Concepts of God (The nature of a \'Creator\')

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Wednesday, August 29, 2012, 23:22 (4467 days ago) @ David Turell

Tony: Incidentally, this is also hinted at in the wording that they used. Man was only referred to as 'man' at first. It wasn't until later that Adam was used as a proper name. Could this be a hint that prior to that, he wasn't self aware?-> David: My favorite Jewish scholar of the Hebrew translates 'Audum' differently. Yes, it eventually became Adam, but it is really a pleural word and by comparing it with other entries that establishes it as pleural, he feels the word should really be translated as 'mankind or humankind'.
> -That is exactly what I said..."Man" can be plural or singular, you know. I should have been more clear though. Yes, the original word was plural, and only later was used in the singular as a proper name. -
> David: In the second version of the creation is the verse to which you refer in your previous entry: "And the Lord God formed the human of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living soul." (2:7) Specifically dust and the breathing of a soul (neshama). The only tranlations I trust are directly from Hebrew scholars.
> -> I think you are construing too much from the translations you are using . My source is "In the Beginnng Of" by Judah Landa, 2004. He does relate his translation to current cosmology.-
My source is the "Mechanical Translation of Genesis" by Jeff Brenner. I don't TRUST any of them. Not entirely. I generally cross reference to check for inconsistencies and then investigate them. There are even a couple of translators that I routinely contact for clarification on specific phrases. -
As far as my query over whether or not humans had self-awareness prior to that event. I don't know. It was a question.

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What is the purpose of living? How about, 'to reduce needless suffering. It seems to me to be a worthy purpose.