Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1 Schmitz-Translation (2018)

Transcription

1 Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1 Schmitz-Translation (2018) ב ר אש ית א Hebrew Text [1] בּ ר אשׁ ית בּ ר א א לה ים א ת ה שּׁ מ י ם ו א ת ה א ר ץ [2] ו ה אר ץ ה י ת ה ת הוּ ו ב הוּ ו ח שׁ ך ע ל פּ נ י ת הוֹם ו רוּח א לה ים מ ר ח פ ת ע ל פּ נ י ה מּ י ם [3] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י ה י אוֹר ו י ה י א ור [4] ו יּ ר א א לה ים א ת ה אוֹר כּ י טוֹב ו יּ ב דּ ל א לה ים בּ ין ה אוֹר וּב ין ה ח שׁ ך [5] ו יּ ק ר א א לה ים ל אוֹר יוֹם ו ל ח שׁ ך ק ר א ל י ל ה ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם א ח ד פ [6] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י ה י ר ק יע בּ תוֹ ך ה מּ י ם ו יה י מ ב דּ יל בּ ין מ י ם ל מ י ם [7] ו יּ ע שׂ א לה ים א ת ה ר ק יע ו יּ ב דּ ל בּ ין ה מּ י ם א שׁ ר מ תּ ח ת ל ר ק יע וּב ין ה מּ י ם א שׁ ר מ ע ל ל ר ק יע ו י ה י כ ן [8] ו יּ ק ר א א לה ים ל ר ק יע שׁ מ י ם ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם שׁ נ י פ [9] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י קּ ווּ ה מּ י ם מ תּ ח ת ה שּׁ מ י ם א ל מ קוֹם א ח ד ו ת ר א ה ה יּ בּ שׁ ה ו י ה י כ ן

2 [10] ו יּ ק ר א א לה ים ל יּ בּ שׁ ה א ר ץ וּל מ ק ו ה ה מּ י ם ק ר א י מּ ים ו יּ ר א א לה ים כּ י ט וב [11] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים תּ ד שׁ א ה אר ץ דּ שׁ א ע שׂ ב מ ז ר יע ז ר ע ע ץ פּ ר י ע שׂ ה פּ ר י ל מ ינוֹ א שׁ ר ז ר עוֹ בוֹ ע ל ה אר ץ ו י ה י כ ן [12] ו תּוֹצ א ה אר ץ דּ שׁ א ע שׂ ב מ ז ר יע ז ר ע ל מ ינ הוּ ו ע ץ ע שׂ ה פּ ר י א שׁ ר ז ר עוֹ בוֹ ל מ ינ הוּ ו יּ ר א א לה ים כּ י ט וב [13] ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם שׁ ל ישׁ י פ [14] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י ה י מ א ר ת בּ ר ק יע ה שּׁ מ י ם ל ה ב דּ יל בּ ין ה יּוֹם וּב ין ה לּ י ל ה ו ה יוּ ל א ת ת וּל מוֹע ד ים וּל י מ ים ו שׁ נ ים [15] ו ה יוּ ל מ אוֹר ת בּ ר ק יע ה שּׁ מ י ם ל ה א יר ע ל ה אר ץ ו י ה י כ ן [16] ו יּ ע שׂ א לה ים א ת שׁ נ י ה מּ א ר ת ה גּ ד ל ים א ת ה מּ אוֹר ה גּ ד ל ל מ מ שׁ ל ת ה יּוֹם ו א ת ה מּ אוֹר ה קּ ט ן ל מ מ שׁ ל ת ה לּ י ל ה ו א ת ה כּוֹכ ב ים [17] ו יּ תּ ן א ת ם א לה ים בּ ר ק יע ה שּׁ מ י ם ל ה א יר ע ל ה א ר ץ [18] ו ל מ שׁ ל בּ יּוֹם וּב לּ י ל ה וּ ל ה ב דּ יל בּ ין ה אוֹר וּב ין ה ח שׁ ך ו יּ ר א א לה ים כּ י ט וב [19] ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם ר ב יע י פ 2

