Scroll to Scroll:

Todays Parsha #1: Bereshit (In the Beginning)

1) Meaning of this weeks Torah portion and summary of contents:
Bereshit means in the beginning of course. We start with the 6 days of creation
with Abba YHWH resting on the Shabbat day. After their expulsion from paradise,
Adam and Eve have two sons, Cain and Abel and of course the former kills the latter.
Afterwards, Cain flees Abba YHWHs presence, first to Nod and then he goes build a
city. As the human race begins to spread throughout the earth, the first ten
generations are recounted and the life of righteous Noah is introduced.
New Bonus Teaching Just up
The Latest in the Walking Dedicated Men SeriesFrom Joseph to Moses!
Go to the Teachings Tab and select Free Analytical Teachings. Enjoy!
2) Parsha (English-Genesis 1:1-6:8). This week we will read the entire portion.
3) Play by Play commentary where appropriate.
4) Point out key Hebrew words/terms. Color Commentary:

Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve'et ha'arets.

Veha'arets hayetah tohu vavohu vechoshech al-peney tehom veruach
Elohim merachefet al-peney hamayim.
Vayomer Elohim yehi-or vayehi-or.
Vayar Elohim et-ha'or ki-tov vayavdel Elohim beyn ha'or uveyn
hachoshech.
Notes on the Special Use of Targums for this Parsha:
To celebrate recycling back to Genesis, I am adding notes from the Targum studies of
this Torah portion. Targums are translations with some commentary done on the Hebrew
Tanakh in the Aramaic language. These Targums are NOT the same sources as the
Aramaic (Peshitta) Tanakh which is complete, whereas these Targums come from
different periods of time and different people and are fragmentary.
The need for Targums arose after the Captivity in Babylon as the Jews became more
fluent in Aramaic as an everyday language. Hebrew more and more became a liturgical
language that had to be translated into their dialects. The Targums used here are known

as Onkelos, Jonathan (not the same Jonathan ben Uzziel who did the Prophets) and
Jerusalem. Also the Septuagint, the Dead Sea Scrolls and other sources were consulted
and compared. Here is some more background on this literature. This material is
excerpted from my personal Genesis translation also.
Meet the Scholars at the Round Table
One image that I have often conjured up in my imagination while working on a long and
painstaking project like this one is being seated at a table with the greatest linguistic
minds that the world has ever produced. For the AENT, my imagination driftedand still
doesto the luminaries in that area: William Norton, John Gwynn, CF Burney, CC
Torrey, and so on.
Since I cannot resurrect the dead, the next best thing is to meet these men through their
writings and then see how those sources would speak to both us today and to each other.
Also, because I would be more than content to just be the proverbial fly on the wall and
learn from them, my commentary is often secondary to theirs. What I mean is, they are
the ones commenting on the Tanakh whereas I view my primary task as to comment on
their commentary. So who are the mighty Targumists whose work has been so influential
for so long? Lets meet our round table of guests that have come from the mists of
time to sit with us:
Onkelos:
This man, also known by the Greek name Aquila (ca. 35-120 CE), is held in extremely
high esteem by traditional Judaism. It is interesting to note that the man who is held to
have written not just this Targum on the Torah that is of the highest quality but also a
Greek translation of the Torah that many think superseded the Septuagint, was born into
Roman royalty. The Talmud tractate Gittin 56b states that Onkelos was a nephew of the
Emperor Titus, the very man who destroyed Jerusalem and her Temple in 70 CE.
Onkelos had turned his back on his noble roots and rejected all paganism, becoming one
of the most successful proselytes of all time. His Targum is highly prized as being very
literal and faithful to the Hebrew.
It is also said in the Talmud, in Avodah Zara 11a, that the Roman Emperor became
enraged when he heard his own nephew had converted. According to the story, two
legions of Roman soldiers were sent to arrest Onkelos, only to have those legions
themselves convert to Judaism after Onkelos taught them Torah, though presumably in
the Greek or Latin languages that he and they shared.
As a result the Talmud in Mesachet Berachot 8a also commands that where the Mikra
(Torah) is read twice, the Targum (Onkelos) should be read once.
Jonathan ben Uzziel:
Onkelos counterpart in many ways is Jonathan ben Uzziel, who wrote the authoritative
Targum on the Major Prophets. The great rabbi Hillel the First is said to have trained up

eighty disciples just before the Common Era. Jonathan was considered the greatest of
these disciples.1 To put a more familiar analogy into play here, if Hillel were the
Mashiyach, Jonathan would be considered his Peter, or chief successor. Incidentally, it is
worth noting that the smallest disciple on Hillels list was Yochanan ben Zakkai, who
is the man most responsible for reconstituting Judaism into its current Rabbinic form
after it almost went extinct after the First Jewish Revolt. If thats the exploits of the least
of Hillels group, one can only imagine what the greatest of them was like. The Talmud
even goes so far as to have Hillels greatest student praised by Rabbi Shammai, who was
the fiercest critic of Hillels school that ever existed.
Jonathan ha Qaton (Pseudo-Jonathan) & The Jerusalem Targum:
It is a very common practice in Jewish literature for a writer to compose in the name of a
great past master. Such is what happened with the man most scholars call Pseudo
Jonathan, author of the other complete ancient paraphrase of Five Books of Moses.
Whether it was simply the case of a man having two very common names or if he
deliberately called himself Jonathan ben Uzziel after the previous one is a matter of
debate.2 However, even the traditional sources are very clear he is not the same man who
did the authoritative Targum on the Prophets. I have therefore dubbed him ha Qaton,
meaning, the Small. Such a designation is not meant to demean his work, only to be
used in comparison with the greater Elder whose name he bears. I think, personally, that
it is preferable to calling him Fake Jonathan, because he might have really had that
name and his work is meritorious in its own right.
Jonathan ha Qatons Targum, also known in previous times as the Palestinian Targum, is
much freer in style than either Onkelos or Jonathan ben Uzziels work. It also has a
much greater propensity to go off on tangents and insert legendary material.
Nevertheless, it also shows us how some ancients interpreted and expanded on the Holy
Writ while never suggesting that said exercises were meant to replace it. I leave it
therefore to the readers good judgment to decide what areas of the Targum are to be
embraced and to what degree, knowing of course they are not Scripture itself. The socalled Jerusalem Targum, a.k.a. the Fragmentary Targum of the Pentateuch, is also
referenced here. It seems to be largely derived from Jonathan ha Qatons work,
1

I quote from Chabad.org: The great and famous sage Hillel had eighty most distinguished disciples; thirty
of them were said to be worthy to enjoy the Divine Presence as Moses did; another thirty were said to be
great enough to have stopped the sun in its path as Yehoshua did; the remaining twenty were "in the
middle" Our Sages relate that when Rabbi Jonathan ben Uzziel wrote his commentary on the books of
the Prophets, the Holy Land trembled and a heavenly voice; called out: "Who has dared to reveal My
secrets to mortal men?" Rabbi Jonathan ben Uzziel then arose and declared: "I am the one responsible for
revealing Your holy secrets to mankind. But not to do myself honor, nor for the glory of my ancestors did I
do this, but solely so that the Jews may understand what the Prophets have told them."When he intended
writing an interpretation of the Kethuvim (Holy Writings; the third part of T'NaCh - Torah, Neviim,
Ketuvim), he was forbidden to do so, because they reveal secrets which must not be revealed till Moshiach
(The Mashiyach) comes.
2

Just as many scholars believe Onkelos and Aquila are one and the same person, so too do a significant
number also think that Jonathan ha Qaton is the same person as Theodotion, who did a Greek version of the
major prophets. Theodotion and Jonathan both mean the same thing in their respective languages.

sometimes citing Jonathan verbatim, while also retaining some of its own distinctiveness
in other places.
Joseph The Blind/One-Eyed:
Very little is known about this man. Legend says he did the Targum for the Megillot
(Ecclesiastes, Esther, Lamentations, Ruth and the Song of Songs) and was the head of
Sora, a very influential Torah academy in the fourth century. There are also two other
anonymous targums of Esther that have come down to us.3
Samaritan Pentateuch (author unknown):
A very important and ancient witness to the Hebrew text, but with an obvious slant away
from Rabbinic Judaism. Samaritan Theology, while no longer possessing pagan belief as
it once did, nevertheless has a great emphasis on astrology, omens and angels than the
other targums do. There are clear later interpolations, such as declaring their Mount
Gerizim as the correct place for veneration over that of Sinai, and this is no small point of
Yshuas to these people in the 4th chapter of the Gospel of John. For this version
however, I have stuck just to the SP proper and avoided for the most part the later
commentaries (Pitron) and Samaritan Midrashim (Asatir). I also very much favor JW
Etheridges approach of using it as a minor witness to augment the other main Torah
versions.
Peshitta Tanakh (author unknown):
JW Etheridge also rightly calls the Peshitta Tanakh beyond all price for it is the only
complete and thoroughly ancient Aramaic version that has survived. Often it is not
thought of as a Targum in the strict sense but it really should be. The Peshitta Tanakh
was composed in Babylon approximately between 50 BCE and 150 CE by an extremely
gifted and scholarly Jewish community who would later do the Talmud. There has been
increased attention given to it in more recent years with the ongoing work of the Peshitta
Institute of Leiden, who have been preparing a critical edition since 1966. Since the
Peshitta Tanakh is complete as stated, its readings can supplement where the other
Targums have not covered. The books of Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah have no other
Aramaic witnesses that have come down to us. The reason usually given for this in the
Rabbinic tradition is more of an apology than an explanation, in that they suggest these
books were so heavily influenced by Aramaic anyway that a full Aramaic paraphrase was
not needed. Another legend, already footnoted, was that Jonathan ben Uzziel was
prevented from doing a Targum of the Writings section which would have covered these
as well.
3

Joseph the Blind is kind of the Jewish equivalent of Homer in that the earliest versions of his work are
from many centuries after his death, casting doubt on what, if anything, was originally from his pen.
Because of this, and owing to the fact that there is no authorized or definitive version of the Writings
section, Peshitta Tanakh and Dead Sea Scrolls sources will become more prominently used here. As most
though are well aware, the Dead Sea Scrolls do not have any extant copies of Esther, so the Peshitta and
anonymous targums of that book will be used there. The targum for 1 and 2 Chronicles, also ascribed to
Joseph the Blind, is without a doubt the most recent targum of them all, perhaps only 300 years old, so I
will not be using that source at all in this diglot.

Prior to this publication, the only English translation of the entire Peshitta Tanakh had
been done by Dr. George Lamsa, who went from the Ambrosian Codex of 464 CE as his
main resource. It has long been my view that the Peshitta Tanakh, and not his more
famous Peshitta NT translation, is Dr. Lamsas finest work and most enduring legacy. I
have also consulted on the Aramaic side The Aramaic Old Testament Commonly Known
as the Peshitta Tanakh, (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1954).
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Septuagint (LXX) are both sufficiently well-known as to
not require extensive introduction. Suffice to say that both sources will be used to show
the full breadth of interpretive discussion that relates to the full Tanakh text.
Some very helpful resources here though include The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible (Abegg,
Flint and Ulrich, Harper Collins, 1999) and The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English
(Geza Vermes, Penguin Books, 1997). For the Septuagint text I have utilized chiefly
references made in the already mentioned sources above but occasionally also crosschecked with The Septuagint with Apocrypha Greek and English, (Lance Brenton,
Samuel Bagster Publishers of London, 1851, re-printed by Hendrickson Publishers,
1997).
Very Special Preview: The Matara Tanakh Project!
One of the most common questions I get is Andrew, are you doing a Tanakh translation
and if so will it soon be available?
The answer to the first part is YES, I have been working on a Tanakh translation for a
very long time but NO, it will not be out any time soon. The reason has to do with the
sheer magnitude of the project, for which I have decided to give all of you a taste of.
Very few people have seen what I am about to show you.
So for this parsha of Bereshit, I give you my personal translation of Genesis 1:1-6:8,
including Targum, LXX and other ancient sources and complete footnotes. Then, when
we get to the special section on The Four Uses of Adam you will see the translation
again, but in a different form.
Ready? Here we go.

TyXarb
GENESIS
Parsha #1: Bereshit

1 IN the beginning,
[Onkelos: in the most ancient times/greatest of eternities4]
Elohim created the heaven and the earth.5 2 Now the earth was unformed and void6, and
darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of Elohim hovered over the face of
the waters7. 3 And Elohim said: Let there be light. And there was light8. 4 And Elohim
saw the light and that it was good; and Elohim separated the light from the darkness9.
5 And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was
evening and there was morning10 a unified day.11
4

Be-kadmin in Onkelos literally means eternity. As Etheridge points out, this is in plural form.
Therefore it could read in antiquities or in eternities. The statement should be compared with similar
ones in Onkelos Deuteronomy 33:27, Eloah dmilkadmin (Eternal Elohim) and such can be applied to
Mashiyach as it is in Micah 5:2, whose name is called (milkadmin) from eternities. Targum Jonathans
min avella is a good synonym for Hebrew bereshit, in the beginning.
5
Chronologically speaking there is a gap between the end of Genesis 1:1 and the start of Genesis 1:2. We
note with interest the fact that Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 45:18 says the earth was not made formless, or tohu in
Hebrew, whereas Moshe here says it was formless. Also noting that the earth is defined in Genesis 1:10 as
dry land, but in 1:2 there are suddenly waters which are never specifically recorded as either and it was
good or let there be waters. So why is the earth formed and dry in 1:1 yet flooded and formed according
to Isaiah and Genesis 1:2? The answer has to be that the rebellion of Satan and his angels caused a flood,
and this is directly mentioned in Isaiah 14:12-15, Job 26:4-14, 38:1-30 and Psalm 18:1-14, among other
places. After Elohim pierced the fleeing serpent and cast him down, as Job indicates, that serpent plotted
revenge through causing man to sin in Eden. Put the events of Satans rebellion in between 1:1 and 1:2, as
listed in Job 26:4-14; 38:1-30, Psalm 18:1-14 and Isaiah 14:12-15.
6
Confirmed in Jeremiah 4:23-25.
7
Jonathan Ha Qaton: and the earth was empty and desolate, totally lacking the sons of men and without
any animals; and darkness was on the face of the abyss. And the Spirit of Mercies from before YHWH
breathed upon the face of the waters.
8
In a Messianic context, the text has 3rd person masculine singular nouns and verbs and so 1:3 could be
read as Let him be light, and he became light, the he being Yshua haMashiyach.
9
Darkness was created (bara) out of nothing. Light on the other hand was formed (yatzar, asah)
through separating it out from the darkness. The darkness came first and was a created thing, not merely
the absence of light, but a creation in its own right. This is why Isaiah 45:7 says I form the light and I
create the darkness.
10
In this case the evening and morning or vayehi erev vayehi boker is not referencing sunset and sunrise
but a drawing out and bringing back of light at the end of each creative interval. Erev specifically means a
mixing of light and dark, prevailing eventually to total darkness. Boker on the other hand means a shaft of
light piercing the darkness, like the rising sun does at dawn but not limited only to the sun and dawn,
because no matter how we count this time the sun and moon were not the first things made. These days
cannot be 24 hours long per the words of Moshe in Psalm 90 where he says a day to Elohim is like a
thousand years, and then clarifies that a thousand years is actually like a watch of the night, of which the
Gospels tell us there were four (Matthew 14:25, Mark 6:48). That means a mere 3 hours to Elohim is like a
thousand years, and therefore 24 hours equal 8,000 years per day x 7 days and + the time from mankinds
creation until the present day. That gives us a minimum of 62,000 years for the earth, but other details in
Torah make the heavens and the earth far older than this.

