Know your CREATOR, know yourself and know the difference
Recently I took a cruise into the Caribbean Sea. As we cruised so peacefully over the calm waters I realized that this place had once been Hell on Earth.
According to Science, about 200 million years ago a meteor hit Planet Earth at the Yucatan Peninsula, not far from where we cruised, with a force larger than 6 figure time the atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima.
This enormous collision raised a dense pillar of ashes that darkened the sky for years and made breathing almost impossible.
The ash wiped out the Dinosaurs among other prehistoric creatures, and changed course of the World’s history.
A conflict between Science and the Torah’s account
Dinosaurs? Meteors hitting Earth 200 million years ago? None of this is mentioned in the Torah!
According to the narrative of the Torah (Bible,) the world was created just 5762 years ago in only 6 days!
Our Jewish calendar is based on that belief. This year, for instance, is called in Hebrew the Year 5762 After Creation.
Hence there are two opposing accounts of CREATION: the scientific one, and the Biblical one; and they seem irreconcilable.
Which of the two accounts should we follow?
The secular rejection
The secular scientists, who don’t believe in the Torah, consider only the scientific narrative as valid.
In their eyes, Moses’ story is a “Bronze Age document,” bereaved of any scientific truth.
The dean of Comparative Religion Studies, Karen Amstrong, the author of the “The History of G-d,” counts Moses’ Genesis as a myth, no different than other myths of his time.
She counts his story among the Babylonians, Egyptians, Greek, Indian or Chinese stories. Is she right?
Fundamentalists’ view
On the other side of the spectrum is the approach of the staunch ‘fundamentalists,’ who take Moses’ story of Genesis as literally true.
They disregard the scientific evidences of Earth history. Some Rabbis challenge the validity of radioactive scientific measurements and fossils’ analysis.
They are adamant: The Universe exists only 5762 years, and it was made in just one week.
I’ve heard about villages set up by churches in the Midwest, where the visitor walk among the huge prehistoric beasts. Adam, according to the church, lived peacefully side by side with the dinosaurs.
Mainstream Orthodoxy’s view </b
Many orthodox Jews, as well as Christians, find themselves torn between the above two approaches.
On one hand they appreciated the achievements of science and have learned to respect it, but on the other hand they strive to believe in the Torah (Bible.)
And they realize that it is difficult to reconcile the two schools.
When I was young, our devout rabbi advised us to ignore the conflict between Science and Genesis. Leave the topic to righteous people, they know the answer, he told us in piety.
When I grew up a bit, the teachers told us that the Torah is not a book of history, and therefore we should not scrutinize it as such.
The Torah, they said, was written to send us moral messages, so we should just concentrate on the commandments and the moral ideas.
When grew up more, our teacher told us not to take Genesis on face but regard it rather as a metaphor, as a sort of ‘parable.’
We cannot ignore even one chapter
There are major problems with these common approaches to the problem.
First, we orthodox Jews should not doubt the validity of any chapter in the Torah. If Moses wrote it, this must be the sheer truth.
Secondly, as Rashi says, the Torah should have started indeed with the first Commandment, since this is a moral book.
The reason that the Torah started with Genesis is to tell us that there is a CREATOR who rules the world; and that He has the authority to give the Land of Israel to whomever He wishes: to Israel.
Now if you doubt the validity of Genesis Chapter One, you’ve doubted the belief in the CREATOR’s power!
The stakes are high
The stakes in challenging the validity of Genesis Chapter One over are high.
The name ELoKiM appears in the first Chapter 32 times, the most concentrated fashion in the Torah.
And ELoKIM, as you know, is the Name of the All Mighty JUDGE, who rules the world with Absolute Justice and TRUTH.
By righting His name 32 times, Moses in fact stamped the Story of Genesis with the signature of TRUTH 32 times, thereby vouching for its truthfulness.
So if Chapter One is discredited by Science, Moses’ entire prophecy is discredited too.
On the other hand, if Moses account of CREATION is true and credited by science, his entire prophecy would also be credited.
Thus when we scrutinize the validity of Genesis by our Science, the stake is enormous. We either validate Moses or discredit him, altogether.
The Egyptian’s myth about CREATION
Let’s compare Moses story to the ancient accounts of CREATION. We can be helped by Karen Amstrong’s writing.
The Egyptians in Moses time, she writes, believed that the world was created when a male deity named Rah had sexual relationship with a goddess named Nun, thereby impregnating her.
