I discovered something fun today while translating my Hebrew - the meaning of Eden. Like many proper names, Eden has a meaning... and that meaning is joy, rapture, or even ecstasy. If you look at Genesis 2:8, it can be translated "And YHWH God planted a garden in Eden (meaning: joy, rapture) in/out of the east and he put there the man which he formed."
I asked my professor whether this could possibly be translated simply as "planted a garden in joy" and he said that it was clear from Genesis 2-3 that Eden is used as a proper name. However, names are significant in Hebrew, and it is clear that the name itself is derived from joy, rapture, luxury and pleasure. This name, Dr. Stone said, "captures the essence of this garden."
I am continually amazed by what I discover in my translations and study. It is an amazing thing that God created humanity and then immediately created a garden named Eden (joy) as a place for Adam to live. To me, this makes the creation story even more personal and moving. It is sometimes too easy to see God as a distant Creator, one who makes something and then calmly declares it good. But I think this passage - once we know the meaning of Eden as joy - makes the Creator more personal. I also don't think it's a coincidence that this is the passage that begins using Yahweh (the proper name of God) rather than the more distant Elohim. We use someone's name when we're in relationship, and it seems that this passage is starting to introduce Yahweh and show the relationship with his created people. This passage begins to show the reader the joy that God found in creating and breathing life into humanity, and how he desires everything good for us to the point of creating a garden named joy. It almost feels like God was so excited about the person he had created that he desired to make a special home for him.
One could go negative with this and think of how humanity then ruined the garden through sin... but ultimately the Bible says that one day there will be a new heaven and a new earth for redeemed humanity to live in.
I wonder if it will be named joy.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Genesis 1:1-13
The coolest thing about being able to translate from the Hebrew (or Greek) is being able to pick up on some of the nuances that translations just can't give you. Over the last couple days I've worked to translate Genesis 1:1-13. This might seem like an easy passage, and to some extent it is. When you get to those repeated, simple phrases ("and it was evening and it was morning," "and it was so," etc.), they're definitely easy to translate (and provide a nice break from tearing out your hair over the other stuff.
Before I begin, I want to point out that I am still very much a student. I could be wrong. I'm tossing out my ideas here to hopefully inspire discussion – or at least make you think a little. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. One thing I do know is that God honors our search for the truth, though we may wander along dead ends from time to time.
So that said, here are some things I've learned from the first 13 verses of Genesis.
1) Despite most translations saying "In the beginning," Genesis 1:1 is more literally translated "In a beginning, God created." Some (including my professor, Dr. Lawson Stone) have suggested that this could be turned into a temporal phrase, "When God began to create." Either way, I wonder why translations added a "the" which wasn't there. Maybe I'll learn that in class tomorrow.
2) When God creates the light and separates it from the darkness, there is a strong sense of naming in Genesis 1:5. In many translations of the English, it comes across somewhat weaker than in Hebrew. Compare "And God called the light 'day'" with "And God called to the light, 'Day." Ditto with "Night" and with "Sky" (Genesis 1:8) and with "Land/Earth" and "Seas" (Genesis 1:10). I could be wrong, but I get the feeling God didn't just casually call them something; he was giving them their names. God also named Adam (and Adam was given the high privilege of naming the animals). I don't think this in any way implies that creation (day, night, sky, earth and sea – or animals) is equally important to God as humanity, which is created in His image. But that doesn't mean the earth is unimportant either. He created it and it was good. It's important not to forget that – and that we are called to be stewards of this world.
3) Based on which verb forms the Hebrew uses, different nuances can be understood. A really fun one appears in Genesis 1:11. I won't go into all the gory details of conjugating the verb, but in the Hebrew there is the understanding that God did not cause the green plants (grass, etc.) to grow. He commanded the earth to do it. A very literal translation might be, "Let the earth cause itself to be green [or to sprout]..." I suppose it shouldn't surprise us that the earth was created to bring forth life. Do we really think that God causes every flower to bloom and every seed to fall and every plant to grow? Dr. Lawson Stone said something very interesting last semester: "Who is the better "programmer"? The one who can create something or the one who can create a world that can create or rewrite itself?" God created a world that can create. Not that the world is sentient or divine – I'm certainly not advocating pantheism – but I believe that looking at the world around us, and seeing the amazing things that the world produces and creates, shows us how wise and amazing the Creator is.
Before I begin, I want to point out that I am still very much a student. I could be wrong. I'm tossing out my ideas here to hopefully inspire discussion – or at least make you think a little. Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong. One thing I do know is that God honors our search for the truth, though we may wander along dead ends from time to time.
So that said, here are some things I've learned from the first 13 verses of Genesis.
1) Despite most translations saying "In the beginning," Genesis 1:1 is more literally translated "In a beginning, God created." Some (including my professor, Dr. Lawson Stone) have suggested that this could be turned into a temporal phrase, "When God began to create." Either way, I wonder why translations added a "the" which wasn't there. Maybe I'll learn that in class tomorrow.
2) When God creates the light and separates it from the darkness, there is a strong sense of naming in Genesis 1:5. In many translations of the English, it comes across somewhat weaker than in Hebrew. Compare "And God called the light 'day'" with "And God called to the light, 'Day." Ditto with "Night" and with "Sky" (Genesis 1:8) and with "Land/Earth" and "Seas" (Genesis 1:10). I could be wrong, but I get the feeling God didn't just casually call them something; he was giving them their names. God also named Adam (and Adam was given the high privilege of naming the animals). I don't think this in any way implies that creation (day, night, sky, earth and sea – or animals) is equally important to God as humanity, which is created in His image. But that doesn't mean the earth is unimportant either. He created it and it was good. It's important not to forget that – and that we are called to be stewards of this world.
3) Based on which verb forms the Hebrew uses, different nuances can be understood. A really fun one appears in Genesis 1:11. I won't go into all the gory details of conjugating the verb, but in the Hebrew there is the understanding that God did not cause the green plants (grass, etc.) to grow. He commanded the earth to do it. A very literal translation might be, "Let the earth cause itself to be green [or to sprout]..." I suppose it shouldn't surprise us that the earth was created to bring forth life. Do we really think that God causes every flower to bloom and every seed to fall and every plant to grow? Dr. Lawson Stone said something very interesting last semester: "Who is the better "programmer"? The one who can create something or the one who can create a world that can create or rewrite itself?" God created a world that can create. Not that the world is sentient or divine – I'm certainly not advocating pantheism – but I believe that looking at the world around us, and seeing the amazing things that the world produces and creates, shows us how wise and amazing the Creator is.
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