Playtime
“For this shall be called woman because this has been taken out of man.” Genesis 2:23
Woman – Word play is an essential part of the structure of Hebrew. We have commented time and again about the ways that Hebrew communicates without punctuation. Using the same or similar consonant structures is just one way that Hebrew draws attention to certain words and ideas. You will remember the word play between “naked” and “crafty” in the story of the Fall. You can probably guess that “man” and “woman” are also related words (ish and ishshah) although you might be surprised to know that they are only related phonetically and structurally. They do not come from the same Hebrew root. Nevertheless, there is certainly a deliberate word play here. What does this tell us?
Phyllis Trible examines these word plays. She makes a powerful observation. “Sexuality originates in play.” The author of this Genesis text actually goes out of the way to pun the words ish and ishshah. Remember that they do not come from the same root. Furthermore, there are other words for “female” that could have been used here. But the author chooses a word play to describe the first occasion of sexual difference. God puts the man in His garden of pleasure and then builds for the man a deliberate designed companion in order that delight may be fulfilled. Before this engineering marvel, Man is the ‘adam from the earth, ‘adamah. Man is not ish, male. The pronoun “he” doesn’t exactly apply because “he” is not male as opposed to female. ‘Adam is sexless. Undifferentiated. But when God produces the ishshah from the ish (significantly, not from the earth), then there is both male and female and play begins.
Not surprisingly, the Church has ignored these implications. It has treated this Hebrew word play in the same way that it converted Song of Songs from a Hebrew erotic love poem into an allegory about the Bride of Christ. We must remember that Hebrew is a language of life – of real people, real problems and real pleasures. Too much cognitive reflection takes a lot of the fun out of living (I am sure you are nodding agreement, especially over all this cognitive discussion). Hebrew is first and foremost about living. Then it is about thinking. Sexuality is at the heart of life and living. We would expect it to take a place on center stage in God’s ordered world. When a culture pushes sexuality into the background or treats it as the equivalent of mortal sin, something is wrong. That is not the biblical view. If sexuality were not so important, it would not show up in a constant stream of metaphors about our relationships to God Himself.
Trible does us a favor by noticing that God puts sexuality in the midst of play at the beginning of our collective story. Sexuality is essential to identity. God made it good. Of course, it is good under His authority, domesticated to His purposes. But it is the first playful element of creation.
Topical Index: ish, ishshah, sexuality, Genesis 3:23, word play
Shalom shabbat!!!
I’m still at the beginning of the verse. The axis, the point of reference, is Elohim. Humanity was made at His/Her image. Humans beings reveals aspects or characteristics of God. Our ego-ism make us take the centrality in this story. This narrative was written to teach us about our nature. We belongs to heaven and to earth. Heaven and earth get in touch in every human being. With our feet we touch earth every day, with our minds we get in touch with heaven. The central character is Elohim, humans beings were made just to reveal the greatness of the Creator.
Shalom
What a beautiful statement. Thank you, Ismael.
Shalom shabbat!
Your welcome, Gayle.
Another element, is that we are taking for granted that sexuality at the beggining is the same that we acknowledge today. Let’s take as an example two cases. The origins of the nefilim and the case of the Virgin Mary. In both cases we can appreciate that “spirituals beings” can have “sexual intercourse” with women and they can be pregnant. (Even if that Being is Ruach Ha Kodesh, as it is in the case of the Virgin Mary) It is my opinion that we must strive to construct a ” theological theory of one” as we are doing in Physics. Shalom….
I’m not sure that the text allows us to conclude that “spiritual beings” were involved with human women in the Genesis 6 account. There is a great deal of debate about the meaning and derivation of nephilim, so I would suggest caution in interpreting this verse. As for Mary, I don’t see any need to suggest a “sexual” encounter, even if only spiritual. God can certainly create a fetus if He chooses.
I agree Skip … stones can be made into descendents of Avraham and on an on ….
There are many complex and unclear deep truths and secrets regarding our awesome ELOHIM which we will never know!
For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts!
I think we need to be quite careful in how far we attempt to go in crafting explanations, theories, et. al. …. Much discord has been, and probably will continue to be, created when the workable text gets stretched beyond the boundaries of viable support. And yes admittedly there are other writings which could be used to clarify some issues but in nearly all cases there are potential problems with these writings regarding authorship, etymology, etc. As such we should probably stick with the canon …. which is pretty darn awesome if you ask me! 🙂
As such our theological theory of one should be that we love one another as Yeshua loved us and in so doing we become molded to His image and likeness so that The Kingdom may be spread for the Glory of ELOHIM! For a short period of time …. about one hundred years there was a theological theory of one being preached by Yeshua’s disciples. And praise Adonai the remnant is being raised up and this unity is once again being sought after and embraced!