Fearing that her male embryo would one day take over his father’s kingdom, Rah slashed Nuns’ belly, removed the embryo, killed it, cut off its testicles and dumped them into the Mediterranean Sea near the city of Aco.
The lamenting mother-goddess then retrieved her sons’ testicles from the sea, resurrected him from these testicles and created the world. Moses, having grown in Pharaoh’s house, surely knew the story by heart.
The Greek’s myth about CREATION
Moses also must have known the Greek mythology about CREATION. The Greek said that when the male g-d Uranus mated with the goddess of Earth, Gaia, she gave birth to the Titans.
Like the Egyptian’ Rah, Uranus hated his children and forced them back into Gaia’s womb, causing her much agony. The youngest of the titans, the brazen Cronus, had the courage to stand up against his father.
Armed with a sickle, he lay in her womb waiting. Next time when Uranus penetrated Gaia, he cut off his father’s sex organ and threw it to the Sea. This way the world was created and flourished.
The Chinese, Indians, Persians, and all other cultures of Moses time told similar stories.
Passionate stories, but unscientific
Let’s not look down on these ancient myths. They surly stirred up much passion in their believers. The Egyptians used to parade in the streets to their god’s honor, chanting hymns, clapping their hands and dancing with ecstasy, telling each other the good news of the resurrection of the son of god out of its own testicles. They even built impressive temples for their god’s glory, and their poets and philosophers sought deep meaning in the details of the stories. They pondered much about life and death, the father killing of his son, the resurrection of the son and so on. We can understand their passion and empathize with their enthusiasm. But one thing we can say for sure: these stories, as fascinating As they may be, have nothing to do with our scientific knowledge of CREATION. These stories were mythical, not factual.
Now, is Karen Amstrong right by counting Moses’ story among these ancient myths? To answer that, let’s compare Moses’ story to the ancient myths.
Moses’ story in comparison
Looking at Moses’ story we can say, first of all, that it lacks any reference to violence, jealousy, sexual perversion and pursuing power.
His story about CREATION is ‘clean,’ focusing on the facts of CREATION. This alone sets Moses’ story apart from all the other ancient myths.
Moses sees an order in CREATION
Moses also sees an ORDER in CREATION. Some items were created early and others later.
This too sets his story apart from all other ancient myths, since no one in Moses’ time had any conception of an ‘order’ in CREATION.
To Pharaoh, for instance, the animals were just a game, a mish mash of creatures to be hunted or tamed for work or pleasure.
No Egyptian record show any concept of which animal was born first and which one came second, third, and so on. The same is true for all other ancient cultures.
So, Karen Amstrong, who told Moses that Vegetation came first, then Fish, then Birds, then Crocodile, then Cattle, then Beasts, then Crawling creatures and finally Man?
How did he know this, having been raised in Pharaoh’s house?
How long were the six Days?
Let’s now examine whether or not Moses’ story is compatible with our scientific knowledge of CREATION.
Moses says that the world was created in Six Days. Are these our days? How long was a Day of CREATION?
Kabalistic scholars of the tenth century had calculated the answer from a Psalm song.
As you know, most Psalms songs are related to King David. Psalm 90, however, is attributed to Moses.
In that Psalm Moses says something very profound, that “for our thousand years are like one day in your eyes.”
Hence one ‘year of the CREATOR’ equals our 350,000 years.
Since kabala says that 6000 years of the CREATOR comprises One Day of CREATION,
It comes out that ONE Day of CREATION is 6000 times 350,000 or 2.1 Billion human years.
Thus the entire Six Days of CREATION took 12.6 OR 13 billion years, very close to what science says.
The Fist Day couldn’t be related to the Sun and the Moon
This is what the KABALISTIC SCHOLRS of the Tenth century calculated from Psalms.
But we don’t need to follow such a calculation. The verse itself in Genesis tells us how long ONE Day of CREATION was.
Thus, at the end of the First Day it says, “And ELoKiM saw that it is good, and it was evening and it was morning, ONE DAY.”
Several questions arise here.
(1) How could ELoKiM call it ‘one day’ when there were no Sun and Moon seen on earth? As Moses himself says later, the luminaries appeared on Earth only on the Fourth Day!
Hence the ‘First Day of CREATION’ can’t be related to the Sun and the Moon, which comprise our days.
