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Adam and Eve—Community: Reading Genesis

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Adam and Eve—Community: Reading Genesis last day of creative work. In the second account, however, Man is created before anything else.2 Of course, it is not to be denied that the text did not spring up ex nihilo, created by a Volume 1, Issue 1 | Fall 2003 writer without reference to previous texts. The redactor undoubtedly had a number of Adam and Eve—Community: texts to which he could refer in creating the Reading Genesis 2-3 Genesis text, and he undoubtedly used works already familiar to him as sources. Or James E. Faulconer it is conceivable that there was no individual Brigham Young University redactor or set of redactors, but only the egin thinking about human community solidifying of an oral tradition. For our B and its possibility at the beginning, or purposes, it does not matter. In either case it almost at the beginning, one step after the is too much to assume that the final text is immemorial beginning.1 The biblical story merely contradictory. There may be of the creation of Man (’adam) and Woman contradictions within the text, but the more (’isha) and their expulsion from the garden obvious those contradictions are, the less places humans in the world in a particular likely it is that they are contradictions that way; it creates a habitation for human life so undo the text. It is too much to assume that that the history shared by humans and the the redaction of Genesis was a product of story that manifests community includes the blindness. A considerable amount of “cut possibility of gathering together all humans and paste” work was surely involved in the as unique individuals rather than simply as creation of the Genesis story, but unless we members of a collective. This story tells of can come to no other reasonable conclusion, God, humans, and community together: the we should assume that the text is cut and creation of human beings as other than God pasted in this way rather than some other for and, therefore, also from each other, and the a reason. Thus, it would be a mistake to think that the elements of the narrative relevance of that insurmountable separation 3 to community. In short, the story tells of the merely contradict each other. The story we coming-to-be of human being. In doing so, it have before us is one text that calls to be speaks of the divinity of humanity, a divinity read as such, as I will. that finds its possibility, not in absorption It is an oversimplification to do so, but I into or in rebellion against Deity, but in take Genesis two and three to be an account “standing across from” Deity – in distance: of the creation that focuses specifically on relation as well as difference. As we will the moral creation of human beings, so I will see, the story shows us the particularity, deal primarily with chapters two and three. otherness, and opacity that are an essential Nevertheless, there are elements of Genesis part of being gathered together in one that we must deal with to understand community. better the second account. I begin there with It has often been noted that Genesis the account of the sixth day of creation: begins with two accounts of creation, “God said: Let us make man in our roughly that of chapter one and that of image, after our likeness; and let them chapters two and three. Some point to this as have dominion over the fish of the sea, evidence for the fact that the text has its and over the fowl of the air, and over the origin in other, more ancient texts, and cattle, and over all the earth, and over frequently those who see these two accounts every creeping thing that creepeth upon consequently see the text as contradicting the earth. So God created man in his itself. In the first, for example, human own image, in the image of God created beings are created late among things, on the Journal of Philosophy and Scripture Vol. 1 Issue 1, page 2 James E. Faulconer Adam and Eve—Community he him; male and female created he those who dominate creation. In verses them.” (Genesis 1.26-27) fourteen and fifteen we see the only similar reflection on creation: “Let there be light in In these verses, the creation of humans is set the firmament of the heaven to divide the apart from the rest of creation by several day from the night; and let them be for things. First, human creation is introduced signs, and for seasons, and for days, and by a preamble, something absent from any years: and let them be for light in the other act of creation. Second, Adamic firmament of the heaven to give light upon persons are given rule over the rest of the earth.” However, this earlier moment of creation. Third, the creation of humans is creation discusses the purpose rather than mentioned repetitively (three times in the form or place of the thing created. Thus, Genesis 1.27). Finally, they are created in the Genesis text goes out of its way to the image of God. indicate that humans are different than the The preamble to the creation of humans rest of creation, and it tells us how they are serves notice that this is the creation of different. something different. At each other moment, The word translated dominion, rule, or creation required only that God speak the reign is part of the technical language of name of the thing. For example, “Let there royal rule.4 Human beings are the queens be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1.3). and kings of creation. However, contrary to In this moment, however, the phrase, “let some common ideas of what it means to be a there be,” is replaced with an extended king or queen, the Israelite king was not phrase: “Let us make man in our image, merely a willful tyrant. The king was the after our likeness.” What God says is more representative of the people before God. His counsel than command: “Let us.” Human righteousness brought blessing on the creation is not a simple act of God’s fiat; nation, and his unrighteousness brought rather, creation is a subject of consideration them to ruin. The use of royal language and discussion. This phrase, “let us,” creates shows not only the human position with difficulties for any monotheistic theology: if regard to the rest of creation as its ruler, but there is only one God, with whom does he also that in ruling over the world, humans take counsel? There are a variety of are its gods, those through whom creation is theological solutions to the problem, but either condemned or destroyed. In this, since the text rather than theology is our humans are like God: we and the world are concern, I will not take them up. However judged through our dominion; God and the one deals with this verse theologically, the world are justified by his. Genesis 2.15 text is clear: God creates humanity in underscores this point, for it says that Man is response to others, rather than as a mere act put into the Garden of Eden to serve (dress of self-will. Even in the beginning there is or till in most translations)5 and preserve it. already relation: there is no absolute God has called each of the previous beginning, not even in the beginning. stages of creation good, and he has said that 6. Not only does verse twenty-six say creation as a whole is good (Genesis 1.3), something surprising about the beginning of but human creation is not said to be good, the world – that it is not a metaphysical even though humans are part of creation as a beginning – it also says something different whole. Perhaps that is because, they are about the object of creation that it describes. good or bad only as they exercise their For the discussion of human creation dominion, in being the representatives for includes both the form of that which is creation before God. Perhaps they are good created (“in our image”) and its place with or bad only as they serve and preserve regard to the rest of creation (“let them have creation as a whole. The irony is that dominion”). From the beginning, humans creation as a whole is good in that it has the are given a form, that of divinity, and an possibility, through human action, of being ontological as well as spatial location, as not good. The ethical indeterminacy of Journal of Philosophy and Scripture Vol. 1 Issue 1, page 3 James E. Faulconer Adam and Eve—Community human being qua human being makes the though not alone, in other words, in being world as a whole good. Contrary to what finally opaque and unassimilable to one expects, indeterminacy is prior to comprehension, though always already in determinacy. relation. The preamble to human creation uses Irenaeus distinguishes between being in two words to indicate the form that humans the image of God to begin with and coming will take: likeness (dumuth) and image to be in his likeness.10 Though I see nothing (zelem): “Let us make man in our image, in the text itself to create Irenaeus’s after our likeness” (Genesis 1.26). Though distinction, the text does contain a double likeness can refer broadly to anything from a movement: humans begin like God and, at vague similarity (as in Ezekiel 1.5 and 26), the same time, they come to be like him (as to a mode, or to an exact copy (as in Isaiah we will see in reading Genesis 3).
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