Genisis 1:1

SupaCat · Post by **SupaCat** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:12 am

Thought I'd mention it, since I don't know if it's known in other parts of the world. You know how genisis begins with 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth'? Guess what, according to professor Ellen van Wolde from Radboud university (Netherlands) the translation is wrong.

She says that the Hebrew word 'Bara' isn't create, but 'seperate'. So, it actually is 'In the beginning God seperated the heavens and the earth'. This would mean he brought order into the chaos. If conformed by other scientist, this could be a hard pill to swallow for the Christians.

Bible Translation Wrong — God Didn’t Create The Earth Says Academic Dvorak Uncensored: General interest observations and true web-log.

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 10:32 am

Not to rain on van Wolde's parade, but this has been known and debated back and forth for years. Just as has the fact that some references in Genesis to "God" are in plural ("im" ending), not singular. And the disparity between the two creation tales, one in which man and woman are created together, and one in which woman is created from man's rib.

And plenty of other stuff, too. Means nothing. People will make of the bible what they want, and the considerable majority choose to read it one way.

Tricky · Post by **Tricky** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 11:34 am

It's been on the news, radios and papers in these parts. Don't you just hate it when the media doesn't check out its sources..

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 1:45 pm

Tricky wrote:It's been on the news, radios and papers in these parts. Don't you just hate it when the media doesn't check out its sources..

I kind of expect it, especially on any in-depth subject far afield of their usual beat.

Fljotsdale · Post by **Fljotsdale** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:15 pm

The 'heavens and earth' of verse one is very similar to the later verses reporting that god 'divided light and darkness', 'the waters and the waters' (above and below 'the expanse' - ie, water suspended in the air and groundwater), and 'the water and the dry land'.
Genesis is actually a pretty interesting book, especially chapters 1 & 2because they repeat the same story in different ways. Gen 1:1 to 1:25 tell the story of vast events in brief; Gen 1:26 - 31 speak of the creation of Adam. Gen 2:1 - 6 repeats the previous creation story even more briefly; Gen 2:7 repeats the creation of Adam; Gen 2:8 - 24 tells of the creation of Eden and the placing of Adam within it, repeats the story of the creation of other living things, and tells of the creation of Eve.
It reads like a compilation of several versions of the same story from different sources.

There is quite a lot of repetition in the Bible, and not just in Genesis!

fable · Post by **fable** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 3:38 pm

Fljotsdale wrote:It reads like a compilation of several versions of the same story from different sources.

With changes between the sections. It's been repeatedly suggested over the years by scholars of this sort of thing that Genesis as we have it is actually a composite version of several older copies, that were joined somewhere around 2000 BCE when there was a Habiru priestly "conference" (for lack of a better term). This was done to rewrite Babylonian holy book originals of theirs to suit the culture's changes and growing orthodoxy. Presumably the effort if it ever occurred was never finished, because the glaring inconsistencies of Genesis have since been labeled "scripture" with a straight face. There are even whole books designed to glibly explain why the differences don't exist except in the eyes of the foolish or unfaithful.

Ode to a Grasshopper · Mon Oct 12, 2009 5:57 pm

fable wrote:Just as has the fact that some references in Genesis to "God" are in plural ("im" ending), not singular.

Guess that explains where all those extra people the children of Adam and Eve were supposed to have bred with came from.
And the platypus, that little bugger is right weird.

jklinders · Post by **jklinders** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 8:29 pm

While I certainly cannot call myself an expert, the translation issue is why if I am going to use holy books as a guidance on life, I'll stick to the general stuff. Get too specific and I would risk being caught up in someones social agenda. Several languages the bible was written in originally have been dead for so long a truly "accurate" translation is nothing more than a matter of opinion.