Adam was created on the 3rd day

THE CHRONOLOGY OF GEN. 1 & 2
CREATION WEEK
Gen 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth
Gen 1:3 God said "let there be light" (day one)
Gen 1:6 God said "let there be a firmament" (day two)
Gen 1:9 God said "let the dry land appear" (day three)
Gen 1:11 God said "let there be grass, herb and fruit trees" (day three)
Gen 1:14 God said "let there be lights, sun, moon and stars" (day four)
Gen 1:20 God said "let there be fish of the sea and fowl of the air" (day five)
Gen 1:24 God said "let the earth bring forth the living creature" (day six)
Gen 1:26 God said "let Us make man in Our image" (day six)
Gen 2: 2 God rested and gave man the Sabbath. (day seven)
The order listed above is very simple and chronological. You need light and air before plants,
plants as food for the animals, and the planets before the Sabbath for the seasons and times Gen
1:14.CREATION WEEK
Beginning with Gen 2:4 Moses seems to set up a new creation story. In verse 5 it states that no
plants of the field and no herb of the field would grow until two problems were solved, a method
of watering the plants and a man to till the ground. Verses 6 & 7 solve these two problems.
Verse 6 says "but there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground,"
which solves the need for the rain problem.
Verse 7 says "and the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground," which solves the need
for a man to till the ground. In verse 8 & 9 a garden and every tree including the tree of life and
the tree of knowledge of good and evil were planted.
Verses 10 - 14 describes four rivers and their directions.
Verses 15 - 17 describes the relationship between the man and the tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil. Verse 18 shows mans need for companionship. Verse 19 God
creates every beast of the field and every fowl of the air and brings them to Adam to name.
Verse 20 man sees his need for a companion that more closely meets his needs in character and
form.
Verses 21 & 22 describe the creation of the woman from the man. Verses 23 - 25 shows the
relationship between the man and the woman, and we end there.1.A If we look closely at Gen. 2: 5 it is clear that before any plants or herb were going to be
created, the water problem needed to be solved, and a man to till the soil needed to be created.
This came before the planting of the garden, which took place on day three. (see # 7). The word
before appears two times in verse 5. The Hebrew word is terem, teh remi, which means: 1. to
interrupt or suspend, 2. non occurrence, 3. not yet or before. I like the use of each of these terms.
For example while God was creating light on day 1, the heavens on day 2, and the dry land on
day three. we now have an interruption or a suspending of events to do something else: 1. to
create a mist to water the whole face
of the ground 2. create man to till the ground. Now God creates plants on day three, but for
man’s benefit, in the form of a garden. The second definition, non occurrence, indicates that
something had not or could not occur until something else was done, namely the mist and man’s
creation. And the third definition, not yet or before, shows us that plants of the field and herb of
the field would be created after other things were accomplished.1.B The second word we want to look at in this verse is every. The Hebrew word is kol or kowl,
kole. which means 1. whole 2.all 3. any 4. altogether, the same word for all used in Jer. 33: 8,
"And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity." So the word every means that this is not a
partial creation of plants done on some other day than day three or that the garden was created
out side of creation week. This word every is the same word used in Gen 1: 31 "And God saw
every thing that He had made...." And 2: 1 says "Thus the Heavens and the earth were
finished...."
Note the following three versions of Gen 2: 5
while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the Lord
God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, (The New American
Bible), the Catholic Bible.
and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung
up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground,
(New International Version)
there were no plants on the earth and no seed had sprouted, because he had not sent rain, and
there was no one to cultivate the land; (Today s English Version)
before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the
Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; (New
King James Version)1.C Since man and mist had to occur before every plant and herb would be created, and all
plants were created on day three, this would put man’s very first possible day of creation on day
three. Day one we only had light, and day two we have light and heavens, but day three came the
earth from which man was formed and on which he could stand.2. Gen. 2: 8 & 9 "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the
man whom he had formed." So plants in chapter 2 came after the creation of the man. but in
Gen1: 13 the plants were created on the third day, before man was created. In any other piece of
English literature written this way, we would interpret, the garden being planted after the man
Gen. 2: 83. Gen 2:18 And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a
help meet for him." when I ask most people what God made next, they answered "Eve" or
"woman." The verse says, And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them. So
animals in chapter 2 came after the creation of man. But in chapter 1 the animals, starting with
the fish and birds, were created on the 5th & 6th days before the creation of man Gen 1: 20 - 25.4. In Gen 2: 21 & 22 God creates the woman out of the rib of man and brought her unto the man.