6And

Elohim said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide
the waters from the waters. 7 And Elohim made the firmament, and divided the waters
which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it
was so. 8 And Elohim called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there
was morning, a second day12.
And Elohim said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together to one place13,
and let the dry land appear.' And it was so. 10 And Elohim called the dry land Earth, and
the gathering together of the waters He called the seas; and Elohim saw that it was good.
9

And Elohim said: Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed14, and fruit-tree
bearing fruit after its kind, wherein its seed resides, upon the earth. And it was so. 12 And
the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit,
wherein its seed resides, after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was good. 13 And there was
evening and there was morning, a third day. 14 And Elohim said: Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and
for seasons, and for days and years15; 15 and let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth.
11

11

This is how the text literally reads. There is no the or ha given in the Hebrew and the number here is
cardinal when it should be ordinal. If the text meant the first day, it would read in Hebrew yom ha
rishown and not yom echad as it does here. Without the definite article then of ha/the and combined with
the word echad being used in 2 lieu of the grammatically correct rishown, the only possible reading in
English is an extremely awkward sounding a one day, since without the ha the articles become indefinite,
requiring a/an in English. Most translations skirt this issue a little bit by using day one, which ironically
is a construct more common in todays English than it was a century or more ago. However, I believe the
Hebrew reading of yom echad is something much closer to the idea of a unified day, meaning that for the
very first time evening and morning were constructed into what we now call a day as this I believe is
the only way to deal with the fact that a cardinal number (one) rather than an ordinal number (first) is used
here
12
A second day: Because days 2 through 5 are, like day one, put in grammatically incorrect form, even by
the conventions of the later parts of Genesis chapter 1. Instead of saying yom HA sheni, or the second
day, it lacks a ha/the and says a second day. The next three days follow this pattern until we get to the
last two days, where day 6 (yom ha shishi) and 7 (yom ha shevii) are in proper grammatical form, leaving
no doubt they are in the right order. The middle days however are not in chronological order because this
method of counting is never repeated in Scripture again. I believe this proves that the creative days in
Genesis 1 are in thematic rather than chronological order, representing two sets of the same sequence of: 1)
Light or lights in the heavens (days 1 and 4), Manipulation of water (days 2 and 5) and life flourishing on
the Land (plants and vegetation on day 3; animals and man on day 6).
13
LXX has a reading of gathering that can be traced to pre-Masoretic Hebrew miqveh rather than
Masoretic maqom (place). The reading miqveh is also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and may be the
original reading. All Dead Sea Scrolls quotations are adapted from The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible by Martin
Abegg Jr., Peter Flint and Eugene Ulrich, published by Harper San Francisco, 1999. This is one example of
where the otherwise excellent scholarship of JW Etheridge is only superseded by discoveries made many
years after his death. It should also be pointed out that the first three chapters of Genesis are, excepting
some very minor grammatical oddities, nearly verbatim in the Dead Sea Scrolls records.
14
Samaritan: son-seed.
15
Jonathan Ha Qaton: and for making sacred the beginnings of months and years, the passing away of
months and years, the revolutions of the sun, the birth of the moon and the cycling of the seasons.

And it was so. 16 And Elohim made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the
day16, and the lesser light to rule the night; and He also made the stars. 17 And Elohim set
them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 and to rule over the
day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and Elohim saw that it
was good17. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
And Elohim said: Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl
fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And Elohim created the great seamonsters, and every living creature that creeps, from which the waters swarmed, after its
kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and Elohim saw that it was good. 22 And
Elohim blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and
let fowl multiply in the earth18. 23 And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth
day19.
20

And Elohim said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and
creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.
And it was so. 25 And Elohim made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle
after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground after its kind; and Elohim
saw that it was good.
24

And Elohim said: Let us make the human species in our image, after our likeness; and
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
26

16

Samaritan: the abundance of greater light.

Jonathan Ha Qaton: And YHWH made two great lights; and they equal in their magnificence by twentyone years minus five seconds17. And afterwards the moon recited a triple (false) report against the sun and
she (the moon) was demoted, and the sun was given the rank of the greater light to rule the day; and the
moon to be the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars. And YHWH ordained them to their tasks in the
greatest reaches of the heavens, to produce light upon the earth, and to minister by day and by night, to
discern properly between the light of the day and the darkness by night. And YHWH saw that it was good.
Note: Jonathan Ha Qaton will just be called Jonathan for the duration of Genesis through Deuteronomy.
18
Jonathan: And YHWH said, Let the lakes of the waters teem with the reptile, the animal that lives and
the flying bird who nests on the earth; and let the path of the flying bird be upon the greatest reach of the
heavens. And YHWH created the Tanins, the creatures of immense size, the Leviathan and its servants
which are prepared for the day of reckoning; and every living animal which creeps, and which pure waters
have teemed with after their kinds; both clean and unclean; and every bird which flies with wings after their
kinds, both clean and unclean. And YHWH saw them, that they were good. And He blessed them, saying,
Be fruitful and multiply and fill the oceans and the birds prosper on the earth.
19
An earlier footnote talked about how the creative days in Genesis were in thematic order; that is to say,
telling the same three-part process in two sets of three days each: Light/Lights in the heavens (Days 1 and
4);Manipulation of waters (Days 2 and 5) and Life on land (Day 3 plants; Day 6 animals and man). This
strongly implied to me an actual order of 1,4,2,5,6 and 7. However, in more recent days I realized, in no
small part due to the questions I received on the Genesis Decoded teaching, that such an order precludes the
birds from ever nesting on land in a reasonable period of time, because day 2 was manipulation of water,
and it would have been followed by Day 5 with life teeming in water, but the land would not have emerged
until the day after that (old Day 3). Therefore, I propose now what I believe is the actual order of the 6
creative days in Genesis: 1,4,2,3,5,6,7.
17

And Elohim created humanity20 in His own image21, in the image of Elohim created
He him22; male and female23 created He them24.
27

And Elohim blessed them; and Elohim said to them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth 29 And Elohim
said: Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the
earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seedto you it shall be for
food; 30 and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing
that creeps upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb
for food.
28

And it was so25. 31 And Elohim saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was
very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
20

In this case adam is broad classification designating the human race, of which the specific types of
male and female are given. It is also possible to look male and female as names, Zakar and Niqevah.
Zakar means remembrance.
21
Jerusalem: And the Memra (Word) of YHWH created man in His likeness, in the resemblance of the
Presence of YHWH he created them, both the man and his helper.
Jonathan: In the image of YHWH He created him with two hundred and forty-eight bones and with three
hundred and sixty-five nerves, and draped over them skin, and filled it with flesh and blood.
An obvious riff on Talmudic commentaries that emphasized the positive commandments of YHWH at
248 and the negative as 365, the latter of course referring to the days of the year. This Targum is also a
witness to some of the assertions I made in Wheel of Stars regarding the original solar calendar.
22
The people in Genesis 1, the male and the female are only made in Elohims image but not breathed
into by Elohim as Adam and Eve are. As a result, the people in Genesis 1 are best referred to as
sons/children of Elohim as opposed to sons/children of Adam. In Genesis 6, the sons of Elohimthe
Genesis 1 peoplewill mate with the daughters of Adam who spread upon adamah, the land, and the
result will be the Nephilim.
23
Male (zakhar, which also means remembrance) and female (niqevah) are never used as titles for Adam
and Eve who clearly are formed after Abba YHWH rested on the Shabbat in Genesis 2:1-4. This pair of
humans is made at the same time, whereas Adam is made first and then Eve. Also the first people here are
said to have been createdthe Hebrew word bara denotes a creation from nothingness, although these
first people were conformed to the image of Elohim, whereas Adam and Eve were not created but
formed or fashioned, which means a re-manipulation of existing elements and not from nothing.
Elohim breathes into them which He does not do for the people in Genesis 1, though both the people in
Genesis 1 and 2 are made in His image.
24
The them confirms a compound singularity of Adam, which is referring to more than one being (i.e.
male AND female). In terms of Adam and Eve, from the moment the woman is fashioned from Adams
rib (Genesis 2:20-23) and onwards to their deaths, it seems they are not they referred to as male and
female but man and woman (ish and ishah). At the very least this seems to be the overwhelming trend;
only perhaps Genesis 5:2 is it possible to postulate an exception to that rule, so please see that footnote for
more information. Additionally, it is interesting to note that the generic form male (zakar) still is used for
a generic male designation of Adams descendants much later after his time (Genesis 17:12-14, Leviticus
12:2, others) and other times refers to male animals. The same is broadly true of the term
female(niqevah), but what is interesting about the usages of both of these words is that they only are used
as non-personal references, meaning, no NAMED Biblical figure is named and called male or female.
It never says, for example, and there was ZAKAR named Abraham or and there was a NIQEVAH
named Sarah, but only man/woman.
25
This and it was so or vayehi ken as it is in the Hebrew, is extremely important. Noting with interest
that Elohim is commanding man to be fruitful and multiply, we need to bear in mind that there is free will
on the part of the humans to either accept or reject this command. Also, if instant population of the earth

2 And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the
seventh day Elohim finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work which he had made.
[Jonathan: And YHWH had finished by the seventh day the work he had created,
and the ten formations he had made from between the suns.26 And he rested on
the seventh day from all the works he had performed.]
3 And

Elohim blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it he rested from
all his work which Elohim had created and made.27 4 These are the records of the
generations28 of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the period of
time29 that YHWH Elohim made earth and heaven.
[Jonathan: These are the origin stories of the heavens and the earth when they
were created in the day [or time] that YHWH Elohim created the heavens and the
earth.]
5 And no plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung
up; for YHWH Elohim had not caused it to rain upon the earth: and there was no Adamic
Man to till the ground30;

was the goal, Elohim could simply will it and millions of people would appear instantly, but that was not
His desire. Since humans accepted the command, they had to carry it out on their own power, and fill the
earth with people through the normal 9 month gestational process. I think then it is clear that it would take
hundredsif not many thousandsof generations of humans to go from just two to many millions or
billions of people. That, plus they would all have to travel away from their birthplace to other countries,
settle and build civilizations and so on. But the and it was so command tells us all these activities were
completed on the sixth day, proving each creative day cannot be 24 hours long!
26
Or beine shimsetha, a metaphor meaning, from evening to evening. See Shemot/Exodus 3:6.
27
An obvious wordplay as shbt carries meanings of both seven and rest, and is considered the number
of completion/perfection.
28
The word toledot is always referring to records of generations, genealogies and so on. Only here do
many Jewish and Christian translators render it as account which I have now come to reject. This clearly
indicates, as was discussed in footnotes about Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, that the heavens and the earth were
created, laid waste and re-created again, thus explaining why there are records of generations for the
heavens and the earth as there are for the families of mankind. To see this definition completely validated,
please see Genesis 5:1, 6:9, 10:1, 32; 11:10, 27; 25:12-13, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2; Exodus 6:16, 19; 28:10;
Numbers 1:20, 3:1; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chronicles 5:7; 7:2, 4 and 9; 9:9, 34; and 26:31.
29
Yom here is not being treated as a day per se as most translations render it. Instead, the context is that
yom refers to the interval of time where all Creation happened, as evidenced by the fact that it is in singular
form though clearly the entire scope of efforts happened over multiple stages of development.
30
It seems evident, at least to my mind, that man (Zakar) was created on Day 6 back in Genesis 1:26-27,
and he and his mate were commanded to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, as opposed to here in
Genesis 2 where Adam is commanded to tend the garden which is after the completion of the seventh day
(Genesis 2:1-3). If there were two groups of humans, one filling the world and the other tending Eden, it
seems likely that the person we have named Adam had not been created yet, hence Genesis 2:6-7 which is
after seven days and therefore Day 8, at a minimum.

10

[Jonathan: And YHWH Elohim made man in two formations; and took the dust
from the place of the sanctuary,31 and from the four winds of the world and
created him red, black and white]
there went up a mist32 from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.33 7
And YHWH Elohim formed the Adamic Man34 of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath35 of life; and the Adamic Man became a living soul36.
6 but

[Jonathan: And there was in the body of Adam the Neshama (inspiration) of a
speaking ruach (spirit)37, to the illumination of the eyes and the hearing of the
ears.]
[Jerusalem: And Adam became a soul of life.]
8 And

YHWH Elohim planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the Adamic
Man whom he had formed.
[Jonathan: And the garden from Eden of the just was planted by the Memra
dYeya [Word of YHWH]38 before the creation of the world (or universe), and he
made to dwell there the man when he had created him.]
9 And out of the ground made YHWH Elohim to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden,

[Jonathan: whose height was a journey of five hundred years],

31

That is, Mount Moriah (Bereshit/Genesis 4:28).

Or possibly, as Etheridge notes in Onkelos, a cloud.
33
Jonathan: But a cloud of glory descended from the throne of glory and was filled with the waters of the
ocean, and then went up from the earth and gave rain to come down and water all the face of the ground.
34
The Hebrew here reads: ha-adam or the Man. Previously in Genesis 1 the two references in verse 26
and 27 referred to the humans and humanity respectively. Now in Genesis 2, starting with a fresh new
race of humans, the first person is simply called the Man both by the word adam and another word ish
which is more like husband. It will only be in Genesis 3 that the Man will get the term Adam as a
proper name. Until then, the phrase of ha-Adam is used throughout chapter 2 and well into chapter 3.
Therefore, I am rendering Ha-Adam as the Adamic Man, meaning the first man of the Adamic race of
humans.
35
Jonathan: Neshama, or inspiration of life as Etheridge renders it, though neshama has other meanings as
well.
36
Etheridge on Onkelos, became a Discoursing spirit, or a thinking-speaking person.
37
Leruach memallela, as Etheridge points out.
38
This is the first time in Jonathan where Memra dYeya is used to describe YHWH. It is a tendency of
this Targum to de-emphasize anthropomorphic language with respect to the Invisible Elohim, and this was
the main method it accomplished this goal. Additionally, Jonathans use of Yeya is of course existing
Yah, an attempt to avoid the Tetragrammaton which was under the ban at the time of this Targums
composition. However given the clear intentions to so closely follow the original Hebrew, these instances
are well-understood to mean YHWH and not a substitutionary title. Similarly, Onkelos use here of yodhwaw-yodh clearly indicates this trend and is analogous to the way the Tetragrammaton is rendered with a
double yodh in Jewish prayer books today. As a result, all such occurrences of these phrases are treated as
YHWH throughout the English.
32

11

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water
the garden39; and from there it was parted, and became four heads.40 11 The name of the
first is Pishon41: that is it which encompassed the whole land of Havilah42, where there is
gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And
the name of the second river is Gihon43: the same is it that encompassed the whole land
of Cush.44 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel45 that is it which goes in front of
Athur (Assyria)46. And the fourth river is the Euphrates47. 15 And YHWH Elohim took
the Adamic Man, and put him into the garden of Eden to care for it and to keep it48.
[Jonathan: And YHWH Elohim took the man from the mountain of worship,
where he had been created,49 and made him to dwell in the Garden of Eden, to so
service in the Torah, and to keep its commandments.]50
16 And

YHWH Elohim commanded the Adamic Man, saying, Of every tree of the
garden51 you may freely eat: 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you
shall not eat of it: for in the day that that you eat of it you shall surely die. 18 And YHWH
Elohim said, It is not good that the Adamic Man should be alone; I will make for him a
helpful partner,
[Onkelos: a counterpart, from the Hebrew kenegedo. Jonathan: A burdensharer, helper.]
19 And out of the ground YHWH Elohim formed every beast of the field and every bird
of the heavens; and brought them to the Adamic Man to see what he would call them:
and whatever the Adamic Man called every living creature that was the name of it. 20
And the Adamic Man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to
every beast of the field.

