animals were then brought to the man so that he could have dominion over each one of them by his spiritual ability to discern and his ability to speak. By his spiritual ability to discern he registered the character and function of each kind of animal. Thereafter he combined the Hebrew letters, according to the meaning of each letter, which corresponded to the character and function of the animal and spoke them over each one separately. Adam was created to be led by the Spirit of the Eternal. There was still no sin in him and his spiritual relationship and revelation had no barriers. He knew, by prophetic clarity, what was the function and purpose of each animal and so he was able to have dominion over all of them according to the Creator’s plan. By naming the animals, man ruled with his word. The one who names something is the one who has the authority over that thing or person. HaShem named the light, the darkness, the firmament, the land, and the sea. He rules over all of this. He also named man on the day he was created, see 5:2. The man then continued by naming the animals and in this way cooperated with the Eternal in his work. 2:21-22 “HaShem God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. And the rib, which HaShem God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man.”(JPS revised) – Woman was not taken from the dust of the earth in order not to be trampled down, neither was she taken from the head of the man in order to rule over him, but from his side, in order to be his equal. According to Rashi, the Hebrew text doesn’t say “ribs”, but “sides”. In this way, HaShem, separated the feminine part of mankind and built a woman. Rabbi Eliezer[61] teaches, however, that HaShem took out a rib and built a woman out of it. Jonathan’s Targum says that it was the thirteenth disk in the man’s spine. In the story of how the woman came to be, we find a beautiful prophetic illustration about how the bride of the Messiah would be formed. In the eternal plan of the heavenly Father, the Messiah had already been predestined to be the ruler of the universe. This ruling is reflected in man’s relationship with the animals and the earth. But since it was not good that man should rule alone, the woman was taken out of him so that they would rule corporately as man and woman. In the same way, HaShem decided to take out of the Messiah, a complementing wife, who can share his rule over all creation, both visible and invisible. In the same way that man was put into a deep sleep, the Messiah had to go through the sleep of death. During the sleep, the woman was taken out of the man. In the same way, the Messiah’s bride was brought forth because of the Messiah’s death. The Messiah’s death is the foundation on which the bride can be brought forth, formed, and completed, becoming a complementing help in the Messiah Yeshua’s reign. This does not mean that the bride did not exist before the death of the Messiah Yeshua. The bride existed already before this, as it is written in John 3:29, “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore, this, my joy has been fulfilled.”(MRC) In Ephesians 5:25-27, it is written, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Messiah also loved the assembly and gave Himself up for it; that He might sanctify it, cleansing it by the washing of the water with the spoken word, that He might present to Himself the assembly in glory, having no stain or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it may be sanctified and without blemish.”(MRC revised) These texts teach us that the Messiah’s bride already existed before he gave himself to die for her. The Messiah’s death was necessary, however, in order to complete her so that she would have no spot, wrinkle, or any such thing. The Messiah’s congregation is made up of the faithful within Israel, as it is written in Jeremiah 31:4a and Matthew 16:18b, “Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel… upon this Rock I will rebuild My assembly”(JPS, MRC) 2:23 “And the man said: ‘This time it is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’”(JPS revised) – The first thing man said when he awoke from his sleep was, “This time”. This means that he had sought among the animals for a being that could be his mate. A Midrash[62] says that when he saw how all the animals each had a mate, he complained to the Eternal since he had none. Then the Eternal put him to sleep and gave him Chavah. This text teaches us that Adam spoke Hebrew, the same language that the Eternal used when creating the world. According to Siftei Chachamim,[63] the word for “woman” does not hail from the word “man” in any of the ancient languages of the world except for Hebrew. Here Adam proved that he spoke the Hebrew language and that he understood its grammar. Man spoke Hebrew up until the tower of Bavel, almost 2,000 years later. After that, Hebrew was split into 70 different languages. Hebrew is called ha-lashon ha-kodesh, “the sanctified tongue”. 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.” (JPS) – Here is the foundation of marriage between man and woman. Marriage is a covenant between spouses that has social implications. Therefore the relationship between a man and a woman is not a private matter. In all cultures there is some form of official recognition when you enter into a marriage covenant. A man does not have the right to lay with a woman without have a marriage covenant with her as a foundation. This text teaches us that the first step is to leave the social setting of family life, in reference to the parents. After that, there is an official uniting, when a woman becomes a man’s wife, and later they can be united physically and so become one flesh. This is the order that has been established in creation and which governs the coming together of man and woman. The root of the Hebrew word that has been translated as “cleave” is davak,[64] which