Here it is indicated that the woman was created after the plants, after the animals and after the
man. But in Gen. 1: 26, the woman and the man seem to have been created nearly at the same
time. And God said, "let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all
the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth."5. Gen. 2:1 - 3 the Sabbath ends the creation week. Gen. 2: 21 - 22 Ends with the creation of the
woman and does not mention a Sabbath. Because chapter 1 is about the creation of the earth and
the things there in, and it ends with the Sabbath. Chapter 2 is about the Creator s special
attention to man and his needs during the week of creation, ending with the creation of Eve, for
man s benefit. In chapter 1 we have, "And God said" at the beginning of each new creation using
the Hebrew word elohiym, el-o-heem; for God, as in, "God Almighty." When He spoke. In
chapter 2 we have, "And the Lord God formed," "Lord God planted," "Lord God took the man,"
"Lord God said," using the Hebrew word Yehovah, yeh-hovaw; for Lord God, as in a personal
God, Who cared for the man during creation week.6. Eve was not with the man in Gen 2: 7 when God formed man. Eve was not with the man when
God placed the man in the garden Gen. 2: 8 & 15. Eve was not with the man when God gave
instructions concerning the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Gen. 2: 16
& 17. Eve was not with the man when God said it is not good that man should be alone when
God created the animals Gen. 2:18 & 19. For Eve was not created until verse 22.7. It is clear that everything that was created was made during the first 6 days of creation and
that nothing was made after the 6th day, Gen 1: 31 & Gen 2: 1 this includes the garden of Eden,
the tree of life, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which were created on day three, with
the rest of the plants, and the four rivers, including the woman who s creation took place on day
six Gen. 1:26.8. In Gen.1 every time something was created, it wasn’t mentioned until the day it was finished
with the exception of the heavens and the earth.9. Gen.1 is primarily dealing with that which God created, while in chapter 2 the primary focus
is on mans relation to God and that which God was creating, giving us two different topics covering
the same period of time.10. Notice Gen. 2:22, it is a fact that God made the woman after the man and this verse uses the
term "brought her unto the man." Gen. 2:19 uses this term also when God "brought the animals
unto Adam, showing that what was created was brought to that which was already here. In both
verses the word brought is the same in the Hebrew.11. In Gen. chapters one and two there were three different ways in which God made something.
A. From nothing. God would say "Let there be light," "Let there be a firmament," "Let there be
lights." "And God made two great lights;" "He made the stars also."
B. From something else. God would say, "Let the earth bring forth grass," "Let the waters bring
forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life," " Let the earth bring forth the living
creature," "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground," "And out of the ground the
Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air;" "And the rib, which the
Lord God had taken from man, made He a woman." Anything made on the earth was made from
something already here.
c. By moving something around. God would say, "Let the waters under the heaven be gather
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear:"
But in Gen. 1: 26 the verse does not say that man was formed from the dust, as in Gen. 2: 7, nor
does God say, "Let there be man," as in other verses where He made something from nothing. It s
like the verse is trying to say "Let us make the man who is already here in our image, by giving
him a woman."
The verse can mean the same as quoted above with out the added words if looked at in the same
way.
"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion." Mat. 19: 4 says,
"And He answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that He which made them, at the
beginning made them male and female,"
Notice from the (New International Version 1 Cor.11: 8 - 12).
11:8. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man. 9. neither was man created for
woman, but woman for man. 10. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to
have a sign of authority on her head. 11. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of
man, nor is man independent of woman. 12. For as woman came from man, so also man is born
of woman. But everything comes from God.
Using the Hebrew meaning for the word make in Gen 1: 26 & 27, the verse can use the
following words
replacing make.
