Notes and analysis on all the instances of “adam” and “ha-adam” in Genesis 1 to 5.

INTRODUCTION

In Genesis 1 to 5, there are really only 2 terms referring to people used with the Hebrew “adam” in them.

They are “adam” and “ha-adam”. The “ha” is the article and means “the”.

There are about 25 uses of “ha-adam” and there are 9 uses in 4 places where “adam” is used.

[In addition the word “adam-ah” translated as ground is used 10 times in Genesis 1-5]

I want to see if there is any structure to their use. Is there a pattern that might then help us in determining meaning? It is the uses of “adam” that are the focus of my attention. However, in the first 3 uses of “adam” the significance of each use is to be understood in relation to a connected use of “ha-adam”.

So, in Genesis 1 we have 1:26 “adam” and the connected use in 1:27 “ha-adam”

In Genesis 2 we have 2:5 “adam” and the connected use in 2:7 “ha-adam”. Every other use in chapters 2 & 3 (over 20 times) from 2:7 to 4:1 is “ha-adam”.

In Genesis 4 we have 4:1 “ha-adam” and the connected use in 4:25 “adam”. This “adam” is clearly Adam.

In Genesis 5 we have only “adam” in verses 1a, 1b, 2 , 3 & 4 & 5.. We do not have “ha-adam”. However, Genesis 5:1 connects the “Adam” of Gen 4:25 and 5:1a with the “adam’ and “ha-adam” of Gen 1:26,27. We learn that they are the same person.

My thesis that I am aiming to show.

A study of the uses of “adam” and “ha-adam” show that none of them were ever intended to be translated as “mankind” or “humankind”. And, specifically and , in particular Genesis 1:26 “adam” and Genesis 1:27 “ha-adam” do not mean “mankind” or “humankind” or any generic corporate designation. Rather, “adam” in all instances is most likely meant to mean “Adam” or at the very least to reference “Adam” through the phrase “an adam”. And “ha-adam” means “the adam”. This can be better appreciated by initially not translating “adam” as adam/Adam, but as the more literal “a ground-person” or “Groundperson” and “ha-adam” as “the ground-person”. For “adam” in Hebrew is a wordplay on the Hebrew word for ground which is “adam-ah”.

That “adam” and “ha-adam” should never be translated “man … mankind” has major implications for our understanding Genesis 1 & 2, and for being able to see and understand how Genesis 2 is connected to and expands on Genesis 1. But, that is for other articles.

Suffice for now, I simply wish to show how the text actually uses the terms “adam” and “ha-adam”.

However, it is a very detailed discussion of about 30 references to “adam” and “ha-adam” over 5 chapters of Genesis. So, if you find yourself getting overwhelmed or bogged down, I suggest you first jump over that detailed discussion and go to the modified translation of the NASB text of Genesis 1 to 5 that I provide towards the end and read through that first. This will help you get a feel and understanding for what the text is saying and doing with the words “adam” and “ha-adam”.

Facts.

In the following, to make it easier to follow what is the Transliterated Hebrew and what is the English translation I will colour code each in green and orange. Most often the Hebrew will come first followed by the English. For the english I will give the transliterated word followed by and joined with the groundperson translation e.g. Adam/Groundperson

ha-adam which means the adam/the ground-person occurs definitely in 1:27 2:7 2:8 2:15 2:16 2:18 2:19a 2:19b 2:20 2:21 2:22a 2::22b 2:23 2:25 3:9 3:12 3:20 3:22 3:24

adam which means adam (Adam)/ (a) groundperson (Groundperson) occurs definitely in 1:26 & 4:25 & in 5:1-3 plus most likely in 2:5 as we-adam which means and (a) groundperson (Groundperson)

we-adam which means and adam (Adam)/(a) groundperson (Groundperson) occurs once in 2:5

we-ha-adam and the adam/the ground-person occurs once in 4:1

u-le_adam but for adam/ground-person occurs twice in 2:20b but for adam/ground-person and 3:17 and to adam/ground-person

le-adam for adam/ground-person occurs once in 3:21

If you would like to check the Hebrew then follow this link. https://biblehub.com/text/genesis/1-26.htm

Analysis.

The most predominant usage is ha-adam the adam/the ground-person. I have listed 21 clear unambiguous uses of ha-adam the adam/the ground-person. If we add to this 4:1 we-ha-adam and the adam/the ground-person this makes 22 uses.