3 [20] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים י שׁ ר צוּ ה מּ י ם שׁ ר ץ נ פ שׁ ח יּ ה ו עוֹף י עוֹפ ף ע ל ה אר ץ ע ל פּ נ י ר ק יע ה שּׁ מ י ם [21] ו יּ ב ר א א לה ים א ת ה תּ נּ ינ ם ה גּ ד ל ים ו א ת כּ ל נ פ שׁ ה ח יּ ה ה ר מ שׂ ת א שׁ ר שׁ ר צוּ ה מּ י ם ל מ ינ ה ם ו א ת כּ ל עוֹף כּ נ ף ל מ ינ הוּ ו יּ ר א א לה ים כּ י ט וב [22] ו י ב ר ך א ת ם א לה ים ל אמ ר פּ רוּ וּר בוּ וּמ ל אוּ א ת ה מּ י ם בּ יּ מּ ים ו ה עוֹף י ר ב בּ א ר ץ [23] ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם ח מ ישׁ י פ [24] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים תּוֹצ א ה אר ץ נ פ שׁ ח יּ ה ל מ ינ הּ בּ ה מ ה ו ר מ שׂ ו ח י תוֹ א ר ץ ל מ ינ הּ ו י ה י כ ן [25] ו יּ ע שׂ א לה ים א ת ח יּ ת ה אר ץ ל מ ינ הּ ו א ת ה בּ ה מ ה ל מ ינ הּ ו א ת כּ ל ר מ שׂ ה א ד מ ה ל מ ינ הוּ ו יּ ר א א לה ים כּ י ט וב [26] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים נ ע שׂ ה אד ם בּ צ ל מ נוּ כּ ד מוּת נוּ ו י ר דּוּ ב ד ג ת ה יּ ם וּב עוֹף ה שּׁ מ י ם וּב בּ ה מ ה וּב כ ל ה אר ץ וּב כ ל ה ר מ שׂ ה ר מ שׂ ע ל ה א ר ץ [27] ו יּ ב ר א א לה ים א ת ה אד ם בּ צ ל מוֹ בּ צ ל ם א לה ים בּ ר א א תוֹ ז כ ר וּנ ק ב ה בּ ר א א ת ם [28] ו י ב ר ך א ת ם א לה ים ו יּ אמ ר ל ה ם א לה ים פּ רוּ וּר בוּ וּמ ל אוּ א ת ה אר ץ ו כ ב שׁ ה וּר דוּ בּ ד ג ת ה יּ ם וּב עוֹף ה שּׁ מ י ם וּב כ ל ח יּ ה ה ר מ שׂ ת ע ל ה א ר ץ 3

