-
†. Gen 2:6 . . a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole
face of the ground.
The word "mist" is from 'ed (ade). It's a very rare word and appears only
one more time in the whole Bible in the book of Job.
"See, God is greater than we can know; the number of His years cannot be
counted. He forms the droplets of water, which cluster into rain, from His
mist. The skies rain; they pour down on all mankind. Can one, indeed,
contemplate the expanse of clouds, the thunderings from His pavilion? See:
He spreads His lightning over it; it fills the bed of the sea." (Job 36:26-30)
According to the translators; Job understood 'ed to mean water vapor; viz:
fog. California's coastal redwood trees derive much of their moisture from
fog.
The reason for the mist is something I learned in a high school science class.
Had God brought rain prior to flourishing ground cover, the land would have
eroded something awful and millions of cubic yards of perfectly good dirt
would have washed into creeks, and streams, and rivers to be carried out to
sea where it would be lost in perpetuity.
†. Gen 2:7a . . And Yhvh God formed a man's body
Mankind's creator didn't give birth to man like women give birth to children
or baby chicks hatch from eggs; no, humans aren't God's biological progeny
--humans are God's handiwork like the glass products manufactured by
craftsmen in Murano; where they make things from scratch using mostly
sand for their base material.
†. Gen 2:7b . . from the dust of the ground
The Hebrew word for "dust" is a bit ambiguous. It essentially refers to
powder, but can also be translated clay, earth, mud, mortar, ashes, and/or
rubbish.
A major ingredient in man's construction is water, without which his "dust'
wouldn't coalesce. Water is essential to complex organisms; which is why
scientists get really excited when they discover it out in in the universe.
†. Gen 2:7c . . and breathed into it the breath of life
The word for "breathed" is from naphach (naw-fakh') and means; among
other things: to kindle; which Webster's defines as (1) to start (a fire)
burning: light, (2) to stir up: arouse, (3) to bring into being: start, and (4)
to animate.
Naphach is sort of like what Indy Car drivers do when they're given the
order to start their engines.
The word for "breath" is neshamah (nesh-aw-maw') which means: a puff.
Neshamah is a bit ambiguous and has been variously translated air, soul,
spirit, blast, and inspiration.
What we're looking at here isn't artificial respiration because it doesn't do a
bit of good pumping air into the lungs of a corpse. They won't come alive
like that; it's been tried.
The kind of life that's in God is eternal life. His kind of life never had a
beginning-- it always was, it always is, and it always will be; ergo: eternal
life isn't a created kind of life.
The breath of life, on the other hand, is a created kind of life that had its
beginning in the book of Genesis; and there is quite a variety of it from lowly
bacteria to lions and tigers and h.sapiens.
The breath of life then is a natural kind of life as opposed to eternal life
which is a supernatural kind of life.
It is very difficult to analyze and/or define life. It's all around us, but though
we are so familiar with life; we know practically nothing about it.
"Think not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham to our father. For I
say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham." (Matt 3:9)
True enough; viz: if God can make dirt spring into action, then He can just
as easily make stone do the same. Don't ask me how because not even the
best and brightest minds in the whole world have been able to figure out
how to do it.
†. Gen 2:7c . . and man became a living soul.
Human existence is thought by some to be entirely organic. It's not. There's
an element to human existence called the breath of life (Gen 2:7). The
breath of life isn't atmospheric gases. It's that part of human existence that
makes it possible for humans to be a soul.
Soul is translated from the Hebrew word nephesh (neh'-fesh). Its first
appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to sea creatures and winged
creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies,
and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature.
Soul, then, distinguishes fauna life from flora life.
The breath of life makes it possible for fauna life to exist as individuals as
opposed to merely a species. Webster's defines an individual as existing as a
distinct entity.
Individuality-- which can be roughly defined as a sense of self; viz: a sense
of personal identity --is one of life's unsolved mysteries.
Soul is perishable (Gen 7:20-23). However, I have yet to encounter a
passage in the Bible clearly stating that the breath of life is perishable. In
point of fact, I think it is very easy to prove that every individual's breath of
life is not only a permanent feature of their existence; but also keeps them
in existence.
For example: when Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man of Luke 16:19-31
passed away, they all left their organic bodies behind, yet on the other side
they are perceptive, fully conscious, and fully sentient.
I don't know for sure in what form they exist on the other side, but one
thing I do know is that they have not ceased to exist as individuals nor have
they lost their identities: Abraham is still Abraham, Lazarus is still Lazarus,
and the rich man is still the rich man; and that has to be because they kept
their breath of life when they crossed over to the other side.
Q: Christ said that it's possible for people to lose their soul (Mark 8:36). I
assume he was referring to the hell fire about which he spoke at Matt 10:28.
Seeing as how soul, relative to people, refers to their existence as humans,
then with what will their humanness be replaced?
A: That is a very, very disturbing question because it suggests the prospect
that when people are destroyed in the hell fire depicted at Rev 20:10-15,
they will undergo metamorphosis into another kind of creature. I'm
guessing, just guessing mind you, that they will become demons because
according to Matt 25:41, hell fire was constructed especially for the Devil
and his allies.
Cont.
/
†. Gen 2:6 . . a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole
face of the ground.
