Why the Verb אדב Does Not Mean ‘to Create’ in Genesis 1.1-2.4a
The linguistic and textual examination of the seven usages of the verb אדב in Genesis 1 leads to the conclusion that the verb אדב in Genesis 1 does not mean ‘to create’ but ‘to separate’. This hypothesis is subsequently tested against external evidence from cognate literature in Mesopotamia. In...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2009
|
| In: |
Journal for the study of the Old Testament
Year: 2009, Volume: 34, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-23 |
| Further subjects: | B
Hebrew Bible
B Creation B Mesopotamian creation texts B Cosmology B bara’ |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The linguistic and textual examination of the seven usages of the verb אדב in Genesis 1 leads to the conclusion that the verb אדב in Genesis 1 does not mean ‘to create’ but ‘to separate’. This hypothesis is subsequently tested against external evidence from cognate literature in Mesopotamia. In these Mesopotamian accounts of creation, the opening lines often describe the (divine) acts of separation of heaven and earth. The Sumerian verb bad and the Akkadian verb parāsu employed in these texts designate clearly ‘to separate’. Textual evidence from the Hebrew Bible appears to support this hypothesis, too, for example, the fact that in the Hebrew Bible the noun ‘creator’ is never expressed with the participle of אדב , but always with the participle of other verbs. Thus, based on internal and external linguistic and textual evidence and on a controlled argumentation, it is highly plausible and very likely that the type of action expressed by the verb אדב in Genesis 1 is of a very concrete, spatial and physical character, and can be rendered by ‘to separate’. Finally, an analysis is made of the differences between לידבה and אדב . |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1476-6728 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the Old Testament
|
| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0309089209348155 |