4 [29] ו יּ אמ ר א לה ים ה נּ ה נ ת תּ י ל כ ם א ת כּ ל ע שׂ ב ז ר ע ז ר ע א שׁ ר ע ל פּ נ י כ ל ה אר ץ ו א ת כּ ל ה ע ץ א שׁ ר בּוֹ פ ר י ע ץ ז ר ע ז ר ע ל כ ם י ה י ה ל אכ ל ה [30] וּ ל כ ל ח יּ ת ה אר ץ וּל כ ל עוֹף ה שּׁ מ י ם וּל כ ל רוֹמ שׂ ע ל ה אר ץ א שׁ ר בּוֹ נ פ שׁ ח יּ ה א ת כּ ל י ר ק ע שׂ ב ל אכ ל ה ו י ה י כ ן [31] ו יּ ר א א לה ים א ת כּ ל א שׁ ר ע שׂ ה ו ה נּ ה טוֹב מ א ד ו י ה י ע ר ב ו י ה י ב ק ר יוֹם ה שּׁ שּׁ י פ [1] Bərêšît bārā elōhîm êt ha-šāmayim wə-êt hā'-āres. [2] Wə-hā- āres hāyətāh tōhū wā-bōhū wə-hōšekh al-pənê təhōm wə-rūah 'elōhîm mərahepet al-pənê ha-māyim. [3] Wa-yōmer elōhîm yəhî ōr; way-hî ōr. [4] Wa-yar elōhîm 'et ha-'ōr kî-tōb wa-yabdêl elōhîm bên ha-'ōr ū-bên ha-hōšekh. [5] Wa-yiqrā elōhîm lā- ōr yōm, wə-la-hōšekh qārā lā-yəlāh; way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer - yōm ehād. [6] Wa-yōmer elō hîm: yəhî rāqîa bətōkh ha-māyim wî-hî mabdîl bên mayim lā-māyim. [7] Wa-ya aś elōhîm et hārāqîa wa-yabdêl bên ha-māyim ašer mitahat lā-rāqîa ū-bên hamāyim ašer mê al lā-rāqîa way-hî kên. [8] Wa-yiqrā elōhîm lā-rāqîa šāmāyim; way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer yōm šênî. [9] Wa-yōmer elōhîm yiqāwū ha-mayim mitahat ha-šāmayim el-māqōm ehād wə-têrā eh ha-yabāšāh way-hî kên. [10] Wa-yiqrā elōhîm la-yabāšāh eres ū-ləmiqwêh ha-mayim qārā yamîm; wa-yar elōhîm kî-tōb. 4

5 [11] Wa-yōmer elōhîm tadšê hā-'āres deše êśeb mazrîa zera ês pərî ōśeh pərî ləmînō ašer zar ō-bō al-hā- āres way-hî kên. [12] Wa-tōsê hā-'āres deše êśeb mazrîa zera ləmînêhū wə- ês ōśeh pərî ašer zar ō-bō ləmînêhū; wa-yar elō hîm kî-tōb. [13] Way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer yōm šəlîšî. [14] Wa-yōmer elōhîm yəhî mə ōrōt birqîa ha-šāmayim lə-habdîl bên ha-yōm ū-bên halāyəlāh wə-hāyū lə- ōtōt ūləmō adîm ū-ləyāmîm wə-šānîm. [15] Wə-hāyū lim ōrōt birqîa ha-šāmayim lə-hā îr al-hā- āres way-hî kên. [16] Waya aś elōhîm et šənê ha-mə ōrōt ha-gədōlîm et ha-mā ōr ha-gādōl lə-memšelet hayōm wə et ha-mā ōr ha-qātōn lə-memšelet ha-laylāh wə êt ha-kōkhābîm. [17] Wa-yitên ōtām elōhîm birqîa ha-šāmāyim lə-hā îr al-hā- āres. [18] Wə-limšōl ba-yōm ū-ba-laylāh ū-lahabdîl bên ha ōr ū-bên hahōšekh wa-yar elōhîm kîtōb. [19] Way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer yōm rəbî î. [20] Wa-yōmer elōhîm yišrəsū ha-mayim šeres nepeš ha-yāh wə- ōp yə ōpêp al-hā- āres al- pənê rəqîa ha-šāmāyim. [21] Wa-yibrā elōhîm et hatanînim ha-gədōlîm wə êt kāl-nepeš ha-hayāh hā-rōmeśet ašer šārəsū ha-mayim ləmînêhem wə êt kāl- ōp kānāp ləmînêhū wa-yar elōhîm kî-tōb. [22] Way-bārekh ōtām elōhîm lêmōr pərū ū-rəbū ū-mil ū et-ha-mayim ba-yamîm wə-hā- ōp yireb bā- āres. [23] Way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer yōm hamîšî. [24] Wa-yōmer elōhîm tōsê hā- āres nepeš hayāh ləmînāh bəhêmāh wā-remes wəhaytō- eres ləmînāh way-hî kên. [25] Wa-ya aś elōhîm et hayat hā āres ləmînāh wə- et ha-bəhêmāh ləmînāh wə- êt kālremeś hā- adāmāh ləmînêhū wa-yar elōhîm kî-tōb. [26] Wa-yōmer elōhîm na ăśeh ādām bə-salmênū kidmūtênū wə-yirdū bidgat ha-yām ū-bə- ōp ha-šāmayim ū-ba-bəhêmāh ū-bə-kāl hā- āres ū-bə-khāl hā-remeś hā-rōmêś al-hā- āres. 5

