Cartography in Eden

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Walking the length and breadth of Genesis 2

Every Bible text is a landscape. A flyover will set forth its general shape—its mountains, plains, and rivers. Sailing around it informs a knowledge of its coastline. But an intimacy with its hills and glens, vistas and moods, its character and its culture, requires us to walk its length and breadth like Abraham.

“Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17)

From “mapping” the entire Book of Isaiah, I learned that sometimes the only way to precisely determine the section breaks within a biblical text is to go through it step-by-step, word-by-word. Although subtle, the fingerprint of God—the covenantal “rhythm”—remains unmistakable even at this level of detail.

Analyzing the structure of the Bible reminds me of what is known as the “coastline paradox.” As the crow flies, measuring distance is a straightforward pursuit because one is dealing only in straight lines. But how does one measure “roughness”?

If you sail around an island, your path will have a high degree of “generalisation.” But if you walk around it, keeping close to the shore, the path will be more detailed, and thus give you a greater distance. If you use a tape measure to trace where the rocks and sand meet the water, the distance will be greater again. Well, that is what you can see in the index to the Volumes, Episodes, and Cycles at the start of this book. They all measure the same thing, yet they all have different lengths.

The father of fractal geometry, Benoît Mandelbrot, who expanded upon the coastline theory of Lewis Fry Richardson, would tell us that such discrepancies in length, being the result of differences in resolution, are not discrepancies in accuracy. Mandelbrot applied this theory to fractal surfaces, such as the layered patterning found in crystalline structures.

Since the beginnings and endings of the patterning in Isaiah are not marked in the text, “sailing around” the book can only give us a general idea of its shape. Getting a better idea, and making a better map, requires looking at it in higher resolution—walking the sentences and tallying the words, right down to the rocks and the pebbles.1The Shape of Isaiah: A Covenant-Literary Analysis (Isaiah 1-12), 59-60.
 

It is more than ten years since I did a flyover of Genesis 2.2See Covenant Structure in Genesis 2. It was clear even from a cursory analysis that it was governed by the standard biblical covenant pattern, and more importantly, that its content was deliberately arranged as a recapitulation of Genesis 1. Instead of being “another creation story,” or such a chronological shambles that it exposed the “mythical” nature of the text, it was meticulously crafted by God to indicate the correspondence between the cosmic, global elements in Genesis 1 and their local, legal representatives in Genesis 2. The social order was set up as a replica of the physical order, the same architecture but in miniature.

This also explains the introduction of the name Yahweh for the Lord. Rather than being evidence for a different source of this chapter, or of an interpolation by Moses thousands of years later, it demonstrates the correspondence between Genesis 2 as a time of law-giving and Exodus 3-4 as the commencement of a time of law-giving. In covenantal terms, God’s use of Yahweh is a sign of a momentous delegation of authority. For Adam, it concerned the rule of the physical land and sea. For Moses and Israel, it inaugurated the social land and sea (Jew and Gentile) that was conceived in Abraham. Genesis 2 was the foundation of a “model world” as the court of God. Exodus 35-40 was the foundation of an even more glorious “model world” as the court of God.

With these observations, we can start throwing Edenic dust onto the budget coffins of theistic evolution, JEDP theory, and the frustratingly obtuse novelty mutation, “covenant creationism.” Better still, a mass grave with no memorial. Or left to be eaten by the birds and the beasts. Good riddance to these whitewashed sepulchres. May the Church be freed from in-house serpentine attacks upon the foundations of the Word of God. The Bible is always smarter than we are. Credo ut intelligam, indeed.

Overview

A more precise analysis has resulted in a couple of adjustments to the original breakdown. Firstly, it turns out that the creation of Adam in Genesis 2:7 is not the culmination of the first cycle but the beginning of the second. Secondly, and echoing the previous adjustment, the final cycle begins with the construction of the Woman (Genesis 2:22), rather than with the final statement concerning marriage in general (Genesis 2:24).

TRANSCENDENCE
Initiation
Genesis 2:4-6
The world awaits its divinely-appointed steward. (Sabbath)
HIERARCHY
Delegation
Genesis 2:7-9
The ground, the man, and the two trees. (Passover)
ETHICS: Priesthood
Presentation
Genesis 2:10-14
The rivers that water the world (Firstfruits)
ETHICS: Kingdom
Purification
Genesis 2:15-17
The food law and its penalty (Pentecost)
ETHICS: Prophecy
Transformation
Genesis 2:18-19
The birds and beasts assembled (Trumpets)
Oath/Sanctions
Vindication
Genesis 2:20-21
The creatures are named. The man is ritually slain (Atonement)
Succession
Representation
Genesis 2:22-25
The woman is constructed and glorified (Booths)
.

Analysis

Initiation

Genesis 2:4-6

Creation

These are (Transcendence)
the generations (Hierarchy)
[of] the heavens (Ethics)
and the earth (Oath/Sanctions)
when they were created. (Succession)
.

