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We propose now to seek to learn a little of what is implied by the
words of Genesis 2:7: 'And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the
ground'.
The word aphar, translated 'dust' here, may also be rendered 'ashes'
(as of an animal that has been burnt: Num. 19:17), 'powder' (into which the
vessels and the altars of Baal were stamped: 2 Kings 23:4,6,12,15), 'rubbish'
(that had accumulated on the broken walls of Jerusalem: Neh. 4:2,10), and
'earth' (out of which iron can be taken: Job 28:2). 'The highest part of the
dust of the world' in Proverbs 8:26 refers to the soil, without which neither
vegetable nor animal life is possible.
We often speak of the 'ground', but how many of us associate the word
with the verb 'to grind'? The 'ground' has literally been ground by the
action of flood, fire and frost, and so made into a comparatively fine
powder. From this 'dust of the ground' the body of man was made, and to this
at death his body returns. Let us now examine the composition of this
wonderful frame, and see how far the 'dust of the earth' enters into it.
The approximate composition of the body of a man weighing a little over
150 lbs. (68 kg) would be as follows:
Oxygen
90 lbs.
=
40.8 kg
Carbon
36 lbs.
=
16.3 kg
Hydrogen
14 lbs.
=
6.3 kg
Calcium
3 lbs.12 ozs.
=
1.7 kg
Nitrogen
3 lbs.8 ozs.
=
1.6 kg
Phosphorus
1 lb. 14 ozs.
=
850 g
Chlorine
4 ozs.
=
113 g
Sulphur
3.5 ozs.
=
99 g
Potassium
3 ozs.
=
85 g
Sodium
2.5 ozs.
=
71 g
Fluorine
2 ozs.
=
57 g
Magnesium
1.5 ozs.
=
43 g
Silicon
0.25 oz.
=
7g
Iron
0.17 oz.
=
5g
These are the main constituents of the human body, but there are other
elements also present in small quantities. In addition to the 150 lbs. (68
kg) detailed above, we have a trace of the following:
Lead,
Helium,
Lanthanum,
Cerium,
Iodine,
Strontium,
Argon,
Cobalt,
Titanium,
Manganese,
Boron,
Copper,
Zinc,
Neon,
Neodymium,
Vanadium,
Arsenic,
Molybdenum,
Beryllium,
Bromine,
Gold,