Genesis 1: The Beginning

With Questions and Proposed Answers

 

 

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 1

 

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning Elohim created the heavens and the land.

²And the land became chaotic and a mess. And darkness is upon the faces of the deep. And the Spirit of Elohim brooded over the faces of the waters.

 

³And Elohim said, “Be, light!” And light was. ⁴And Elohim saw the light, that [it] is good. And Elohim divided between the light and between the darkness. ⁵And Elohim called the light Yom (Day). And He called the darkness Lilah (Night). And there was evening and there was morning, Day One.

 

⁶And Elohim said, “Firmament, be in the midst of the waters! And be a divider between waters to waters.” ⁷And Elohim made the firmament. And He divided between the waters that are underneath the firmament and between the waters that are above the firmament. And he was so! ⁸And Elohim called the firmament Heavens. And there was evening and there was morning, Day Second.

 

⁹And Elohim said, “The waters shall gather under the heavens unto one place, and the dry has appeared.” And he was so. 10And Elohim called the dry, land. And He called the gathering of the waters, seas. And Elohim saw that [he] is good. ¹¹And Elohim said, “The land shall green-up greenness of the herb seeding a seed, a tree, a fruit making a fruit to his kind, whose seed is via him upon the land.” And he was so. ¹²And the land sent out greenness of the herb seeding a seed to his kind, and a tree making a fruit whose seed was via him, to his kind. And Elohim saw that [he] is good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, Day Third.

 

¹⁴And Elohim said, “Be, light-sources in the firmament of the heavens, to divide between the day and between the night! And be ye for signs and for appointments and for days and years! ¹⁵And be ye for light-sources in the firmament of the heavens to lighten upon the land!” And he was so. ¹⁶And Elohim made two of the big light-sources: the big light-source to rule the day and the small light-source to rule the night, and the stars. ¹⁷And Elohim gave them in the firmament of the heavens to lighten upon the land ¹⁸and to rule in the day and in the night, and to divide between the light and between the darkness. And Elohim saw that [he] is good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the Day Fourth [‘Revolution’].

 

²⁰And Elohim said, “The waters shall swarm—a swarmer, a living being. And a flyer will fly over the land upon the faces of the firmament of the heavens.” ²¹And Elohim created the big sea creatures and every slow-moving being of the lives that swarmed the waters to their kind, and every flyer of wing to his kind. And Elohim saw that [he] is good. ²²And Elohim blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas! And the flyer shall multiply on the land!” ²³And there was evening and there was morning, Day Fifth.

 

²⁴And Elohim said, “The land shall send out a living being to her kind, cattle and the creeper and his living-one of the land to her kind.” And he was so. ²⁵And Elohim made the animal of the land to her kind, and the cattle to her kind, and every creeper of the soil to his kind. And Elohim saw that [he] is good.

 

²⁶And Elohim said, “We shall make Adam in our image as our likeness! And they have dominated in the fish of the sea and in the flyer of the heavens and in the cattle and in all the land and in every creeper creeping upon the land!” ²⁷And Elohim created the Adam in His image! He created him in the image of Elohim! He created them male and female. ²⁸And Elohim blessed them. And Elohim said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land and subdue her! And dominate in the fish of the sea and in the flyer of the heavens and in everything living creeping upon the land!”

 

²⁹And Elohim said, “Behold, I have given to you every herb seeding seed that is upon the faces of all the land, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree seeding seed. He shall be for food to you ³⁰and to every living of the land, and to every flyer of the heavens, and to every creeper upon the land in which is a living being, every green of an herb is for food!” And he was so.

 

³¹And Elohim saw all that He had made. And behold, very good! And there was evening and there was morning, Day Sixth!

 

 

I. Heavens and Land (verse 1)

 

The text introduces Elohim without any description. He created the heavens and the land. No other detail is given at this time.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     The Bible starts out describing a beginning. If it is a beginning, it must be the beginning of something. Of what is it a beginning? It is the beginning of Elohim’s creating the heavens and the land – all the heavens and the land that there are. A verse describes this when He later creates man:

 

Mark 10:6 God made them male and female from the beginning of the creation.

 

There will be several beginnings in the Bible. A reader must always figure out what beginning is being described. This particular beginning will be of the land (the planet Earth) and the heavens. A beginning is a start of something. (Don’t assume that it’s the beginning of all creation if the word all isn’t used, and if the description doesn’t include that it is the beginning of all creation.)

 

2.     What does Elohim mean? It is the Hebrew word for gods. Elohim is a title, and not a name. The word Elohim is plural; there is another word, Eloha, that is singular, and means god. I capitalize it to Gods because it refers to the Gods who will be the main character of the Bible.

 

3.     Why is Elohim plural (more than one)? Elohim is all and the only Gods that truly exist.  He is the One Who created the sea and the land, and therefore is the God of the sea and the land. Thus, He is the lord of the sea and the land. He is the God of life, and is therefore the lord over life. He is God of all creation; the God of strength, and so on. He is therefore ‘The Boss’ over everything and over every form of life.

 

4.     Why did God design the Hebrew language this way? When the Bible starts and in the first verse, why did He connect a plural subject (Elohim) with the singular verb create? The word Elohim is plural. Yet, the word created is singular in Hebrew. Now, in Hebrew, the subject of a sentence must always agree with the verb in gender and in number. (For example, A plural feminine subject, like ‘The women,’ will correspond with a feminine plural verb, like ‘walked,’ which in Hebrew will have a special form that will tell a reader or hearer that females are walking rather than males, and rather than just one female). Yet, in the case of Elohim and created, these two don’t agree in Hebrew! The verb create has a form that tells a reader that just one being created!

 

All the Gods, Elohim, are One God. Even though He will appear in several different forms and appearances, He is still One God. There aren’t more gods than the One who is the true Gods.

 

Man will invent many gods (little ‘g’) throughout history.  In the end, man will know there is only One.

 

5.     What does create mean? It means to bring something into existence without any starting materials. Thus, create is making something out of nothing! This is the definition of this word throughout the Bible.

 

You may hear some folks say, “She is very creative!” This is using the word create in a different way than the way the Bible uses it. Always think of create as making something from nothing.

 

6.     How did Elohim create the heavens and the land?

 

Psalm 33:6 The heavens were made by the Speech of Yehovah, and all the army of them by the breath of His mouth!

 

This text shows how: Yehovah spoke.

 

The reader hasn’t yet met Yehovah; the reader has only been introduced to Elohim. The word Elohim means Gods, and Elohim isn’t a name, just like person isn’t your name.  The name Yehovah will be introduced later as Elohim’s name.

 

7.     What was in the heavens once the heavens were created, and why is heavens plural (more than one)? The heavens are plural because there will be three of them:

 

2 Corinthians 12:2 I knew a man in Messiah above fourteen years ago (I cannot tell whether in the body, or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows), such a one caught up to the third heaven.

 

The first heaven will be located right above land! The second heaven will be what we call outer space, including what scientists call the upper atmosphere, and going on far, far away from the land. The third heaven will be a special location that we will discuss later.

 

The Bible doesn’t say what was in the heavens. Be sure of one thing: the heavens were occupied. Elohim never creates a big nothing. He always creates things right, useful, and with everything needed to do a task.

 

8.     What did the land look like when Elohim created the land? It was a ball in shape; it was the entire planet Earth. It was orderly (not chaos; not a mess).  It was useful and beneficial.  It was good.

 

9.     Did Elohim create the land with living creatures? See the following texts that can be found in other books of the Bible:

 

Isaiah 45:18 For so said Yehovah Creator of the heavens─He is the Elohim, and the Former of the land and her Maker! And He foundationed her! He didn’t create her chaos; He formed her to dwell─I am Yehovah, and there is not more.

