Ain\'t nature wonderful (Introduction)

by Balance_Maintained , U.S.A., Thursday, September 16, 2010, 13:01 (5161 days ago) @ dhw

The King James translation uses "after his kind", while my 1981 version says >"according to its kind" (as in "God proceeded to make the wild beast of the >earth according to its kind and the domestic animal according to its kind"). >I can quite see why exegetes would interpret this as "species", and it would be >interesting to know how Moses' original word distinguished between "species" and >what you call "genres of species". -Heh sorry if I seemed a little irritated, was having a rough day. No worries though, I am not offended. The reason I use the word non-sense about literal interpretations of the Bible is because it is clearly not a book to be interpreted literally. In fact, in nearly every portion of the book that is literal, it gives genealogies, locations, and relative current events that can be cross-referenced via other historical documents that have nothing to do with the Bible itself. Which, considering the time that it was written, I consider quite an accomplished feat in and of itself. -To answer your interest in how the original words are distinguished, I will refer you to translators notes, which do a much clearer job than I ever could, and are not subject to my personal opinions. -On Gen 1:1-31tn The Hebrew construction employs a cognate accusative, where the nominal object ("vegetation") derives from the verbal root employed. It stresses the abundant productivity that God created.-sn Vegetation. The Hebrew word translated "vegetation" (דֶּשֶׁא, deshe') normally means "grass," but here it probably refers more generally to vegetation that includes many of the plants and trees. In the verse the plants and the trees are qualified as self-perpetuating with seeds, but not the word "vegetation," indicating it is the general term and the other two terms are sub-categories of it. Moreover, in vv. 29 and 30 the word vegetation/grass does not appear. The Samaritan Pentateuch adds an "and" before the fruit trees, indicating it saw the arrangement as bipartite (The Samaritan Pentateuch tends to eliminate asyndetic constructions).-32sn After their kinds. The Hebrew word translated "kind" (מִין, min) indicates again that God was concerned with defining and dividing time, space, and species. The point is that creation was with order, as opposed to chaos. And what God created and distinguished with boundaries was not to be confused (see Lev 19:19 and Deut 22:9-11). -On Gen 20-25-tn The Hebrew text again uses a cognate construction ("swarm with swarms") to emphasize the abundant fertility. The idea of the verb is one of swift movement back and forth, literally swarming. This verb is used in Exod 1:7 to describe the rapid growth of the Israelite population in bondage.-42tn The Hebrew text uses the Polel form of the verb instead of the simple Qal; it stresses a swarming flight again to underscore the abundant fruitfulness.-43tn For the first time in the narrative proper the verb "create" (בָּרָא, bara') appears. (It is used in the summary statement of v. 1.) The author wishes to underscore that these creatures ... even the great ones ... are part of God's perfect creation. The Hebrew term תַנִּינִם (tanninim) is used for snakes (Exod 7:9), crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), or other powerful animals (Jer 51:34). In Isa 27:1 the word is used to describe a mythological sea creature that symbolizes God's enemies. Dinosaurs anyone?-46tn There are three groups of land animals here: the cattle or livestock (mostly domesticated), things that creep or move close to the ground (such as reptiles or rodents), and the wild animals (all animals of the field). The three terms are general classifications without specific details.