means “glue together”, “unite”, “and attach together”. In Matthew 19:4-6 our Rabbi teaches us, “And He answered and said, "Have you not read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘for this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be united to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”(MRC) The unifying of man and woman in a marriage covenant is registered in heaven. In this way, at the first wedding, the Eternal brought the woman to the man and married them. Later on, he gave the right to confirm marriage covenants to the authorities. When a man and a woman intend to enter into an intimate relationship, it must, therefore, be registered before the authorities. The authorities are God’s legal representatives. Those who marry before the authorities, are therefore marrying before God and at that moment He unites them. The marriage is a covenant that is made before the Eternal, as it is written in Malachi 2:14, “You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because HaShem is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.”(NIV revised) In Ecclesiastes 4:12, it is written, “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”(NIV) 2:25 “And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”(JPS) – The man was created in God’s image. Since God reveals himself in this creation as light and covered in light[65], man shone before he fell into sin. A Midrash[66] teaches that when man was created he was surrounded by a cloud of glory and some kind of scales that later fell off when man sinned. We should therefore not understand the word “naked” as the same type of shameful nakedness that man experiences today when he takes off his clothes. The shame that man felt, from the nakedness that came as a result of the fall, was because he lost the original clothes that he was dressed in. Now he cannot go back to the original glory that he had in those first clothes. Not even king Shelomoh could reach the level of beauty that a lily of the field has, see Matthew 6:29. This teaches us that man, who was created much higher than the flowers, is a fallen being, who has lost the original glory that he had before falling into sin, as it is written in Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God”(MRC) On the other hand, in the beginning, humans did not know any shame when showing their bodies, for there were no evil tendencies within them. Sin had not yet come into man. According to Rashi, yetzer ha-rah, (the evil urge), did not come into man until he ate of the forbidden tree. 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals HaShem God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’”(NIV revised) – The serpent attacks the woman for several reasons. The woman is more sensitive to spiritual impulses than the man. It is also easier to deceive the woman spiritually than the man, as it is written in 1 Timothy 2:14, “And Adam was not deceived, but woman being deceived has come into transgression.”(MRC) In 2 Corinthians 11:3, it is written, “But I am afraid, lest as the serpent seduced Chavah by his craftiness, your thoughts should be corrupted from the simplicity and purity to Messiah.”(MRC) The commandments were given to the man, and he had, in turn, passed them on to his wife. Therefore Adam was not deceived; he knew very well what command he had been given regarding the forbidden tree. The serpent posed an astute question in order to start a discussion with the woman. The strategy of the enemy is founded on lies. He is the father of lies. Lies are distorted truth. The Eternal’s Torah is truth, see Psalm 119:142. The purpose of the adversary’s lies is to distort the words of the Torah. With his first question, the serpent changed one commandment and thus tried to paint the picture of a cruel God who enslaves people with the law by forbidding many things that they could enjoy if they were free from the law. This has been his strategy from the beginning, and it has not changed. 3:3 “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’(HNV) – The woman added to the command. Touching the tree was not forbidden, only eating from it. It is very important neither to add nor to subtract from the commandments, as it is written in Deuteronomy 4:2, “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of HaShem your God that I give you.”(NIV revised) 3:4 “And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die’”(JPS) – Here we see the origin of the deceptive belief in the immortality of the soul. 3:5 “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”(NIV) – The serpent claims to know what is in the mind of God. The serpent is religious. He was attempting to begin a different religion. The attraction in his new religion is that it offers freedom from the law and personal development through a higher knowledge. It is a religion that creates independence. Instead of being submitted to the commandments, man now makes decisions based on his own judgment. By trusting in his own knowledge and his own mind, man believes that he knows what he should or should not do. In this way his mind becomes a God and in control, according to what it understands. Whatever he does not understand, he does not accept or practise. 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.”