 

2 Peter 3:3 In the last days scoffers shall come walking after their own lusts, ⁴and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation!” ⁵For they are willingly ignorant of this: that the heavens of old became by the speech of God, and the land standing out of the water and in the water ⁶by which the world that then was perished, being overflowed with water. ⁷And the heavens and the land that are now are kept in store by the same speech, reserved unto fire against the Day of Judgment and Perdition of ungodly men.

 

Elohim created the land to dwell; the world that then was perished in a flood. I propose that this describes living animals dying in a first flood (one before the famous flood in Noah’s day).

 

He initially created the planet Earth with many inhabitants—not humans—but rather with many different kinds of animals, insects, birds, fish, etc. Some were very tiny; others were huge! All were beautifully made.

 

We have an idea of these things because of what scientists call the fossil record. These are bones and shapes in rocks that showed this first creation of Elohim.

 

10.  Why did Elohim create the heavens and the land, and all the occupants? What was the purpose of all of this? One reason He created them is stated in the text below:

 

Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power! For Thou hast created all things, and they are and were created for thy pleasure.

 

Their destruction in the first flood is a warning for humans who won’t believe the Bible’s record. They can learn from the ancient fossil record so that they will know that destruction occurs when violence takes over.

 

When Elohim created these things, He created them right. They worked right! All things were created just right.

 

 

 

II. The Mess (verse 2)

 

The land then became chaotic: (very much without order); it became a mess. Now, darkness is upon the faces of the deep (that is, the waters). The Spirit of Elohim brooded (a sad term) over the faces of the waters.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     How did the land become chaotic and a mess? Did the animals mess it up? Elohim created everything just right in the beginning. This creation continued to work right. Yet, in this verse, chaos (meaning totally without order; confusion, etc.) and a mess are what is seen on the land of planet Earth. Something occurred for the creation to become this way.

 

In the fossil record, archaeologists have found that animals became very violent. Yet, Elohim didn’t create them violent. He created them right! Even today, animals that are quite scary, like lions and tigers and bears, don’t behave violently (that is, doing senseless destruction of other creatures for fun or out of a lust for blood) unless something goes wrong. They do go after other animals for food, but normally they live peacefully. The violence that the fossil record shows wasn’t natural; it wasn’t normal.

 

Elohim created angels (messengers) to do good. These beings are not human, and can take any shape or form needed.  They are very strong; the weakest angel is far stronger than the strongest human.

 

2 Peter 2:11 Angels, which are greater in power and might, don’t bring railing accusation against them before the Lord.

 

Elohim created these angels to serve humans—that is, to benefit them—before He created humans.  Yet, humans (once they are created) will be higher in rank than the highest-ranking angel.

 

Some of the angels rebelled against Yehovah.

 

I propose (which means that you must consider this for yourself to see if this is potentially valid) that these rebellious angels turned some of the animals against other animals so that they became bloodthirsty.  The animals began destroying other animals without cause, and they brought violence to Planet Earth.  I propose that Yehovah destroyed the creation upon the Land as a result of this violence.  Verse 2 tells the result of this judgment.

 

2.     What is the deep? This always refers to the oceans or any body of water that is very deep—not just a few hundred feet deep (like a pond or a lake), but miles deep! The Hebrew word tahom always describes a very deep body of water.

 

3.     What are these faces that are of the deep? They are what is on the surfaces of the waters. The surfaces are changing all the time (with wind, waves, and currents), and therefore the water’s faces change all the time.

 

All things in the Bible have more than one face. There is no singular word ‘face’ in the Bible. You have more than one face. You can smile; you can frown. Some folks are two-faced! The Hebrew verb to turn is from where the noun faces came; those turns in anyone’s ‘face’ make up the various faces! Therefore, faces will always be plural in the Bible.

 

4.     Why does the Bible tell us that darkness was upon the faces of the deep? Wasn’t darkness normal? Darkness is not normal. Light is normal for Elohim! He is light, and He gives light! In order for darkness to occur, He must hide His light!

 

John 9:5 “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

 

(He will later say regarding the Israelis, “Ye are the light of the world,” Matthew 5:14. Thus, even when Yeshua isn’t in the world, the Israelis will continue to reflect Yeshua’s light in the world!)

 

Revelation 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it! For the glory of God did lighten it! And the Lamb is its light!

 

This darkness, then, was not good. Something had happened.

 

5.     Why did the darkness come upon the faces of the deep? Elohim turned the light off because of the violence occurring on the land. (There was no like violence in the seas.) Elohim hates violence—killing and harming needlessly for the sake of pleasure or for a wrong cause.

 

6.     So, was the darkness just over the seas, and not on the land? The darkness was just over the seas because the land was now all underwater.

 

7.     What happened to the land when the darkness came upon the faces of the deep? The land disappeared underwater; this was the first flood.

 

8.     What happened to all the land animals when only the deep was now everywhere? They were drowned. They died. (That is why they will be created new or called forth in the next verses.)

 

9.     What is a spirit? In the Bible, the word spirit can refer to two different things.

 

• It can refer to what gives or is life. Nothing is alive without a spirit. It is that part of any living creature that is loaned by God in order for that creature to be alive. It isn’t visible, but the spirit is very important.

Think of a battery-operated toy. Act as if the battery is the spirit of the toy; without it, the toy doesn’t operate (as if the toy is dead). With the battery, the toy ‘is alive,’ and can function as designed.

 

Humans have a spirit that comes from Elohim that gives them life (much like the battery that gives the toy ‘life’).

 

Each person also forms a separate spirit that others sense, based on the person’s choice of character. This form of the spirit of a creature ‘gives off’ something that is similar to a fragrance. The person does not give off a ‘smell,’ but projects something that emotionally and socially affects others.

 

A person who designs himself to be cold, tough and mean has formed a mean spirit. This person desires others to sense this. One’s attitudes, desires and hatreds show one’s spirit. One’s unfeigned (not faked) humility or arrogance shows one’s spirit. Thus, one’s character is what shapes this form of one’s spirit.

 

Elohim is a Spirit: He isn’t confined to a body or location. The Spirit of Elohim includes all the many attributes of His character, combined. Thus, the Spirit of Elohim is Elohim! Elohim’s Spirit gives life, and the Spirit of Elohim always desires to save lives; not to destroy lives.

 

10.  What does brood mean? It means to be sad; upset. Sometimes someone will brood because of a great loss. A mother bird will brood if she comes back to her nest that had chicks in it, and the chicks are gone and the nest is destroyed.

 

11.  Why was the Spirit of Elohim brooding? All the land animals that He had created and that had done so well for so many years were now destroyed. Not one was left. Yehovah did not desire this destruction.  The violence on the land demanded that it be done. It had to be done because Yehovah hates His creation becoming violent, and intentionally destroying innocent ones ‘for fun.’  Yehovah brooded over the chaos and mess.  It was a loss.

 

12. This text describes a worldwide flood. (Only later will land appear.) Who flooded the world so that all land was underwater, and all land animals were dead? Elohim did this. He alone has this power.

 

13. Why did He do this? I propose that He did this to stop the violence that had been taught to His land animals. They had been taught to go for blood when many of them were vegetarians—that is, they only ate plant materials. Even today, animals that are vegetarians can be taught to desire blood; it makes the animals very violent.

 

14.  Why did the Spirit of Elohim brood over the faces of the waters? That was the last place that the land had been, and the animals had lived. Elohim was brooding over the waters because He was sadly looking upon His creation of land creatures that were now all dead.

 

 

 

III. Light! (verses 3-5)

 

Elohim now said, “Be, light!” And light was! Elohim saw the light; the light is good!