6 [27] Wa-yibrā elōhîm et-hā- ādām bə-salmō bə-selem elōhîm bārā ōtō zākhār ū-nəqêbāh bārā ōtām. [28] Way-bārekh ōtām elōhîm wa-yōmer lāhem elōhîm pərū ū-rəbū ū-mil ū et-hā- āres wəkhibšuhā ū-rədū bidgat ha-yām ū-bə- ōp ha-šāmayim ū-bə-khāl hayāh hā-rōmêśet alhā- āres. [29] Wa-yōmer elōhîm hinêh nātatî lākhem et-kāl- êśeb zōrêa zera ašer al-pənê khāl- hā- āres wə- et kāl-hā ês ašer-bō pərî ês zōrêa zāra lākhem yihyeh lə- ākhlāh. [30] ū-lə-khāl-hayat hā- āres ū-lə-khāl- ōp ha-šāmayim ū-lə-khōl rōmêś al-hā- āres, ašer-bō nepeš hayāh et-kāl-yereq êśeb lə- ākhlāh way-hî kên. [31] Wa-yar elōhîm et-kāl- ašer āśāh wə-hinêh tōb mə ōd; way-hî ereb way-hî bōqer yōm hašišî. Annotations: [1] reshit) in the beginning (cp. :בּ ר אשׁ ית God :א לה ים the heavens :ה שּׁ מ י ם the earth :ה א ר ץ ἐν ἀρχή ποιέω ὁ θεός ὁ οὐρανός καί ὁ γῆ Greek Septuagint ἐν ἀρχή: in [the] beginning (ἀρχή shows here the first cause or the very source of everything) οὐρανός: heaven γῆ: earth 6

7 [2] tohu-wa-bohu: formless and empty see Schmitz translation of Gen 1:1 and 1:2 in Yiddish (2018) ruah: breath [πνεῦμα], God s spirit see Schmitz translation of Gen 1:1 and 1:2 in Yiddish (2018) darkness :חשׁ ך face :פּ נ ה to grow, to move :ר ח ף [3] to speak, to say : אמ ר καί εἶπον ὁ θεός γίγνομαι φῶς καί γίγνομαι φῶς Greek Septuagint γίγνομαι [Ionic: γίνομαι]: to become; to be made φῶς: light [4] wa-yar: and saw - אה :ר to see wa-yabdel: and divided - :בּ ד ל to divide that :כּ י good :טוֹב between :בּ ין καί ὁράω ὁ θεός ὁ φῶς ὅτι καλός καί διαχωρίζω ὁ θεός ἀνά μέσος ὁ φῶς καί ἀνά μέσος ὁ σκότος Greek Septuagint ὁράω [Ionic: ὁρέω]: to see, to perceive, to feel ὅτι: after verbs of perception expressing a fact, might be translated in English with "that" 7

8 διαχωρίζω: to seperate μέσος: the middle, between, amidst σκότος: darkness [5] wa-yiqra: and called א :ק ר to call night :ל יל evening, sunset :ע ר ב morning, break of the day, sunrise :בּ ק ר one :א ח ד καί καλέω ὁ θεός ὁ φῶς ἡμέρα καί ὁ σκότος καλέω νύξ καί γίγνομαι ἑσπέρα καί γίγνομαι πρωΐ ἡμέρα εἷς Greek Septuagint καλέω: to call ἡμέρα [Ionic: ἡμέρη, Doric: ᾱ μέρᾱ]: day νύξ: night ἑσπέρα: evening πρωΐ: morning εἷς [Doric: ἦς]: one cp. ἓν, ἕνα [6] ( אמ ר (cp. wa-yomer: and said yehi: let there be mayim: water(s) yim indicates the plural wi-hi: and there be, cp. -ה י ה to be, to become 8