This holds true also for Day Two and Three, as well as the other Days. Hence a Day Of CREATION is an era, a stage in the history of the Universe.
The verse defines the length of a Day of CREATION:
(2) The second question is: Why did ELoKiM call it ‘ONE Day’ rather than ‘Day One?’
Later He would call all the other Days in proper numerical fashion as: Day two, Day three, Day four, Day five and Day six.
Why did He call the First Day ‘ONE Day’?
The answer is profound: The verse here actually defines the length of ‘ONE Day of CREATION’.
How long was it? The time it took the Universe to advance from the ‘Beginning’ till it saw in it Light, Matter and Water.
It is an era that might have taken 2.1 billion human years, as kabala says, as well as science.
Let’s compare Moses’ story to the scientific narrative Day by Day. Luckily, the History Channel (HC) has aired recently an animated series about the History of Planet Earth.
It summarizes everything that Science say about CREATION. It is based on the latest archeological and geological findings. No mention to the Bible.
Let’s therefore compare the HC account with the Torah’s account of GENESIS. Do they concur?
The History Chanel’s account of the Beginning
According to the HC, there was a Beginning, a Big Bang when the Universe was born.
Then, HC says, the Universe expanded, Entropy began to decline, Energy and Light were formed and converted to Matter according to Einstein’s formula.
Then Chaos became an Order and primitive molecules appeared in Space, backed by space’s ovens called Novas. Gases were formed and water molecules appeared.
Then, 4.1 billion human years ago, a barren Planet Earth appeared in space, still bereaved of any atmosphere or life. The scientists dubbed it as The GRANIT PLANET.
Moses’ account of THE FIRST DAY
Moses too says that there was a Beginning, the start of time-scale. Then there was Chaos, Deep and Darkness. Then ELoKiM created Light and Water. Earth was ready for the next phase.
Hence Moses account does concur with the HC narrative, unlike all other myths of his time.
So again, Karen Amstrong, who told Moses the story of the origin of the Universe?
THE SECOND DAY
The History Channel’s account of the oceans’ formation
The HC continues: About 4.0 Billion years ago, Planet Earth became covered with a thick, white ice coat. The HC depicts it as a beautiful, white ball traveling in space.
Thus the Granit Planet turned into a WHITE PLANET. Where did the ice come from?
According to the HC’S experts, Earth passed through a huge area of icy comets that fell on Earth.
For millions and millions of years, our Planet was bombarded by a shower of icy comets that came from Space and gradually accumulated and formed the icy coat.
There was not yet any life or atmosphere on Earth. Then the comet shower somehow stopped. No one knows why. Perhaps the comets passed away.
That era, the scientists say, was a turning point for the future of the Planet. Without water, life as we know it wouldn’t evolve.
Moses’ account of the creation of the Seas
What does Moses say about this phase? According to him, the oceans were created on the Second Day, as it says:
(1:6) And (7) ELoHiM said Let it be a firmament in the midst of the Waters,
And let it divide Water from Water,
1:7 And (8) ELoHiM made the firmament, and He separated the Waters which were underneath the firmament, from the Waters which are above the firmament, and it was so.
1: 8 And (9) ELoHIM called the firmament Sky, ShamMayim (“there are the waters”.)
And there was evening and there was morning, Day Two.
Thus on the Second Day of CREATION, ELoKiM separated the Waters Above Earth from the Water that covers Earth.
Can you find a better agreement between Moses and the Scientific story? So again, who told this to Moses, having been grown in Pharaoh’s house?
The History Chanel’s account:
Science tells us what came next. According to the HC, the WHITE PLANET phase did not last long on the geological time-scale.
About 3 Billion years ago, a volcanic activity erupted at the bottom of the oceans and wormed up the ice coat above it. As the ice melted, the oceans were formed, and were muddy and wavy.
Planet Earth took on a green color, since there was no atmosphere. The scientists dubbed this phase as the GREEN PLANET.
As the volcanic activity continued, the geological plates were pushed up above the water to form the first Dry Land, the mother of all continents.
Primordial rocks along the shores
The HC brings geologic evidence for the existence of this phase. In South Africa, not far from the shore of the Cape of Good Hope, the geologists discovered smooth, blackish special rocks.
What is special about them is that unlike any other rocks these ones are void of any life-form or fossil embedded in it, not even the remnants of the tiniest microscopic creature.