(JPS) – The woman was deceived by the serpent’s words. She believed more in the words of lie than in the Word of the Eternal that had been passed on to her through her husband. It was the temptation of becoming mentally independent that caused sin to enter this world. Humanistic intellectualism is the greatest hindrance on earth to the Kingdom of Heaven. Adam let himself be charmed by the woman instead of having dominion over the serpent with God’s Word. 3:7 “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”(NIV) – Man’s knowledge was now no longer based on revelation that came from a spiritual unity with the Eternal, but from an intellectual independence. They lost the glory that they had had, and realized that they were naked. The Hebrew word that is translated as “realized”, yadah,[67] does not only mean to intellectually discern something, but also to know by experience. Now they were really able to experience what it was like to be naked in every way. First of all, they lost the heavenly presence, which had filled them with such a glory that, even their bodies shone. On top of that, according to Rashi, they also became naked in relation to the commandments that they had in their hands. So they sewed together some fig leaves to cover themselves. The fig leaves represent fallen man’s religiosity, which tries to replace the glory of the Eternal with its own efforts. These clothes were later rejected by the Eternal, who covered them with another type of clothing; clothing made from an innocent animal that had to shed its blood. There are different suggestions among the sages when it comes to what kind of tree the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was: grapevine, wheat, citron, or fig. According to Rashi, it was a fig tree. I think, however, that it was a tree that was the only one of its kind, no longer existing on earth. The Torah[68], the Apostles[69] and other old and rabbinical interpretations[70] teach us that death was introduced into mankind through Adam. Death is the result of sin that now had entered man. The seed from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil took root and produced its fruit within man. This caused a split within him, and a divided will, which we see reflected in Romans 7:15, where it is written, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”(NIV) The character of man was degenerated. He was changed into a different being with sin inside, which was not there at his begining. Therefore, his behavior cannot please the Eternal, but rather, it arouses his anger, because of the innate rebellion, as it is written in Ephesians 2:3, “Among them we (Jews) also once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, also as the rest of mankind (the gentiles).”(MRC own commentaries) 3:8 “And they heard the voice of HaShem God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem God amongst the trees of the garden.”(JPS revised) – Sin came into the world in the afternoon. That is why the Messiah Yeshua had to die in the afternoon when atoning for the sins of the world. 3:10 “And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’”(JPS) – Fear came into the world through sin. 3:11 “And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’”(NIV) – The Eternal knows everything and does not need to be informed of what is happening. In spite of this, he poses a question to Adam, giving him a chance to repent and confess his sins with remorse. 3:12 “The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.’”(NIV) – Man’s character had become depraved and therefore he blamed God for giving him a woman that caused him to sin. Instead of admitting to what he did, he hid behind his wife and thus tried to escape his responsibility and evade the punishment for what he did. A spiritually immature person will not admit his guilt, but will always blame others. A spiritually mature person is willing to take responsibility for his guilt and even for the guilt of others and suffer for their sake, so that they can be acquitted. Adam knew that death awaited him. The reward of sin is death. Fear of death creates slavery. HaShem can free us from the fear of death through Yeshua, as it is written in Hebrews 2:14-15, “Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”(NIV) 3:13 “Then HaShem God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ The woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”(NIV revised) – HaShem also gave the woman a chance for teshuvah, repentance. However, she followed her husband’s bad example and did not take responsibility for what she had done, but blamed it on the serpent. 3:14 “So HaShem said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.’”(NIV revised) – The serpent did not receive a chance to repent. Therefore, HaShem does not ask him anything, but brings the judgment right away. The serpent lost its legs, and was reduced to become the most accursed of all land animals. 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”(NIV) – Here it speaks, first of all, of an enmity between the woman and the serpent. The woman is the mother of all mankind, and therefore she represents life. Adam also understood the message this way, and later he gave her a new name, Chavah (Eve), “life”. Earlier her name had been Isha. In spite of the fact that man had submitted to a spirit of rebellion and independence, there remained in them something of the good urge, yetzer ha-tov, that would motivate them to not break the commandments of the Eternal. In this way, there would be a natural, innate enmity, in all of mankind, against the powers of evil both from the outside and from the inside. Secondly, it is speaking of the serpent’s offspring and the woman’s offspring. The serpent’s offspring are those people who break the commandments of the Eternal and the woman’s offspring refers to the people who obey the commandments of the Eternal and who battle against the serpent and evil. This text has also, since ancient times, been understood as a Messianic prophecy. A Midrash[71] teaches, “This is the Offspring that comes from another place, and who is this? King Messiah.” In Galatians 3:16, it is written, “The promises were spoken to Avraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Messiah.”