It is also likely that 2:20b u-le_adam but for adam/ground-person and 3:17 u-le_adam and to adam/ground-person are also examples of the adam/ground-person but with the “the” hidden by the joining of a participle. These are both the same Hebrew u-le-adam. The preposition “le” (for) is joined to it. Now, when a preposition is joined to a noun with an article then the article is usually dropped. So, even though the article is not present, it is still possible that le-adam could mean either for adam or for the adam. Which of the two options is meant has to be worked out from the context. In regard to 2:20b every surrounding mention, before and after, is ha-adam. – 2:20a is ha-adam and so is 2:21. So, 2:20b most likely should be read as but for the adam/ground-person. In regard to 3:17 the previous mention is back in 3:12 ha-adam but it is clear that 3:17 is a continuing on of that narrative. And the next mention which is in 3:20 is also ha-adam. So, 3:17 most likely should be read as and to the adam/ground-person. Thus we have both 2:20b and 3:17 most likely should be understood as the adam ie. as containing the article “the“.

In regards to 3:21 le-adam for adam/ground-person the prior mention in 3:20 is ha-adam and the following mention in 3:22 is ha-adam. So, also, most likely 3:21 should be read as for the adam.

So, if we add these 3 uses with the preposition as extremely likely being uses of ha-adam then we now have 25 uses of ha-adam.

This being the case, it is to be noted that this use of ha-adam the adam/ground-person is uninterrupted from 2:7 through to 3:24.

At this point I wish to discuss the significance of the use of ha the

As noted above ha-adam is the most predominant use of adam in these 5 chapters. 25 of the 33 uses are ha-adam with only 9 being adam. However, the significance of ha the is seen in its association with adam without the article in chapters 1 & 2. In both these instances it is the hypothetical adam a ground-person/Groundperson that is introduced first in 1:26 and 2:5. “let us make adam a ground-person/Groundperson ….” and “there was not adam a ground-person/Groundperson“. Then when the act of creating a ground-person/Groundperson has been done, the term used is ha-adam the ground-person. There are 2 significant things in this. Firstly, the one created (and the hypothetical one) is spoken of in the singular indicating that it is one specific person that has been created. [See Footnote]. And the change of use from no article to the article also implies specificity. That is, the change from no article to article infers that we are not dealing with a multiplicity, we are not dealing with mankind or many people, but rather with a specific individual.

For example.

I wanted to buy a car.

Here is the car I bought.

Thus, the repetition of ha-adam the adam/ the ground-person throughout Genesis 2 & 3 seems to be stressing that it is one unique specific person that is being referred to. And as discussed below, this one specific person is identified with being Adam in 4:25.

Analysis of 2:5 and also of its relation to 1:26

The next use I wish to discuss is 2:5 we-adam and adam/a ground-person/Groundperson. If it is also an example of a hidden article because the conjunction is added then we have uninterrupted use of ha-adam from 1:27 to 3:24. However, there are two reasons to question whether it is an example of a hidden/dropped article. The first is that it is not jointed to a preposition as were 2:20b 3:17 and 3:21, but rather it is joined to a conjunction “and“. The second is that if we compare it with 4:1 we-ha-adam and the adam/the ground-person we have another example with it joined to the same conjunction, but this time the article ha the is present. So, in 2:5 the have we-adam and adam/ a ground-person/Groundperson and in 4:1 we have we-ha-adam and the adam/the ground-person. So, it is obvious the Hebrew can have an added conjunction and still retain the article “ha”. So, it seems that with the former 2:5 it should not be assumed that the article has been dropped. So, we must conclude that it is most likely that in 2:5 that we-adam really does mean and adam/ a ground-person/Groundperson. ie. without the article the. So, now we do not have an exclusive use of ha-adam the adam/the ground-person from 1:27 to 3:24. Rather, we have an interruption to the use of ha-adam in 2:5. So, what we have in 1:26-27 is adam adam/a ground-person/Groundperson in 1:26 followed by ha-adam the adam/the ground-person in 1:27 and in 2:5-7 adam adam/a ground-person/Groundperson in 2:5 followed by ha-adam the adam/the ground-person in 2:7. That is, the very same pattern in both chapters. So, we have a parallelism in regard to the pattern of use of adam and ha-adam between 1:26,27 and 2:5,7.

So, when we compare the movement in 1:26 from adam to 1:27 the adam with the movement in 2:5 from adam to 2:7 the adam we have a parallel pattern of use, a parallel movement in usage. In both the uses of adam adam/a ground-person/Groundperson without the article in 1:26 and 2:5 it is the not yet existent adam adam/a ground-person/Groundperson that is being talked about. In both the uses of ha-adam the adam/groundy with the article in 1:27 and 2:7 it is the newly created adam that is being talked about and is referred to as the adam.