9 [7] wa-ya as: and made :ע שׂ ה make, accomplish asher: which, that mitahat: under, beneath mê al: above, upon firmament :ר ק יע divide, seperate :בּ ד ל [8] shamayim is plural of :שׁ מ ה heaven, Heaven, sky sheni: two I decided to translate the passage in (5) as and there was evening, then morning because it was the beginning of the cycle of day and night, so it just started, while on the second day, the cycle was already working, so it shows that evening and morning already come, so that I prefer here and then came the evening, then the morning even though in (5) and (8), the Hebrew words are exactly identical, so I had to decide between a literal translation of the words to keep the idiom, or to change the translation to better understanding: I decided for making it more understandable rather than taking literacy through the lines. However, of course, this means that it is my interpretation, since I assume that the cycle of day and night already exists as we know it, but remember that God is God, he can still decide about how long day and night are and when they come, so on the one hand, day and night were God s will, but on the other hand God saw his creation and was satisfied. He saw what he was doing and it was good, so for Him, probably, the cycle of day and night was already perfect and he let day and night do 9

10 what they ought to do to come and to go, to always exchange each other and switch from one to another, so the idea of coming and going can be interpreted into the translation. The Hebrew text uses the plural form of heaven or sky. Using the plural in Gen 1:1 is very useful, since it gives testimony that God created the Heaven realm and Earth realm as two distinct places, and the heaven realm has several layers in itself, so to say several heavens as of old traditional belief. However, to use the plural in the earth realm as in Gen 1:8 makes no real sense, since the sky is only the top to keep the water away from flooding the Earth. So it either is a human-made mistake when copying the texts, thus falsifying God s original word or it means that the sky itself is not one piece, but that an amount of together knotted skies are necessary to keep the water away. [9] to wait, to look for, to collect :ק ו ה place :מ ק מ ה to see, to look, to consider, to perceive :ר אה dry land :י בּ שׁ ה [10] I decided to integrate the and it was good in Gen 1:4 into the phrase, since it explicitly refers to the light, while in Gen 1:10 the part refers to the whole creation of the earth until this moment that God saw that it was good and therefore more than to one thing. Additionally, unlike in Gen 1:4, the phrase in Gen 1:10 really stands in the end to frame the whole scene while in Gen 1:4 it is in the middle of the verse giving an explicit reference. 10

11 [11] to cause to sprout, grow green :דּ שׁ א grass :דּ שׁ א herbs, green plants :ע שׂ ב to sow, to be sown :ז ר ע seed, semen :ז ר ע tree, wood :ע ץ fruit :פּ ר י to do, to make, to produce, to use :ע שׂ ה kind of a species :מ ין relative pronoun :א שׁ ר [12] The mentioning that God saw that it was good actually means that God was satisfied with His creation. It probably does not only refer to the single things mentioned here, but to the whole creation. Whatever God added to the creation made the creation even better and God was satisfied about what he saw. [13] καί γίγνομαι ἑσπέρα καί γίγνομαι πρωΐ ἡμέρα τρίτος Greek Septuagint καί γίγνομαι ἑσπέρα: and then evening takes place 11

12 καί γίγνομαι πρωΐ: and then morning takes place ἡμέρα τρίτος: third day [14] light :מ א ר ה day :יוֹם night :ל יל sign, signal, remembrance, warning, omen :אוֹת season :מוֹע ד ה year :שׁ נ ה [15] καί εἰμί εἰς φαῦσις ἐν ὁ στερέωμα ὁ οὐρανός ὥστε φαίνω ἐπί ὁ γῆ καί γίγνομαι οὕτως Greek Septuagint φαῦσις: lighting, illumination στερέωμα: firmament ὥστε (compound word made of hos + te): as (expresses power of a thing) [16] great :גּ ד ל rule, govern :מ מ שׁ ל ה 12