The word "mist" is from 'ed (ade). It's a very rare word and appears only
one more time in the whole Bible in the book of Job.
"See, God is greater than we can know; the number of His years cannot be
counted. He forms the droplets of water, which cluster into rain, from His
mist. The skies rain; they pour down on all mankind. Can one, indeed,
contemplate the expanse of clouds, the thunderings from His pavilion? See:
He spreads His lightning over it; it fills the bed of the sea." (Job 36:26-30)
According to the translators; Job understood 'ed to mean water vapor; viz:
fog. California's coastal redwood trees derive much of their moisture from
fog.
The reason for the mist is something I learned in a high school science class.
Had God brought rain prior to flourishing ground cover, the land would have
eroded something awful and millions of cubic yards of perfectly good dirt
would have washed into creeks, and streams, and rivers to be carried out to
sea where it would be lost in perpetuity.
†. Gen 2:7a . . And Yhvh God formed a man's body
Mankind's creator didn't give birth to man like women give birth to children
or baby chicks hatch from eggs; no, humans aren't God's biological progeny
--humans are God's handiwork like the glass products manufactured by
craftsmen in Murano; where they make things from scratch using mostly
sand for their base material.
†. Gen 2:7b . . from the dust of the ground
The Hebrew word for "dust" is a bit ambiguous. It essentially refers to
powder, but can also be translated clay, earth, mud, mortar, ashes, and/or
rubbish.
A major ingredient in man's construction is water, without which his "dust'
wouldn't coalesce. Water is essential to complex organisms; which is why
scientists get really excited when they discover it out in in the universe.
†. Gen 2:7c . . and breathed into it the breath of life
The word for "breathed" is from naphach (naw-fakh') and means; among
other things: to kindle; which Webster's defines as (1) to start (a fire)
burning: light, (2) to stir up: arouse, (3) to bring into being: start, and (4)
to animate.
Naphach is sort of like what Indy Car drivers do when they're given the
order to start their engines.
The word for "breath" is neshamah (nesh-aw-maw') which means: a puff.
Neshamah is a bit ambiguous and has been variously translated air, soul,
spirit, blast, and inspiration.
What we're looking at here isn't artificial respiration because it doesn't do a
bit of good pumping air into the lungs of a corpse. They won't come alive
like that; it's been tried.
The kind of life that's in God is eternal life. His kind of life never had a
beginning-- it always was, it always is, and it always will be; ergo: eternal
life isn't a created kind of life.
The breath of life, on the other hand, is a created kind of life that had its
beginning in the book of Genesis; and there is quite a variety of it from lowly
bacteria to lions and tigers and h.sapiens.
The breath of life then is a natural kind of life as opposed to eternal life
which is a supernatural kind of life.
It is very difficult to analyze and/or define life. It's all around us, but though
we are so familiar with life; we know practically nothing about it.
"Think not to say within yourselves: We have Abraham to our father. For I
say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto
Abraham." (Matt 3:9)
True enough; viz: if God can make dirt spring into action, then He can just
as easily make stone do the same. Don't ask me how because not even the
best and brightest minds in the whole world have been able to figure out
how to do it.
†. Gen 2:7c . . and man became a living soul.
Human existence is thought by some to be entirely organic. It's not. There's
an element to human existence called the breath of life (Gen 2:7). The
breath of life isn't atmospheric gases. It's that part of human existence that
makes it possible for humans to be a soul.
Soul is translated from the Hebrew word nephesh (neh'-fesh). Its first
appearance is at Gen 1:20-21 in reference to sea creatures and winged
creatures; again at Gen 1:24 as terra creatures; viz: cattle, creepy crawlies,
and wild beasts; and again in Gen 2:7 as the human creature.
Soul, then, distinguishes fauna life from flora life.
The breath of life makes it possible for fauna life to exist as individuals as
opposed to merely a species. Webster's defines an individual as existing as a
distinct entity.
Individuality-- which can be roughly defined as a sense of self; viz: a sense
of personal identity --is one of life's unsolved mysteries.
Soul is perishable (Gen 7:20-23). However, I have yet to encounter a
passage in the Bible clearly stating that the breath of life is perishable. In
point of fact, I think it is very easy to prove that every individual's breath of
life is not only a permanent feature of their existence; but also keeps them
in existence.
For example: when Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man of Luke 16:19-31
passed away, they all left their organic bodies behind, yet on the other side
they are perceptive, fully conscious, and fully sentient.
I don't know for sure in what form they exist on the other side, but one
thing I do know is that they have not ceased to exist as individuals nor have
they lost their identities: Abraham is still Abraham, Lazarus is still Lazarus,
and the rich man is still the rich man; and that has to be because they kept
their breath of life when they crossed over to the other side.
Q: Christ said that it's possible for people to lose their soul (Mark 8:36). I
assume he was referring to the hell fire about which he spoke at Matt 10:28.
Seeing as how soul, relative to people, refers to their existence as humans,
then with what will their humanness be replaced?
A: That is a very, very disturbing question because it suggests the prospect
that when people are destroyed in the hell fire depicted at Rev 20:10-15,
they will undergo metamorphosis into another kind of creature. I'm
guessing, just guessing mind you, that they will become demons because
according to Matt 25:41, hell fire was constructed especially for the Devil
and his allies.
Cont.
/