39

Samaritan: Paradise.
Samaritan: islands.
41
Samaritan: Phison-kadoph.
42
Jonathan: Hindiki.
43
Samaritan: Ashkhoph.
44
Samaritan: Chophin.
45
Samaritan: Kephlosah.
46
Samaritan: Kingdom of Hatsphu.
47
Original Aramaic name in Onkelos is Pherat.
48
If Adam (or the Man as he is called at this moment) is charged with guarding and caring for Eden, he
cannot do that and simultaneously be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it which was the
charge laid on the first male and female in Genesis 1.
49
A very common idea in Jewish literature is that the building of the Temple by Solomon actually is the
true perfection of creation, to which this Targum alludes to frequently. In this case, all humanity was
created on or from Mount Moriah, where the Temple would later stand.
50
Jerusalem Targum reads almost the same way here, but omits where he had been created.
51
Samaritan: Paradise.
40

12

However, for the Adamic Man there was no helpful partner to be found for him, to stand
in front with him52. 21 And YHWH Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall upon the Adamic
Man, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh there: 22 And the
rib53, which YHWH Elohim had taken from the Adamic Man, made he a Woman, and
brought her to the Adamic Man. 23 And the Adamic Man said, This is now bone of my
bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of
the Adamic Man.
a man54 leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife:
and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the Adamic Man and his wife,
and were not ashamed.
24 Therefore shall

3 Now the serpent55 was more devious and cunning than any beast of the field which
YHWH Elohim had made. And he said to the Woman, Has Elohim (really) said, You
shall not eat of any tree of the garden? 2 And the Woman said to the serpent, Of the fruit
of the trees of the garden we may eat: 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of
the garden56, Elohim has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, or else
you will die.57 4 And the serpent said to the Woman, You shall not surely die: 5 for
Elohim knows that in the day you eat of it, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall
be as Elohim58, knowing good and evil.

52

The Hebrew term Ezer-Kenegdo literally means the helper who stands in front, which means that
woman was meant to complement man eye to eye, as someone who is equally important yet not identical to
man. To stand in front is revealing as a way of showing woman in covenantal relationship, whereas a slave
would bow down to man or a servant walk behind him. But it is equally important to note that the same
word does not allow for woman to be above man either. A good discussion of genders sharing power is
given in Proverbs 31 and Ephesians 4-5.
53
According to Hebrew Bible scholar Ziony Zevit, Professor of Biblical Literature and Northwest Semitic
Languages at the American Jewish University at Bel Air, CA (Biblical Archaeology Review
(http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/the-adam-and-eve-story-evecame-fromwhere/?mqsc=E3807311&utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=BHD+Daily%20Newsletter+Dai
ly%20Newsletter&utm_campaign=E5B817), the Hebrew word tzela was mistranslated as rib into the
Septuagint version ca. 260 BCE. The Hebrew word, he indicates and this is confirmed in Scripture,
specifically refers to the lateral limbs in the side, and in this case, possibly refers to the fact that human
males do not have a bone in their reproductive organ but other mammals do.
54
This is ish which can mean either man or husband rather than adam.
55
Nachash in Hebrew, the same word for divination and so all forms of divination are said to come from
the serpent or from Satan. The same Hebrew word is also used in Job 26:13 where it is said, His hand
pierces the fleeing serpent making it certain that Jobs creature and the one who tempted Adam and Eve
are one and the same, but Jobs events chronologically come first.
56
Samaritan: Paradise.
57
Samaritan: be consumed/destroyed.
58
The word Elohim, usually meaning Deity, is targummed here in Onkelos with one of its secondary
meanings, great or mighty ones, rendered in the Aramaic as ki-rabrebin. This means that that Onkelos
understood this occurrence of Elohim to be referring to angels, not YHWH. Targum Jonathan uses more
direct language, you will be as the great angels, who are wise to know between good and evil.

13

[Jonathan: and the woman beheld Sammael, the angel of death, and was afraid;59
yet she knew the tree was good to eat, and that it was medicine for the
enlightenment of the eyes and a desirable tree by which to understand.]
6 And

when the Woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to
the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit, and
did eat; and she gave it also to her husband60 with her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of
them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
[Jonathan: divested of the purple robe61 in which they had been created, and they
saw the sight of their shame]
and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons.62 8 And they heard the
voice of YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the Adamic
Man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH Elohim amongst the trees
of the garden. 9 And YHWH Elohim called to the Adamic Man, and said to him, Where
are you?
[Jerusalem: and the Memra (Word) of YHWH Elohim called to Adam and said
to him, Behold the world which I have created in manifest before me, the
darkness and the light are manifest before me; so how do you think that the place
in the midst of where you are is not revealed to me? Where is the commandment
that I taught you?63]
10 And

he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked;
and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of
the tree, which I commanded you that you should not eat from?
12 And

the Adamic Man said, The Woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me
of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And YHWH Elohim said to the Woman, What is this you
have done?
And the Woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I did eat. 14 And YHWH Elohim
said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and
above every beast of the field; upon your belly you will move,
59

Clearly a warning. Sammael is identified later as the agent sent by YHWH to kill the firstborn of Egypt.
In the Torah text itself though he is not named. However, in Exodus 12:12 and 28, it is Elohim Who says
He will smite the firstborn of Egypt, but when the event actually happens it seems there is a clarification
and Elohim talks of sending the destroyer (Exodus 12:23) to do the actual work. It doesnt then take
much of a stretch for the Jewish tradition to call the destroyer the angel of death and then later on give
him a name.
60
Again the word here is ish and not Adam, though it is clear only the Adamic Man is her husband.
61
Possibly a reference to the ancient Phoenicians who made a prized purple dye that was sought by Middle
Eastern kings.
62
Jerusalem: and they made them into vestments.
63
By asking where the commandment is, YHWH means that he expected Adam to guard (Heb. Shomer) or
protect the instruction he was given.

14

[Jonathan: and your skin you shall cast away every seven years and poison shall
be in your mouth]
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life: 15 and I will put enmity between you and
the Woman, and between your seed and her seed: he shall bruise your head, and you shall
bruise his heel.
[Jonathan/Jerusalem: and it shall be that when the sons of the woman keep the
commandments of the Torah, they will be prepared to strike you upon the head;
but then they forsake the commandments of the Torah, you will be ready to
wound them in the heel.64 Nevertheless for them there shall be a medicine but for
you there shall not be a medicine, and they shall make a remedy for the (poison
in) the heel in the days of King Mashiyach.]65
16 To

the Woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain and your conception; in pain
you will bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule
over you.
to Adam66 he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you, saying, You will not eat of it: cursed is the
ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life; 18 thorns also and
thistles shall it bring forth to you; and you will eat the herb of the field; 19 in the sweat of
your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken: for
dust you are, and to dust you will return.
17 And

[Jerusalem: for from the dust it is that you are to rise up and render judgment and
reckoning for all that you have done, in the day of the great judgment.]67
[Jonathan: and Adam said, I pray from the mercies before you O YHWH, that
we may not be accounted as the cattle, to eat the herb of the face of the field. Let
us stand up, and labor with the work of the hands, and eat the food of the earth;
and therefore let there be a distinction between before you between the children of
men and the children of cattle.]
64

Perhaps an early version of a later Talmudic legend that talks about one rabbi predicting a man would die
and the second rabbi agrees, but that the death sentence was deferred due to the condemned man doing a
good deed. The first rabbi predicted the death would be caused by a snake bite and the second rabbi found
the snake struck dead under a rock near the man in question before it could strike.
65
A linkage of Psalm 91 to the powers of Mashiyach, you shall tread on the lion and the cobra.
Furthermore this imagery is used when Yshua is tempted by the Accuser. As Etheridge also points out,
another reading could be, make a bruise with the heel in the days of King Mashiyach.
66
Here the Hebrew says ulAdam without a definite article of ha/the. This is the moment that the Adamic
Man gets his proper name of Adam rather than his title as the progenitor of his species. However, he will
still be sometimes referred to under that older title from this point as well. This is very much like how
when Jacob received his name Israel, he would still be called Jacob as well.
67

Literally, byom dina rabba, the judgment at the End of Days, or the Day of YHWH. Thus the first sin is
reckoned as being passed down to the very conclusion of our age.

15

20 And

the Adamic Man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all
living68. 21 And YHWH Elohim made for Adam69 and for his wife coats of skins, and
clothed them.
22 And YHWH Elohim said, Behold, the Adamic Man is become as one
of us,
[Onkelos: has become singular/alone70 in the world by himself]71
[Jonathan: and YHWH Elohim said to the angels, who ministered before him,
Behold, Adam is utterly unique on earth even as I am utterly unique in the
heavens above;72 and it will be that they will arise from him who will know to
discern between good and evil]
to know good and evil; and now, unless he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live for ever
[Jonathan: Had he kept the commandments which I appointed to him, he would
have lived and subsisted as the tree of life forever. But now, because he did not
keep what I had prescribed, it is decreed against him that we keep him from the
Garden of Eden]
23 therefore YHWH

Elohim sent him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground
from where he was taken.
[Jonathan: And he went and lived on Mount Moriah, from where he had been
created.]
24 So

he drove out the Adamic Man; and he placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the
Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree
of life.
[Jonathan: And he sent the man out from that place where he had made to dwell
the glory of his Shekinah, at the first between the two Cherubim73 Before he had

68

This is not a contradiction or in conflict with the other evidence of pre-Adamic peoples upon the earth.
There are two possibilities
69
Here the title Adamic Man (the Adam) and the name Adam toggle in the same line, again because
the latter occurrence has no the and indicates a proper name. However, the title re-asserts itself in the
very next line.
70
Samaritan: alone as a branch.
71
The Hebrew word here is yachid, an exclusive singularity meaning that Adam is at this moment the only
man that knows good and evil. Perhaps Eve doesnt count here even though she ate the same fruit he did.
The use of yachid is extremely rare in Tanakh, appearing only about nine times. One of those times is in
connection with the Second AdamMashiyachwho is called in Zechariah 12:10 the only begotten and
pierced son of YHWH.
72
Etheridge rightly references a line from Yalkut (Talmudic commentary) here: There were seven things
that existed before the creation of the world: The Torah, repentance, Paradise, Gey Hinnom (or hell), the
throne of Elohim, the name of the Mashiyach and the holy Temple.
73
A reference to the Ark of the Covenant, which had at its top lid two angels with outstretched wings that
nearly touched. The Shekinah, or the Divine Presence, was said to dwell between the gap in the wings. It

16

created the world (or universe) he had created the Torah74; he prepared the
Garden of Eden for the righteous; the they might eat and delight themselves with
the fruit of the tree; because they would have practiced in their lives the doctrine
of the law of this world and have maintained the commandments: (but), he
prepared Gey Hinnom75 which is like the sharp all-consuming double-edged
sword; and in the midst of it he has prepared flakes of fire and burning coals for
the judgment of the wicked who rebelled in their life against the doctrine of the
Torah. To serve the Torah is better than to (eat of) the fruit of the tree of life (the
Torah) which the Word of YHWH Elohim prepared, that man in keeping it may
continue, and walk in the paths of the way of life in the world to come.]
[Jerusalem: Two thousand years before he had created the world he prepared the
Garden of EdenFor the Torah is the tree of life, and whoever keeps it in this life
lives and sustains (himself) as the tree of life. The Torah is good to keep in this
world as the fruit of the tree of life in the world that is coming.]

4 And the Adamic Man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and gave birth to Cain,
and said, I have gotten a man with the help of YHWH. 2 And again she gave birth to his
brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3 And
in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering
to YHWH. 4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and their fat. And
YHWH had respect to Abel and to his offering: 5 but to Cain and to his offering he had
not respect.
And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 And YHWH said to Cain, Why are
you angry? And why is your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, shall it not be lifted
up? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at the door: and to you shall be its desire, but
you can rule over it.
[Jonathan/Jerusalem: but if you do not do your work in this world well, you sin
is held over until the great day of judgment, and at the doors of your heart lay
your sin. And into your hand I have delivered the power to overcome evil passion,
and to you will be the desire, so that you will have the authority over it to become
righteous and not sin.]
8 And

Cain told Abel his brother76

is another way of linking the Tabernacle and later the Temple to the completion of the creative process by
YHWH.
74
A possible reference to the Aramaic word for Torah, aurayta, which is derived from aur, or light, as in
Let there be light. The line could also be referring to the fact that the word for covenant (breet) is
contained within the phrase of Genesis 1:1 in the beginning (bereshit)
75
Or Gehenna (Gey Hinnom), which was once the fiery depository of worms and garbage for Jerusalem.
Gey Hinnom is the Valley of Hinnom, the place that probably inspired Isaiah to write in his 66 th chapter
about the worm of the wicked neither dying nor the fire being quenched.
76
Septuagint and Targum Jonathan record Cains utterance to his brother: Let us go out into the field.
The omission is very obvious and the Masoretic does not make sense without it or some other phrase in the
text. Cains statement in Jonathan however continues: I perceive that the world was created in goodness,
but it is not governed according to the fruit of good works, for there is respect to persons in judgment;

17

And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his
brother, and killed him. 9 And YHWH said to Cain, Where is Abel your brother? And he
said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper? 10 And he said, What have you done? The
voice of your brother's blood77 cries to me from the ground. 11 And now cursed you are
from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your
hand; 12 when you till the ground, from now on it will not yield to you its strength; a
fugitive and a wanderer78 you shall be in the earth. 13 And Cain said to YHWH, My
punishment is greater than I can bear.
[Jerusalem: Nevertheless there is power before you (YHWH) to absolve and
forgive me.]
14 Behold,

you have driven me out this day from the face of the ground; and from your
face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer79 in the earth; and it will come
to pass, that whoever finds me will slay me. 15 And YHWH said to him, Therefore
whoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And YHWH appointed a
sign for Cain,
[Onkelos: sealed upon Cains face the mark of the Great Name and
honorable80]
unless anyone finding him should strike him down.
16 And Cain went out from the presence of YHWH, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the
east of Eden. 17 And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and gave birth to Enoch:
and he built city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch. 18 And
to Enoch was born Irad: and Irad fathered to Mehujael: and Mehujael fathered
Methushael; and Methushael fathered Lamech. 19 And Lamech took to him two wives:
the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20 And Adah gave birth
therefore it is that your offering was accepted and mine was not accepted with good will. Abel answers
Cain in the Targum with: In goodness was the world created, and according to the fruit of good works it is
governed.; and there is no respect of persons in judgment; but because my works were better than yours
(therefore) my offering, before yours, has been accepted with goodwill. Cain then answers: There is no
judgment, nor any Judge, and good reward will not be given to the righteous, nor vengeance taken of the
wicked. Abel then retorts: There is a judgment and there is a Judge, and there is another world and a
good reward is given to the righteous and vengeance taken of the wicked. The Targum then concludes:
And because of these words they had contention on the face of the field, and Cain rose up against his
brother Abel and drove a stone into his forehead and killed him.
77
Onkelos: the voice of the blood of which were to come out of your brother have protested before me
from the earth!
78
The wanderer (Cain) is sent to Nod, which means, land of wandering.
79
Samaritan: the land of Keli (dust).
80
It is very ironic that Yshua in John 17 prays that his followers be protected by the power of YHWHs
name, and yet this is exactly what YHWH did for Cain! When people see the mark of YHWHs Name on
Cains forehead (a theme in Revelation that all true believers may have a similar mark) they will know that
YHWH has forbidden revenge on Cain. However, the great difference is that YHWH has simply decided
to tell people that Cain has been set aside for YHWH himself to kill in his own time. It is very similar also
to how ranchers mark cattle today. The other ironic part is that even as the Targumist here tries to hide the
Name, he makes it clear the Name is recognizable throughout the lands were Cain will travel through.

