 Without definite article  5 as personal name (4:25; 5:1a, 3, 4, 5; 4:1*)  4 as humanity (generic / en masse; 1:26; 2:5; 5:1b, 2; 1:27*)  With definite article  20 archetypal individual (2:7 – 3:24)  3 with preposition (2:20; 3:17, 21) 34 occurrences in Genesis 1-5

Literary introduction: This is the account (toledoth) of the heavens and the earth (2:4)  None recapitulative  If sequel, people in Gen 1 not necessarily Adam & Eve  2 nd account does not need to fit into day 6 RefRelation Connection 5:1parallel/sequelCain → Seth 6:9sequelPre-flood condition → Noah 10:1sequelNoah and sons → Table of nations 11:10recursiveTable of nations → Shem’s descendants 11:27sequelShem’s descendants → Terah/Abraham 25:12sequelAbraham → Ishmael 25:19recursiveIshmael → Isaac/Jacob 36:1sequelIsaac/Jacob → Esau’s family 36:9sequelEsau’s family → Esau’s line 37:2recursiveEsau’s line → Jacob’s family

proposal: archetypal functions  Everything in Gen 2 regarding human origins is first and foremost archetypal  Not just prototypes  The “forming” accounts are most relevant to Adam and Eve as archetypes rather than as individuals  Identified as archetypal if it refers to everyone, not just individuals

 Events planned long ago (Isa 37:26)  Heart formed (= thoughts, Ps. 33:15)  Days ordained by God (Ps. 139:16)

The LORD, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person...

 Not chemistry or craftsmanship  Dust = mortality (Gen. 3:19)  Immortal people would not need a tree of life

 Every human is formed from dust  First man of dust and all from dust (1 Cor. 15:47-48) “For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14, NIV)

 Being formed from dust does not describe material formation  Being formed from dust would not preclude being born of woman  Not material origin but identity  Intended to communicate what all humans are, not what Adam uniquely is “For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14, NIV)

 “Bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh”  Architectural term: one side of a pair  Aramaic, LXX, Vulgate all ambiguous  3 rd – 4 th c. Rabbi Samuel ben Nahmani

Tardemah: Deep Sleep  Visionary state: Unresponsive to human realm and correspondingly responsive to communication from the divine realm  Abraham in Genesis 15 (Eliphaz, Daniel)  LXX: ekstasis; Vulgate: sopor (as early as Tertullian)

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh

 Serve and Keep (Gen. 2:15)  “Helpmeet” – Eve to help Adam in sacred task  As priests they are representatives of all humans  Priestly representation differs from archetypal representation  Priests as Israel is a kingdom of priests: mediating knowledge of God and access to God’s presence

 If the details of the “forming” apply to the archetypes, we have no information about the forming of the individuals  Archetypal identity does not negate the existence of the individual—Adam and Eve are individuals, but more importantly are archetypes.  Appropriate question is not “Is this really what happened?” but “Is this what people really are?” (focus on identity, not event)

 Humankind was created with mortal bodies  Humankind was provisioned by God (garden)  Humankind was given the role of serving in sacred space (implies relationship with God)  Humankind was divided into male and female and so would seek out new family relationship message of genesis archetypes

 If Genesis 2 has an archetypal focus, there is no biblical account of material human origins  Does not mean that common descent is true, only that it would not contradict the biblical record  Special, direct creative work of God is found minimally at functional level  Endowing with image of God  Creation of spiritual being  Designating as priests

Romans 5:12-14  Sin entered through one man  Death for people through sin  Sin not charged when there is no law  Does not clarify how or when all sinned  Nothing necessitates Adam was first or that we are all genetically derived from him  No claim about material origins of humans

1 Corinthians 15:22  Death and its solution came through a man  In Adam all die; in Christ all made alive  Neither suggests genetic relationship  No claims about human origins  Christ achieved what Adam failed to achieve

 At the right time in his purposes God conferred his image on all people.  This identity and function given by God made humanity distinct from its genetic predecessors.  Adam and Eve were real people in a real past, our representatives through whose actions we all became accountable for sin and therefore subject to it.  We are consequently doomed to death without the remedy of the death of Christ, provided for our salvation. Putting Together the Theological Issues

 God’s creation of humans involved a long process conceived, designed and executed such that it resulted in phylogenetic continuity between species via change over time from a common ancestor.  We are more than what we are made of: ontogeny ≠ ontology  “God did it” and “it evolved” are not mutually exclusive  No need to accept any particular evolutionary model since the mechanisms posited by the current models remain uncertain and controversial even among scientists.  Such a position is compatible with faithful interpretation of the biblical text and can be consistently maintained within the framework of orthodox theology. Putting Together the Scientific Issues

 Importance of recognizing biblical claims  Acceptance of those who choose differently  Acceptance of science does not require rejection of Bible or faith