(NIV revised) This interpretation does not rule out other interpretations when it comes to understanding the word “offspring”. It is, however, significant that the word for “offspring”, in Genesis 3:15, is in singular masculine form. Here is proof of a prophecy concerning a special descendant, a unique offspring. The Hebrew word that has been translated as “offspring”, zerah,[72] means: · seed, embryo, grain, sprout, wheat · harvest season, harvest · sperm, seminal fluid, seed · metaphorically: sapling, offspring, descendants, children, race We should note that here the Torah is speaking of the woman’s seed, which is an unnatural thing. The seed, the sperm, comes from the man. How is it then that here it talks about the seed of a woman? This is undeniably a prophecy about the supernatural birth of the Messiah. The text seems to hint that the Messiah will be born without the seed of a man. HaShem continues by saying that he, the offspring, descendant, seed, will crush the head of the serpent. This means that he will destroy the power of the one who instigated the sin of the woman. Here the final defeat of satan’s power is made known. The Hebrew word that is translated “crush” is yechufsha, which, according to Rashi, means “he will grind you into pieces”, similar to Deuteronomy 9:21 where it talks about how Moshe ground the golden calf into powder in the desert. In 1 John 3:8, it is written, “the one who practices sin is of satan (offspring of the serpent); for satan has sinned from the beginning (Bereshit). For this the Son of God appeared: that He might break up the works of satan (crush the head of the serpent).”(MRC revised) God’s Son, who is the last Adam and the second man, see 1 Corinthians 15:45-47, came to destroy the works of satan. By obedience to the Torah, he won victory over the enemy, see Philippians 2:8; Psalm 40:8-9. Adam failed because he was disobedient to God’s commandments. Yeshua won the victory by obeying the Eternal’s Torah. The only way to get the victory over satan is through obedience to the Torah. Whoever does not obey God, automatically places himself in the kingdom of disobedience and under the authority of the ruler of rebellion. Sin is to be disobedient to God’s commandments, see 1 John 3-4. Moshe ground the golden calf to powder, and threw the powder into water. This is what satan’s end will be. After he has been crushed, he is going to be eternally and completely destroyed in the lake of fire, as it is written in Matthew 25:41, “Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, cursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for satan and his angels.’”(MRC revised) In Revelation 20:10, it is written, “And satan who deceived them was thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”(MRC revised) “you will strike his heel” – This prophecy is speaking of the Messiah’s suffering. When the Messiah died, he had to suffer pain in his heel from a headless nail that the Roman soldiers had put in the tree, just behind one of his feet, so that it dug into his heel every time he had to lift himself up in order to breathe.[73] This text can also be interpreted in relation to Ya’akov’s descendants in the last generation before the Messiah returns. The name Ya’akov is related to the Hebrew word “heel”, ekev. In the last days, the adversary’s children, those who break the commandments, will war against the consecrated ones who keep God’s commandments, that were given through Moshe, and who have the testimony of Yeshua, as it is written in Revelation 12:17, “Then the dragon was enraged at the woman (Israel) and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Yeshua.”(NIV revised) 3:16 “To the woman he said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.’”(NIV) – The woman’s world, the family, was affected by the punishment for her sin. That which already existed to a small degree was now going to be increased to become very painful. 3:17 “To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of it,” Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.’”(NIV) – There are times when the man should not listen to his wife’s advice. The man is responsible to discern what the source is behind what his wife is saying to know whether it comes from a pure or impure source. This text shows us how we are to discern and get victory over every temptation; through the Torah. If the man had remained faithful to the Torah, he would not have fallen into sin. The man’s world, his working life, was affected by the punishment for his sin. 3:18 “It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”(NIV) – The curse that came over the earth, changed the genetics of the plants and they started producing thistles and thorns. Nature itself was affected by man’s sin, as it also is written in Romans 8:20-22, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own free will, but on account of Him Who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers together until now.”(MRC) In 2 Peter 3:3-4, it is written, “Know this first, that in the last days mockers will come with mockery, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since our fathers fell asleep, all remains just as it was from the beginning of creation.’”(MRC) We ought to take Kefa’s warning seriously when he speaks of mockers that will come in the last days. One of the things they say is that everything has remained the same from creation until our days. They do not take into account the changes that have happened as results of the judgments that God has brought during the course of the history of the universe. Nature was cursed and subject to decay when Adam sinned. The Messiah took the curse over nature as well, which was symbolized by the crown of thorns that was placed on his head when he died, Matthew 27:29. 