13 stars :כּוֹכ ב [17] give, put, set :נ ת ן to give light :ל ה א יר [20] increase, multiply :שׁ ר ץ creature :שׁ ר ץ life :ח י birds :עוֹף fly :עוּף [21] dragon, serpent, sea monster :תּ נּ ים to move :ר מ שׂ to wing :כּ נ ף [22] to bless :בּ ר ך 13

14 to say : אמ ר to bear fruits, be fruitful :פּ ר ה to become many, to become numerous :ר ב ה to fill :מ ל א sea :י ם [24] creature, person, life, soul :נ פ שׁ living, alive :ח י animal, beast, livestock :בּ ה מ ה : moving things ר מ שׂ A problem in the text here is that there are two times the word for beast or a wild animal (behemah and hay), but it seems that at first he made animals which can be found in masses and lifestocked and therefore probably be tamed (Nutztiere/ Haustiere), and some Bible versions even propose cattle as translation (KJV, NIV) though the creation of such a very specific animal in contrast to all other animals seems a bit weird to me, while the last word for beast might refer to wild hunting animals in the sense of wild predators that cannot be tamed and used as farming animals (Raubtiere). Maybe one could say, he first made the prey before the predator, though this already goes too far to put it in the translation. [26] to do, to make, to produce :ע שׂ ה 14

15 image :צ ל ם likeness :דּ מוּת to rule, to have dominion :ר ד ה fish :דּ ג ה all, the whole :כּוֹל to creep, to move :ר מ שׂ things creeping things, moving :ר מ שׂ καί εἶπον ὁ θεός ποιέω ἄνθρωπος κατά εἰκών ἡμέτερος καί κατά ὁμοίωσις καί ἄρχω ὁ ἰχθύς ὁ θάλασσα καί ὁ πετεινόν ὁ οὐρανός καί ὁ κτῆνος καί πᾶς ὁ γῆ καί πᾶς ὁ ἑρπετόν ὁ ἕρπω ἐπί ὁ γῆ Greek Septuagint κατά: downwards, against, through, during, in, according to εἰκών: image ἡμέτερος [Doric: ᾱ μέτερος]: our, ours ὁμοίωσις: likeness ἄρχω: govern, rule, command ἰχθύς: fish θάλασσα: sea πετεινόν: bird οὐρανός: heaven, sky κτῆνος: a domestic animal πᾶς: all, every, whole ἑρπετόν: reptile, snake, creeping animal 15

16 ἕρπω: to move, to crawl ἐπί ὁ γῆ: on the ground, on the earth [27] oto et (acc) otam et (acc) male :ז כ ר female :נ ק ב ה καί ποιέω ὁ θεός ὁ ἄνθρωπος κατά εἰκών θεός ποιέω αὐτός ἄρσην καί θῆλυς ποιέω αὐτός Greek Septuagint αὐτός [Cretan: ἀϝτός]: self ἄρσην [Attic: ἄρρην, Aeolic/ Cretan: ἔρσην]: male, masculine, strong θῆλυς: woman, feminine, soft, tender ποιέω [Doric: ποιϝέω]: create, produce [28] to subdue :כּ ב שׁ καί εὐλογέω αὐτός ὁ θεός λέγω αὐξάνω καί πληθύνω καί πληρόω ὁ γῆ καί κατακυριεύω αὐτός καί ἄρχω ὁ ἰχθύς ὁ θάλασσα καί ὁ πετεινόν ὁ οὐρανός καί πᾶς ὁ κτῆνος καί πᾶς ὁ γῆ καί πᾶς ὁ ἑρπετόν ὁ ἕρπω ἐπί ὁ γῆ Greek Septuagint εὐλογέω: praise, bless, speak well (eu+logos) - λέγω: I speak, to speak 16