18

to Jabal: he was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle. 21 And his brother's
name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. 22 And Zillah,
she also gave birth to Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron:
and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
23 And

Lamech said to his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; You wives of Lamech,
listen to my speech: For I have slain a man for wounding me, and a young man for
bruising me: 24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.
25 And

Adam knew his wife again; and she gave birth to a son, and called his name Seth.
For, said she, Elohim has appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain killed him.
26 And

to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh. At that
time men began to call upon the name of YHWH.81
[Jerusalem: That was the generation in whose days they began to err, and to
make themselves idols, and gave to their idols the name of the Word of
YHWH.]82

5 This is the book of the generations of Adam.

In the time that Elohim83 created

humanity, in the likeness of Elohim he made him84; 2 male and female he created them,
and blessed them, and called their name Mankind85, in the period of time when they
were created.
Adam87 lived a hundred and thirty years, and gave birth to a son in his own
likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: 4 and the days of Adam after he gave
3 But

86

81

Onkelos: In his days men ceased from praying in the name of YHWH. This was obviously an attempt
to support the rabbinic ban on the name which had been in effect for centuries prior to this Targum but was
not when the Torah was originally written.
82
Jerusalem Targums answer to the call on the name of YHWH problem is different from Onkelos. In
this case the writer is referring to the worship of the Golden Calf. The writer knows well that the Israelites
did not worship an Egyptian deity but instead worshipped YHWH through the graven image of the calf.
83
Samaritan: angels. This is due to the Samaritans tendency for angel-veneration in their theology. The
Samaritans had at one time mixed pagan and Yahwistic belief. Later they rejected this syncretism, but one
of the remnants of those times was a tendency to seek YHWH through heavenly intermediaries. Such is
also a major theme of another Samaritan book, the Asatir, or Secrets of Moses.
84
The humanity that is made rather than created could possibly be referring to the overall process of both
groups of humans. So even though the Genesis 1 people were originally created and the Genesis 2 people
were correctly called formed or fashioned, the overall creative process included both groups, and
linking those two groups in sequence without a break it is proper to summarize it by saying they were
created in the sense that were it not for the creation of group1 there would be no forming/fashioning of
group 2.
85
Since the text is mentioning both male and female the adam name is not the man Adam but is instead
the general name for both the male and the female, namely as humans or humanity. This may be the only
time that Adam and Eve could be referred to as male and female rather than man and woman.
However, it is also possible that the first male and female, the people in Genesis 1, are being referred to
rather than Adam and Eve in Genesis 2.
86
The phrase vayehi can mean and it came to pass but in this case I believe context requires it to be but
it came to pass as the vav letter can act either as a conjunctive and or as a disjunctive or. This has been
demonstrated in places like Judges 11:31, which Bullinger, myself and other authorities translate as or I

19

birth to Seth were eight hundred years88: and he gave birth to sons and daughters. 5 And
all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
6 And

Seth lived a hundred and five years, and gave birth to Enosh: 7 and Seth lived after
he gave birth to Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and gave birth to sons and
daughters: 8 and all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
9 And Enosh lived ninety years, and gave birth to Kenan. 10 and Enosh lived after he
gave birth to Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and gave birth to sons and daughters:
11 and all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
12 And

Kenan lived seventy years, and gave birth to Mahalalel: 13 and Kenan lived after
he gave birth to Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and gave birth to sons and
daughters: 14 and all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
15 And

Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and gave birth to Jared: 16 And Mahalalel
lived after he gave birth to Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and gave birth to sons
and daughters: 17 and all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety and five years:
and he died.
18 And Jared

lived a hundred sixty and two years, and gave birth to Enoch: 19 and Jared
lived after he gave birth to Enoch eight hundred years, and gave birth to sons and
daughters: 20 And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he
died.
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and gave birth to Methuselah: 22 and Enoch
walked with Elohim89 after he gave birth to Methuselah three hundred years, and gave
birth to sons and daughters: 23 and all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and
five years:

[Jonathan: and Enoch worshipped (or served) in truth before YHWH after he had
fathered Methuselah three hundred years, and fathered other sons and daughters.
will offer it as an offeringmeaning Jephtahs daughter was not sacrificed but Jephtah said instead, If
the first thing that comes out of my door is suitable for a sacrifice I will make it; if not and it is in my power
to do so, I will dedicate the person to YHWHs service. Jephtahs daughter was not suitable as a human
sacrifice but Jephtah could dedicate her to serve YHWH at Shiloh and therefore she mourned the fact she
would never marry or have children. This is evident because Father Yah would never accept a vow that
included human sacrifice and Jephtah was only dedicated to Him. This is by far not the only time a vav is
better rendered or rather than and. In this instance, the overall creative efforts (both Genesis 1 and 2
people) are given above and the text then switches focushence the butto just talking about the man
named Adam.
87
Now the Adamite line is given. Perhaps the reason why the lineage of previous race is not given is
because Moshe knows the people in Genesis 1, as well as the wicked unnamed sons and daughters of Adam
on forward and the line of Cain, all perish in the flood. Moshe seems determined to not glorify three wicked
lineages of people by either naming them or their descendants.
88
Onkelos: after he had brought forth his substitute.
89
Onkelos: and Enoch pleased YHWH, because to do YHWHs will is literally the way to walk (halakh)
with him.

20

And Enoch served in truth before YHWH; and behold, he was not with the
sojourners of the earth; for he was withdrawn90, and he ascended into the
firmament of the Word before YHWH, and his name was called Metatron the
Great Seraph.]
24 and

Enoch walked with Elohim: and he was not91; for Elohim took him.92

25 And

Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and gave birth to Lamech: 26
and Methuselah lived after he gave birth to Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years,
and gave birth to sons and daughters. 27 And all the days of Methuselah were nine
hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
28 And

Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and gave birth to a son: 29 and he
called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of
our hands, which comes because of the ground which YHWH has cursed. 30 And Lamech
lived after he gave birth to Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and gave birth to
sons and daughters: 31 And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and
seven years: and he died.
32 And

Noah was five hundred years old: And Noah gave birth to Shem, Ham, and
Japheth.

6 And it came to pass, when the Adamites93 began to multiply on the face of (their

ancestral) ground94, and daughters were born to them, 2 that the sons of Elohim saw the
daughters of the Adamites were very beautiful; and they took them as wives of all that
they chose.

90

Jerusalem: for he was withdrawn by the Word from before YHWH.

Peshitta Tanakh: For YHWH had not made him to die.
92
Peshitta Tanakh is an early witness to this exact reading in the Masoretic Text.
93
The phrase here is Ha-Adam, but unlike all other instances of this construction, it is not rendered as The
Adamic Man for the simple reason that the phrase began to multiply is attached to it, proving a plural
intention. The daughters then that were born to them (or perhaps even to Adam himself, for this is possible
in what the grammar allows, just not in isolation only to Adam) would be Adams direct female
descendants. Such is evident in 6:2 with the clarifying phrase the daughters of the Adamic Man, which
could be direct daughters or grand-daughters and so on. See the next footnote for more information.
94
These are literally the daughters of Adam who are mentioned but not named in Genesis 5:4, which
probably means they are wicked and the same holds true for all the other unnamed sons and daughters
attached to everyone from Seth all the way through to Lamech, Noahs father. The reason we can call them
Adamites is because they multiply across the face of the ground (adamah) as opposed to the face of the
earth (eretz) which is what the people in Genesis 1 are said to have done (1:26). This distinction between
ground (adamah) and earth (eretz) is very striking and deliberate. Only the descendants of Adam had
the dust of the ground breathed into them by Elohim. The older race did not. Therefore the Adamites are
linked linguistically and thematically to their own native soil.
91

21

YHWH said, My spirit shall not strive with Mankind95 forever, for that he also is
flesh: yet shall his days be a hundred and twenty years. 4 The Nephilim were in the earth
in those days, and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came to the daughters of (the
man named) Adam, and they gave birth to children to them: the same were the mighty
men that were of old, the men of renown. 96
3 And

YHWH saw that the wickedness of Mankind was great in the earth97, and that
every imagination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 6 And YHWH
repented that he had made Mankind on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. 7 And
YHWH said, I will destroy the Mankind whom I have created from the face of the
ground; both man, and beast, and creeping things, and birds of the heavens; for it repents
me that I have made them. 98
5 And

[Onkelos (some copies): And he said, I have created (them) to be good that they
might be perfect upon the earth; but they have not been perfect in their outspreading, and YHWH said, I will blot them out]
8 But

Noah found favor in the eyes of YHWH.

95

Collective or compound singularity is intended. Adam the man is dead and these are his descendants
Father Yah is referring to. At the same time singularity is preserved in the verbs around this word,
indicating a collective he, him etc.
96
Certainly these Nephilim were not giants. The word Nephilim means fallen ones in Hebrew and
many legends attempted to supply the reason for their fall by suggesting angels procreated with women and
created a hybrid race of giants. In addition to the references in Enochian literature, both Philo and Josephus
also subscribed to this theory. However, Messiah Yshua said, In the resurrection people will not marry
nor be given in marriage but will be like the angels of heavenmeaning angels cannot marry human
females as the sons of Elohimthe people in Genesis 1clearly did on this occasion. Instead, I believe
the reason they fell was much less exciting: By direct mention, the children of Elohim married the
daughters of Adam and then inherited Adams sin through marriage and procreation, since all die through
Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22). As for them being men of renown, this manifests in two ways. First, they
are descendants from the first male (Zakhar) whose name means remembrance and second they probably
built up all the civilizations that Cain was terrified he would run into when he ran from his family
inheritance and decided to build a city in Genesis 4. Finally, the Nephilim that are alleged to have been
around in Numbers 13 were the product of exaggeration or deception on the part of the evil spies who are
said to have brought a false report back on the land of Canaan. The two parts of the report were that the
land was fruitful, which was true as evidenced by the grapes they brought back. Therefore, only the part
about their being giants of Anak, allegedly descended from the Nephilim could be false. Goliath was a
giant and not part of the Nephilim as were several others.
97
Here and in the next two lines it is possible that both human groups are being collectively called
Mankind whereas other uses of Ha-Adam appear to only reference the lineal descendants of Adam, hence
Adamites. Another aspect to this terminology is that when Adam was translated as human species or
humanity in Genesis 1:26-27, this was chronologically before the people in Genesis 2 were made. Now
here several chapters later both groups are on the earth at the same time, opening the door to the possibility
that both groups are in these instances under the Adamic umbrella even though one of those human
groups may have preceded Adam.
98
Although in Genesis 6:5-7 the text consistently renders man in singular form and with matching
singular verbs, it is equally clear that man is meant as a plurality of human beings under a single class
of man that includes both Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 people except for Noah and his family. So when we
are told man and beast will be destroyed, it is not just one man and one beast done in by the flood but
many of each group under the singular heading of each species.

22

Now lets go forward to the parsha linguistics!

BERESHIT (1:1) = in the beginning. Onkelos Targum says BKADMIN (in the
eternities/beginnings) indicating ancient understanding of more than one creation event
happening at the same time. Within the word BERESHIT is also the first Messianic
prophecy:
BAR = son (Aramaic)
BARA = created
RESH = head/chief/beginning
SHET = (the) six (Aramaic)
So the Son is created BEFORE the 6 days of creation!
VAYOMER ELOHIM YEHI RAKIA (1:5) = and said Elohim: Let there be a SKY. This
sky (rakia) is usually translated as firmament but literally means expanse,
indicating a separation between SHMAYIM (heavens) and the waters. It is a different
kind of sky from SHMAYIM, or the universe. In other places, RAKIA can also denote
matter.
VAYAAS ELOHIM (1:16) = and made Elohim. Tense indicates these luminaries were
made on a fourth day, meaning neither the sun nor the moon can be used to count days
for the 7 day Shabbat cycle. Abba YHWH didnt count from day 4 for Creation week and
therefore neither should we. The 7 day count is independent of the sun, moon and stars.
Chronologically speaking, this is the second day. For more information, see Genesis
Decoded.
VAYIVRA ELOHIM ET-HA-TANANIM HA-GEDOLIM (1:21) = and Elohim created
the great Tananim. The word TANANIM can be alternatively translated as dragons or
sea-monsters or perhaps whales, according to some authorities. Others think these
are the Leviathan and their mates.
VA REMES VE-CHAYETO (1:24) = creeping thingsor perhaps land animals.
VAYOMER ELOHIM HA ADAM BETZALMANU (1:26) = and said Elohim, Let US
make man in OUR image. Recalling the fact that multiple creations happened and that
within BERESHIT is proof that the Son/Word was the first thing Abba YHWH created,
we need to further confirm this through Psalm 33:6 and Yochanan 1:1-5. Abba YHWH
sent the Word out of His Mouth and the Word created the heavens and the earth, by him,
for him and through his hands as the Aramaic of Yochanan reads. Since it is Yshua
who made these things as the Word, the US and OUR are Abba YHWH talking with His
Son whom He loved from when time began (Yochanan 17) since the Messiah has
goings forth that have been from the eternities (Micah 5) from which a throne in
heaven was set up for him to have eternal and universal dominion (Daniel 7).