The geologists date these primordial rocks to the time when the first continent arose above the sea, before there was any life-form or atmosphere on Earth.
Similar rocks were later found also along other shores, allowing the geologists to ‘map’ the first continent which arose above the Ocean.
Moses’ account on the oceans formation
After the separation of the Water Below from and the Water Above, it says:
(1:9) And (10) ELoHiM said Let the Water under the Sky be gathered together
into one place and let the dry land appear, and it was so.
(1:10) And (11) ELoHiM called the dry land Earth, and to the Water Gathering He called Seas,
And (12) ELoKiM saw that it was good.
Here again Moses concurs with Scientific narrative. The Dry Land, he says, arose from the oceans on the first part of the Third Day, before there was any life on Earth.
So again, Karen Amstrong, how did Moses know this? Who told him the story? How could you count his story among the other mythical stories of his time?
Whereas these ancient stories are completely incompatible with Science, Moses’ story fits Science well!
The History Chanel account
Science tells us what came next. As the continents were formed, there was not yet an atmosphere.
Next came certain mono cellular creatures, a sort of algae called Stromitolite, still ubiquitous on Planet Earth, still growing in shallow waters near the ocean’s shores.
You can see its picture on the Internet. Just dial its name on Google. What is special about these algae is that it does not need oxygen to grow. On the contrary, it produces Oxygen by photosynthesis.
No one know how it arrived here and from where it came. But according to the scientists, our Planet was soon covered with a thick layer of these mono cellular creatures which produced enormous amount of Oxygen.
“Tones and tones of Oxygen were formed over millions and millions of years,” so the scientists say. Hence this Algae is our true fore-forefather.
A billion and a half years later, and the Earth was covered with blue atmosphere. The scientists dabbed it as the BLUE PLANET.
Thus the original Granite Planet of the First Day had turned into the White, Icy Planet of the Second Day, and then into the Blue Planet of the Third Day.
Next, says HC, the mono cellular Stomatosites evolved into multi-cellular vegetations. No mobile creatures existed yet. The vegetation spread by seeds and wind.
The sky was covered by thick clouds and heavy rain began to fall constantly. The trees grew tall to compete for the meager sunlight.
Millions of years passed and Planet Earth became covered by a thick, tall forest.
Moses’ account of the Seeding of Life
What does Moses say about the second half of the Third Day?
After the separation of Dry land from the Sea, ELoKiM passed a judgment while the Day was still in progress.
Usually He would pass a judgment at the end of the Day, but at the middle of the Third Day, ELoKiM assessed the passing half Day and decided whether to proceed on or not.
Thus the Earth stood on a crossroad. Then EloKiM the JUDGE said that it was good, and that Third Day would continue. Then, Moses says:
(1:11) And (13) ELoHiM said let the Earth bring forth grass,
herb yielding seeds, and fruit trees yielding fruits after its kind,
whose seeds is in itself, upon the Earth, and it was so.
(1:12) And the Earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seeds after its kind,
and trees yielding fruits whose seed was in itself, after its kinds.
And (14) ELoHiM saw that it was good.
(1:13) And there was evening and there was morning, Day Three.
Thus, on the second half of the Third Day, as the Dry Land appeared, ELoKiM seeded life on Earth. The word seed is repeated four times in just a few verses.
The ‘seed’ brought forth grass then herbs then shrubs and then Trees, in that order. No mobile creatures existed yet.
So here again Moses concurs perfectly well with Science.
Can you do such a match between any mythical story of the ancient time and Science? You cannot. These stories are passionate, but not factual.
Only Moses’ story fits well to what Science is telling us.
So, again, who told this to Moses? How did he know that life appeared only after the separation of dry land from the ocean? Who told him that vegetation appeared first, in grass, shrubs, and then trees? How could he know what science confirms now, thousands of years after him?
History Chanel account
Next, says the HC, the trees produced so much Oxygen that the heavy clouds dispersed. The Sunlight could reach the ground and even enter the oceans depth. The trees could grow less tall. Life could develop in the oceans.
In fact, the Planet Earth entered a freezing period. Al vegetation above the ground perished in the cold, but survived in the oceans. Mobile Life was ready to appear in the water.
Moses’ account of the Fourth Day
As the Fourth Day dawned, the luminaries were seen in the sky in a regular fashion, as it says:
(1:14) And (15) ELoHiM said let there be luminaries in the firmament of the Sky,
to divide the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons and for the days and years.