3:19 “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”(NIV) – Death entered the world through sin. But before the Eternal pronounced the judgment over the woman and the man, he revealed part of his plan of salvation through the woman’s offspring. This plan of salvation includes the restoration of all things. In order for there to be a complete restoration after the catastrophe that was caused by the sin of the first humans, not only does the enemy of man have to be destroyed, but sin and the consequences of sin also have to be destroyed. There was a correction, in Hebrew tikkun, required at the very point where the first man failed which was obedience to the commandments when the serpent is tempting. The Messiah Yeshua made this tikkun for Adam’s sin. Where Adam fell, Yeshua did not. What are the consequences of sin? Death. Man must be freed from death. Even death itself must be eliminated in order for all things to be restored. Therefore, the promised Redeemer did not only have to free man from death, but he also had to destroy death for eternity, see 1 Corinthians 15:26; Revelation 20:14. 3:20 “Adam named his wife Chavah, because she would become the mother of all the living.”(NIV revised) – Adam gave an additional name to his wife, with the hope that the Redeemer would be born through her. The name “Chavah”[74] is related to the Hebrew word chayah,[75] which means “living”. Through the woman, mankind would be able to live and not be exterminated and through woman the one would come who would give mankind the possibility to have eternal life. 3:21 “HaShem God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.”(NIV revised) – An innocent animal had to shed its blood in order for the humans to be clothed. This sacrifice was the only one that was made in the Garden of Eden, and it was made in the afternoon. In the same way, the Eternal gave a message to man that the clothes which represented man’s own efforts to substitute and try to regain the lost glory were not enough. The shedding of innocent blood was required in order for man to be set free from sin and its consequences, as it is written in Hebrews 9:12, “and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered into the consecrated Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”(MRC revised) The Eternal revealed his plan of salvation in two ways; first through the message about the woman’s offspring that would crush the head of the serpent, and secondly by the only sacrifice that was ever made in the Garden, which served to cover man’s nakedness. The Hebrew word yeshuah, “salvation”, speaks of an act of deliverance that brings about a condition of spaciousness, where one is free from limitations. The verb yashah means “save”, with the meaning of “give place”, “prepare room”, “bring out to a spacious place”, “free from hardships”. In this way, the concept of salvation in the Scriptures does not only have the meaning of man being set free from sin, death, and the wrath of God so that he can take part in the coming age, but included in that concept is also every area of human life. It is a question of being set free from everything that hinders God’s original purpose from being fulfilled so that there can be a state of enduring shalom. Shalom is the condition of complete order, health, perfection, and harmony. The need for salvation was brought by the fall, when man and creation were placed under a curse. Man needs salvation from sin and its consequences, death among other things, and the rest of creation needs salvation from the decay that came as a result of man’s sin. Salvation has a negative side, and a positive side. God saves from something negative in order to accomplish something positive. For example, we were saved from eternal death in order to have eternal life. Through salvation, God restores his creation and heals it from all the destructive consequences of the fall, bringing it back to the original state of harmony, perfection, health and peace that ruled in paradise. Salvation means that everything created that has been affected by the fall will be restored to its original state. In Isaiah 49:6, it is written, “he says: ‘It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Ya’akov and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”(NIV revised) All of God’s work of salvation is summed up in the Messiah. The name Yeshua means “salvation”. The whole nation of Israel is represented in the Messiah and all the nations of the earth are represented in Israel. The Messiah came to save his people from their sins, see Matthew 1:21. But he also came to save the whole world, see 1 John 2:2, as it also it written in Romans 1:16b, “to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”(KJV) Therefore, the Eternal’s work of salvation through the Messiah, has to do both with the salvation of Israel as a nation, see Romans 11:26, and with every individual within Israel and the rest of the world, see 1 Timothy 4:10. Furthermore, this work also has to do with the salvation of both the visible and the invisible creation, see Colossians 1:19-20; Romans 8:19-25; Hebrews 9:23. In Luke 1:67-79, it is written, “And his father Zecharyah was filled full of the Spirit of sanctity and prophesied, saying: ‘Blessed be the Lord God of Yisrael, for He has visited us and made redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation (Messiah) for us in the House of David, His servant-- as He spoke by the mouth of His consecrated prophets from of old— salvation from our enemies, and out of the hand of all who hate us; to perform mercy toward our fathers, and to remember His sanctified covenant, the oath which He swore to Avraham our father, to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in sanctity and in righteousness before Him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare His ways; to give knowledge of salvation to His people in forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, in which the rising from on High (Messiah) did look upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to make straight our feet into the way of peace.’”