 

Elohim next divided between the light and the darkness.

 

He then named the light Yom (in Hebrew), meaning Day. He called the darkness Lilah, meaning Night.

 

The evening always came first. Then came the morning. That is the Biblical day: it goes from evening through the morning unto the next evening, at which time the new day starts! This was Day One!

 

 

Questions

 

1.     Why was light the first thing that Elohim restored? Throughout the Bible, light is always the first thing that must come! Darkness is not good; it hides things that can trip a person, and it is compared to not understanding important spiritual things. Light shows what is hidden, and it is compared to understanding important spiritual things.

 

2.     What was the source of this light? This light came from Elohim Himself. There was no other source of light at this time. This will happen again many centuries from now (as described later in the Bible)!

 

3.     Why did Elohim see that the light was good? This lets readers know that light will be good throughout the Bible and throughout the history of the world. To have light, to live in the light, and to be light are good!

 

4.     What does good mean in the Bible? Whatever is good strengthens, builds up in constructive ways, and it is helpful. It therefore doesn’t destroy or do harm. Something that is good is beneficial.

 

5.     Why did Elohim divide between the light and the darkness? He was showing the theme (the basis of the entire set of all events) of the entire Bible! The division between light and darkness is so important! The darkness is introduced at the beginning and is associated with the destruction of the land and the creation.  The light is the first thing commanded to ‘be’!

 

Those who live according to the light of God will always be different from those who live in darkness (who live their lives in whatever way they choose, ignoring what the Creator calls good). Those who walk in the light do what is right and beneficial, and do justice according to Elohim, the Creator.

 

Elohim constructed the creation so that the physical division between light and darkness teaches readers to live according to that division, and to live in the light since light is good.

 

6.     If light is good, and if darkness isn’t good, why did Elohim have half the day being with darkness while the other half is with light? Why didn’t He make the entire time with light? Later during His creating, Elohim makes sure that there is some light (in the forms of stars, planets, and moonlight). He also teaches to readers that they can be lights and can bring light even when spiritual darkness (the darkness that isn’t physical) is everywhere. Shining in darkness can be so good!

 

7.     Why did Elohim call the light Yom (Day), and the darkness Lilah (Night)? He names things that are very important. Day and Night in the Bible will refer either to the time when the sun is up or down, or to major events and periods of time when good or bad is ruling in the world.

 

8.     If Elohim is the source of the light, how can there be evening and morning? Doesn’t that require the sun? It doesn’t require the sun. Elohim intentionally made sure that evenings and mornings occurred without the sun so that readers would learn that Elohim truly is the light of the world, and that He can give much light, or He can withdraw light so that night will come.

 

Revelation 21:23  And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it! For the glory of God did lighten it! And the Lamb is its light!

 

 

 

IV. Firmament! (verses 6-8)

 

Elohim next spoke the firmament into existence. He created it in the midst of the waters. He told the firmament to be a divider between waters to waters!

 

Elohim made this firmament. The firmament was designed to divide between the waters that are underneath the firmament and the waters that are above the firmament. It did according to its design!

 

Elohim called the firmament heavens.

 

Evening had started the day, and then came morning. Thus was Day Second.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     What is a firmament? It is a tough structure that is invisible and flexible.  It acts like a very thin and huge plate of metal or a very strong sheet that is much like a scroll that is unrolled. The firmament holds in place the things that are placed in it.

 

There is only one firmament. It is found throughout the entire universe, holding planets in orbit around stars, holding moons in orbit around planets, holding the rings of planets (like Saturn) around the planets; holding galaxies in their shapes; making things hold together when this would otherwise be impossible.

 

In this verse, the firmament will support huge amounts of water above huge amounts of water.

 

2.     What is the purpose of dividing waters from waters? One reason is to protect the creation. The vast amount of waters that are separated by the firmament are kept from flooding the land.

 

Additionally, the waters in the firmament and on the land can better serve different purposes. The waters in the firmament (that are in the clouds), for example, can be taken to areas of land that need the waters. Water is so very heavy. Clouds float tons and tons of water over dry areas of land, and they can release water so that the lands receive what they need to produce fruit.

 

The waters in the rivers, seas and lakes provide places for water creatures to live. They also provide sources of water for all of the creation.  (Humans are roughly 70% water!)  Water is so important to life!

 

3.     Why did Elohim call the firmament heavens (plural) instead of heaven (singular)? This tells readers that the firmament goes into the farthest reaches of the heavens: all three of the heavens! Thus, when anyone looks at the stars, the constellations, the galaxies, the planets, etc., the person is looking at the work of the firmament that holds those things where Yehovah placed them!

 

4.     Why does the text state, “And he was so,” in verse 7? This tells the reader that Elohim spoke, and so easily caused this structure to be made: a structure that does what otherwise would be totally impossible. Nothing that humans put into orbit around Earth stays in orbit very long! Everything can remain in orbit for a few years with careful planning, but what Elohim put in orbit has remained there for centuries, and will continue there for centuries more!

 

Look at the clouds that float overhead. On some days, you will see that the clouds seem to have flattish bottoms. Some that are building into a storm cloud will still have a flattish bottom even while the top is building upward and outward! Why do clouds have the flattish bottoms? This is because of the firmament!

 

Sometimes you will see that there can be more than one layer of clouds, with a cloud set being much higher than another cloud set. How can this be? Again, the firmament divides them. When it rains, the firmament is temporarily torn. (The Bible will call this the opening of the windows of the heavens.) When the firmament’s tear is closed, the rain will stop.

 

5.     Why, again, does the text note that there was evening and there was morning? Even though there wasn’t a sun or moon yet, this tells the reader that the period of time that passed was truly just one day (our 24-hour day), and not major periods of time. (There are no evenings and mornings to large periods of time.)

 

 

 

V. Waters, Land, and Green! (verses 9-13)

 

When Elohim said that the waters will gather under the heavens unto one place, and the dry has appeared, this caused one giant island of land to appear. As a result of the first flood, only the waters were visible over the entire surface of the planet!

 

Elohim called the dry and giant island land. He called the gathering of the waters seas. Elohim saw that he (the land) is good!

 

The land was barren, however. Elohim said, “The land shall green-up greenness of the herb seeding a seed, a tree, a fruit making a fruit to his kind, whose seed is in him upon the land.” This covered three kinds of plants: herbs, trees, and fruit producers. In all cases, the seeds of every plant species are continued via (by means of) the fruit that produces seeds.

 

The land did what Elohim said. She sent out greenness of the herb seeding a seed to his kind! She sent out a tree making a fruit whose seed was via him, to his kind.

 

Elohim saw that he is good! Evening came, then morning: Day Third.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     Before Elohim said, “The waters shall gather under the heavens unto one place, and the dry has appeared,” what did the planet look like? Only water could be seen; all land was underwater.

 

2.     What happened when the waters gathered unto one place? The waters drained off the land very rapidly (this took place within one day!), so that just one giant island of land was formed on Earth. The rest of Earth was still oceans.

 

3.     Why does the text say, “And he was so”? This shows the reader that the creation obeyed Elohim right away when He gave commands. Humans won’t obey Elohim in this way in most of Earth’s history. In the case of this text, the waters gathered right away from off the land in order for the dry land to appear.

 

4.     Why does the text tell a reader that Elohim called the dry, land? In the Bible, the word land will either refer to a specific land (like ‘the Land of Israel’) or to all the land on the planet that is above water. The reader will normally be able to quickly tell which land is in mind.