This analysis of the parallel pattern of use of changing from adam to ha-adam would thus indicate 2 things. The first, as we noted above, is the move from the hypothetical to the actual. The second is that it is very likely that the two movements should be translated in the same way. ie. 1:26/1:27 and 2:5/2:7 ,should be translated in a parallel way, since the change relates to the same thing, the change from the hypothetical to the actual.

In this regard, it is the second occurrence (2:5/2:7) which gives us the most intimate detail about what is going on. It is abundantly clear in 2:5/2:7 that both references, ie. to adam and ha-adam, are talking about an individual person. This can be seen in that

a. The text strongly links 2:8 with 2:15 by repeating the actions of God in putting the man in the garden of Eden.

2:8 And Yahweh God planted a garden in Eden in the east and he put there ha-adam whom he had formed.

2:15 Yahweh God took ha-adam and put him in the garden of Eden to tend it and keep it.

b. 2:16 tells us that Yahweh God speaks to (commands) ha-adam.

So, if we work back to 2:5 the one hypothetically spoken of in 2:5 as adam is the very same person who is actually created in 2:7 and spoken to by God and who we see is a real specific unique individual person.

It totally misses the point that this is a real specific unique individual person to translate the text of 2:5 adam generically as “man” “one” “person”. (e.g. WEB “not a man” ESV “there was no man” NIV “there was no one” NCV ” was no person”) Rather, it is a real specific unique individual person that is being referred to. This error is seen further in translations of 2:7 which make ha-adam the adam a generic person who could be any person e.g. WEB “and man became a living being”.

There are thus only two possible ways left to translate adam in 2:5. One is as a description and the other is as a name (most likely a descriptive name, similar to how we use nicknames). In order to appreciate the import of these 2 alternatives, I will explore the use of a translation of adam that shows what is being described. As is well known adam is a play on words with the Hebrew word for ground which is adam-ah. As I have proposed above, a more helpful translation which shows this wordplay connection is to translate adam as a ground-person.

So, let us look at our 2 possible alternatives using ground-person.

So, if 2:5 is a purely descriptive use then the translation is “ground-person” or “a ground-person“. The sentence then becomes “there was not a ground-person to cultivate the ground” And then in 2:7 we see where God actually creates “the ground-person“.

Or, if 2:5 is a name (a descriptive name or nickname) then the translation is Groundperson. The sentence then becomes
“there was no Groundperson to cultivate the earth” And, then in 2:7 we see where God creates the ground-person

Both options a ground-person or Groundperson indicate it is is a real specific unique individual person. It is just whether in 2:5 it is being used as a description “a ground-person” who is to come or as the name of the one who is to come, his descriptive name, Groundperson.

Thus, as we look at the parallel movement from adam to ha-adam in 1:26 to 1:27 we are forced to strongly consider that it is the same thing going on there. In light of this parallel movement between 1:26 /1:27 and 2:5 / 2:7 we must have overwhelming reasons to consider other alternative translations, particularly ones that do away with the use in regard to a real specific unique individual person. To quickly and overwhelmingly move to a generic corporate translation of adam and ha-adam in 1:26 and 1;27 is to ignore this parallelism in the text.

So, we have looked at the two parallel situations where adam transitions to ha-adam in Genesis 1 and 2.

Are these the only use of such a transition?

Analysis of the use of “adam” in 4:25.

We have also seen the universal and exclusive use of ha-adam (as opposed to adam) from 2:7 to 3:20 where ha-adam is used over 20 times without exception.

As we go further in the text, we can see that the next usage which is in 4:1 is also a ha-adam usage. There it is we-he-adam and the adam/the ground-person.

So, we now have exclusively the use of ha-adam from 2:7 to 4:1.

However, the very next usage, which is in 4:25, reverts back to adam. This is the third use of adam, the others being 1:26 & 2:5 which we saw are related in that they parallel each other in their transition from adam to ha-adam, from the hypothetical to the actual real specific unique individual person.

What is interesting about 4:1 and 4:25 is that they are parallel verses, the first being about Cain and the second being about Seth. Note: I am temporarily using a different colour coding system in these two verses below to enhance seeing how they parallel each other.