(MRC revised) This text teaches us the broad meaning of the concept of salvation. Salvation comes from God through the Messiah to the people of Israel in order to redeem and free Israel nationally from all its enemies, and also to give knowledge of salvation for the forgiveness of sins, both for Jews and non-Jews, so that everyone can serve God without fear in sanctity and in righteousness all their days, walking in the way of peace, shalom. Salvation is channeled into three different time frames; past, present, and future. Past – “Who has saved us”(MRC), see 2 Timothy 1:9. When we receive Yeshua personally, as our Lord and Messiah, see John 1:12-13; Romans 10:9-10, God introduces us in the way of salvation by letting us be born again and circumcised our hearts. In these words are included both the corporate meaning of salvation, “us”, and the personal, individual meaning. Present – “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”(MRC), see Philippians 2:12b. This process is normally defined in Paul’s teachings as “sanctification”. Future – “a salvation ready to be revealed in the last season.”(MRC), see 1 Peter 1:5b. The salvation has not yet been completed in all areas of individual and corporate human life. Neither has it been completed generally, for creation.
It is important to bring up the fact that the Scriptures speak of salvation as something corporate, “who has saved us”, “your (plural) salvation”. Paul could have written “each and every one of you, work out your personal salvation”, but he did not. The corporate side of salvation is prominent throughout all of Scripture. This fact does not take away from the responsibility of each individual, see Exodus 32:33; Numbers 14:24; 21:9; Deuteronomy 24:16; Romans 1:16; 10:8-10. Each individual will die and be lost because of his own sin, see Ezekiel 18:20; Ephesians 2:1; Colossians 2:13. Each individual will be saved through his own obedient faith, see Ezekiel 18:21; Mark 16:16; John 3:16. But the individual salvation of every Jew and every gentile depends on the corporate salvation that the Eternal has given and is giving to the nation of Israel. There is no salvation outside of the covenant that God entered into with Avraham. Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya’akov, the people of Israel, and Israel’s Messiah is the only channel of salvation for all human beings. The Fifth Aliyah, 3:22 – 4:26 3:22 “And HaShem God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’”(NIV revised) – To have eternal life with indwelling sin would not be a state of completion. Instead of exterminating man, HaShem gives him the possibility of coming into His plan of complete restoration. The expulsion from paradise was an act of goodness, ensuring that man could be restored before he had the opportunity to eat of the tree of life and live for eternity. After the final redemption, man will again be allowed to eat of the tree of life, as it is written in Revelation 2:7; 22:2, 14, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God... in the middle of its street. And on either side of the river, the tree of life, producing twelve kinds of fruit, according to one month each yielding its fruit; and the leaves of the tree were for healing of the nations... Blessed are those who wash their robes, that their authority will be over the tree of life, and by the gates may enter into the city.”(MRC revised) In Proverbs 3:18 wisdom, which is synonymous with the Torah, is called “tree of life”. This means that in a smaller scale the people of Israel – and the nations through Israel – already now have access to the tree of life, which is the wisdom of the Torah. But in the same way as the people of Israel – in the smaller scale – could not receive the Torah from Sinai before they had been liberated from the slavery of Egypt and purified through the waters, humanity cannot reach – in the bigger scale – all the potential of life that exists in the tree of life before they have been completely liberated from the slavery of sin and the power of death through the final redemption which will come through Yeshua the Messiah. 4:1-2 “And the man had known Chavah his wife; and she had conceived and had given birth to Kayin, and had said: ‘I have gotten a man with the help of HaShem.’ And again she had given birth to his brother Hevel. And Hevel was a keeper of sheep, but Kayin was a tiller of the ground.”(Auth) – The grammar in the Hebrew text gives a clear indication that Chavah had given birth earlier. The question is when. Rashi says that it happened before the fall. Others say that it was after the fall. A Midrash[76] and Rashi teach that Chavah bore five children on the day she was created, Kayin with a twin sister, and Hevel with two twin sisters. Both Kayin and Hevel married their twin sisters. If they were born before the fall, it means that all the children must have eaten of the forbidden fruit, for both Kayin’s behavior and Hevel’s death show that they were fallen beings that had been affected by sin. Rashi teaches that the humans sinned the same day that they were created. Another interpretation could be that the fall occurred after some time. 4:3 “As time passed, it happened that Kayin brought an offering to HaShem from the fruit of the ground.”(HNV) – The Torah says that Kayin only brought from the fruit of the soil, which leads us to understand that it was just any fruit, not the choice and best. A Midrash[77] says that it was flax, the worst plant conceivable. 4:4 “Hevel also brought some of the firstborn of his flock and of the fat of it. HaShem respected Hevel and his offering”(HNV) – According to a Midrash,[78] Hevel freely offered up the best that he had; lambs that had not been sheared or worked and that did not have any flaws. God had shown Adam and Chavah which animals were clean and could serve as sacrifices, see Genesis 7:2. Therefore Hevel knew which type of animal that the Eternal would receive. It is possible that the animal that was sacrificed in the Garden before the expulsion, was one, or several, flawless lambs, see Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:19-20, and that Hevel based his actions on the revelation that the Eternal gave through that sacrifice. According to a Midrash,[79] Kayin and Hevel offered up their sacrifices on the 14th of Nissan, the same day that the Pesach (Passover) sacrifice would later be made. In Hebrews 11:4, it is written, “By the faith Hevel offered a better sacrifice to God than Kayin, through which he obtained testimony to be righteous, God testifying over his gifts; and through it, having died, he yet speaks.”