23

UMILU ET-HAARETS VECHIVESHUHA (1:28) = fill the earth up and conquer it. In
order to do this command, man must endeavor to understand the inner workings of the
earth, which he can only do through disciplined observation of the planet. The method of
this observation is given in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, test everything, hold on to the good
and avoid all evil.
SHAVAT (2:3) = rested, but not because Abba YHWH was tired because He never tires.
Rather YHWH completed His work and stopped doing it. This is confirmed in 2:4 with
ASAH (made) in past tense, denoting completion. Later Jewish sources though will
speculate that certain events, like the building of the Temple, also in their way complete
creation.
ASOT (2:4) = made. However, this word connotes a stronger sense of completeness than
BARA and other similar words in Hebrew.
VEADAM AYIN LAAVOD HAADAMAH (2:5) = and there was no man to work the
ground. However, there seems a word play and hint with the use of ADAM for man as
opposed to other Hebrew terms, indicating that there was no ADAM to work the
ground. Please see The Three Uses of Adam later in these notes for detailed
translation issues with respect to this word and to the other word for man, Ish.
ADAMAHADAM (2:7) = both the words for Adam (man) and adamah (ground) are
also cognates and directly related to the word ADOM, which can mean red and
blood.
NEFESH CHAYA (2:7) = Adam BECOMES a living soul. In other words, Adam
doesnt HAVE a soul but instead Adam IS A SOUL. His NEFESH contains his
emotions, memory and life forceall the things that make Adam unique to him. He only
needs YHWHs spirit to make that nefesh live.
EDEN (2:8) = literally means delight or pleasant in Hebrew. So the word may be an
adjective rather than a place name as if to say YHWH planted trees in a delightful place
or YHWH created a pleasant area to plant. It seems it becomes a formal place name or
geographical marker AFTER Adam and Eve are expelled in 3:24.
PISHONHAVILAH (2:11) = Some commentators think the Pishon is the Nile but
Josephus and others believe it is the Ganges or Indus river. Between Kashmir and
Pakistan, on the upper Indus river, there is a very ancient town that has been known as
HAVELIAN for more than 5,000 years. The Gihon river though is more likely to be the
Nile, also according to Josephus and others. The courses of these rivers must have
shifted, either due to tributaries drying up and re-establishing themselves (we can track
this back to the time with satellites) or because of the Flood. It is also possible that there
are two places named Havilah, one which is east of Egypt as India is (Genesis 25:18)
and the other more familiar one mentioned here, which is south of Egypt.

24

Bonus! The View from the Chabads Rabbi Shaul Wolf!

From: http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/3082157/jewish/Where-Are-theFour-Rivers-that-Come-from-Eden.htm

Dear Rabbi,
I was talking to a friend about the creation story in the Torah, and he made mention of
four rivers that extend out of the Garden of Eden. Do these rivers really exist, and if they
do, do we know their exact location? If so, can we use the location of these four rivers to
determine the whereabouts of the Garden of Eden?
Response:
As is the case with many other aspects of the creation account in the Torah, the
discussion regarding the four rivers is shrouded in mystery.1 The descriptions given in the

25

Torah are rather vague, and there has been much debate throughout the ages regarding
their exact identity.
The text that discusses these rivers can be found in Genesis 2:1014, and reads as
follows:
A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it separated and became
four heads. The name of one is Pishon; that is the one that encompasses all the land of
Havilah, where there is gold. The gold of that land is good; there is the crystal and the
onyx stone. The name of the second river is Gichon; that is the one that encompasses all
the land of Cush. The name of the third river is Chidekel; that is the one that flows to the
east of Ashur. And the fourth river, that is Perat.
What can be clearly deduced from a cursory reading of these verses is that there exist
four rivers, Pishon, Gichon, Chidekel and Perat, which all seemingly flow from the same
source, the Garden of Eden.
Lets begin with the second two, since their identification is agreed upon almost
unanimously.
The name of the third river is Chidekel; that is the one that flows to the east of Ashur.
The Chidekel is widely accepted as being the Tigris River, which flows from
southeastern Turkey through Iraq, and eventually spills into the Persian
Gulf.Daniel describes standing on the banks of the Chidekel River while receiving one of
his visions during the time when he was in exile in Babylonia.2 Clearly, the Chidekel
River is in the region of ancient Babylonia, which is present-day Iraq.
Yonatan ben Uziel, a sage who lived in the Second Temple era, translates the word
Chidekel into the Aramaic word Diglas.3 Even today, the Tigris is calledDicle in Turkish
and Dijla in Arabic.
According to this identification, the location described in the verse, Ashur, refers to
ancient Assyria, which was centered around the upper Tigris River.
And the fourth river, that is Perat.

26

The Perat is identified as the Euphrates River, which runs almost parallel to the Tigris.
Together, these two rivers defined a large part of the Fertile Crescent, the cradle of
civilization in ancient times. The name Euphrates is the Greek version of the Old
Persian Ufrtu and the Akkadian Purattu, and even today the river is called al-Furt in
Arabic.
The Euphrates River is later mentioned in G-ds promise to Abraham regarding the Land
of Israel, and is used as one of the defining borders of the Promised Land.4 We are also
told that there was a time when Jewish civilization had spread so far that members of the
tribe of Reuben were living all the way to the banks of the Euphrates!5
While these two rivers are easily identifiable and their location is readily agreed upon, the
identification of the other two proves more difficult and is the subject of much debate.
The verse gives us more details regarding the Pishon River than any of the others, yet the
information itself is extremely unclear:
The name of one is Pishon; that is the one that encompasses all the land of Havilah,
where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good; there is the crystal and the onyx
stone.
Rashi, the foremost biblical commentator, identifies the Pishon as the Nile River. The
word Pishon, he explains, has the connotation of gushing forth and overflowing, and
symbolizes the Nile River, which would overflow and irrigate the land of Egypt.
Alternatively, the word Pishon is associated with the Hebrew word pishtan, flax, a
reference to the ancient Egyptian flax industry, which was watered by the Nile River.
According to this view, the area called Havilah refers to somewhere along the Nile
region, perhaps Egypt or Sudan. Egyptians were known to have mined gold and precious
stones back in pre-dynastic times, especially in the region known in ancient times as
Nubia, modern-day southern Egypt and Sudan.
Other commentators identify the Pishon as the Ganges River, which flows through India
and Bangladesh, emptying into the Bay of Bengal. 6 This view would fit well with the
translation of Yonatan ben Uziel, who translates the area of Havilah as Hindki, an
Aramaic translation for India. Interestingly, Josephus believed that it referred to the Indus

27

River, which flows through India as well,7which some connect to the present-day city of
Havelian that lies on the upper Indus River, between Kashmir and Pakistan.8
The name of the second river is Gichon; that is the one that encompasses all the land of
Cush.
The land of Cush is typically associated with Ethiopia, and the Gichon is therefore
understood to refer to the Blue Nile. The Blue Nile begins in Lake
Tana in Ethiopia and meets the White Nile in Khartoum, Sudan, where together they
form one river that flows all the way to Egypt. R. David Kimchi, a 12th-century biblical
commentator, explains9 that the name Gichon means to diverge, which symbolizes the
numerous tributaries that diverge off the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.10
Where Is the Garden of Eden?
If these four rivers all flow forth from the Garden of Eden, their identification should give
us some clue as to the whereabouts of the Garden. The problem is, however, that there is
no central location from which all of these four rivers flow. The Euphrates and the Tigris
are in the northeast region, whereas the two Nile rivers are in the southwest.
While the exact location of the Garden of Eden cannot be identified, we can infer that it is
somewhere within this region, between the Nile River and the Euphrates.11 Some sources
go so far as to identify the location of the Garden as being exactly 32 degrees south
of Jerusalem.12 The fact that the Garden itself cannot be detected in our world does not
mean that it does not take up physical space; it exists on a higher plane of reality and is
therefore not detectable by our regular senses.
While the verses seemingly indicate that the rivers all flow from the same source, this is
clearly not the case. It has been suggested that the Hebrew word for separated, , can
also be understood as lost or missing.13 According to this approach, the river sunk into
the ground at the exit of the Garden of Eden, and later reappeared at four distinct
locations. The verse now reads, A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and
from there it was lost (sunk into the ground) and (later re-emerged and) became four
heads.14

28

It has further been pointed out that the four rivers are referred to as four heads and not
four branches, which may imply that they are not four branches of the same river, but
rather four distinct riverheads.15
On a concluding note, I thought Id share with you a spiritual interpretation regarding the
four rivers, which has profound meaning and significance in our daily lives.
The Hebrew word eden means delight and pleasure, and is symbolic of the ultimate
source of all delight and pleasure: G-d. This G-dly delight is then channeled into our
world by way of the river that flows from Eden, and becomes the source for all worldly
pleasures. The river splits into four heads, symbolizing the four spiritual worlds through
which the river must travel before reaching this physical world.16
The responsibility of the Jew is to seek out the truth behind all of the pleasure that this
world has to offer. This is done by utilizing another garden, the garden of the Torah.
The Torah contains 53 portions,17 which is the numerical value of the Hebrew word gan,
garden. By following the directives of the Torah, we can channel the pleasures of this
world in service of G-d, and reveal how they are all in truth a manifestation of the
ultimate source of pleasure, G-d Himself.18
FOOTNOTES
1. See Nachmanides to Genesis 1:1, where he writes that the work of creation is a deep
secret, and is not intelligible from the verses.
2. Daniel 10:4.
3. See Targum Yonatan ben Uziel to Genesis 2:14.
4. Genesis 15:18.
5. I Chronicles 5:9.
6. See Abarbanel to Genesis 2:10.
7. Antiquities of the Jews 1:1:3.
8. R. Aryeh Kaplan, Living Torah to Genesis 2:10.

29

9. Radak to Genesis 2:13.

10. See Rabbi Aaron Marcus, Keset HaSofer, who has a different approach to identifying
all four of these rivers.
11. See Nachmanides to Genesis 3:22, and Tosafot to Talmud, Bava Batra 84a.
12. Maamarei Admor ha-Emtzai (Discourses of the Mittler Rebbe), Vayikra, vol. 2, p.
703.
13. See, for example, Psalms 92:10 and Job 4:11.
14. Daat Mikra Atlas.
15. Commentary of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch to Genesis 2:10.
16. Sefer ha-Maamarim 5737, pp. 5354.
17. Although there are actually 54 portions in the Torah, the portions of Nitzavim and
Vayelech are deemed one portion split into two. See Siddur R. Saadiah Gaon, Keriat
ha-Torah, and Chida, Shem ha-Gedolim, Maarechet Sefarim, letter Gimmel. For an
elaboration on the spiritual significance of this idea, see Likutei Sichot, vol. 19, p.
298.
18. Sefer ha-Maamarim 5717, p. 236.
BY SHAUL WOLF

EZER KENEGDO (2:20) = the helper who stands in front of you. So the woman is meant
to complement the man and stand in front of him, eye to eye and not head down like a
servant.
ETSEM MEATSAMAY UVESAR MIBESARI (2:23) = bone of my bones and flesh of
my flesh. This is both literalEve came out of Adams riband figurative, to express
how deeply intimate he felt connected to his wife.
NACHASH (3:1) = serpent. However, the same word means divination, hinting that
such practices come from Satan.
KI YODEA ELOHIM (3:5) = like Elohim knowing. The word Elohim can refer to
YHWH or to other mighty ones like angels. So it is possible the serpent was saying
they could be like the angels. Ironically of course some of these same angels would
become envious of them!

30

VAYISHMEU ET-KOL YAHWEH MITHALECH BAGAN (3:8) = and they heard the
SOUND (?) of YHWH moving through the garden (?) The issue here has to do with
whether Adam and Eve heard the voice (kol) of YHWH moving through the garden or
whether they heard sound (also kol) of Abba YHWH moving, as if physically, through
the garden. This comes down to the issue of anthropomorphism of YHWH, or ascribing
to Him physical characteristics. If Abba YHWH had some form of physicality or
presence, then they heard that moving through the garden as if they could expect to see
Him. But if it is just His Voice, then there is nothing attached to it.
CHAVAHADAM (3:20 and elsewhere) = Chavah means living and Adam means
man or blood or earth. Together they are the living blood of man [on] earth.
KOTNOT OR VAYALBISHEM (3:21) = leather garments and He clothed them. Or, as
some others translate, shrouds of skin perhaps referring to the male foreskin and female
hymen.
CHERUVIM (3:24) = cherubim, or angels. The following is from bible.ort.org:
Rashi notes that they are angels of destruction. Man is told that he must
eventually die and is banished from paradise. He can only return to paradise after
death, and before doing so, he must pass by these angels of purgatory (Bachya).
The prophet must also pass these angels to approach the Tree of Life and obtain a
vision. This is the significance of the cherubim on the Ark (Exodus 25:18), and
those seen in Ezekiel's vision (Ezekiel 1:5, 10:15). (Rambam on Exodus 25:18).
VATELED ET-KAYIN VATOMER KANITI ISH-ET YAHWEH (4:1) = and (Eve)
brought forth Cain, saying, I have gained (kaniti) a man from Yahweh. Cain means
possession or to gain/get and as such there is no hint of morality of righteousness
inherent in the meaning of his name.
VAYEHI MIKETS YAMIM (4:3) = Literally: and the days ended or and it was the
end of days. More idiomatically (and easier) it means and an era came to an end or
the age ended. This is because Cain was the first human being to be born without direct
intervention from Abba YHWH to make him. In other words, Abba YHWH formed
Adam from the dust and He formed Eve out of Adams rib, but Cain came about through
the same natural reproduction as the rest of the human race. (No, this does not impact on
our previous discussion of pre-Adamic races possibly being around and that is a separate
topic for another time.)
VANAD TIHYEH VAARETS (4:12) = and separated you will on the earth. NAD
(separate) may be related to NIDDAH (separation) rules that are given to men and
women later on. It is our sin that separates us from Abba YHWH.

31

VAACHOT TUVAL KAYIN NAAMAH (4:21) = and the sister of Tuval Cain was
Naamah. Some sources say this lady would become Noahs wife, perhaps due to the
similar sound and meaning of their names, both meaning comfort.
VAYIRU BENEY HA ELOHIM (6:2) = and saw the sons of Elohim. It is possible that
Elohim is referring to earthly powers, or mighty ones and so some translate as sons
of rulers. Others of course maintain these are angelswe have explored that before.
NEPHILIM (6:4) = Literally, fallen ones, leading some to propose they are the sons of
fallen angels but fallen can also relate to the fallen or immoral state of humanity at this
time, this is actually given because in 120 years Abba YHWH plans to destroy all
mankind in the Flood, not because of any age limitations on man. After all, Abraham
lived 175 years, Isaac 180, Jacob 147 and even Aaron lived 123 years.
VAYINACHAM (6:6) = and He (YHWH) regretted. Some translations say repented
but this implies that Abba YHWH did wrong by making man. Instead, Abba YHWH had
REGRET that man had become so wicked.