 

5.     Why did Elohim call the dry, land, which is singular, while calling the gathering of the waters, seas, which is plural? At this time, there was only one large body of land. Yet, there were many different seas! (The different seas are not the same! They have different climates: temperatures, pressures, movements of the waters with different creatures that swim and live in them. Thus, from the beginning, the seas were very different one from another.) This is true of the land, too! It had and continues to have so many different climates over its surfaces!

 

6.     Verse 10 states, “And Elohim saw that [he] is good.” It doesn’t state that Elohim saw that they are good. To what does he refer? The entire act of Elohim’s bringing the dry land from the waters is good!

 

7.     What does “The land shall green-up” mean? In order for the land to ‘green-up,’ it must produce green plants! The land had been flooded long enough to turn plants from green to colors that aren’t green (blacks, browns, grays, whites, etc.). The text does not declare that Yehovah created, made or formed the plants.  He commanded the existing (yet lifeless) plants to ‘green up’!  This is another evidence that the first creation had been stopped ‘dead’ by a flood (as a result of violence).

 

8.     What is an herb? An herb is a plant that is green and that normally doesn’t produce wood.

 

9.     What is the greenness of the herb? This is an especially bright green color found in the new growth of many plants.

 

10.  What does “seeding a seed” mean? This means that the plants will produce seeds that will then be ‘seeded’—that is, dispersed to other places where the seeds can germinate (begin to put down roots) and produce more plants.

 

11.  The whole sentence is, “The land shall green-up, greenness of the herb seeding a seed, a tree, a fruit making a fruit to his kind, whose seed is via him upon the land.” A tree is mentioned. What is Elohim commanding for the tree? I understand that the statement about the tree is this: “The land shall green-up, greenness of a tree.” The trees, like the herbs, must green up and produce fruit (of some form) with seed!

 

12.  What does “a fruit making a fruit to his kind” describe? Start with the fruit of any plant. The fruit will either contain seeds or will be connected to the seeds in some way. The seed of any plant will produce another plant, and that plant will produce a fruit that is to his kind—that is, it will be just like the fruit that was used to grow this new plant! Thus, a seed from corn cannot grow a tomato.  Each plant’s seed produces a plant that is like it. There will be variation (changes in certain things), but the new plants will be the same kind of plants as the original plant.

 

13.  What does “whose seed is via him” describe? The seed will be formed and made by means of the fruit of the plant.

 

Seeds are often inside of the fruit, but sometimes they aren’t. Consider the strawberry, and how the seeds are formed outside of the fruit! Yet, the seeds are always formed by means of the fruit as it forms.

 

Some ‘fruits’ are not fruits that humans would eat.  Never assume that a pretty berry, for example, can be eaten! The berry that is produced on a dogwood tree would not be a fruit that you would serve for lunch, but the birds think the fruit is delicious!  That dogwood’s seed is inside of its fruit – the berry. Yet, even fruits like this can sometimes be turned into important and life-saving medicines for humans!

 

14.  Are there plants that produce seeds without producing fruit? There are; in that case, the seeds are the fruit! Ferns are a very large group of plants. Their ‘seeds’ are sometimes microscopic, in which case they are called spores. In many ferns, they form on the underside of leaves. (Look under the leaves of ferns; you will often see little dots, which are groups of spores.)

 

15.  The sentence ended with, “upon the land.” Are there plants that aren’t on land, but are on water? Yes, there are water-only plants. Some plants, like algae or duckweed, float. Some larger floating plants send down root-like anchors to hold them in their places so that normal winds don’t make them drift. This occurs in beautiful swamps. Sometimes the water plants become so dense that they become small islands (as if they are land) where birds make nests, and even humans can live!

 

This text isn’t telling readers all the variety that Elohim made. It is explaining how the plants on the land greened up (came back to life), and how the land plants reproduce.

 

16.  According to verse 12, what happened? The land did as Elohim said! She (the land) sent out greenness of the herb, and the herb seeded seed to his kind! The tree made a fruit whose seed was by means of the fruit, and to his own kind.

 

17.  According to verse 12, how did Elohim respond to the land’s doing what He said? Elohim saw that he is good! He was pleased!

 

18.  How long did it take for the land to green up? Verse 13 states that there was evening, and there was morning. This was ‘Day Third.’ So, it took one day.

 

 

 

VI. Light Sources (verses 14-19)

 

Elohim waited until the fourth day to create light sources in the firmament of the heavens: “Be, light sources!” These light sources divide between the day and between the night! He also commanded these light sources to be for:

 

• Signs
• Appointments
• Days
• Years

These light sources must be in the firmament of the heavens to lighten upon the land! Elohim commanded; these things occurred.

 

Elohim made two of the big light sources: the big one to rule the day and the small light source to rule the night. He also made the stars!

 

Elohim gave all these lights in the firmament of the heavens

 

• To lighten upon land,
• To rule in the day,
• To rule in the night,
• To divide between the light and the darkness.

Elohim saw that he is good! Evening came; and then morning came: Day Revolution, the Fourth Day.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     What are light sources? They are items from which light comes. A flashlight (torch) is a light source. A headlight of a vehicle is a light source.

 

2.     What will these light sources be? They will be the sun, the moon, and the stars.

 

3.     Where will these light sources be located? They will be in the firmament of the heavens! Thus, they will also be held in place by the firmament!

 

4.     What will be the purposes of these light sources? They will be to divide between the day and the night! They will also be for:

 

• Signs
• Appointments
• Days
• Years
• Light upon the land

5.     What is a sign in the Bible? A sign is an event, a person or an item that signifies (points to) another event, person or item in a very recognizable and usually miraculous way.

 

Someone often points out a particular sign, describing it beforehand. (For example, “And this is a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”) In other cases, the sign is recognized as such without prior descriptions (“Jonah was a sign unto the Ninevites”).

 

Constellations are for signs (Genesis 1:14). If a sign is not certain, it cannot be a sign from Yehovah. (Many claim things as signs that are not.) A sign must also communicate clear information, pointing to something certain in a manner that cannot be misunderstood. Thus, Gideon asked for dew to be on an item, and not on the ground around the item, as a sign that Yehovah will give him success. He then asked for the reverse sign: that dew will be on the ground around the same item, and not on the item, which Yehovah also did.

 

Signs must be described before they occur, since anyone can assign a meaning to a sign after the phenomenon (that is, after the strange occurrence).

 

6.     How can one know that something is a sign? First, a sign must be announced. Secondly, the one announcing the sign must either be God, an angel, or a person who has been given the information. Once God, an angel, or a person gives this information to someone else or to a group, describing the sign that will occur, the person or group must then watch for the sign, and determine whether or not it happened exactly the way it was described. Now, that doesn’t mean that the person or group must believe the sign; asking for another sign is fine. The purpose of a sign isn’t to prove anything; it is rather to give reason to consider whether what is being described with the sign (that is, what the sign is supposed to be showing) will happen or not happen.

 

For example,

 

Judges 7:9 And it was the same night. And Yehovah said unto him, “Arise! Get thee down unto the army! For I have delivered it into thine hand! ¹⁰And if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the army! ¹¹And thou shalt hear what they are saying. And afterward, thine hands shall be strengthened to descend unto the army!” Then he descended with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the army. ¹²And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seaside for multitude. ¹³And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream! And behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the army of Midian! And it came unto a tent! And it smote it so-that it fell, and overturned it, so-that the tent fell.” ¹⁴And his fellow answered. And he said, “This is nothing else except the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel! For God hath delivered Midian and all the army into his hand!” ¹⁵And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, that he worshipped! And he returned into the army of Israel. And he said, “Arise! For Yehovah delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”

 

Gideon was convinced by this sign of enemy soldiers speaking of the success he was about to have! These enemy soldiers even knew the name of Gideon’s father! Gideon’s entire army numbered 300, and they were to go against a very large army numbering in the thousands. Gideon knew that the Spirit of Elohim had given this sign. Once he knew that, he could confidently do the assignment that Yehovah gave to him.