17 αὐξάνω: make grow, increase (cp. ἀέξω) πληθύνω: increase, multiply πληρόω: to fill κατακυριεύω: exercise dominion [29] behold, see :ה נּ ה to give, to grant :נ ת ן every :כּוֹל plant :ע שׂ ב tree :ע ץ to be, to become, to exist :ה י ה food : אכ ל ה καί εἶπον ὁ θεός ἰδού δίδωμι σύ πᾶς χόρτος σπόριμος σπείρω σπέρμα ὅς εἰμί ἐπάνω πᾶς ὁ γῆ καί πᾶς ξύλον ὅς ἔχω ἐν ἑαυτοῦ καρπός σπέρμα σπόριμος σύ εἰμί εἰς βρῶσις Greek Septuagint ἰδού: behold δίδωμι: give, present, offer (cp. didomai) σύ [Doric: τύ, Epic: τύνη]: you χόρτος: pasture, grass, food σπόριμος: sown, sown fields σπείρω: to sow σπέρμα: seed 17

18 ὅς: who, which, that εἰμί [Cretan: ἠμῐ ]: to be, to exist, to be alive ἐπάνω: above, higher, more than ἔχω: keep charge of, to hold, contain ἑαυτοῦ [Doric: αὐταύτου, Ionic: ἑωυτοῦ, Attic: αὑτοῦ ]: myself, yourself, himself, herself, etc. (for all kinds of selfs) καρπός: fruit, harvest, produce βρῶσις: food [30] green, greenness :י ר ק καί πᾶς ὁ θηρίον ὁ γῆ καί πᾶς ὁ πετεινόν ὁ οὐρανός καί πᾶς ἑρπετόν ὁ ἕρπω ἐπί ὁ γῆ ὅς ἔχω ἐν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχή ζωή πᾶς χόρτος χλωρός εἰς βρῶσις καί γίγνομαι οὕτως Greek Septuagint θηρίον: wild animal (ther animal +ion, cp. therioma) πετεινόν: bird (cp. peteinos) ἑρπετόν [Aeolic: ὄρπετον]: living being, reptile, snake, crawling animals (cp. serpent) ἕρπω: to crawl (cp. Latin serpo ) ζωή: living (cp. zô to live) [31] καί ὁράω ὁ θεός ὁ πᾶς ὅσος ποιέω καί ἰδού καλός λίαν καί γίγνομαι ἑσπέρα καί γίγνομαι πρωΐ ἡμέρα ἕκτος Greek Septuagint λίαν [Ionic: λῑήν]: very 18

19 Translation by Timo Schmitz: [1] In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. [2] And the Earth was without form (=formless) and without content (=empty) and darkness was on the face of the abyss and the breath of God moved on the face of the waters. [3] And God said Let there be light and there was light. [4] And God saw the light which was good, and God divided the light in the midst from the darkness. [Alternatively: and God separated the light from the darkness.] [5] And God called the light day, and He called the darkness night; and there was evening, then morning Day One. [6] And God said Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters and through dividing water from the waters. [7] And God made the firmament by dividing the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so. [8] And God called the firmament Heavens; and then came the evening, then the morning Day Two. [9] And God said Let the waters under the Heavens be collected in one place and let appear the dry land, and it was so. [10] And God called the dry [or: that which was dry] land, and the collected water mass He called sea, and God saw that it was good. [11] And God said Let the Earth grow green, seeds of grass and herbs be sown, fruit trees be sown with fruits of their kind who bear seeds in themselves, and it was so. [12] And the Earth brought out grass, and plants bearing seeds according to their kind, and trees bearing fruits with seeds in them according to their kind, and God saw that it was good. [13] And then there was evening, then morning Day Three. [14] And God said Let there be lights in the expanse of the Heavens to divide from between day and night. And let there be signs for the seasons, the days and the years. [15] And make them lights in the firmament to give light upon the Earth, and it was so. [16] And God made two lights. The greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule the night and He also made the stars. [17] And God placed them in the heaven s firmament to give light on the earth. [18] And to rule over the day and over the night and to divide among the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. [19] And then there was evening, then morning Day Four. [20] And God said Let the water bring creatures which have life, and birds that fly above the earth in the firmament. [21] And God created great sea creatures and every living creature that 19