4:1 (wa-ha-adam) and the adam knew his wife Eve and she conceived and bore Cain

4:25 and adam knew his wife and she bore a son and named him Seth

This transition is in the reverse order to that in 1:26 / 1:27 and 2:5 / 2:7 in that it is from ha-adam in 4:1 to adam in 4:25 and it is definitely not from the hypothetical to the actual. We clearly see here that it is a particular historical person in each instance and that it is the very same historical person in each case.

It is abundantly clear in 4:25 that adam is being used as his name Adam and so every translation goes with this.

What hasn’t changed from 4:1 to 4:25?

The person being referred to is the same. The person has the same wife. The adam part of the designation is the same in each case, only it has the article in 4:1 ha-adam.

What has changed from 4:1 to 4:25?

Previously, in terms of persons, there is only the adam / the ground-person and Eve. So, at the time of conceiving Cain, there is only the adam and Eve. But, at the time of conceiving “Seth” there is also Cain (& there had been Abel). Ha-adam the ground-person is no longer the only man (“ish”). This is seen in Eve’s words in 4:1b “I have acquired an “ish” (man ie. man opposed to a woman) from Yahweh”. There is thus now a need to refer to ha-adam the adam / the ground-person by name and so in 4:25 it is no longer ha-adam the adam/the ground-person in the text but now it is adam Adam /Groundperson. This need to refer to the adam by name, Adam/Groundperson, will only increase as more sons and daughters are born to Adam and Eve and to Cain and onwards.

The descriptive term ha-adam is clearly the basis on which he can be named Adam. He is the ground-person who is now named Groundperson. It is one and the same person who is the ground-person who is named Groundperson. Thus, the only real difference is the way that this one actual real specific unique individual original person is designated. The person is the same. It is the same person who is being referred to. The inference is that every prior reference to ha-adam the ground-person is to the one who is designated by the name adam Groundperson from after the birth of Cain. We have previously seen that it is the designation ha-adam the ground-person that is used exclusively from 2:7 through to 4:1. There has been no disruption in the use of ha-adam the ground-person. This would indicate that the text is pointedly indicating that it is the same person throughout this whole section who is Adam Groundperson of 4:25. The ground-person of 2:7 is the same the ground-person of 3:20 is the same the ground-person of 4:1 who is the same person Adam/Groundperson of 4:25 who by logic and deduction is the same Adam/Groundperson of 2:5.

Above I said in regard to translating 2:5

“Both options a ground-person or Groundperson indicate it is is a real specific unique individual person. It is just whether in 2:5 it is being used as a description “a ground-person” who is to come or as the name of the one who is to come, his descriptive name, Groundperson.“

However, our analysis of 4:1 to 4:25 as just discussed above would point strongly to it being Groundperson who is being referred to in 2:5.

Further, my analysis above that 2:5/2:7 is parallel to 1:26/1:27 would indicate that it is the same process in use of adam that is occurring in 1:26. That is, ha-adam the adam/ground-person of 1:27 is also adam Groundperson of 1:26.

The text and the flow of use of ha-adam and adam from Genesis 1 to 4:25 provides no hint or indication that adam is other than Adam/Groundperson of 4:25.

There is thus no room in either of the designations adam or ha-adam for translating either of these as generic or corporate mankind. The text provides no indication that we are dealing with anything or anyone other than Adam.

Adam is the adam. Groundperson is the ground-person.

Summary of our findings in regard to the use of “adam” in 2:5 1:26 and 4:25.

So, let us summarise what we have found in regard to each of the three references to adam without the article ha.

4:25 tells us clearly that Adam (Grounperson) is the identity of the one who is the-adam (of 1:27 and 2:7 and the following verses through to 4:1) who in reference to 1:26 and 2:5 is the one who is referred to before his creation as the one to be created as a ground-person, an adam. It is extremely likely that the defining and identifying of ha-adam of 4:1 as Adam in 4:25 means we should understand the references in 1:26 and 2:5 as being to Groundperson/Adam and not just to a ground-person. It is Adam/Groundperson who did not exist, and who God planned to create, and who God said He would create and who He did create. In the text there is no disjunction anywhere between who is being talked about. It is Adam/Groundperson all along who is the adam/ the ground-person. There is no indication in the flow of the narrative that there is a generic corporate mankind that is being referred to in 2:5 2:7 or 1:26 1:27. All along it is the one who is subsequently named Adam/Groundperson that we are being told about.

Analysis of the use of “adam” in Genesis 5:1-4

The next 6 instances of adam are in 5:1-5.

NIV with the Hebrew in (green) and the NIV translation in red. You will see that the Hebrew is in all six instances (adam). It is exactly the same word every time.