(1:15) And let them be for lights in the firmament of the sky to give light upon the Earth, and it was so.
(1:16) And (16) ELoHiM made the two great luminaries, the Greater luminary to rule the day, and the smaller luminary to rule the night, and the stars also.
(1:17) And (17) ELoHiM placed them in the firmament of the Sky, to give light upon Earth.
(1:18) And to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the Light from the Darkness. ELoHiM saw that it was Good.
(1:19) And it was evening and it was morning, a Fourth Day.
Note that Moses does not say that the luminaries were created on the Fourth Day but, rather, seen from Earth on that Day.
This could happen as the clouds dispersed, and the forest died. Sunshine reached the ground and the depth of the Oceans.
Again, Moses’ story does fit the scientific narrative. So, Karen Amstrong, who told this to Moses?
The History Chanel story
About 2.5 Billion years ago, a catastrophic event changed the course of life on Earth. The glob froze and a thick icy layer covered the ground, killing all vegetation on the dry land.
The scientists dub this phase as the ICY PLANET. It lasted millions of years.
During this period, HC says, mobile creatures appeared first in the depth of the oceans, under the ice, as tiny, swimming, warm-like creatures.
Then they developed into Fish. Then came the Amphibians and the Birds which fed on the Fish.
What does Moses say?
As the Fifth Day dawned, the following happened:
(1:20) (19) ELoHiM said let the water swarm abundantly with moving creatures that have life,
and let birds fly above the Earth in the firmament of the sky.
And ELoKiM created the great Crocodiles…”
How accurately Moses’ account is! First, he says, as the FOURTH Day came to its end, ELoKiM passed a harsh judgment and said that it was good.
ELoKIM’s judgment is always tough, but just. Anything not good is eliminated, whereas everything ‘good’ is allowed to enter the next Day.
Thus at the end of the Forth Day, ELoKiM passed a judgment and terminated vegetation on the Ground.
Then, as the Sun was seen in the Oceans, the water swarmed with MOBILE creatures for the first time.
ELoKiM then created Fish to its kind. Then ELoKiM created Bird and Crocodiles, in that order.
Thus Moses’ account fits Science very well. Science too says that the first mobile creatures developed in the waters, before there was any mobile life forms on the dry land.
Birds first or Crocodiles?
But here is a question: According to Moses, first came Fish then Birds then Crocodiles.
And for years I thought that, perhaps, here Moses wasn’t so accurate.
In Medical School they taught me that Fish evolved into amphibians, which invaded dry land and then Birds appeared. So why did Moses place Birds after Fish and only then Crocodiles?
But then came another TV Show aired by the Discovery Chanel and corrected my perception.
Indeed, it turns out, that at first ‘some fish’ escape from the water to the shore to find refuge from their predators in the Ocean. They came with the tide. Some survived.
But these fish on dry land did not care to invade the inland, but rather evolved into Birds which flew back to the water to prey on fish.
Millions years passed and huge predator Birds hovered over the waters to catch huge fish. Planet Earth was ‘ruled’ by these enormous preying Birds.
Only afterwards some of the ‘fish on the shore’ invaded inland as amphibians, evolving into Crocodiles to its kind.
Thus Moses is more accurate than my Med School’s teachers.
Who told this fascinating story to Moses? Did he hear it from Pharaoh’s wise men? Did he hear it from the smart Greeks? From the Babylonians? From the Persians?
The History Chanel account
As we move to the Sixth Day of Creation, Moses’ accuracy is seems even more striking.
According to the HC, about 400 million years ago enough Ozone was established in the atmosphere to shield the animals from the sun’s intensive UV radiation.
This shield allowed large creatures to develop. At first they evolved in the swamp that covered Earth. Since vegetation was abundant, these cattle-like creatures grew heavy.
Living in shallow water, their bodies grew huge but their legs remained small. They could not run fast.
Then came the giant predators, the huge beasts which could run fast and feed on the Cattle. Among them were the dinosaurs, who ruled Earth 200 to 100 million years ago.
Then, says HC, a catastrophe occurred. A huge meteor, or a gas explosion, wiped out the large Cattle and the Beasts and the Dinosaurs.
About 50 million years ago the stage was set for the tiny mammals to take over. Only 400 thousand years ago, Earth saw the first Homo Sapience, us.