 

Now, I will give one example of a false sign. A woman desires to know if God wants her to become a nun. (She is Roman Catholic.) She prays. She asks God for a sign of a rose: that if she will receive a rose, she will know that God wants her to become a nun. Ten days later, she receives a rose from a friend. She believes this to be a sign. It isn’t, however, since her prayer to her deity can easily be heard by a demon who can then prod a friend to send her a rose.

 

A person who strongly feels that he/she is obtaining a sign, and still isn’t sure that the sign is from Elohim, always has the right to have the sign either tested or ask for the provision of another sign. A sign is of no value if the one receiving the sign isn’t sure.

 

7.     What are appointments? They are future events that are promised with timings that are promised.

 

8.     How can a light source be for appointments? If the light source changes in a particular way that has been described, and if that change will occur at the same time as an appointment will be kept, that light source will become an indicator of that appointment. For example,

 

Revelation 6:12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal. And behold, there was a great earthquake! And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood! ¹³And the stars of the heavens fell unto the land even as a fig tree casts her untimely figs when she is shaken by a mighty wind. ¹⁴And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together! And every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵And the kings of the land and the great men and the rich men and the chief captains and the mighty men and every slave and every free man hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. ¹⁶And they said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us! And hide us from the faces of Him Who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! ¹⁷For the great day of His wrath is come! And who shall be able to stand?”

 

Therefore, the sign, or in this case, the series of signs, tell the event and the timing of the arrival of the great day of Yehovah’s wrath. Both the bad and the good guys will recognize these signs! The signs will be messages of hope for the good guys, and terror for the bad guys.

 

9.     How can light sources be for days? The sun is a day marker, and the moon can be a night marker, though it is visible in part of the day, and it is gone in part of the night.

 

Also, there are special days that the sun is used to determine when they arrive. What we call the longest day of the year or the shortest day of the year is determined by the length of time that sunlight remains before night comes.

 

A future special set of days will occur when entire day-and-night cycles go from 24 hours to 16 hours. This will occur in the Tribulation.

 

10.  How can light sources be for years? The sun is the main light source that shows a yearly cycle. It isn’t that the sun is truly changing, but the earth goes around the sun, and scientists were able to figure out that this occurs every 365 ¼ days (it is necessary to add one day every four years with a few exceptions). Going around the sun in one cycle is one year. Thus, the sun is used to show one year.

 

Also, the sun, moon and stars will be used to show when such events as the Tribulation’s years will arrive. Signs using the sun, moon and stars will give information regarding the arrival of these years. (I described some of those above.)

 

11.  According to verse 15, where will these light sources be located? They will be located in the firmament of the heavens! Thus, the firmament isn’t just to divide waters from waters; it is also the object that contains the sun, moon and stars.

 

12.  What is the main purpose of the firmament, according to verse 15? It is to hold the created light sources that lighten upon the land!

 

13. What is the big light source that rules the day? It is the sun.

 

14.  What is the small light source to rule the night? It is the moon.

 

15. Is the moon really a light source? Doesn’t it instead reflect light from the sun, the real light source? It is really a light source, though its light comes from the sun. The moon is the primary light source that rules the night.

 

16.  Why does Elohim consider the moon a light source when it truly only reflects light from the sun? This reflects what happens in two other texts:

 

John 8:12 Then Yeshua spoke again unto them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life!”

 

Matthew 5:14 “Ye are the light of the world.”

 

Yeshua truly is the big light-source. He is the light of the world both physically and as Truth. Yeshua stated to the Israelis that they are the light of the world. They are like the moon: they reflect the light from the big light source: Yeshua. Still, Yeshua states that the Israelis are the light of the world.

 

17.  Are the stars much smaller light sources than the sun? No! Most are far, far larger than the sun! Yet, because they are so distant, they appear as only tiny points of light.

 

18.  Verses 17 and 18 give the reasons for the sun, moon, and stars. What are the reasons given in these two verses?

 

• He gave them to lighten upon the land,
• To rule in the day,
• To rule in the night,
• To divide between the light and the darkness.

19.  What does “Elohim saw that: good” mean? This means that Elohim saw the actions that He did as good actions! He was pleased with the end results!

 

20.  The Hebrew word used for fourth is actually revolution. Why is the word revolution used? This is referring to a complete cycle, something turning. If one goes in a circle, the person goes in one direction, then the next direction, then the next, and finally the last (fourth) turn that completes a revolution: a complete turn! Yehovah employs this for the fourth of a series of things.

 

 

 

VII. Water Creatures and Flying Creatures (verses 20-23)

 

Elohim now commanded the waters to swarm with a swarmer, a living being. He also commanded the flyer to fly over the land upon the faces of the firmament of the heavens!

 

Elohim created:

 

• Big sea creatures
• Every slow-moving being of the lives that swarmed the waters to their kind
• Every flyer of wing to his kind.

Elohim saw that he is good!

 

Elohim blessed them, commanding,

 

• Be fruitful!
• Multiply!
• Fill the waters in the seas!

He also said that the flyer will multiply on the land!

 

Evening came; and then morning came: Day Fifth.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     What is a water swarmer? It is a larger collection of creatures that cling together, often acting as a single unit. On land, ants can swarm, acting as if they have a large brain that they use together. Bees can do the same thing.

 

In water, the swarmers include schools of fish. These schools are not for education, but are groupings of fish that act as if they are all part of one single creature! Other creatures in the water swarm, hanging together. This is even a way to defend against much larger enemies! Watch this video to see an interesting example of a fish swarm:  http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/other-shows/videos/superswarm-fish-vortex.htm

 

2.     In verse 20, a living being is mentioned. To what does this living being refer? The living being can refer to the individual swarmer, like one fish in an entire school of fish. It can also refer to the entire group as a living being, since the group acts in complete coordination as if it is one creature!

 

Later in human history, there will be a group of humans that will be called the Body of Messiah. This group will be comprised of individuals, but will behave in coordination as one living being—just like the swarmers!

 

3.     What is a flyer? Every bird is a flyer. Insects that fly are also flyers, but this text appears to be speaking of birds (see question & answer 14).

 

4.     Besides flying over land, what do the flying creatures use (referring to an object) to keep their flight in the air? They use the firmament. Specifically, they use the faces of the firmament: the many surfaces of the firmament.

 

The birds most known for using the faces of the firmament are eagles, hawks, etc. who use the lift of the winds to gain altitude and to keep up on the air. They are actually using the firmament’s faces to do this! We just can’t see those faces. Some insects likewise live on the firmament, including some spiders who live far up in our visible atmosphere! (They do use webs; some spiders can throw their webs like weapons! Some use their web material to sail along the faces of the firmament!)

 

5.     What are the big sea creatures? Whales, of course, are included. So are some very large squids, octopi, and other very large and usually very friendly giant ocean creatures. (There is one very large sea creature named Leviathan that will be introduced later in the Bible.)

 

6.     What is a slow-moving being that lives in the sea? A jellyfish does what the text describes: jellyfish move slowly, and they do swarm. Lobsters also go slowly, and they can swarm. Sea snails are slow-going, and tend to move in packs. There are so many different species!

 

7.     What does “being of the lives” describe? A being is a creature that is made of a body, a soul, and a spirit. Every living thing is made of all three, and is a soul, but only humans are everlasting souls. In the soul of every creature is the creature’s personality. Even plants show personality, though it is harder to detect because they communicate in a very different way.