(MRC) Hevel sacrificed by “the faith”, according to the Greek text. It was not by just any faith, but by the faith, the one on which everything has always been focused, the only faith that was given from the beginning, the faith of the Hebrews. It is possible that Hevel had faith in the future sacrifice of the Messiah according to what the Eternal had revealed to them earlier, see 3:15, 21. By that faith he was made righteous, that is to say, declared innocent and acquitted from the guilt of his sins. The Eternal looked with pleasure, first of all to Hevel, and then to his sacrifice. He saw the attitude of love, commitment, and faithfulness in his heart, and that attitude was rewarded with His pleasure. A Midrash[80] says that fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice. 4:7 “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”(NIV) – Rashi, as well as Targum, understand this sentence in the following way, “If you improve your actions, will you not be forgiven?” Onkelos’ Targum continues, “until the day of judgment, your sin has been kept, for in the future you will be punished, if you do not repent, but if you repent, you will have peace.” Rashi interprets the word “door” as the moment of death, when man enters the grave. Here, sin means yetzer ha-rah, the flesh within man. Man should keep this evil inner tendency in check. Through repentance and the grace of the Eternal, man can keep it in check. Whoever does not repent from his evil actions will be dominated by his sin. 4:10 “HaShem said, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother's bloods cry to me from the ground.’”(HNV revised) – In the Hebrew text, the word “bloods” is written in plural. Rashi says that this refers to all the descendants of Hevel, who were never given the opportunity to be born. Talmud[81] says that it was due to the many wounds that Kayin gave him, since he did not know where his soul would leave him. 4:15b “Then HaShem put a mark on Kayin so that no one who found him would kill him.”(NIV revised) – The Chachamim, sages, offer several different explanations as to what type of sign HaShem put on Kayin: that he became a leper,[82] that HaShem gave him a guard dog,[83] that a horn grew on his forehead,[84] or that one of the letters of the sanctified Name was engraved on his forehead.[85] Rashi believes that one of the letters of the sanctified Name was engraved on his forehead. 4:19 “Lamekh took two wives: the name of the one was `Adah, and the name of the other Tzillah.”(HNV) – Rashi refers to a Midrash[86] and says that before the Flood, the custom was to have two wives, one for bearing children and one to have sex with. Adah was, in that case, the one that he had children with and Tzillah was meant to have sex with. But in spite of the fact that she had taken measures of birth control, she became pregnant twice, see v. 22. 4:25 “Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Shet. For, she said, ‘God has appointed me another child instead of Hevel, for Kayin killed him.’”(HNV) – According to a Midrash,[87] Chavah was thinking of King Messiah when Shet was born. The name Shet means “placed”, “replaced” and it speaks of several things in the Messiah’s ministry. The Messiah would be the replacement of the man who had died. He also represented man and could make an exchange, so that he, by his death, could give life to the dead man. Faith in the Messiah’s substitutionary death and resurrection is hidden in what Chavah uttered. 4:26 “There was also born a son to Shet, and he called him Enosh. Then they began to call with HaShem's name.”(Auth) – According to Rashi, this means that man started naming people and idols by the Eternal’s Name, and thus they became cultic objects and were called gods. The Sixth Aliyah, 5:1-24 5:2 “He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”(HNV) – The name Adam,[88] has to do with the words adam,[89] “reddish”, adamah,[90] “ground”, and “dam”,[91] “blood”. When the Messiah was called Son of Man, in Hebrew “ben Adam”, it means that he was taken from the earth and had flesh and blood as a physical descendant of the first man, Adam. The Son of Man is an earthly being who has his origin in heaven, see 1 Corinthians 15:47. 5:3 “Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Shet.”(HNV) – The same words are found here that are also found in 1:26, where it speaks of man’s creation in God’s image according to his likeness, be-tzalmenu ki-dmutenu, but in reverse order, bi-demutoh ke-tzalmoh, “in (or with) his likeness, according to his image”. The ten first names of the descendants of Adam, until Noach, paint a Messianic prophecy: Adam – earthly Shet – placed Enosh – degenerated Kenan – possession Mahalal’el – praised by God Yered – went down Chanokh – consecrated Metushelach – his death sends Lamekh – miserable Noach – comfort