Division

In the day
that made
Yahweh God
the earth
and the heavens,
.

Ascension

and any
plant
of the field
before
was in the earth,
.

Testing

and any
herb
of the field
before
had grown,
.

Maturity

for not
had caused it to rain
Yahweh God
on the earth,
—
.

Conquest

and man (Transcendence)
[there was] not (Hierarchy)
to cultivate (Ethics)
the ground (Oath/Sanctions)
— (Succession)
.

Glorification

But a spring (Initiation)
went up (Delegation)
from the land (Presentation)
and watered (Purification)
the whole (Transformation)
face (Vindication)
of the ground. (Representation)
.

Delegation

Genesis 2:7-9

Creation

And formed
Yahweh God
man
[from] the dust
of the ground.
.

Division

and breathed
in his nostrils
the breath
of life,
and became
the man
a being
living.
.

Ascension

And planted
Yahweh God
a garden
in Eden
in the east.
.

Testing

and He put
there
the man
whom
He had formed.
.

Maturity

And made grow | Yahweh God
out | of the ground
every | tree
that is pleasing | to the sight
and good | for food.
.

Conquest

and the tree
of life [was]
in the midst
of the garden,
and the tree
of the knowledge
of good
and evil.
.

— (no Glorification stanza)

Presentation

Genesis 2:10-14

Creation

Now a river
went out
of Eden
to water
the garden;
.

Division

and from there
it parted
and became
four
headwaters.
.

Ascension

The name
of the first
[is] Pishon;
It winds through
the whole
land
of Havilah.
.

Testing

There | there [is]
gold, | and the gold
of land that | [is] good;
There [are] | bdellium
and stone | the onyx.
.

Note: The kingly Stanza of the priestly Cycle is comprised of Ten Words. The High Priest’s garments included items of gold and onyx. Manna was the colour of bdellium.

Maturity

And the name
of the river
second
[is] Gihon [bursting forth];
It winds through
the whole
land
of Cush.
.

Conquest

And the name
of the river
third
[is] Tigris [swift];
it runs along
the east side
of Assyria.
.

Glorification

And the river
fourth
is the Euphrates. [break forth, fruitfulness]
.

Note: Presentation/Ascension Cycle ends with an abrupt Ascension, perhaps prefiguring the future self-exaltations of Babel and Babylon.

Purification

Genesis 2:15-17

Transcendence

And took
Yahweh God
the man
and put him
in the Garden
of Eden
to tend
and keep it.
.

Hierarchy

And commanded
Yahweh God
the man,
saying,
—
.

Ethics

Of every
tree
of the garden
freely
you may eat.
.

Oath/Sanctions

But of the tree
of the knowledge
of good
and evil
not
you shall eat
from;
.

Succession

for
in the day
that you eat
of it
surely
you shall die.
—
.

Transformation

Genesis 2:18-19

Transcendence

And said | Yahweh God,
Not | good [it is]
that should be | man alone;
I will make | him
a helper | suitable.
.

Hierarchy

And formed
Yahweh God
out of
the ground
—
.

Ethics

every
beast
of the field
and
every
bird
of the air.
.

Oath/Sanctions

Transcendence
He brought [them] (Initiation)
Hierarchy
to (Delegation)
Ethics: Priesthood
Adam (Presentation)
Ethics: Kingdom
to see (Purification)
Ethics: Prophecy
what (Transformation)
Oath/Sanctions
he would call (Vindication)
Succession
them. (Representation)
.

Succession

All
whatever
called
Adam
[each] creature
living,
that [was]
its name.
.

Vindication

Genesis 2:20-21

Transcendence

So gave
Adam
names
to all
livestock,
.

Hierarchy

and to the birds
of the air
and to every
beast
of the field;
.

Ethics

but for Adam
not
was found
a helper
suitable.
.

Oath/Sanctions

So caused to fall
Yahweh God
a deep sleep
upon Adam
and he slept.
.

Succession

And He took
one
of his ribs
and closed up
the flesh
in its place.
—
.

Note: Succession is missing its Succession until the Woman is constructed.

Representation

Genesis 2:22-25

Transcendence

And made
Yahweh God
the rib
which he had taken
from the man
into a woman,
and He brought her
to the man.
.

Hierarchy

And said
Adam,
“This now
[is] bone
of my bones
and flesh
of my flesh.”
.

Ethics

This [one]
shall be called
Woman,
because
out of Man
was taken
this [one].”
.

Oath/Sanctions

Therefore
shall leave
a man
his father
and mother
.

Succession

and be joined
to his wife,
and they shall become
flesh
one.
.
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References

References
↑1 The Shape of Isaiah: A Covenant-Literary Analysis (Isaiah 1-12), 59-60.
↑2 See Covenant Structure in Genesis 2.
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