 

A being of lives is a being that goes through different stages of life. It is as if it has more than one life. In humans, this is seen in the following stages:

 

• The baby in the womb
• The born infant
• The toddler
• Early childhood
• Adolescent
• Pubescent (going through puberty, having to do with hormones before adulthood)
• Adulthood
• Seniorhood
• Ancienthood

Responsibilities normally increase with these stages of human life. Each stage of life is different from the previous one. As a result, every person who lives long enough has many ‘lives’ that are represented by these different stages.

 

8.     What is the benefit of swarming? It is a protective action of a group that acts as one. This gives the group a much better survival rate. Enemies are often so much bigger and stronger; yet, the group acts as an even larger creature that is very able to deal with enemies. (See the video mentioned above.)

 

9.     What does bless mean in the Bible? It means to entrust something to another that can and should be used by the person to benefit others. A blessing differs from a gift because of the responsibility that comes with the blessing; a gift is often for private use.

 

A blessing includes an invocation—that is, an invoking. To invoke means to call something into another. In the case of a blessing, it is calling what items the person (or group) will receive, and what responsibilities must come with what the person (or group) receives.

 

10.  If the above is true, why did Elohim bless them? He blessed them so that they will benefit others outside of their groups. There are so many ways that the various creatures can benefit others (besides being food to other creatures). Consider insects that pollinate our food crops!  Think about earthworms that tunnel through and improve our soils!  Fungi work with plants so that both the fungi and plants can live and obtain what they need!  The creation is designed to work together for benefit of others.

 

11.  What does be fruitful mean? This means to bear fruit, which covers so many activities. A fruitful activity will benefit others. The creatures that build the coral reefs are building structures that other creatures can use for homes and protection. Some creatures help other creatures, like fish that clean the teeth of much larger fish. Yehovah blesses creatures with different abilities so that each species can be fruitful in its particular ability and work by providing benefit to others through that work.

 

12.  What is the purpose of multiplication? This keeps the species going and healthy. It makes it so that groups can go into new environments. It ensures new generations even during very hard times. It populates the creation (land and waters) so that work can be performed on land, in the land, and in the waters.

 

13.  Have these creatures filled the waters in the seas? I propose that they haven’t yet done this. There are many seas where few creatures live; they are like deserts, but with water. Later, the oceans will support huge numbers of sea creatures in contrast to what they can support now.

 

14.  According to verse 22, where must all flyers multiply? They must multiply on the land. Thus, no flyer of what is being described here multiplies in the waters. (This is one reason why the text appears to be speaking of birds, and not insects, since insects, like the mosquito, multiply in pools of water, though those pools of water are on land.)

 

Some birds make their nests out over swamp water (very clean water, and where plants grow very thickly). The grasses are like islands that are floating. They are anchored to the soil below the swamp. The birds are still multiplying on land, but on these mats of grasses.

 

 

 

VIII. Cattle, Animal and Creeper (verses 24-25)

 

Elohim next focused on land. He commanded, “The land shall send out:

 

• A living being to her kind!
• Cattle!
• The creeper and his living-one of the land to her kind!

This occurred!

 

The text then states that Elohim made the animal of the land to her kind. He made the cattle to her kind. He made every creeper of the soil to his kind!

 

Elohim saw that he is good!

 

 

Questions

 

1.     In verse 24, did Elohim create anything? I do not see where anything was created in verses 24 and 25.

 

2.     How did the living being described in verse 24 come about? The text states that the land shall send out a living being to her kind. This means that the soil will form these creatures. Thus, they aren’t created, but rather are made (as in prepared) from the soil that makes up the land.

 

3.     Why is the living being described as her (in, “to her kind”)? Yehovah assigns a feminine or masculine pronoun to every group, creature and item. This is by design so that Yehovah will use genders of words to make distinctions when using the pronouns that refer to them. For example, “to her kind” uses the pronoun her.

 

In the Bible, every creature is assigned a masculine or feminine gender, but will still be feminine when it is classified as a being. In other words, the being of every creature (including every man, woman, boy, girl, animal, etc.) will always be feminine.

 

4.     With what animals are these living beings identified? This appears to be the general category of all the living creatures that are on the land.

 

5.     With what animals are the cattle identified? In the Bible, the word cattle refers to land mammals that graze, eating plants for food. They include oxen, deer, buffalo, antelope, moose, reindeer, elephants, giraffes, hippopotami, rhinoceroses, regular cows and bulls, goats and sheep, rams, gazelles, etc.

 

6.     With what animals are the creepers identified? The animals I identify with this word are creatures that move slowly, or creep, across the land. These include sloths, crabs, crawdads, snakes, etc.

 

7.     What are living-ones of the land? Wild dogs, lions, tigers, panthers, monkeys, apes, baboons, rats, possums, armadillos, skunks, raccoons, etc. are living ones. Yet, “his living-one of the land” can also refer to earthworms, roly-polies, spiders, and all the many insects that are not classified as swarmers.

 

8.     In all the cases, the text says, “to her kind.” Then, in verse 25, it refers to the creeper of the soil “to his kind.” Why is there a difference in gender? The group identified with the creepers is masculine. Elohim assigned genders to everything, and He assigned the masculine gender to creeper groups. (I don’t know why He assigns some things as masculine and others as feminine; some make sense to me, but this doesn’t explain why.)

 

9.     Why did Elohim see, and consider it good? Elohim was pleased with all these creatures that He designed! He knew that their design enabled them to do work that would be both good and beneficial.

 

 

 

IX. Adam! (verses 26-28)

 

Elohim next said, “We shall make Adam in our image as our likeness!” The result will be that “they have dominated:

 

• In the fish of the sea!
• In the flyer of the heavens!
• In the cattle!
• In all the land!
• In every creeper creeping upon the land!

Elohim created the Adam in His image! He created him in the image of Elohim! He created them male and female!

 

Elohim blessed them!

 

Elohim then said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land and subdue her!” He also commanded the human He created to dominate in the fish of the sea, to dominate in the flyer of the heavens, and to dominate in every living creeping creature upon the land!

 

 

Questions

 

1.     Who are we in, “We shall make Adam in our image as our likeness”? The we refers to the Gods, Elohim in all His forms. In other words, Adam is made like a miniature and limited form and fashion of Elohim. The Adam has the ability to do good works, justice, and righteousness.  The Adam can emotionally respond with wrath, love, grace, and much more – both rightly and with wisdom.

 

2.     Why did Elohim make Adam in the singular image of Elohim (plural)? This shows that Adam has responsibilities because of this construction. The very image of the Creator is on him.  He is as a living billboard! The image of Elohim on the Adam includes abilities (seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, doing, building, tearing down, etc.) that are like those of God, but limited.

 

Later, Elohim will make Himself into the likeness of Adam, of men, in order to live righteously among men and to be a sacrifice for men. Therefore, these things are for teaching purposes.

 

Every human being therefore looks like Elohim, though Elohim is usually invisible!

 

3.     What is an image? It is something that looks like something else. On the penny is an image of Abraham Lincoln. That image looks like him very closely, though it isn’t he.

 

An image depicts a shape of something: it gives an impression that is accurate.

 

4.     What is a likeness? It is the set of characteristics that are like the characteristics of another.

 

Thus, Adam both looked like and had the characteristics of Elohim. Both the image and the likeness carry responsibilities! One who acts totally different from Elohim (by doing what isn’t good) isn’t following His likeness or the purpose for which he was created.

 

5.     Who are they in, “And they have dominated …”? They are humans (in the Bible, called the Adam) far later in history than Adam and Eve.

 

6.     Have humans dominated in the fish of the sea and in the flyer of the heavens and in the cattle and in all the land and in every creeper creeping upon the land? No, not yet. Another text describes this:

 

Hebrews 2:8 “Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we don’t yet see all things put under him!

