When I look at Genesis 1:1, this is what I see: The general, (or 'masculine') cosmos and the special (or 'feminine') Earth (Genesis 1:1). From there I see six more pairings of general and special, all the way in to Genesis 2: 2. The Earth, as its own general subject, implying that which we all intuit is most valuable about the Earth unto itself in all the cosmos: its abiding maximal abundance of open liquid water (Genesis 1:2). 3. that water and its special relation to the Sun's light, hence the water cycle (vs. 3-10); 4. The water cycle and its special beneficiary and member, biology (vs. 11-12); 5. biology and its special category, animal biology (plant/animal/mineral = animal) (vs. 20-22, 24-25); 6. Animal biology and its special category, human (vs. 26-28); 7. The general man and the special woman (Genesis 2:21-23). From all this, I look at the Hebrew verb-subject syntax: English syntax is such that the subject is prior to the verb. For example, in English, we say 'the dog ran.' But, in being either ignorant of or unfamiliar with the Hebrew syntax of Genesis 1:1, many preachers assume that Divine Inspiration inheres in the fact that the first four words of the English of Genesis 1:1 include 'God' while excluding 'created': 'In the beginning, God'... But this renders the account's first explicit concern to be that of 'theological' abstraction regarding God. The Hebrew syntax precludes this, in that Hebrew normally presents the verb prior to the subject, and v. 1 is no exception: In the beginning..... created.... God'... So the account, in the Hebrew, is not outright concerned for 'theological' abstractions, such as 'God is good', much less with 'God will judge those who reject this account'. Rather, its self-evident concern, in the Hebrew, beginning with v. 1, is to simply bless us by telling us of the fact that God created the everyday familiar things in Nature that we recognize as good for us, and that we know are needed for us to live. This blessing begins, in v. 1, with the actual general cosmos and the actual, special Earth. Any claim that 'the Heaven and the Earth' in v. 1 is but an unnecessarily fanciful, binary expression for a blandly secular singular 'universe' is a claim that should not be made by those who believe the account is a plain and dispassionate one of actual historical events. By putting the verb first, Hebrew engages the reader's or hearer's ability to anticipate. In other words, the Hebrew encourages initiative, participation, and normal relational intuitions. How this works for Genesis 1:1 is very instructive. Where the English is very suggestive of a 'top, down', and 'command and control' attitude, on the part of the author toward the reader, the Hebrew is entirely like a 'calling out' to the reader or hearer, as if to say, 'Come see something over here!' To get a sense of this anticipatory quality of the Hebrew, imagine if Genesis 1:1 were spoken in three parts, and that each of the first two parts was separated from the next by several-second pause: In the beginning created... …God... ...the heaven and the Earth. A characteristic of advocating the ECBL is the 'faithful' presupposition that the English syntax of Genesis 1:1 is ideally reduced to the mere sequence of its first four words: 'In the beginning, God.' ...as if God is just the all-powerful, Creator-of-everything version of the Shrek movie's arrogant and aloof King Farquaad: "I, the author, am the sole authority on all matters on which I am pleased to speak. So you, the recipient, must simply do and think as I say. Hurry up and comply to my commands. You have no right to deliberate. If you have any doubts, you are therewith sinning against me, the Great Judge of All Matters. You shall not reason. You shall simply obey my every word, as if every bit of it were a direct command, to you, from me, your Greatest Overlord!" But, to begin with, the first words of Hebrew grammar of Genesis 1:1 provokes in the reader an anticipation of the subject, God, and, in turn, the object(s). That, in its own turn, provokes a sense as to what is the relation between those objects.
When I look at Genesis 1:1, this is what I see:
The general, (or 'masculine') cosmos and the special (or 'feminine') Earth (Genesis 1:1).
From there I see six more pairings of general and special, all the way in to Genesis 2:
2. The Earth, as its own general subject, implying that which we all intuit is most valuable about the Earth unto itself in all the cosmos: its abiding maximal abundance of open liquid water (Genesis 1:2).
3. that water and its special relation to the Sun's light, hence the water cycle (vs. 3-10);
4. The water cycle and its special beneficiary and member, biology (vs. 11-12);
5. biology and its special category, animal biology (plant/animal/mineral = animal) (vs. 20-22, 24-25);
6. Animal biology and its special category, human (vs. 26-28);
7. The general man and the special woman (Genesis 2:21-23).
From all this, I look at the Hebrew verb-subject syntax:
English syntax is such that the subject is prior to the verb. For example, in English, we say 'the dog ran.' But, in being either ignorant of or unfamiliar with the Hebrew syntax of Genesis 1:1, many preachers assume that Divine Inspiration inheres in the fact that the first four words of the English of Genesis 1:1 include 'God' while excluding 'created':
'In the beginning, God'...
But this renders the account's first explicit concern to be that of 'theological' abstraction regarding God. The Hebrew syntax precludes this, in that Hebrew normally presents the verb prior to the subject, and v. 1 is no exception:
In the beginning..... created....
God'...
So the account, in the Hebrew, is not outright concerned for 'theological' abstractions, such as 'God is good', much less with 'God will judge those who reject this account'. Rather, its self-evident concern, in the Hebrew, beginning with v. 1, is to simply bless us by telling us of the fact that God created the everyday familiar things in Nature that we recognize as good for us, and that we know are needed for us to live.
This blessing begins, in v. 1, with the actual general cosmos and the actual, special Earth. Any claim that 'the Heaven and the Earth' in v. 1 is but an unnecessarily fanciful, binary expression for a blandly secular singular 'universe' is a claim that should not be made by those who believe the account is a plain and dispassionate one of actual historical events.
By putting the verb first, Hebrew engages the reader's or hearer's ability to anticipate. In other words, the Hebrew encourages initiative, participation, and normal relational intuitions. How this works for Genesis 1:1 is very instructive. Where the English is very suggestive of a 'top, down', and 'command and control' attitude, on the part of the author toward the reader, the Hebrew is entirely like a 'calling out' to the reader or hearer, as if to say, 'Come see something over here!'
To get a sense of this anticipatory quality of the Hebrew, imagine if Genesis 1:1 were spoken in three parts, and that each of the first two parts was separated from the next by several-second pause:
In the beginning created... …God... ...the heaven and the Earth.
A characteristic of advocating the ECBL is the 'faithful' presupposition that the English syntax of Genesis 1:1 is ideally reduced to the mere sequence of its first four words:
'In the beginning, God.'
...as if God is just the all-powerful, Creator-of-everything version of the Shrek movie's arrogant and aloof King Farquaad:
"I, the author, am the sole authority on all matters on which I am pleased to speak. So you, the recipient, must simply do and think as I say. Hurry up and comply to my commands. You have no right to deliberate. If you have any doubts, you are therewith sinning against me, the Great Judge of All Matters. You shall not reason. You shall simply obey my every word, as if every bit of it were a direct command, to you, from me, your Greatest Overlord!"
But, to begin with, the first words of Hebrew grammar of Genesis 1:1 provokes in the reader an anticipation of the subject, God, and, in turn, the object(s). That, in its own turn, provokes a sense as to what is the relation between those objects.
Thank you this video helped me so much ❤