5 This is the written account of (adam) Adam’s family line.

When God created (adam) mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them (adam) “Mankind”^[a] when they were created.

³ When (adam) Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, (adam) Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, (adam) Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

As we look at Genesis 5:1-5, adam/Adam/Groundperson from 4:25 is now on continued to be referred to exclusively as adam. The term ha-adam is not used in 5:1-5. That adam is Adam is confirmed in that we have in 5:1ff the genealogy of adam Adam. It is not just that 5:1a is the genealogy but that the whole section is the genealogy. So that whatever comes after 5:1a is part of the genealogy. That is 5:1b,2 are part of the genealogy of Adam. In 5:3,4 we are told his age when Seth was born. We are told how long his lives after Seth was born. We are told that he has other sons and daughters. We are told when he dies and at what age. And then we are told the same details about Seth and so on. And in 5:3-5 it is re-iterated that it is adam Adam we are talking about. That is we have an inclusio of Adam the real historical person with 5:1 and 5:3-5. It is clearly the genealogy of a real person Adam/Groundperson who is the Adam/Groundperson of 4:25 who is ha-adam the ground-person of 4:1 and hence of 2:7 to 1:27 who is Adam of 2:5 and 1:26. So, the inclusio indicates that adam in 1b-2 is Adam.

The flow of the text and logic would tell us that in all 5 verses of 5:1-5 it is Adam that is being referred to by adam within the inclusio of 5:1 & 3-5. This inclusio means we would need to have extremely strong reasons to not translate adam in 5:1b & 5:2 as Adam. Context is king and the immediate context here says that the whole 5 verses of 5:1-5 are the genealogy of Adam.

Yet, we are also told that this genealogy of Adam starts “in the day that God (Elohim NOT Yahweh Elohim ie. Genesis 1 not Genesis 2) created adam, He made him in the likeness of God”. This is clearly referencing Genesis 1:26 where God (Elohim) says “Let Us make adam in Our image … in our likeness ….” and 1:27 where it says “God (Elohim) created ha-adam ….. He created “him”. The dating of Adam’s genealogy and life begins “in the day”. We are being told that Genesis 1:26,27 is the birthday of the man Adam. We are not being told that it is referring to generic or corporate mankind. In fact, to translate it as “mankind” or even as “man” is a gross intrusion of the context and of the genealogy.

^{[Also to be noted is that this phrase “in the day” is the same phrase as in 2:4 which is the linking verse between Genesis 1 and 2. Such is its linking role in 2:4 that it is difficult to determine if 2:4 is referring back to Genesis 1 or forward to Genesis 2. And then in 2:4 “in this day” is followed immediately by 2:5,7 which we saw parallels 1:26 & 27 in both the change from the hypothetical to real and the change from adam to ha-adam. As we discussed above 2:5,7 indicate that adam is referring to a specific real person who was created, which infers that 1:26,27 are also referring to this same specific real person].}

So, according to 5:1 The creation of adam in 1:26 and of ha-adam in 1:27 is the day of the beginning of Adam of 5:1. You could not have a clearer statement and indication that it is Adam that is being referred to in 1:26 adam and 1:27 ha-adam. This straight forward identification of the beginning of the genealogy of Adam with the creation of adam ha-adam leaves no room for the invention of adam and ha-adam as a generic and/or corporate “man” or “mankind”.

What the translators are actually doing in translating adam as mankind in 5:1,b is that they are editing Adam out of his own genealogy.

However, as much as I would like to end this discussion here, the text does not allow me to do so.

There are 2 more things I have to consider that are said in Genesis 5:1-2.

The first is the use of the plural, in that it says in 5:2 “male and female he created them“ plus “and called them“ plus “in the day they were created”. So, there is clearly an emphasis on the duality of male and female.

The second is that it says “called them adam adam“.

The first is clearly, once again, referencing Genesis 1:27 where is says “male and female He created them”.

So, just like in Gen 1:26,27 which it is quoting and referencing, there is no ignoring the duality, the gendered duality. And 5:2 strongly re-inforces this with the repeat of the word “them” and the word “they”.

Yet, the second, “called them adam” returns to the point of 5:1, that it is “him”, that it is “Adam” that is created in the likeness of God. This too is just like in Genesis 1:26,27 with its mention of the singularity of Adam.

So, we have here the repeating of the issue we read of in 1:26,27 of how can Adam be both a singularity and a duality.