32

Special Bonus! Spotlight on the Four Uses of Adam

Adam as
Humans,
Humanity,
Mankind or the
Human Race

Adam as man, a
man, or the man,
rendered as
Adamic Man

Adam as in a man
whose proper name
is Adam

Hebrew
Terms/Comments
Chronological
Analysis
(read this all the
way through in
isolation to the
others first)!

Note: These
references in
Genesis 1:26-27 are
meant as collective
descriptors. In 1:26
the first use of
Mankind denotes
both the first man
Zakar and all his
male descendants
that come after him,
including the man
Adam later on. The
rulership language
suggests also that
1:26 is referencing
the males who are
put in charge of the
earth. But in 1:27
Mankind or
humanity is
classified into male
and female
varieties, and the
first people were
called Zakar and
Niqevah, from
which the adjectives
male and female
are derived.

Note: The first

reference to Adam
here is in
anticipation of his
creation which is
about to happen. In
this case it is a
descriptor of a
species, an Adamic
type of human that
is being referenced.

Note: In these
references there is no
the. It is just to
Adam, indicating a
proper name.

And Elohim said:

Let us make the
human species in
our image, after our
26

33

17 And

(Gen 1:26 WTT)

to Adam he

said, Because you
have listened to the


voice of your wife,
(Gen 1:27 WTT)
and have eaten of the
tree, of which I
The only real
2:5 And no plant of
commanded you,
difference between
the field was yet in
saying, You will not
1:26 and 1:27 is a
the earth, and no
eat of it: cursed is the
slightly different
herb of the field had ground for your sake;
grammatical
yet sprung up; for
in toil you shall eat of
construction.
YHWH Elohim had it all the days of your
Naaseh
adam
not caused it to rain life; 18 thorns also and
betzalmanu kiupon the earth: and thistles shall it bring
damota (let us
there was no
forth to you; and you
create
Adam [as
Adamic Man to till will eat the herb of the
mankind] in our
the ground; 6 but
field; 19 in the sweat
image, after our
there went up a mist of your face you will
likeness) in 1:26,
from the earth, and
eat bread, till you
is in 1:27 used
watered the whole
return to the ground;
with the definite
face of the ground. 7 for out of it you were
article
of the (ha)
And YHWH
taken: for dust you
and direct object
Elohim formed the
are, and to dust you
(et) in Vayivara
Adamic Man of the will return.
Elohim et-hadust of the ground,
Adam
betzelmo
and breathed into
21 And YHWH
(Literally:
and
his nostrils the
Elohim made for
Elohim sent
breath of life; and
Adam and for his wife
creation
towards
the Adamic Man
coats of skins, and
THE Adam in His

likeness; and let

them have dominion
over the fish of the
sea, and over the
fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and
over all the earth,
and over every
creeping thing that
creeps upon the
earth.

became a living
soul. 8 And YHWH
Elohim planted a
garden eastward, in
Eden; and there he
put the Adamic
Man whom he had
formed.

YHWH
Elohim took the
Adamic Man, and
27 And Elohim
put him into the
created humanity in garden of Eden to
His own image, in
care for it and to
the image of Elohim keep it. 16 And
created He him;
YHWH Elohim
male and female
commanded the
created He them.
Adamic Man,
saying, Of every
5:1 This is the book
tree of the garden
of the generations of you may freely eat:
Adam. In the time
17 but of the tree of
that Elohim created the knowledge of
humanity, in the
good and evil, you
likeness of Elohim
shall not eat of it:
he made him; 2 male for in the day that
and female he
that you eat of it
created them, and
you shall surely die.
blessed them, and
18 And YHWH
called their name
Elohim said, It is
Mankind, in the
not good that the
period of time when Adamic Man
they were created.
should be alone; I
will make for him a
6:3 And YHWH
helpful partner,
said, My spirit shall 19 And out of the
not strive with
ground YHWH
Mankind forever,
Elohim formed
for that he also is
every beast of the
flesh: yet shall his
field and every bird
days be a hundred
of the heavens; and
and twenty years.
brought them to the
Note: In this case
Adamic Man to see
both groups of
what he would call
human races are
them: and whatever

34

15 And

clothed them.
3 But

Adam lived a
hundred and thirty
years, and gave birth
to a son in his own
likeness, after his
image; and called his
name Seth: 4 and the
days of Adam after he
gave birth to Seth
were eight hundred
years: and he gave
birth to sons and
daughters. 5 And all
the days that Adam
lived were nine
hundred and thirty
years: and he died.

Image. The use

of the ET demands
the HA or the
definite article and
the conjugation
switches from us
to his image, but
the concepts are
the same in both
passages.

(Gen 1:27 WTT)

7








(Gen 1:27 WTT)
The context here
requires
Mankind or
humanity here
as a broad
category in the
singular masculine
(one synagogue,
many members
inside it), from
which the types of
humansmale
and femaleare
given to describe it
better. However,

intended, the people

in Genesis 1 and the
people in Genesis 2.

the Adamic Man

called every living
creature that was
the name of it. 20
6:5 And YHWH
And the Adamic
saw that the
Man gave names to
wickedness of
all the cattle, and to
Mankind was great the birds of the
in the earth, and that heavens, and to
every imagination of every beast of the
the thoughts of their field.
hearts was only evil However, for the
continually. 6 And
Adamic Man there
YHWH repented
was no helpful
that he had made
partner to be found
Mankind on the
for him, to stand in
earth, and it grieved front with him. 21
him at his heart. 7
And YHWH
And YHWH said, I Elohim caused a
will destroy the
deep sleep to fall
Mankind whom I
upon the Adamic
have created from
Man, and he slept;
the face of the
and he took one of
ground; both man,
his ribs, and closed
and beast, and
up the flesh there:
creeping things, and 22 And the rib,
birds of the heavens; which YHWH
for it repents me that Elohim had taken
I have made them.
from the Adamic
Man, made he a
Woman, and
brought her to the
Adamic Man. 23
And the Adamic
Man said, This is
now bone of my
bones, and flesh of
my flesh: she shall
be called Woman,
because she was
taken out of the
Adamic Man.
24 Therefore shall a
man leave his father
and his mother, and
shall cleave to his

35

these are proper

names as well as
adjectives.

(Gen 2:5 WTT)

ve'adam ayin
la'avod etha'adamah.
A linkage between
Adam and
adamah
(ground) because
the man came
from this ground
in this place
whereas the man
in Gen 1 was not
formed by
breathing into the
dust of the ground.
Verse 2:6 is
foreshadowing
what is about to
happen in 2:7.

7








(Gen 2:-7 WTT)

wife: and they shall

be one flesh. 25 And
they were both
naked, the Adamic
Man and his wife,
and were not
ashamed.
6 And

when the
Woman saw that the
tree was good for
food, and that it was
a delight to the
eyes, and that the
tree was to be
desired to make one
wise, she took of
the fruit, and did
eat; and she gave it
also to her husband
with her, and he did
eat. 7 And the eyes
of them both were
opened, and they
knew that they were
naked; and they
sewed fig-leaves
together, and made
themselves aprons.
8 And they heard
the voice of YHWH
Elohim walking in
the garden in the
cool of the day and
the Adamic Man
and his wife hid
themselves from the
presence of YHWH
Elohim amongst the
trees of the garden.
9 And YHWH
Elohim called to the
Adamic Man, and
said to him, Where
are you?
10 And he said, I

36

(Gen 2:8 WTT)
This line is 2:8 is
very important.
Vayita Yahweh
Elohim ganbe'Eden mikedem
vayasem sham etha'adam asher
yatsar.
Yatzar (formed, or
more precisely,
sculpted) refers to
making something
from already preexisting
materials
different from
baracreating out
of nothing.
Et-ha-adam here
also is because
Eve is not yet
madethis is just
referring to the
singular man made
in Genesis 2. Same
thing in 2:15,
16,18, 19,20,21,22
and 23. In 2:24,
once Eve is taken
from Adams rib,
the man is called
ISH rather ADAM
as a general
descriptor, but the
use of ADAM as
man is not
discontinued;
rather ISH is
added to this
group because
their ancestor had
his wife (ISHAH)

heard your voice in

the garden, and I
was afraid, because
I was naked; and I
hid myself. 11 And
he said, Who told
you that you were
naked? Have you
eaten of the tree,
which I commanded
you that you should
not eat from?
12 And the Adamic
Man said, The
Woman whom you
gave to be with me,
she gave me of the
tree, and I did eat.
13 And YHWH
Elohim said to the
Woman, What is
this you have done?
And the Woman
said, The serpent
deceived me, and I
did eat. 14 And
YHWH Elohim said
to the serpent,
Because you have
done this, you are
cursed above all
cattle, and above
every beast of the
field; upon your
belly you will
move, and dust you
shall eat all the days
of your life: 15 and I
will put enmity
between you and
the Woman, and
between your seed
and her seed: he
shall bruise your
head, and you shall
bruise his heel. 16

37

come out of him.

By contrast ISH is
not used for the
man in Genesis 1.
ADAM returns as
man in Genesis
3:8-9 AFTER
Adam sins and
eats the fruit. It is
almost a kind of
demotion for him
after being
elevated to ISH or
husband, and so
it is also the case
in 3:12.
But in 3:16, Adam
returns as ISH
because Abba
YHWH is
reminding Eve that
her HUSBAND
rules over her. To
show that, the fact
is brought up that
she came from his
rib. This was not
because Adam
himself was
immediately
restored or
forgiven, but
rather to explain
the point of his
status to his wife.
17

(Gen

3:17 WTT)

Here however,
another change.
The phrase above
Ule-Adam amar,
the grammar
indicates this is
being address to a
NAMED person as

To the Woman he
said, I will greatly
multiply your pain
and your
conception; in pain
you will bring forth
children; and your
desire shall be to
your husband, and
he shall rule over
you.

ADAM has now

become the
official PROPER
NAME of the
man (ha-adam).
However, in 3:20
it shifts back to
Vayikra ha-adam
shem ishto
Chavah, or THE
ADAMas
opposed to the
man named
Adamnamed
his wife Eve
3:21 though we
are back to the
man named
Adam as it reads:
Vayaas Yahweh
Elohim LE-ADAM
ule-ishto kotnot,
or Yahweh
Elohim made
coverings for
Adam and his
wife. This
construction is
once more for a
proper name.
22

(Gen 3:22 WTT)
And said Yahweh,
Man has become
like one of us,
knowing good and
evil. Since BOTH
Adam and Eve

38

know good and

evil, the phrase
ADAM must
apply to both of
them! It is with a
THE so you could
say the humans.
Same with 3:24, as
BOTH Adam and
Eve were driven
out of Eden, but it
only says HA
ADAM.
Man is not
mentioned in 3:23
directly but it is
implied.
In 4:1 it is simply
the man knew his
wife, not
referring to his
name, but his
category.
4:25 however,
reads Vayeda
Adam od et ishto,
And knew again
Adam his wife, or
Adam knew his
wife once more, so
here it is a proper
name again.

There is also a fourth meaning or application of Adam to consider, and it is that of

Adamites, or Adams lineal descendants. In Genesis 6:1 we are told that Ha-Adam
were multiplying on the earth, but at that same moment, the man named Adam had died
and therefore it could not be referring to him even in a collective sense being part of the
plural intentions of the Hebrew here.
As a result, the daughters of Adam could refer to either Adams own unnamed daughters
or to grand-daughter and so on from Seth and others from Adams lineage.

39

Adam is also referred to by the title ish, meaning husband

Torah Question of the Week:

The Nephilim are also called men of renownwhat are they famous for?
END PART 1

40

PART 2: THE HAFTORAH

Torah Question of the Week:
The Nephilim are also called men of renownwhat are they famous for?
No one really knows, but my best guess is, creating the civilization that may have existed
up until that time. I am however open to other suggestions.

1) Haftorah portion: (English- Isaiah 42:5-43:10) and discuss common themes with the
Torah portion. Read entire portion first.
2) Our linguistic commentary

Koh-amar ha'El Yahweh bore hashamayim venoteyhem roka ha'arets

vetse'etsa'eyha noten neshamah la'am aleyha veruach laholechim bah.
Ani Yahweh kraticha vetsedek ve'achzek beyadecha ve'etsorcha
ve'etencha livrit am le'or goyim.
Lifkoach eynayim iverot lehotsi mimasger asir mibeyt kele yoshvey
choshech.
BORE HASHAMAYIM VENOTEYCHEM ROKA HAARETS (42:5) = made the
heavens and stretched them out and (Who) spread out the earth. RAKIA and
NATAH both mean to incline, stretch out in the sense of sculpting Creation. In a
bad sense, perversion happens when what is made perfect is stretched out beyond
its original shape and this is true physically as well as morally.
VEETENCHA LIVRIT AM LEOR GOYIM (42:6) = and fashioned you into a
covenant for the people and a light for the nations. Covenant (breet) is in Creation
(Bereshit) and light (AUR) is in the Aramaic word for the Torah (AURAYTA).
These concepts are all connected at the most base level.
ANI YAHWEH HU SHEMI UCHVODI LEACHER LO ETEN UTEHALITI
LAPSIIM (42:8) = I am Yahweh. I will not give My Name to another or My Praise
to carved images. One of the clearest statements in all Tanakh that we are not to
substitute YHWHs Name for other gods or titles that He did not sanction. It is
interesting that the same Rabbis who perpetuated the ban on His Name marry this
Haftorah with Bereshit, since 4:26 clearly says, At that time, men began to call on
the name of Yahweh!
HARISHONOT HINEH VAU VECHADASHOT ANI MAGID BETEREM
TITSMACHAH ASHMIA ETCHEM (42:9) = Behold, the previous things have come
to pass and I am declaring NEW (chadash) things and I am telling you of them

41

BEFORE they spring forth. This is a key clue about how to determine the New
Moon. CHADASH is the same word as CHODESH, the word which means new
moon. As we see here, the NEW things that are declared are BEFORE they spring
forth. The waxing crescent of the new moon has SPRUNG forth alreadypossibly
for as much as 2 days since it was born so that cannot be NEW!
SHIRU LYAHWEH SHIR CHADASH (42:11) = Sing to Yahweh a new song.
Again, following the same theme above, this NEW song has NEVER gone forth
but just was bornlike the new moon.
Classic Torah Thought for the Week:
The Adventures of Rabbi Adam
Throughout this past year we have seen on many occasions both lofty insights and
seismic pitfalls of what we call the Oral Law of the Rabbis. Very often the claim is made
that when the Written Torah was given on Mount Sinai to Moshe, a secret Oral Torah
was passed on to the elders who would eventually become the Great Assembly, then the
Sanhedrin and finally Orthodox Judaism in its current form. These are the actual words of
the Sayings of the Fathers, or Pirkei Avot:
Moses received the Law on Sinai and delivered it to Joshua; Joshua in turn handed it
down to the Elders; from the Elders it descended to the prophets and each of them
delivered it to his successors until it reached the men of the Great Assembly. The last,
named originated three maxims: "Be not hasty in judgment; Bring up many disciples;
and, Erect safe guards for the Law." (Rodkinson Mishnah, Sayings of the Fathers,
1:1)
These safeguards for the Law that Rodkinson mentions we would call FENCES today,
or syag in the Aramaic dialect of the Mishnah (yes the Talmud was done in Aramaic, not
Hebrew).
Now, even though the Talmud itself continuously admits that the Rabbis are debating one
another and in effect making new rulings throughout the Middle Ages and even into the
Renaissance, they hold to the idea that the core of their rulings come from this Oral Law
and to be sure, that core was around in the time of Yshua as well which is why he said
Mat 15:1 Then the scribes and the Pharisees who were from Urishlim drew near
to Y'shua and said, Mat 15:2 "Why do your disciples transgress against the
traditions of the elders and do not wash their hands when they eat bread?" Mat
15:3 Then Y'shua answered and said to them, "Why also do you transgress
against the Commandments of Elohim because of your traditions? Mat 15:4
For Elohim said, 'Honor your father and mother, and anyone who reviles his
father and his mother let him be put to death.'" Mat 15:5 "But you say anyone
who says to a father or to a mother, 'My offering is whatever you have gained by
me,' then he does not need to honor his father or mother. Mat 15:6 And you
nullify the Word of Elohim because of your tradition.

