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(2) These seas being something new, the inhabitants are not said to be "made" or
"brought forth", as in other cases, but the word "create" is once more introduced, to
describe the way in which God provided this new element with fitting life: "And God
created great whales." The word "whale" refers to certain sea monsters which were
apparently unknown in the creation that preceded the deluge of Gen. 1: 2.
(3) There is no other use of the word "create" until we come to verse 27, where we
read: "So God created man." Man, therefore, was a new creature on the earth.
Not only do we find the word "create" used in this connection, but we are also
impressed by the solemn pause and apparent deliberation before man is created.
"And God said, Let Us make man" (Gen. 1: 26).
The idea that God consulted with the angels or with some other creatures over the
creation of man would not in itself seem probable, and indeed is to be rejected upon the
express evidence of Scripture.
"Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with
the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the
mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who hath directed the Spirit of the
Lord, or, being His counselor, hath taught Him? With whom took He counsel . . . . .?
(Isa. 40: 12-14).
The use of "us" and "our" in Gen. 1:, coming as it does in the opening chapter of the
Book of the Law, a law which emphasized the Unity of the Godhead (Deut. 6: 4), should
cause us to pause. We do not propose, in this article, to attempt to deal with the vast
subject of the nature of the Godhead. A study in Gen. 1: is hardly the place for such an
enquiry. It is, however, legitimate to ask why it was that God, Who is self-sufficient,
should have created anything at all, and further, why it was that He should have
made man in His image and after His likeness. We have already considered, in
Volume XXVII, pages 188-191, the question as to whether the very act of creation does
not imply a self-limitation of the Almighty, and we believe that we have given a
satisfactory answer--namely, that God is not only almighty and self-sufficient, but He is
also love, and love dwelling alone, fully absorbed in its own perfection, would cease to be
love at all. However, we must not stay to go over this ground again; what awaits us now
is the consideration of man, his name and his office.
The name "Adam" occurs for the first time in Gen. 1: 26.
It is usual for
commentators to refer to Gen. 2: 7, and teach that Adam was so called because he was
taken out of adamah, or "ground". If Gen. 2: 7 were the first occurrence of the word
Adam, there might be some justification for this view, but inasmuch as he was so called
in the counsels of God in Gen. 1: 26, there does not seem to be any good reason in
favour of the suggestion, except the obvious one that adamah, "the ground", and Adam,
"the man", are very similar in the Hebrew. If similarity of sound be sufficient
justification, we need not leave Gen. 1: 26, for in this verse we have awaiting us the