20 moves multiplied in the waters according to their kind; and every bird winged according to its kind; and God saw that it was good. [22] And God blessed them saying: Be fruitful and become many (=multiply) and fill the waters in the seas and let the birds be many (=multiply) on the earth. [23] And then there was evening, and then morning Day Five. [24] And God said Let the earth bring [forth] living creatures according to their kind: tamed animals [or animals in hordes], creeping and gliding beings, and wild animals on the earth according to their kind and it was so. [25] And God made living-beings on earth according to their kind and livestock according to their kind and every gliding animal [every animal that glides or creeps on the earth] according to its kind; and God saw, that it was good. [26] And God said: Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the skies, and over the livestock and all over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. [27] So God made man in His own image in the Image of God he created them male and female. [28] And God blessed them and said to them Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue and exercise dominion over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the skies and over every thing that moves [or creeps] on the earth. [29] And God said: I have given you every plant bearing a seed which is all over the face on the earth and every tree in which is a fruit containing seeds, it shall be for food. [30] And to every living-being on the earth, and to every bird in the skies and to everything that moves on the earth in which is life [a soul] and thus has a life, I have given green plants for food and it was so. [31] And God saw all that he accomplished and saw that it was good. And then there was evening, and then morning Day Six. Annotations to the translation: In the Jewish understanding, there are two different understandings of creation. One is creation which equals separation and setting aside, and the other one is making (cp. Schmitz summary on Section One of the Sefer Ha-Bahir). For example the darkness was already there, so God made light, but the heaven and earth was created through setting things aside out of the darkness, and then on the earth there was chaos and emptiness, though this emptiness probably was the first substance which means that chaos and non-chaos was set both created through separating and setting aside. So the first act where God had to make something through His will was light. In the same way, God made human-beings, but he created men and women through separating 20

21 human-beings. So human-beings first had to be made through the will of God, but the gender was created through setting aside (distinction). The word create in Hebrew is bara, and appears as wa-yibra (and he created) as well. If we take the Greek text into account, we can also say he separated the strong and the tender, since man and woman in Greek are ἀνδρὸς and γυνή, though in the Bible these two words refer to husband and wife. Strictly spoken, the word for God which is elohim is a plural word. I guess that for this reason, when he speaks that human-beings shall be in our image, he actually means in His image, since God is in the plural form, the reference is plural, too. The very early tribes each had their own God, which then became a common god, later called the One, though Yahwists believe that God cannot be further divided. As David Sugimoto states: According to the most widely accepted theory among researchers in recent years, monotheism became clearly conceived around the period of Babylonian captivity; prior to this, the Israelites were polytheistic, similar to the Canaanites. Researchers, such as Julius Wellhausen, who maintain a position of early Biblical criticism, regard that during the period of the patriarchs, the Israelites believed in animism and polytheism, which later changed to ethical monotheism during the period of the prophets, and pure monotheism during the period of captivity. The background behind this understanding is the theory of evolution in European society. In essence, according to the theory of primitive monotheism, the gods that originally ruled specific cities reached the pinnacle in the hierarchy of gods due to the expansion of the territories of nation states (David Sugimoto, The Formation of Yahwistic Monotheism: an Archaeological Approach, 13 February 2016). Unlike Yahwists who called their God Yahwe, the term Elohim was used by the Elohists, even though a common Elohist source school of belief or thought is doubted today and the term was probably used by several independent schools or scholars who brought in fragments or whose fragments were used. Timo Schmitz, 30 April