I am thinking we need to worry less about figuring out this purportedly unknown theological unity as opposed to having the backbone to embrace this theological unity that has already been defined …. in my humble opinion! In good Hebrew fashion … let us go backwards to go forward! 🙂
Greetings again!!! I’m really enjoying all what is happening in this forum. Well, I can recognized that God can do whatever He/She wants, but this is not the focus of what we are analyzing. If we choose this option every time we are dealing with a difficult text…what objective had a place like this one?? It is my opinion that it is the high level of difficulty what makes this passage quite important and valuable. Because what could be the reason for stop asking questions, can be the same reason for keep on asking questions. Even further, if we don’t open our minds to the reality that Virgin Mary got pregnant by Ruach Ha Kodesh without implanting a fetus inside her body, we are very far from the real humanity of our Teacher Yeshua. The only way that exists to Jesus to be human is through a woman. She shared everyone of the 22 chromosomes that she as mother must supply. Let’s continue sharing our opinions and lets ask God for His/Her illumination.
Thank you, again!!!!
One more point. Can we see the amount of chromosomes and the amount of letter of the Alef-Beit. What a coincidence, are 22 in both groups!!!!!
We must keep in mind that what we consider from our perspective it is not necesarily what could happen there and then. If we want to do text analysis we must be open to deal with these passages that does not fit in our paradigm. This is not so easy, but if we are not willing to be open to that experiences, then we must ask ourselves if we really want to hear what the Word is saying. Let’s keep on searching and letting the text speak by itself and then we can discover that we are not just seeking the truth, Truth is seeking us. Blessings Dr. Moen….we must strife everyday to do
“the theological theory of one” May Hashem help us!!!
This passage today reminds me of “children at play in the fields of the LORD.” “For G-d so loved, He gave… Our Elohim is both a Lover and a Giver. We cannot (and must not) get away from this. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Right? YHWH saw Adam had a need. Adam’s need was Eve. He was incomplete without her. And my friends when G-d gives a gift, we can “rest assured” it is a good one. “He that finds a wife finds a “good thing”!! (lol!). I’ll add my lil’ amen on to that! (Ain’t no woman like the “one-eyed gott!”)
We can only imagine what Eve looked like. We jokingly say- the second time around G-d got it right!, but Eve was the absolute crown of creation. When Adam awoke and laid eyes on this “good thing”, don’t you know the first word from his mouth was either an “amen” or better yet, “WOW!!”. (Wouldn’t you love to have been there?)- lol! p.s. -“Ain’t G-d good?”
“Sexuality originates in play.”
From a “philosophical” point of view the notion that sexuality originates in play and the importance of play in creativity and esthetic activity drove most of my intellectual pursuits from the late sixties to the late nineties and the so called “new age.”
A virtual high school dropout, one day I picked up a copy of Eros and Civilization, by Herbert Marcuse, and could not put it down until I was finished. He also wrote a booked called One Dimensional Man, which I liked a lot.
Marcuse was heavily influenced by Freud who thought that the essence of man was “repression” and Marx who thought the essence of man was “labor.” Someday I’ll try to teach my children the importance of repression, labor, and play.
I had a conversation one day with our Lord while driving my car – actually it was a one way conversation & I listened & was so humbled – it made me cry & delivered me from myself & some of my behaviors in life. The revelation/instruction/correction was gentle & kind from Him & I was astounded:
As I was driving one day several years ago – the Lord began to speak to me about being a little girl on the “play” ground. He said, “Jan, you are just like a little girl on the playground. Remember when all the boys & girls played together so freely on the playground in school & there were no boundaries then – but you have grown up now & there are boundaries – you can’t just “play” with everyone like you are a child – you are grown up now & it is different than it was then – you can’t just “play” with anyone you like as before because there are relationships that are coupled & there are boundaries.” I was shocked & astounded at the same time but yet it drove home such a simple but complex truth that delivered me from stepping outside or into other boundaries where it was inappropriate. I didn’t tell very many about this correcting conversation of listening but it made a tremendous difference/change in my life from that day on – but it was ever so gentle & kind & humbling – a Rhema Word for sure from Him (I felt valued & loved as a human being for sure – no condemnation in Christ) – one that I will never ever forget. When He speaks – we listen & there is deliverance, healing & much fruit born of it. That is why I found this teaching so well put & coincided with what He said to me several years ago – so again – it all fits together more than we can imagine for sure!!!
Ms. Jan Carver