In Article 1 of the 5 article series “And God said: Let us make adam in our image” I indicated that the text of Genesis 1 speaks of Adam in terms of being a singularity in that it refers to “adam” which is singular and “him”. Yet, it then goes on to refer to Adam as being a duality (1:26 “them” and more specifically a gendered duality 1:27 “male and female He created them”). So, we have the same thing here in 5:1,2. In 5:1 It is “adam” which is singular and this is re-enforced by 5:1 “made him” and further re-enforced in 5:2 “called them adam” which is once again in the singular. The whole import of this is that it is the unique and solitary person Adam that is being referred to. These 3 uses of adam are clearly referencing Adam of the genealogy of 5:1 and of 5:4. Yet, just like 1:26,27 does, 5:2 goes on to refer to Adam as being a gendered duality in the same words that Gen 1:27 does “male and female He created them”.

So, we have Adam referred to as both a singularity and a gendered duality. And it is doubly emphasized here in the naming phrase in 5:2 “He called them adam/Adam”. The singular Adam is referred to as a duality. It is exactly what happens in Gen 1:26,27. It is a riddle, a seeming nonsense, that is not explained here in Genesis 5 just like it is not explained in Genesis 1. As I argue in Article 1, this is exactly what the text intends. It does not give us the explanation as to how Adam can be both a singularity and a duality. However, both Genesis 5 and Genesis 1 do tell us where to find the answer. It is found in that it tells us that Adam is in 5:1″the likeness of God” and in 1:26 “the image and likeness”. As we understand what it means for Adam to be made in the image/likeness of God then we will understand how Adam can be both a singularity and a gendered duality. As we understand how Adam is a singularity and duality we will know what it means for him to be in the image and likeness of God. I will simply repeat here (in purple) what I say in Article 1.

In Genesis 1, the introduction of the image of God theme tells us that the answer is to be found (at this stage in salvation/creation history) in Adam, by looking at him, by understanding who he is, for Adam is the image of God. As we understand who Adam is, then we will understand who God is.

In Genesis 2, we are given an in-depth look at Adam where we find our answer to the riddle of Genesis 1.

In Genesis 2, Adam is the one and only one created from the ground. His name means “ground-person” (“adam”) or “. And this is his name “Groundperson” (Hebrew “adam”). He is continually in Genesis 2 referred to as “the ground-person” (Hebrew “ha-adam”).

In Genesis 2 we find out how one (the one and only ground-person, who is Groundperson) is now in fact two. Woman is taken out of the man Groundperson. So Groundperson, the ground-person is no longer one person, he awakes to find that God has made him into two persons.

In Genesis 2 we find out that Eve (the woman) is not a ground creature. She is not created from the ground like the female animals presumably were. She is not an animal and yet, she is not a ground-person, for she is not created from the ground as Adam was. For there is only one ground-person, the ground-person, Groundperson. The woman is built (created) from the groundperson (Hebrew “ha-adam”) and not from the ground. She is taken out of man (“ish”) and so she is a woman (an “ishah”). Presumably the female animals were created directly from the ground independently created to the male animals who were also created from the ground. This is not so for woman.

So, in Genesis 2, we also learn that the ground-person who is Groundperson/Adam is an “ish” (a man). So, the text can say both things, that she was taken out of the ground-person (ha-adam) (1:22 made from the rib taken out of ha-adam), and she was taken out of man (ish) (1:23).

Thus, in Genesis 2, the riddle of Genesis 1 has been solved. God has made the (one) ground-person, Groundperson, into two persons. She is made of the same material, the same substance as him, for she is made out of him. He has not been diminished in any way. He is still a ground-person, Groundperson the ground-person. He is still a man. He was never androgynous, for he was always a man. But, now there is another person, like him in that she is made from him, but different to him in that she is an “ishah” whereas he is an “ish”. Also, she is different to him in that he is made from the dust of the ground, whereas she is made from him. So, we have the one and only ground-person, Groundperson, who can also be described as in 1:27 “male and female, them”.

So, 5:1-5 does not do away with or change this singularity / duality dilemma that we saw in Genesis 1. But, it does, just like Genesis 1 does, asks us to look at Adam, at who He is. And it is in Genesis 2 that we see who Adam is.

Yet, as mentioned above, Gen 5:2 does clarify the solution. No, it doesn’t mention God speaking in the plural as Gen 1 does. What it does, is refer the solution back to the name of Adam, to the one specific unique individual person Adam who is the likeness of God. Mankind cannot be understood in its own terms, it cannot be understood by what we think mankind is, by the content that we want to give mankind, rather it can only be understood in terms of Adam and what we are told about him. In Genesis 1:26,27, most translators, and some even here in 5:1 unfortunately replace Adam with mankind.