42

Now though I want to throw in my surprise for this week. While I cannot possibly
sanction Rabbinic Oral Law going all the way back to MosheI can in this instance
support the core of Oral Law going back to Adam!
Why would I do this? Because, as we are about to see, having that core go back to Adam
is not necessarily a good thing! Let me explain. First, Adam gets a job to do that would
be the envy of any rabbi.
19

So from the soil Yahweh God fashioned all the wild animals and all the birds of
heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to
bear the name the man would give it. 20 The man gave names to all the cattle, all the
birds of heaven and all the wild animals. (Genesis 2:19-20 NJB)
The concept of naming the essence of things goes back to the very beginnings of our
race. As believers, it is a core tenet of our faith to assert that monotheismYHWH
walking in the gardenwas the original faith and paganism came later only to have
monotheism return with greater force later.
And so in the early forms of pagan-corrupted belief, Adam naming all the creatures gets
perverted into the story of a god-hero named Bel or Marduk. He is said to have
combatted the evil serpent Tiamat (perhaps from Hebrew TANIYN Genesis 1:25?) with
100 sacred words or names that cast a magic spell over the beast-serpent and from its
carcass the earth was said to be made.
However, this idea surprisingly also survived into the Rabbinic period. The founder of
Hasidim, a form of Orthodoxy that is akin to what Pentecostalism is in Christianity, took
the title of Baal Shem Tov which translates as Master of the Good Name in English,
so here again the Rabbis love to name things and then they love to classify and codify
that which they have named.
And all this at last brings us back to Adam the Rabbi. Abba YHWH gave Adam only two
commandments to worry about. First, be fruitful and multiplyno problem there. But
the second command created the first rabbinic fence or Oral Law within the Torah
16

Then Yahweh God gave the man this command, 'You are free to eat of all the trees
in the garden. 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you are not to eat;
for, the day you eat of that, you are doomed to die.' (Genesis 2:16-17 NJB)
In other words, that Tree of Knowledge is not kosher. Dont eat from it! Simple right?
Clear as day right? No fruit from that tree! And if Adam just teaches that precept to Eve
and ONLY that precept, all will be well, not just for them, but for the human race.
But that doesnt happenand the question is, why? Its tempting to blame the serpent.
He was, after all, the craftiest of all the animals. He knew how to flatter, persuade and
cajole. But, at the end of the day, if the ORIGINAL instructions and ONLY the original

43

instructions are followed, if nothing is added to nor taken away from that instruction, the
serpent is powerless to deceive anyone. He can lie and pontificate all day long and it
wont matter one bit. So thats why I say that the culprit to all our problems was nothing
less than the first bit of Oral Law in history. Adam has two commandments to keep and
teach and 1 talmid (student) to teach in the form of Eve. And yet, Adam just couldnt
help building the first Rabbinic fence which he passed down to Eve
2

The woman answered the snake, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden. 3
But of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, "You must not eat it,
nor touch it, under pain of death." (Genesis 3:2-3 NJB)
Now lets wait a minute here! Where did Abba YHWH say not to TOUCH the tree or its
fruit? He never did! He said dont EAT the fruitnothing about touching it.
But some might argue: So what? Its a sensible precaution. If I dont TOUCH the fruit,
I cant eat it! Well heres why we should never go beyond what YHWH has told us,
because all the serpent has to do is challenge the Oral Law
4

Then the snake said to the woman, 'No! You will not die! 5 God knows in fact that
the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good
from evil.' 6 The woman saw that the tree was good to eat and pleasing to the eye and
that it was enticing for the wisdom that it could give. So she took some of its fruit and
ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis
3:4-6 NJB)
So Eve takes the fruit and TOUCHES it then smells it. Nothing bad happens, because
YHWH did not connect touching or smelling the fruit with death. But for Eve, this is
evidence that it MUST be okay to eat the fruit and that is what brings about her death, her
husbands death and by the way, the death of the entire human race before Yshua!!! So
much for Oral Law!
From there the serpent puts on his little teacher hat and gives a MIDRASH on the
commands and says several true statements, but cleverly arranges them in a fashion as to
tell an overall lie. It is true, for example, that
1) YHWH knows good and evil.
2) The day they eat of the Tree of Knowledge they will be like YHWH, knowing good
and evil.
3) YHWH, the one True Elohim, does not die.
But heres the lie. The lie is to tacitly suggest that YHWH has denied Adam and Eve this
fruit because He fears they will become His competition. This then leads to the even
greater lie that once they have this knowledge and are like Elohim in that regard, they
will also be like Him and have eternal life! Instead, they already HAD eternal life and
they LOST it because they disobeyed Him! This is what going beyond the

44

Commandment does. Keeping it brings life and expanding or clarifying from the
mans point of view brings death!
And finally, in years past I sort of opened myself up to trouble on this teaching by
suggesting that Eve was the first Rabbi because she is the first one to TEACH A FENCE,
which she does to the serpent.
However, I got pushback on that idea from some very determined ladies who pointed out
the command was given to Adam and it was Adams responsibility to teach it to Eve. If
Eve got the commandment wrong or didnt get it at all, is that her fault? Wasnt she just
being submissive to her husband?
Well, yes and no, because technically speaking the phrase your yearning shall be for
your husband and he shall rule over you only comes AFTER the Fall. Prior to that, Eve
is called EZER-KENEGDO, or the helper who stands in front, meaning she is eye to
eye with Adam and may not at that point be under him per se. And is it necessarily the
fault of a rabbi if his student fails after being diligently taught or rebels later, when Adam
was not present at the time the serpent came to Eve?
Because of the vagueness on this point, it is hard to be certain, but it is that precise lack
of certainty that is my overriding pointthat IS the problem! Once the bad teaching gets
out and spreads and keeps getting passed down as Gospel (forgive the pun), the line
between the teacher and the student being at fault blurs to a great extent.
That is why, at this Set-Apart time of year when everything re-sets, even the Torah
readings back to Genesis 1, we should re-set ourselves and re-dedicate ourselves to the
Written Torah of Moshe as kept by our Mashiyach, Maran Yshua, because we should
not ever fall under this rebuke of his
Joh 5:37 And the Father who sent me testifies concerning me. You have never heard His
voice, nor have you seen His appearance. Joh 5:38 And His Word does not dwell in you
because you do not believe in him whom He sent. Joh 5:39 Search the Scriptures,
because in them you think you have that life that is eternal, and they testify concerning
me. Joh 5:40 And you do not desire to come to me, that you may have that life that is
eternal.
May we then all take careful thought at this time and cling to the Word and who through
eternal life comes!
3) Renewed Covenant portion: (English). Yochanan 1:1-18 (all the way through with
applicable footnotes.)
John 1:1
1) The phrase B'resheet aytohi hwa miltha breaks a most basic rule of Aramaic grammar
by combining a feminine noun (miltha) with two masculine verbs for "to be" (aytohi,

45

hwa). This is unheard of in Aramaic literature other than right here in this passage and in
1 John. This shows YHWH has male and female "images/spirits" even though YHWH
remains a He. It may also be a midrash on Isa_11:1-2, which describes the Spirit of
YHWH descending on Mashiyach using both masculine and feminine suffixes. This is
not something easily translated, let alone when it occurs within the first four words. See
Feminine Attributes in Appendix.
2) Miltha has no direct English equivalent. It can mean 'Word', 'Manifestation',
'Instance' or 'Substance' among other things. In this context, it may best be left
untranslated. (PY)
John 1:2
3) Fulfilling Messianic prophecy: Mashiyach (ruler of Israel) to have origins of the
ancient past Mic_5:2; Isa_48:16. Bear in mind that Micah is referring to the spiritual
Israel of Elohim, those of the Kingdom of Heaven according to the circumcision of
heart.
John 1:3
4) Literal Aramaic reading; "through his hands" indicates the Word as a creative force,
like a sculptor working under the orders of a king. See Psa_33:6; Isa_44:24; Isa_66:1-2.
Please see Alef Tav in Appendix.
John 1:4
5) While Abba YHWH is in sole command of the creation process, the his hands refers
to the Word from His mouth and that Word will become flesh as His Son. Since this is a
form of Yshua the him is in small letters. The same is done for Joh_1:10-12.
Although in another sense it is also accurate to say that Yshua is YHWH. See Luk_2:11
and 1Co_12:3.
John 1:5
6) Aramaic wordplay. Nohra bchashokha menhar (light in the darkness that shines) is a
deliberate mirror-reversal of menhar-nohra (menorah), which marks the conception of
the light of the world at Hanukkah. This puts the birth of Mashiyach nine months from
Hanukkah, during the fall feasts; many point to the first day of Feast of Tabernacles for
the date of Yshuas birth.
Extra note: This happens because first we take the phrase in darkness (bchashokha)
and literally put it into darkness by making it disappear. This leaves behind Nohra
menhar or light from the mountain, a reference to Mount Sinai and the Burning Bush.
When the mountain has thus informed us and done its job we fade it out too, leaving
behind Nohra men, the reverse of which is Menorah.

46

John 1:11
7) Fulfilling the Messianic prophecy: his own did not receive him Psa_69:9; Isa_53:3;
Dan_9:24-26.
John 1:14
8) Miltha refers to the "Manifestation" of the Ruach haKodesh within Mashiyach. The
physical body of Mashiyach is not the Word of YHWH, but his words and actions
demonstrate the Will and Word of YHWH, which upholds observance of Torah.
However, Christo-Pagans like Marcion and Constantine taught that Y'shua's body and
spirit manifest a different "word" that did away with Torah. The Word of YHWH was
substituted with dispensational and replacement "theologies," which are more popular
among Christians.
9) Isa_42:8; Isa_48:11
10) Ekhadaya is a beautiful term used among Eastern theologians and poets; it literally
means "THE ONE" (PY).
John 1:17
11) Shemot/Exo_34:5-6; D'varim/Deu_32:4; Psa_25:10; Psa_31:5; Psa_119:142;
Psa_119:151; Psa_146:5-6; Isa_65:16; Jer_4:1-2; Joh_17:17.
12) Gen_6:8; Shemot/Exo_33:12-17; Psa_84:11; Jer_31:1-3; see footnote 1Pe_5:10.
13) The Torah of Moshe is the Word of YHWH, but grace and truth revealed in Y'shua
are the impelling forces that uphold all righteousness and keep the Word of YHWH
(Torah) positioned in our hearts; these are complimentary, not opposites. It is according
to the Grace of the Father YHWH that Mashiyach is revealed in a person's heart; see
Joh_17:9-10. See Eighteen New Testament Misconceptions #12: Grace and Torah in
Appendix.
John 1:18
14) A wordplay exists between "b'Awba" (in the bosom) and "d'Abuhi" (of His Father)
(PY).

4) Highlight common themes in Aramaic (terms in footnotes which I will read):

5) Apply these themes/issues to modern issues in the Netzari faith. (We must know
where we came from to know where we are going. This time of the year is all about
renewal and repentance, progressing into a new and more righteous life and deeper
relationship with Abba YHWH. We do this is the SEVENTH month which, like the
seventh day or Shabbat is a process of perfecting and re-setting.)

47

6) Relate to all or part of an Appendix portion of AENT or footnotes from a portion (18
NT Misconceptions: #1 Fulfilling the Torah and #2 Destroying the Torah).
STUDY QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED NEXT WEEK
1) How does one word in Genesis 1:1 that cannot normally be translated become
part of what we are told about Yshua in the book of Revelation?
2) There is something very odd going on with the way the 6 creation days are
referred to, what is it?
3) What does the phrase greater light to rule the day and lesser night to rule the
night prove about the original Biblical calendar?
4) How does the image of Noah in the ark hint at our future destinymore than one
answer is possible.
5) Inherent in the curse YHWH gives Adam there is a clue about our future glory.
What is that clue? (There may be more than one correct answer here too but I
have only one in mind.)
Torah Thought for the Week:
Documenting a Failed Hypothesis and its Sequel
As this is the time of year that we begin reading Genesis all over again, it seemed a good
idea for me to try to dispel some of the popular myths about it. No dont worry. Im not
saying that Genesis itself is full of myths but that many secular-liberal scholars have
resorted to telling lots of myths about Genesis in order to get their doctorates, tenure or
any other mark in academia that proves they have officially arrived.
We need to face some very hard facts here. Most of the people whose job it is to be
professional Bible experts are themselves hostile to the historicity and authenticity of
the Bible. They range from the majority view in archaeology called Biblical
minimalism where the Bible is viewed as completely inaccurate, with everyone from
Adam to Solomon probably never having existed at all, to textual critics that think they
can prove our beloved Torah text is the product of the 7th or 6th centuries BCEa fable
told to people in exile. There are many such excesses in these fieldsdozens in fact that
have dismayed me over the yearsbut this week I am only focusing on two of them: The
so-called Documentary Hypothesis applied to the Torah and its just as evil but younger
brother, the Q Hypothesis for the Gospels.
These alleged theories are dangerous to all Biblical believers of any denomination,
because they either deny the history of the Tanakh by reducing Moshe to a legend or they
deny the clear testimony of Yshua HaMashiyachas if the Son of Yah who is also the
Word made flesh never knew where that same Word came from. Yshua and his apostles

48

tell us Moshe wrote all five Torah books; the liberal scholars say instead there was no
Moses and the text has come down to us from four distinct sources separated many
centuries from the events it is supposed to portray. Yshua and his apostles firmly
believe in the entire genealogy given from Adam to Abraham and Isaac to Solomon; the
liberal scholars say they dont know what they are talking aboutalmost all of these
people never existed. Yshua and his apostles affirm the integrity and historicity of all the
great prophets, including Isaiah and Daniel; but the liberal scholars think that at least two
and as many as four people wrote Isaiah and that Daniel is too accurate in prophecies
about Antiochus Epiphanes to have been written three centuries earlier, since everyone of
course knowsthey saythat prophecy is impossible. Never mind that Daniel, even if
their radical late date of his book is accepted, still accurately predicted the death of
Messiah Yshua to the very day from at least 200 years out.
If all this sounds a bit annoyingtrust metheres a lot more where they came from,
and I have not scratched the surface of even the really bad things these so-called experts
have been preaching over the last two centuries. Over and over again, they make
assertions with conviction but never retract themselves when the evidence for their ideas
literally crumbles at their feet. I have many examples of that phenomenon too, but again
thats not my focus.
So without further fanfare let me progress please to my actual point, starting with the socalled Documentary Hypothesis. This theory was developed by German scholars in the
middle of the 19th century, at a time when Biblical skepticism was nearly at an all-time
high, that is to say, almost as bad as it is now.
In a nutshell, the Documentary Hypothesis alleges that instead of the Torah being written
by Moshethe solid position again of Messiah Yshuathat what we have is a highly
edited text weaved together many centuries later by four sources:
1) The J source, so named because it uses the Name Yahweh (German: Jahweh) in
its accounts.
2) The E source, so named because it uses the divine title of Elohim in its
accounts. These scholars then say, without any proof on their side whatsoever,
that the J source are stories derived from the Kingdom of Judah and the E
source are stories derived from the Kingdom of Israel.
3) The D source, for Deuteronomy, indicating that the 5th book of Moshe came
from a separate and very late editor.
4) The P source, another late editor, who is particularly concerned with the priestly
code, P being for priest.
Then at some even later time, another guy who is never named weaved these sources
together, allegedly resulting in the text we have now.
Heres the thing though: If thats true, then it should ALWAYS be the case that complete
original Judah stories only contain J (Yahweh) and complete original Israel stories
only contain E (Elohim), so lets put this idea to the test with Noah!

