after their kind...

Bill Hamilton (hamilton@predator.cs.gmr.com)
Fri, 26 Jul 1996 10:27:23 -0400

In this thread there seems to be a tacit assumption that Genesis is saying
something about reproduction when it uses the word "kind". It's not so
obvious to me. It seems equally reasonable to conclude that "after their
kind" means "according to God's plan for that particular animal (or
plant)." Is there some evidence in the Hebrew that reproduction after kind
is implied?

Incidently, in most NASB translations (maybe in others too) a footnote says
that the word translated "their" in passages like "Let the earth bring
forth x after their kind." can mean "its". Insert that into the passage
and you get "Let the earth bring forth x after its kind." This could be
interpreted to mean that the created animals/plants are the same kind as
the earth. The pattern is broken when man is made "after [God's] image and
likeness". Is there an implication that there are really only a very small
number of kinds? The first kind would be "earth kind" -- totally made from
matter. Another would be "mankind": made from matter but posessing the
image and likeness of God. Then of course there would be "spirit-kind":
God, angels, spirits... It seems to me that I Cor 15 provides some support
for this view.

Bill Hamilton | Chassis & Vehicle Systems
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