Re: [asa] The Hebrew for the Making of Man

I e-mailed a prominent Hebrew scholar from a local seminary (I don't want to use his name without permission). Although he was too busy to make a detailed response, he took a quick look at the paper that David had originally posted (arguing against TE), and his response was that he disagreed with the basic way that article dealt with the Hebrew of the text, and that his fundamental belief is that the Hebrew does not say anything about the "how" of God creating mankind.
Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: David Campbell <pleuronaia@gmail.com>
To: AmericanScientificAffiliation <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Mon, 4 Feb 2008 6:30 pm
Subject: Re: [asa] The Hebrew for the Making of Man

> I'd be very interested to hear anyone's responses as to the grammatical
> question.

The thread has gotten away from this. I'd also be interested in any
comments on the grammatical claims relating to the creation of Adam
(2:7).

What I do know from examination of concordances, footnotes, etc. with
rather limited knowledge of Hebrew is
a) claiming that a particular word must always/never mean something is
probably a bit suspect-there's often a good deal of flexibility
b) figurative and literal usage is not determined by vocabulary;
rather it is the style, the context, and comparison with known
physical reality which enables us to detect literal or figurative
statements
c) reading particular scientific concepts into the text is probably
wrong. In particular, the argument about Adam becoming a living being
hinges on a precise interpretation of the sequence and nature of the
events described in making Adam in Genesis 2, which seems a bit
circular.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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