49

Noah Story According to J

7 And YHWH said to Noah, You and

your entire house come into the ark; for I
have seen you as righteous before me in
this generation. 2 Of every clean beast you
will take to yourself seven and seven, the
male and his female; and of the beasts that
are not clean two, the male and his female:
3 of the birds also of the heavens, seven
and seven, male and female, to keep seed
alive upon the face of all the earth.
4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to
rain upon the earth forty days and forty
nights; and every living thing that I have
made will I destroy from off the face of
the ground. 5 And Noah did according to
all that YHWH commanded him.
12 And the rain was upon the earth forty
days and forty nights. 13 In the selfsame
day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham,
and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's
wife, and the three wives of his sons with
them, into the ark; 14 they, and every beast
after its kind, and all the cattle after their
kind, and every creeping thing that creep
upon the earth after its kind, and every
bird after its kind, every bird of every sort.
15 And they went in to Noah into the ark,
two and two of all flesh wherein is the
breath of life.
17 And

the flood was forty days upon the

earth; and the waters increased, and bore
up the ark, and it was lifted up above the
earth. 18 And the waters prevailed, and
increased greatly upon the earth; and the
ark went upon the face of the waters. 19
And the waters prevailed exceedingly
upon the earth; and all the high mountains
that were under the whole heaven were
covered. 20 Fifteen cubits upward did the
waters prevail; and the mountains were
covered. 21 And all flesh died that moved
upon the earth, both birds, and cattle, and
beasts, and every creeping thing that

50

Noah Story According to E

9 These are the generations of Noah. Noah
was a righteous man, and perfect in his
generations: Noah walked with Elohim. 10
And Noah fathered three sons, Shem, Ham,
and Japheth.
11 And

the earth was corrupt before Elohim,

and the earth was filled with violence. 12
And Elohim saw the earth, and, behold, it
was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their
way upon the earth, 13 And Elohim said to
Noah, The end of all flesh is come before
me; for the earth is filled with violence
through them; and, behold, I will destroy
them with the earth. 14 Make yourself an ark
of gopher wood; rooms you will make in the
ark, and you will pitch it within and without
with pitch. 15 And this is how you will make
it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits,
the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height
of it thirty cubits. 16 A light you will make
to the ark, and to a cubit you will finish it
upward; and the door of the ark you will set
into the side; with lower, second, and third
stories you will make it. 17 And I, behold, I
do bring the flood of waters upon this earth,
to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of
life, from under heaven; everything that is in
the earth shall die. 18 But I will establish my
covenant with you; and you will come into
the ark, you, and your sons, and your wife,
and your sons' wives with you. 19 And of
every living thing of all flesh, two of every
sort you will bring into the ark, to keep them
alive with you; they shall be male and
female. 20 Of the birds after their kind, and
of the cattle after their kind, of every
creeping thing of the ground after its kind,
two of every sort shall come to you, to keep
them alive. 21 And take to yourself of all
food that is eaten, and gather it to you; and it
shall be for food for you, and for them. 22
Thus did Noah; according to all that Elohim
commanded him, so did he. 6 And Noah was

creeps upon the earth, and every man: 22

all in whose nostrils was the breath of the
spirit of life, of all that was on the dry
land, died. 23 And every living thing was
destroyed that was upon the face of the
ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping
things, and birds of the heavens; and they
were destroyed from the earth: and Noah
only was left, and they that were with him
in the ark. 24 And the waters prevailed
upon the earth a hundred and fifty days.
[Note: For this above text, 17-24, NO
references to either YHWH or Elohim
are present! How do the scholars know
which document source this part is
from??? I just made a guess, so I am
sure they did too! The only clue I had
was that quite a few of these details
were in the E account so I gave credit
to J. ]
20 And

Noah built an altar to YHWH,

and took of every clean beast, and of
every clean bird, and offered burntofferings on the altar. 21 And YHWH
smelled the sweet savor; and YHWH said
in his heart, I will not again curse the
ground any more for man's sake, for that
the imagination of man's heart is evil from
his youth; neither will I again strike at any
more all that is living, as I have done. 22
While the earth remains, seedtime and
harvest, and cold and heat, and summer
and winter, and day and night shall not
cease.

[Logic check! Where is Noah told by

J to get off of the ark. WHEN does
Noah get off the ark as J doesnt tell us,
or does he just build the altar inside?
Oh, I forgot, it was ELOHIM who told
Noah to get off the ark! Silly me! ]
20 And

51

Noah began to be a husbandman,

six hundred years old when the flood of

waters was upon the earth. 7 And Noah went
in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons'
wives with him, into the ark, because of the
waters of the flood. 8 Of clean beasts, and of
beasts that are not clean, and of birds, and of
everything that creeps upon the ground, 9
there went in two and two to Noah into the
ark, male and female, as Elohim
commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass
after the seven days, that the waters of the
flood were upon the earth. 11 In the six
hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second
month, on the seventeenth day of the month,
on the same day were all the fountains of the
great deep broken up, and the windows of
heaven were opened. 16 And they that went
in, went in male and female of all flesh, as
Elohim commanded him.
[Hardly any mention of the actual flood
from Elohim. We are only told the
windows of heaven were opened above
and then below, almost instantly, the
windows of heaven were stopped (8:2). I
guess the flood itself was not an
important detail for the Elohim
account!]

8 And Elohim remembered Noah, and all

the beasts, and all the cattle that were with
him in the ark: and Elohim made a wind to
pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged;
2 the fountains also of the deep and the
windows of heaven were stopped, and the
rain from heaven was restrained; 3 and the
waters returned from off the earth
continually: and after the end of a hundred
and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 And
the ark rested in the seventh month, on the
seventeenth day of the month, upon the
mountains of Ararat.
[Too bad the J source has NO IDEA
where Noah landed! Only E knows!]
5 And

the waters decreased continually until

and planted a vineyard. 21 And he drank of

the wine, and was intoxicated. And he was
naked within his tent. 22 And Ham, the
father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his
father, and told his two brethren without.
23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment,
and laid it upon both their shoulders, and
went backward, and covered the
nakedness of their father. And their faces
were backward, and they saw not their
father's nakedness. 24 And Noah awoke
from his wine, and knew what his
youngest son had done to him. 25 And he
said, Cursed be Canaan. A servant of
servants shall he be to his brethren. 26 And
he said, Blessed be YHWH, the Elohim
of Shem. And let Canaan be his servant.

the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the

first day of the month, were the tops of the
mountains seen.
6 And it came to pass at the end of forty
days, that Noah opened the window of the
ark which he had made: 7 and he sent forth a
raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the
waters were dried up from off the earth. 8
And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if
the waters were abated from off the face of
the ground; 9 but the dove found no rest for
the sole of her foot, and she returned to him
to the ark; for the waters were on the face of
the whole earth: and he put forth his hand,
and took her, and brought her in to him into
the ark. 10 And he stayed yet other seven
days; and again he sent forth the dove out of
the ark; 11 and the dove came in to him at
[And who gets the credit for this line? J eventide; and, lo, in her mouth an olive-leaf
plucked off, so Noah knew that the waters
(YHWH) or E (the Elohim of Shem)?
were abated from off the earth. 12 And he
Also the J account ends here,
apparently not needing to know how old stayed yet other seven days, and sent forth
Noah was when either the Flood started the dove; and she returned not again to him
anymore.
or when he died. Oh well, whats 950
13 And it came to pass in the six hundred
years between friends?]
and first year, in the first month, the first
day of the month, the waters were dried up
from off the earth: and Noah removed the
covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold,
the face of the ground was dried. 14 And in
the second month, on the seven and
twentieth day of the month, was the earth
dry.
15 And Elohim spoke to Noah, saying, 16
Go forth from the ark, you, and your
wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives
with you. 17 Bring forth with you every
living thing that is with you of all flesh,
both birds, and cattle, and every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth; that
they may breed abundantly in the earth,
and be fruitful, and multiply upon the
earth. 18 And Noah went forth, and his
sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives
with him: 19 every beast, every creeping
thing, and every bird, whatsoever moves

52

upon the earth, after their families, went

forth out of the ark.

9 And Elohim blessed Noah and his sons,

and said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth. 2 And the fear of
you and the dread of you shall be upon
every beast of the earth, and upon every bird
of the heavens; with all in which the ground
teems, and all the fishes of the sea, into your
hand are they delivered. 3 Every moving
thing that lives shall be food for you; as the
green herb have I given you all. 4 But flesh
with the life, which is of the blood, you will
not eat. 5 And surely your blood, the blood
of your lives, will I require; at the hand of
every beast will I require it; and at the hand
of man, even at the hand of every man's
brother, will I require the life of man. 6
Whoever sheds man's blood, by man shall
his blood be shed: for in the image of
Elohim he was created.
8 And Elohim spoke to Noah, and to his
sons with him, saying, 9 And I, behold, I
establish my covenant with you, and with
your seed after you; 10 and with every living
creature that is with you, the birds, the
cattle, and every beast of the earth with you;
of all that go out of the ark, even every beast
of the earth. 11 And I will establish my
covenant with you. Neither shall all flesh be
cut off any more by the waters of the flood.
Neither shall there anymore be a flood to
destroy the earth. 12 And Elohim said, This
is the token of the covenant which I make
between me and you and every living
creature that is with you, for perpetual
generations. 13 I do set my bow in the cloud,
and it shall be for a token of a covenant
between me and the earth. 14 And it shall
come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the bow shall be seen in the
cloud, 15 And I will remember my covenant,
which is between me and you and every
living creature of all flesh. And the waters
shall no more become a flood to destroy all

53

flesh. 16 And the bow shall be in the cloud.

And I will look upon it, that I may
remember the everlasting covenant between
Elohim and every living creature of all flesh
that is upon the earth. 17 And Elohim said to
Noah, This is the token of the covenant
which I have established between me and all
flesh that is upon the earth. 18 And the sons
of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were
Shem, and Ham, and Japheth. And Ham is
the father of Canaan. 19 These three were
the sons of Noah. And of these was the
whole earth overspread.
27 Elohim enlarge Japheth,

and let him

dwell in the tents of Shem. And let Canaan
be his servant. 28 And Noah lived after the
flood three hundred and fifty years. 29 And
all the days of Noah were nine hundred and
fifty years. And he died.

I think it is pretty clear neither the alleged J or E account can stand on its own. Just read
the story, one column at a time and the sham of this idea should be very clear indeed.
And as for Q, that so-called NT theory tells us that Mark supposedly wrote first, and then
his account was independently adopted by Matthew and Luke in separate times and
places. When these same scholars took a closer look however, they found out that there
was a significant amount of material that was in both Matthew and Luke that wasnt in
Mark, and so they dubbed this material Q, from the German word quelle meaning
source.
However, I think Q really means Questionable because not a single shred of any Q
document or part of one has ever been found anywhere, and I wouldnt hold my breath
for waiting for that to change. And, unlike the character from Star Trek: The Next
Generation that bears his same name, this Q has hardly any power at all. No magic can
save this theory.

54

And besides all this, these scholars have no clue about certain details that are only just in
Matthew (star of Bethlehem, Magi come) or only just in Luke (shepherds at Nativity,
widows gift at the Temple), so who is this mysterious author that did NOT draw from
either Mark or Q? Maybe we should call him Rfor rip off.
Then theres John, who apparently stands alone with no relationship to Matthew, Mark,
Luke or Q and with tons of stuff all his own that no one in this theory accounts for. If Q
was the source then for Matthew and Luke, who was the source for John? And if John is
his own source, why not have this be the case for Matthew, Mark and Luke? And there
are other things in this theory that are simply not explained, such as
All four Gospels give accounts of the Feeding of the 5,000 which cant be linked
to any common Passion or Resurrection Day commonality. Where did John get
his info on that? John himself claims it was from the other apostles who chime in
at the end: WE know HIS testimony is true. No Q needed.
Twice in Matthew and once in Mark the accusation is given without proof of
Yshua saying he would rebuild the Temple in three days, but only in John 2 is
the actual incident recorded. But since Matthew and Mark wrote first, how did
John have more details and where is Q with the explanation for such a thing when
you need him?
Does Q explain why one Lazarus is simply the subject of a parable whereas
another is the subject of a resurrection miracle in John? Why wouldnt Luke
mention the resurrection Lazarus first?
And, as hard as it is for me to admit it, many years back I spent too much time trying to
track down the Q source and thought it might have been Peter, putting that conclusion in
my first book Signs of the Cross. Since then, thankfully, I learned my lesson. The
Gospels are in the same order they have been in for at least 1800 years for a reason,
because Matthew wrote first, then Mark, then Luke and then John. Whats more it is John
(in 5:1-2) that has details about Jerusalem IN THE PRESENT TENSE that were
destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, and yet most scholars say he wrote decades after this
instead of seeing that all four Gospels circulated before that date.
Such a chronology is evident as with statements in Luke 1:1-5 where he mentions
eyewitness accounts in his introduction, which would certainly include the apostle
Matthew and possibly Mark, who has strong tradition east and west of being dictated by
Peter.
Whatever the case may be I say we need to stop listening to the critics and start listening
to what the actual Biblical writers themselves say about their own history. If not, we are
doomed only to repeat a bad history of bad Scripture interpretation.
Im Andrew Gabriel Roth and thats your Torah Thought for the Week!

55

Next week we will be exploring Noach or Genesis 6:9-11:32. Our Haftorah portion will
be Isaiah 54:1-55:5 and our Renewed Covenant reading will be from Matthew 24:36-44.
Torah 101 will return with the Noach portion also next week. Stay tuned!

56