The earthly one is placed (as) a degenerated possession. The one whom God praises went down, he is consecrated. His death sends comfort (to) the miserable. 5:22 “Chanokh walked with God after he became the father of Metushelach three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.”(HNV) – To walk with God means to fulfill his commands. The noun that is derived from the Hebrew verb halach, “walk”, is halachah, which means “a walking”. Halachah is Jewish terminology, which speaks of the rules that the Jewish authorities establish so that the commandments of the Torah may be practised in all areas of Jewish lifestyle. 5:24 “Chanokh walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.”(HNV) – This catching up of Chanokh is a prophetic picture of the rapture that the righteous ones in the last generation will experience when the Messiah returns, see Matthew 24:31, Luke 17:34-36; 1 Thessalonians 4:17. When the Messiah Yeshua comes back to the earth, those who belong to him will be caught up to meet him in the air and then accompany him back to the earth. The Hebrew word that is translated as “took”, lakach,[92] is referring to the second stage of a Hebrew wedding, when the bride is “taken” by the groom and brought into his father’s house where the wedding takes place, see Ezra 9:12; Nehemiah 13:25; 2 Chronicles 11:21. The Seventh Aliyah, 5:25 – 6:8 5:29 “and he named him Noach, saying, ‘This same will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which HaShem has cursed.’”(HNV revised) – According to Rashi, man did not use farming tools until Noach came and made them. 6:2 “that God's sons saw that men's daughters were beautiful, and they took for themselves wives of all that they chose.”(HNV) – According to Rashi and Jasher’s Book,[93] this is referring to noblemen and judges. Targum translates it as “the sons of the mighty (or noblemen)”. In a Midrash,[94] and Chanokh’s (Enoch’s) Book,[95] it is speaking of angels who had fallen from heaven during the time of Enosh, and who united with the daughters of men, from whence the giants came. 6:6 “HaShem was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him in his heart.”(HNV revised) – HaShem’s attitude and behavior toward man changes depending on man’s decisions and actions, see Ezekiel 18. 6:8 “But Noach found grace in the eyes of HaShem.”(JPS revised) – The Eternal always gives favor to those who turn from evil and seek him. The Hebrew word that is translated as “grace” is chen[96] which means: attraction, beauty, splendor delight, pleasure, benevolence, sympathy appreciation, inclination, liking favor, compassion, mercy, gratefulness
The root of the word is chanan[97] which means, bending down and showing good will to one who is beneath, exercising compassion, having sympathy, being merciful, showing commiseration, feeling sorry for doing a favor, favoring, benefiting, promoting
A Midrash[98] says, “Noach was saved, not because he deserved it, but because he found grace.” The concept of grace as undeserved benevolence is one of the most important foundational pillars of Judaism.
[30] Strong H6153 ‛ereb, eh'-reb, From H6150; dusk: - + day, even (-ing, tide), night. Strong H6150 ‛ârab, aw-rab', A primitive root (rather identical with H6148 through the idea of covering with a texture); to grow dusky at sundown: - be darkened, (toward) evening. [31] Strong H1242 bôqer, bo'-ker, From H1239; properly dawn (as the break of day); generally morning: - (+) day, early, morning, morrow. [52] Strong H6376 pîyshôn, pee-shone', From H6335; dispersive; Pishon, a river of Eden: - Pison. Strong H6335 pûsh, poosh, A primitive root; to spread; figuratively act proudly: - grow up, be grown fat, spread selves, be scattered. [53] Strong H1521 gîychôn gichôn, ghee-khone', ghee-khone', From H1518; stream; Gichon, a river of Paradise; also a valley (or pool) near Jerusalem: - Gihon. Strong H1518 gîyach gôach, ghee'-akh, go'-akh, A primitive root; to gush forth (as water), generally to issue: - break forth, labor to bring forth, come forth, draw up, take out. [65] Isaiah 60:19-20; Psalm 27:1; 1 John 1:5; Psalm 104:1-2; 1 Timothy 6:16. [67] Strong H3045 yâda‛, yaw-dah', A primitive root; to know (properly to ascertain by seeing); used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially (including observation, care, recognition; and causatively instruction, designation, punishment, etc.): - acknowledge, acquaintance (-ted with), advise, answer, appoint, assuredly, be aware, [un-] awares, can [-not], certainly, for a certainty, comprehend, consider, X could they, cunning, declare, be diligent, (can, cause to) discern, discover, endued with, familiar friend, famous, feel, can have, be [ig-] norant, instruct, kinsfolk, kinsman, (cause to, let, make) know, (come to give, have, take) knowledge, have [knowledge], (be, make, make to be, make self) known, + be learned, + lie by man, mark, perceive, privy to, X prognosticator, regard, have respect, skilful, shew, can (man of) skill, be sure, of a surety, teach, (can) tell, understand, have [understanding], X will be, wist, wit, wot. [69] Romans 5:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:21 [70] Wisdom 2:24; 1 Enoch 69:11; The Apocalypse of Moses 14:2; Pseudo Philo 13:8; Bereshit Rabbah 8:11; 16:6; Sifrah 27a [72] Strong H2233 zera‛, zeh'-rah, From H2232; seed; figuratively fruit, plant, sowing time, posterity: - X carnally, child, fruitful, seed (-time), sowing-time. Strong H2232 zâra‛, zaw-rah', A primitive root; to sow; figuratively to disseminate, plant, fructify: - bear, conceive seed, set with, sow (-er), yield. [74] Strong H2332 chavvâh, khav-vaw', Causative from H2331; lifegiver; Chavvah (or Eve), the first woman: - Eve. Strong H2331 châvâh, khaw-vah', A primitive root; (compare H2324, H2421); properly to live; by implication (intensively) to declare or show: - show. [97] Strong H2603 chânan, khaw-nan', A primitive root (compare H2583); properly to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causatively to implore (that is, move to favor by petition): - beseech, X fair, (be, find, shew) favour (-able), be (deal, give, grant (gracious (-ly), intreat, (be) merciful, have (shew) mercy (on, upon), have pity upon, pray, make supplication, X very. Strong H2583 chânâh, khaw-naw', A primitive root (compare H2603); properly to incline; by implication to decline (of the slanting rays of evening); specifically to pitch a tent; generally to encamp
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