Moses account
As the Sixth Day dawned it looked like any other previous Day. ELoKiM went on to develop His creatures as before, as it says:
(1:24) And (23) ELoHiM said let the Earth bring forth living creatures after their kind,
Cattle and creeping things and Beast of the Earth after their kind
and everything that creeps on Earth after their kind, and it was so.
(1:25) And (24) ELoHiM made the Beasts of the land to its kind,
and the Cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the Earth after their kind.
And (25) ELoHiM saw that it was good.
And ELoKiM said let us make Adam in our form and our image.”
On the Sixth Day, Moses says, life on Earth expanded vastly. New creatures appeared in the following order: Cattle then Creeping things then Beasts which preyed on the Cattle.
Then, Moses says, while the Sixth Day was still going on, ELoKiM passed a harsh judgment on everything He had created on that Day.
This happened just before He made Adam. On that harsh Judgment, some creatures were deemed ‘not good’ and were eliminated, while others were deemed ‘good’ and were allowed to proceed on to the next phase of the Sixth Day, and live side by side with Adam.
As we’ve said, ELoKiM is truthful and just. He is harsh, but just. If He deems a creature unfit to execute His Master Plan, this creature would be terminated.
The heavy cattle and the beast and the dinosaurs were deemed ‘not good,’ incapable to live alongside Adam, so they disappeared.
Other creatures had to adapt and diminish their size to enter the second part of the Sixth Day and live by Adam.
As we see, here Moses concurs with Science. His story CAN fit the scientific narrative.
What about the Creeping Creatures?
Here again I found a discrepancy between Moses’ words and the story I heard in Medical School. My biology teachers told me that the ‘creeping creatures’ developed much earlier, before cattle and beasts. Is Moses wrong?
But then came the Time Magazine and saved my faith. As it turns out, archeologists have recently discovered a skeleton of a huge snake, so large that it could swallow a Greyhound bus with no difficulty.
The archeologists say that this particular skeleton belonged to a young snake. A more mature snake would swallow two Greyhound busses side by side.
Thus after the disappearance of the Dinosaurs, the scholars now are saying, big snakes showed up and rule over Planet Earth.
For millions of years these giant snakes moved around unchallenged, snapping and eating everything on their way. Nothing stood in their way.
So again, Moses is proven more accurate than my Medical School’s biology teachers. Snakes came early, but they ruled Earth after the Beasts were gone. So please tell m, who gave this information to Moses?
Here is a summary of Moses’ story compared to the scientific narrative of the History of Earth:
The GRANITE PLANET……Moses’ Fist Day
The WHITE PLANET……….Moses’ Second Day
The GREEN PLANET……..Moses’ first part of the Third Day
The BLUE PLANET……….Moses’ second part of the Third Day
The ICY PLANET………….Moses’ Fourth Day
CURRENT EARTH.……….Moses’ Fifth&Sixth Days
***
Moses story is a living miracle in our hands
So far we’ve seen that the story of CREATION as told in Genesis does match the scientific narrative. This can’t be said about any of the ancient myths about CREATION told in Moses’ time.
Scrutinized by science, Moses comes out very, very creditable.
How awesome this is! No one, just no one in Moses’ time could even dream about such an accurate account of the history of the world, as Moses did.
We should look at Moses’ story of Genesis as a living miracle in our hands. We, more than our predecessors, can tell how accurately Science supports the Torah.
We therefore stand in awe, as if Moses is speaking directly to us, the first generation living thousands of years after him who can verify his words by our science.
It appears as if Moses predicted that a day would come and people would doubt his words. They would doubt whether the story of Exodus occurred, and whether the Sinai Revelation took place.
To dispel such doubts he gave us the Story of Genesis at the front of his five books, as a test of his truth.
As if he is telling us: since you’ve found my words about the world CREATION credible, the rest of my words are also credible.
And as a final stamp of truth he wrote the name ELoKiM’s 32 times in Chapter One, as if to say: It MUST convey the truth.
Moses’ moral goal
But Genesis Chapter One is more than a mere account of CREATION. It sends us a basic moral message.
There is a purpose for CREATION, Moses is saying. The CREATOR ELoKiM set on the Throne as a JUDGE, to create the world for a trial.
Adam was created, Moses says, for a trial.
And since my story about the World CREATION is true, so should my words about Adam CREATION be regarded as true.
So who created Adam and how? Does Moses’ story about Adam match the scientific narrative about Homo Sapience? This we’ll b the focus of our next class.