So, the NIV replaces adam Adam in the middle two instances with “mankind” and “Mankind” totally ignoring the Adam inclusio around these uses.

5 This is the written account of (adam) Adam’s family line.

When God created (adam) mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them (adam) “Mankind”^[a] when they were created.

³ When (adam) Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. ⁴ After Seth was born, (adam) Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵ Altogether, (adam) Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.

As we have said, in the Hebrew it is always adam in these verses in all 6 instances in 5:1-5. It is the same word, the same Adam all along, in each instance.

I propose the translators have done exactly what the text is arguing against.

The text is telling us that as we look at the corporality (described in terms of Gen 1 & 2 as the gendered duality – male and female) of mankind we can only understand it in terms of, we must define it, we must name it as, Adam. It is actually arguing against defining mankind in any other way than as Adam, than as out of Adam (Genesis 2). The translators by replacing Adam as “man” or “mankind” are actually doing the very thing the text of Genesis 5:1-2 is arguing against. It is not up to us to define mankind. It is for us to understand ourselves only in terms of the one specific unique individual Adam who is the image of God.

The text has told us what to do with Genesis 1:26 “adam” and “1:27 “ha-adam”. We, in context of the Genealogy of the man Adam and the references back to Genesis 1:26,27, are to understand 1:26 as referring to Adam for God has spoken and He has called them this.

5:2 “…..He blessed them and (He) called them ….. Adam in the day they were created.”

As we change Adam to man, to mankind, to humankind, we open the door for us to redefine him and thence ourselves in terms of our own societies latest understanding of who or what mankind is, of who we think we are, of who we say man is, of who we determine man and woman are , in terms of homo and trans and … The door is open and there is no end to it. Adam is gone and so are we.

Below you will find a modified NASB translation for most of the text from Genesis 1:26 through to 5:3

It is very helpful to read this version as it will show the proper connections between ground-person / Groundperson and the ground and it does not keep putting man/mankind (generic or corporate) in the text as do many of the translations, when it is clear in the Hebrew text that it is the ground-person, the one and only unique man Groundperson (Adam) that is being referred to in every instance.

I put in bold every reference to “adam” or “ha-adam” in the Hebrew. Also, I put in bold every reference to the ground “adam-ah”in Hebrew. I also put in bold every reference to man “ish” in the Hebrew and every reference to woman “ishah” in the Hebrew. Sometimes the best translation for the word with “ish” in it would be husband, but I just put man (ish) in bold so that you know it is the ish word in Hebrew. I also do a similar thing when it would be best to translate as wife, but I just put woman (ishah) so that you know it is an “ishah” word.

In it I use a ground-person or ground-person or Groundperson for the Hebrew “adam“

I use the ground-person for the Hebrew “ha-adam“

For those instances where “ha” is hidden in the Hebrew by the participle I translate it as for (the) ground-person.

Genesis 1:26,27,28 NASB (modified)

²⁶ Then God said, “^[ai]Let Us make (a) ground-person (Groundperson) (Adam) in Our image, according to Our likeness; and ^[aj]let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the livestock and over all the earth, and over every crawling thing that crawls on the earth.” ²⁷ So God created the ground-person in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸ God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that ^[ak]moves on the earth.”

Genesis 2:4-25 NASB (modified)

^4 [c]This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made earth and heaven. ⁵ Now no shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no plant of the field had yet sprouted, for the Lord God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was not (a) ground-person (Groundperson) (Adam) to ^[d]cultivate the ground. ⁶ But a ^[e]mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole ^[f]surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed the ground-person of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the ground-person became a living ^[g]person. ⁸ The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the ground-person whom He had formed. ⁹ Out of the ground. the Lord God caused every tree to grow that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰ Now a river ^[h]flowed out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it divided and became four ^[i]rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it ^[j]flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is good; the bdellium and the onyx stone are there as well. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it ^[k]flows around the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is ^[l]Tigris; it ^[m]flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the ^[n]Euphrates.

¹⁵ Then the Lord God took the ground-person and put him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and tend it. ¹⁶ The Lord God commanded the ground-person, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may freely eat; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not ^[o]eat, for on the day that you eat from it you will certainly die.”

¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the ground-personto be alone; I will make him a helper ^[p]suitable for him.” ¹⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the ground-person to see what he would call them; and whatever the ground-person called a living creature, that was its name. ²⁰ the ground-person gave names to all the livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field, but for ^[q]the ground-person there was not found a helper ^[r]suitable for him. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the ground-person, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²² And the Lord God ^[s]fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the the ground-person, and brought her to the ground-person. ²³ Then the ground-person said,

“At last this is bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
^[t]She shall be called ^[u]‘woman,’
Because ^[v]she was taken out of ^[w]man.”

²⁴ For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife/woman; and they shall become one flesh. ²⁵ And the ground-person and his wife/woman were both naked, but they were not ashamed.

Genesis 3 

1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any animal of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” ⁴ The serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! ⁵ For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will ^[a]become like God, knowing good and evil.” ⁶ 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 desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her man with her, and he ate. ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves waist coverings.

⁸ Now they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the ^[b]cool of the day, and the ground-person and his woman hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the ground-person, and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” ¹¹ And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat?” ¹² The ground-person said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me some of the fruit of the tree, and I ate.” ¹³ Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

 ¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than all the livestock,
And more than any animal of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And dust you shall eat
All the days of your life;
¹⁵ And I will ^[c]make enemies
Of you and the woman,
And of your ^[d]offspring and her ^[e]Descendant;
He shall ^[f]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise Him on the heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman He said,

“I will greatly multiply
Your pain ^[g]in childbirth,
In pain you shall deliver children;
Yet your desire will be for your man,
And he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷ Then He said to (the) ground-person , “Because you have listened to the voice of your woman, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;

Cursed is the ground because of you;
With ^[h]hard labor you shall eat from it
All the days of your life.
¹⁸ Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
Yet you shall eat the ^[i]plants of the field;
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face
You shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

²⁰ Now the ground-person named his wife ^[j]Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. ²¹ And the Lord God made garments of skin for (the) ground-person and his wife, and clothed them.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the ground-person has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out with his hand, and take fruit also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ So He drovethe ground-person out; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 4 

1Now the ground-person ^[a]had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, “I have obtained a man with the help of the Lord.” ² And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground. ³ So it came about ^[b]in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruit of the ground. 

²⁵ Groundperson (Adam)  ^[l]had relations with his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and named him ^[m]Seth, for, she said, “God ^[n]has appointed me another ^[o]child in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.” 

Genesis 5 

1This is the book of the generations of Groundperson (Adam). On the day when God created Groundperson (Adam), He made him in the likeness of God. ² He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Groundperson (Adam) on the day when they were created.

³ When Groundperson (Adam) had lived 130 years, he fathered a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth. ⁴ Then the days of Groundperson (Adam) after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered other sons and daughters. ⁵ So all the days that Groundperson (Adam) lived were 930 years, and he died.

⁶ Now Seth lived 105 years, and fathered Enosh.

Conclusion.

There are only two “adam” words in the Hebrew “adam” and “ha-adam”. I have shown that they are best understood in relation to their association with the word “adamah” meaning ground. And so I propose a translation to help us see this association where we translate the Hebrew adam as a groundperson/Groundperson and we translate ha-adam as the ground-person. I have shown that the text of 2:5,7 4:1,25 and 5:1-4 all indicate that adam refers to the one unique specific person Adam/Groundperson. We have seen that the change from the designation the ground-person to the name Adam/Groundperson from 4:1 to 4:25 indicates that the multiplicity of references to the ground-person in 1:27 to 4:1 are in fact references to Adam/Groundperson. It is, or rather he is, one and the same unique person all along. There is no disjunction in the text which would allow us to translate adam as a generic or corporate mankind. We have also seen that 1:26,27 parallels 2:5,7 indicating that it should also be understood as referring to Adam/Ground-person in 1:26 and the ground-person in 1:27. This view is also bolstered in 5:1 by the association of the genealogy of Adam/Groundperson with the Genesis 1:26 creation narrative in context of the inclusio of Adam/Groundperson in verses 5:1 & 5:4. It is even further bolstered by the use of the name Adam/Groundperson in 5:2 to name the male & female duality of 1:27. The point of this is not to reclassify this duality as a generic or corporate mankind but to tell us that the gendered duality can only be understand in terms of who the man named Adam/Groundy is. In doing so, it forces us to look to the text’s own explanation of who Adam/Groundperson is, which is found in Genesis 2.

I conclude by repeating adam is Adam who is ha-adam. The ground-person is Groundperson, and in fact the original and the only original ground-person. This one, Groundperson is the image of God.

Link back to Article 1 http://manandwoman-exegeticalblog.com/?p=763

Link forward to Article 2 http://manandwoman-exegeticalblog.com/?p=766