 

7.     If the answer to the above is true, why or why not has this happened? It hasn’t happened because at the present time, there are evil folks who would irresponsibly use this ability to destroy the animals for pleasure. They would be very cruel to them. Violence, extinction of animal species, and the harm of animals by the humans would also result.

 

In the Millennium (the 1,000-year reign of Elohim, the Messiah, over all kings and authorities), this domination will work well, because any human who tries to use the animals for a wrong purpose will be arrested and will be taught a strong lesson to never do so again.

 

8.     Verse 26 states, “We shall make …” Verse 27 states, “Elohim created.” How can both be right regarding man? They are both right. When it came to the soul, which is the real person, Elohim created, and He still continues to do this for every human soul. When it came to the physical body, Elohim made the body from soil.

 

Therefore, the soul is in the likeness of Elohim. The body of a person is made from soil, and looks like a physical representation of Elohim’s image, attributes, and abilities!

 

9.     What is “the Adam,” and why is this worded this way? The word adam is a generic (non-specific; general) Hebrew word for man as in human. The expression, the Adam, is like saying, the human. Elohim created the human in His image.

 

Yehovah named human beings Adam because they are made from adamah, the Hebrew word for soil.

 

There are two different Hebrew words that also mean man, but they describe man in ways that differ from this generic term: human.

 

10.  The text mentions several times about Elohim creating Adam in His image. Why is this repeated? It is very important! When things are mentioned even twice in Biblical texts, they are very important.

 

Because humans are wearing the image of Elohim, this shows how important the responsibility is that every human has for his/her actions. It also shows ownership. No human is made in this image by choice; it is a responsibility given from the Creator. It is Elohim’s label!

 

11.  The next sentence states, “He created him in the image of Elohim!” Who is He, and why does the text word it as if He is different from Elohim? He is Yeshua. Elohim is also Yeshua; but the wording of the text is designed for readers who do not know about Yeshua in order for them to begin to consider that God identifies Himself singularly as the one true God and in plural forms as if He is more than one being (yet always being just one God).

 

Colossians 1:12 … confessing to the Father Who made us competent for the share of the inheritance of the Saints in the Light ¹³Who delivered us from the authority of darkness and translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love ¹⁴in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins, ¹⁵Who is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶Because all things were created by Him, the things in the heavens and the things upon the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or principalities, or authorities: all things have been created by Him and for Him. ¹⁷And He is before all! And all things subsist via Him! ¹⁸And He is the Head of the Body: the Assembly; Who is [the] beginning, firstborn from among the dead, so-that He will be holding the first place in all things. ¹⁹For all the Fullness was pleased to dwell in Him …

 

Yeshua, then, is the Creator, and He is Elohim.

 

12.  Verse 27 states, “He created him (singular) in the image of Elohim! He created them (plural) male and female.” Did Elohim create two beings at this time? No. He created just one being, one person, at this time. Both male and female were created in Adam! He was both at this time! (The fancy word for this is hermaphrodite.) Yet, the text speaks in the plural (them) because of what Elohim will do in a short time.

 

13.  Elohim blessed them. Elohim had already blessed other creatures in these verses. Why did Elohim bless them, and who are them? Them refers to both the male and the female before and after He separates their bodies!

 

He blessed them in order to give them good responsibilities by which they will be able to benefit others. The purposes of blessings in the Bible always include benefiting others. The blessings and responsibilities are very great because of the image that is on man!

 

14.  What are the four commands that Elohim gave to Adam (as if to them, plurally)? They are:

 

• Be fruitful
• Multiply
• Fill the land
• Subdue the land

The one command He gave to the humans to do that is extra compared to the animals is to subdue the land.

 

15.  What is involved in subduing the land? What does this mean? The word rendered subdue has the following acceptations: to subject, subdue, force, keep under, bring into bondage; make subservient; violate; tread down. Obviously, violating and mistreating isn’t part of the command that Elohim gave regarding the land. Thus, consider the following modern definitions of subdue (see http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/subdue):

 

1. to conquer and bring into subjection: “Rome subdued Gaul.”

 

2. to overpower by superior force; overcome.

 

3. to bring under mental or emotional control, as by persuasion or intimidation; to render submissive.

 

4. to repress (feelings, impulses, etc.).

 

5. to bring (land) under cultivation: to subdue the wilderness.

 

There are many lands on this planet that cannot yet produce crops for man. There are environments that are so harsh, that humans are in constant danger of death. When this command will be done, every land on Earth will be useful and important to humans!

 

A very large continent is called Antarctica. It is very cold and much of it is very dry. It produces nothing but cold air and hardship at this time. Humans can live on it, but they must have very special clothing, and they must obtain food from elsewhere. Someday, this continent will be very productive, and humans will be able to live on it without obtaining most supplies from another place.

 

When humans subdue it—that is, bring it from wild to friendly and to being very productive, they will serve the soil, and the soil will give them much! This has yet to occur! It is a future event!

 

16.  What will happen when man will fill the land? Humans will be able to live on every type of soil and climate in the world, and will do fine!

 

17.  What will occur when man dominates in the fish of the sea? Man will command fish to do various things, and the fish will obey. Every human will be able to communicate with the fish, and the fish will respond in obedience.

 

18.  Is this domination already present today? Can humans communicate with fish, and they will obey? Humans can train sea creatures in many cases, but this isn’t to what the text is referring. When this domination occurs, no training will be necessary. Thus, it isn’t at all present today.

 

19.  If the above answer is correct, why hasn’t Elohim yet given humans domination over the fish of the sea? Humans who are evil would command the sea creatures to do very harmful and destructive things. Thus, this event awaits the time when every human will be directly under the authority of God and righteousness. If a human tries to use a sea creature to do wrong at that time, the human will be immediately stopped.

 

20.  Has there ever been a time when this domination over animals has occurred on Earth? Yes! Moshe was given that kind of authority when he called for the frogs and locusts to come, and then when he called for them to leave. These events will be described in this series (Bible Characters Series) when we come to Exodus in about 20 years.

 

21.  Scientists classify fish only as “A limbless cold-blooded vertebrate (backboned) animal with gills and fins, and living wholly in water.” Is that what fish means in this text? No. When the Bible refers to a fish, it is speaking of a creature that lives wholly in water, but also can be very different: some having fins, some without fins; some having gills, and others breathing by other means; some having a backbone, and others without a backbone. In the Bible, define fish to mean sea creature.

 

22.  What will happen when man dominates in the flyer of the heavens? Humans will be able to command birds and other flying creatures to do jobs, tasks and errands for them! Again, these things await a time when humans will themselves be righteous and/or under very strict authority so that they don’t misuse or destroy the flying creatures for their own pleasures.

 

23.  What will happen when man dominates in everything living creeping upon the land? Every creeper, like crawdads, armadillos, centipedes, snakes, etc. will be under the direct command of man, and they will obey man. This, again, will only work right when humans are under the direct command of one who is righteous, including the command of God and those He puts into authority.

 

 

 

X. Food! (verses 29-30)

 

Elohim spoke to the creatures He created, telling them that He has given to them every herb that makes seeds and that is upon the faces of all the land for food. He has also given every tree in which there is a fruit of that tree seeding seed, for food.

 

Elohim continued, “He shall be for food to you!” He then continued, showing what the herbs and trees will feed:

 

• Every living of the land
• Every flyer of the heavens
• Every creeper upon the land in which is a living being

Every green of an herb will be for food! This is what occurred.

 

 

Questions

 

1.     Verse 29 states, “I have given to you every herb …” Who are you in this text? You refers to humans (plural) who will include Adam and all who come from Adam.

 

The Adam is one being at this time, but Yehovah knows that He will divide them into two beings, and many generations of humans will come from the first Adam.

 

2.     To whom is Elohim speaking when He states, “Behold, I have given to you every herb seeding seed …”? He is speaking to Adam as if he is every human because all humans will proceed from him and his lineage.

 

3.     What is an herb seeding seed? An herb is any plant that normally doesn’t put on wood. (Sometimes, the stem remains green and supple; sometimes, it puts on a layer that looks like wood, but is very weak.) One that seeds seed is one that produces seeds, which is what all herbs do. It makes seeds (if given opportunity), and then spreads them around.

 

4.     What does “that a fruit is of a tree seeding seed via him” mean? This means that a tree will make a fruit, and the seed will be made by the fruit that is forming.

 

Some fruits of trees have seeds inside the fruits. Some fruits of trees have seeds outside the fruits. Some fruits of trees are the seeds (like nuts). In all cases, the seeds form as the fruits develop.

 

5.     Why was the development of seeds by the fruits so important to God? Why didn’t He make some trees to produce seeds in a location separate from the fruits that the trees produce? Normally, the fruit of a plant is what is beneficial to birds, animals and humans that are able to eat the fruit. (Not all fruits of plants are edible to all creatures.) It provides a source of food and supports life to an eater.  The fruit can be beautiful, too!

 

The seed of a natural plant (one that man hasn’t changed to get special results) reproduces the genetic stock of the parent plant or plants. In farming and gardening, one identifies plants that produce good fruit, and then saves its seed to multiply the plants for the future to produce more good fruit.  Bad seeds (seeds that produce bad-tasting or disease prone or low yields, etc.) are normally discarded. The life of a plant is in its seed. Some seeds properly preserved can grow when planted even after thousands of years, like the seeds found in Egyptian pyramids!

 

This has everything to do with what Elohim desires from humans. Elohim desires each human to bear good fruit during his/her lifetime—not like the fruit of a tree that one can eat, but what God calls good fruit, which is doing good works: things that benefit others during the person’s life and sometimes long after the person’s life.

 

Any person can bear good fruit by doing what is right and pleasing to God; He gives the standards of righteousness (being right) in the Bible. When these works are then combined with a proper fear of God and faith, the seed of God can form in that person. He or she can then become a son or daughter of Yehovah. Since such a person will have everlasting life, the seed will then everlastingly produce good fruit!

 

It is not the job of a plant to throw its fruit at others, but simply to produce good fruit.  When a person produces good fruit, others can ‘eat’ of it. The person who ‘eats’ this fruit can then also determine to bear good fruit while consistently walking in righteousness and the fear of God.

 

What each person does every day that is right or wrong, good or bad, in truth or in lies, is the person’s fruit. If the fruit is consistently good, God is well-pleased. The seed of God is the speech of God (most call it the Word of God). Producing good fruit is excellent; yet, one must have and believe the speech of God in order to obtain everlasting life. The seed of God can germinate so that this person becomes a son or daughter of God, bearing good fruit with the seed that likewise can produce good fruit in another if that person desires to eat!

 

Anyone who occasionally does bad or does bad consistently shows that the seed of God is not in the person.

 

(What is so good is this: A person can start out coming from bad seed, and then, through the New Birth, become a seed of Avraham, which is not only good seed, but seed that will produce good fruit. Avraham is the father of all who are, have been, and will be born of God.)

 

God always will connect the fruit with the seeds.

 

6.     Who is he in, “He shall be food to you …”? He is the fruit! The fruits of various green herbs and trees will be food to (and thus, for) humans. The fruit of the trees of the garden are all edible!

 

7.     Did humans eat meat at this time? No. They were originally designed to be vegetarian.

 

8.     For what varieties of creatures will the herbs and the fruits of the trees be for food? The following are included in the description:

 

• Humans
• Every living creature of the land
• Every flyer of the heavens
• Every creeper upon the land that has a living being

9.     What is a living (creature) of the land? It is every living creature that dwells on the land including creatures like cattle, beavers, horses, panthers, turtles, etc.

 

10.  What are included in every flyer of the heavens? This includes birds of all varieties, flying insects, etc.

 

11.  What are included in every creeper upon the land? This includes the insects, snakes, lizards, crawdads, etc.

 

12.  Why is “in which is a living being” added? This text explains that every living creature has a being; thus, they are living beings.

 

A being includes three parts:

 

• The physical body
• The soul (in which is found the personality installed by God and character that is determined by the creature itself)
• The spirit (which gives life to the physical body)

Humans are everlasting souls. Animals, birds and insects are temporary souls. All everlasting souls will be held everlastingly accountable for what they did and said.

 

13.  Are there examples of living creatures, flyers, and creepers that aren’t living beings? The answer is no, since dead creatures (like inanimate objects) aren’t living creatures.

 

14.  The next part of the text states, “every green of an herb is for food.” Is every herb truly for food? Aren’t some poisonous? The herbs that Elohim provided were not poisonous for the creatures that ate them. He also gave creatures instinct to know what to eat and what part of the plant to eat. Thus, every herb without exception was useful for food.

 

15.  The last statement is, “And he was so.” What was so? He was so! He included everything that Elohim said and did at this time. Everything that He pronounced occurred exactly as He pronounced it.

 

 

 

XI. Very Good! (verse 31)

 

Elohim now saw all that He had made. It was all very good! The evening came, and then came the morning: Day Sixth!

 

 

Questions

 

1.     What all had Elohim made? He made (including what He created, and what He did):

 

• The planet
• The heavens
• The firmament
• The waters gather into one place
• The dry land appear
• The light appear
• The firmament take its position
• Day and night
• The light sources (that lighten, divide between day and night, notify man of signs, appointments, days, and years)
• The large sea creatures
• The small sea creatures
• The plants of all kinds (trees and herbs)
• Fruits and seeds
• The animals including cattle, creepers, etc.
• The birds
• The insects (those that swarm, and those that do not)
• Man

He made other things that aren’t mentioned and that are very important to life on this planet. For example, the text doesn’t mention the fungi. Without fungi, there would not be life on this planet! The fungi are servants to plants and animals, and are very beautiful in so many cases!

 

2.     How can Elohim see all that He made? He sees everything in all directions and locations at all times! (He is omnivident!) He can do this very easily!

 

3.     Why does the text add very in front of good in verse 31? This creation was now finished! The individual parts were good, but His design included everything beneficially and productively working together. Nothing was finished until He had made man in His image! Thus, once He made man and told man his work (including serving the soil and subduing His creation), as well as what he could eat, this creation was finished! (There will be other smaller creations in the Bible!)

 

This completed design was very good! All things worked together very well!

 

4.     How many days are included from Genesis 1:1 to Genesis 1:31? There were multitudes of days that occurred between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2! The six days mentioned are from Genesis 1:3 to Genesis 1:31! We are not told the number of years of days that come before Genesis 1:3, but it is very great!

 

5.     Why did Elohim design days to start with the evening? He designed it this way because it is a reflection of what will happen in the End Times.

 

As a result of sin (described later in Genesis), darkness and death now dwells in His creation. The Tribulation (a time of great and terrible trouble many centuries from now) will be a time of great darkness, referring to both the shutting off of light for a while, and the other kind of darkness (spiritual darkness) when so many humans will do the worst evil humans have ever done.

 

After this time of great darkness will come the sunrise. Elohim Himself will come to Earth as the Messiah of Israel (the One anointed and assigned to a task: in this case, as the rescuer of Israel and all Saints). He will come in great light to save the world from darkness. Then will come the Millennium, which will be a time of all things working very well together under His rule and in His light!

 

Thus, every day pictures a miniature of what is coming: how Messiah will save, and how the darkness will end.