"An God said, Let us advance man in our image"
"An God said, Let us appoint man our image"
"An God said, Let us bestow man our image"
"An God said, Let us bear man in our image"
"An God said, Let us commit man our image"
"An God said, Let us ready man in our image"
"An God said, Let us dress man in our image"
"An God said, Let us fashion man in our image"
"An God said, Let us finish man in our image"
"An God said, Let us fit man in our image"
"An God said, Let us fulfill man in our image"
"An God said, Let us get man in our image"
"An God said, Let us grant man our image"
"An God said, Let us offer man our image"
"An God said, Let us prepare man in our image"
"An God said, Let us provide man our image"
"An God said, Let us set man in our image"
"An God said, Let us show man in our image"
In Gen. 1: 26 & 27 the concern is with making the man in God s image and not with making
man.
Clearly there are other verses in the Bible that say one thing but we know the meaning to be
something else, based on further study, such as.
(Rev. 20: 10,) (Rev. 14: 11) (Luk 23: 43). Even the parable in Luke 16: 19 - 31.
AND GOD SAID
Well if you haven’t figured it out already, let me tell you what the 7 words were that God spoke
to me that night at my friends house. "Man was created on the third day."
Now just looking at the twelve points listed above we should be able to verify this to be true.
Note the following.
Q. Can we find other examples of Moses writing about a subject in one chapter then writing
about it again in another chapter, but simply adding more information the second time around ?
see point # 10.
Yes we can, and here are a couple of examples just to name a few.
Gen. 5: 1-5 here we start with the creation of Adam simply adding more information about
Adam, like his age, and his sons and daughters.
Lev. 18 is basically the same as Lev. 20 but in chapter 20 the penalties are added, which were
not listed in Lev. 18. Gen 46: 26 & 27 are repeated in Exo. 1: 1-7 but with added information.
The Passover is repeated many times. Exo. 12:3-28 and again Exo. 12:43-51 again in Lev. 23:5-
8, and Num. 9:1-14. Lev. 11 is repeated in Deu. 14
In Exo. 20: 1-17 we have the ten commandment law given, and a more detailed explanation of
how the law should work in Exo. 20: 22 - 26 & chapters 22 & 23. notice worshiping other gods
Exo. 20: 23, killing in Exo 21:12 -25, stealing 22:1, Sabbath Exo. 23:12 - Exo. 31:12-17 & Exo.
35:1-3 just to point out a few.
If I were to ask a married man what he did at work last week he might say something like this, "I
made cabinets, dug ditches, made sales," Any of these will work. But if I asked him what he did
with his wife he might answer something like this, "we watched T V , went out to eat, played
games with the children,picked out new furniture for the home." Two totally different subjects
covering the same period of time.
Man wasn’t mentioned on day three in Gen. 1 because the subject was not about man. The tree
of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil were there also but were not mentioned
because the subject was not about the test of man, it was about the creation of the land and the
plants, not man.
Another reason that man was not mentioned on day three was that God was not finished with
man yet.
see # 9
Gen. chapter 2 verse 18 points out that man, a social being, needed a woman to be complete, that
loneliness kept the man from being complete or happy. Adam himself recognized this in Gen.
2:20. Complete in the way that his need for companionship was satisfied with Eve. This now
takes care of Gen. 1: 26, Man wasn’t in the image of God until the woman came along on day
six. (see # s 7 & 8) And for the first time the plural relation of the Father and the Son is used
When God said, "Let us plural make man plural in our plural image, after our plural likeness:
and let them plural have dominion...."
We worship a plural God who is a social God within the trinity or God Head, and a creator God
who works together with Another in creation. John 1:1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All
things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made." When Eve
was brought to Adam, a desire for companionship was satisfied.
Jesus desire for sympathy and compassion was expressed in the Mount of Olives. Jesus came
three times to the disciples hoping they had been praying, and to receive comfort at this crucial
time of the
Father s separation from the Son, which caused His greatest suffering. Adam felt a threat of
separation when Eve sinned which caused him to suffer. Jesus also said, "if you ve seen me
you’ve seen the Father,
I and the Father are One." John 14: 9. A similar expression was made in Gen. 2:24, "Therefore
shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh." Children learn more about obedience as they see the mother obedient to the father than by
most any other example. The same way we learn more about obedience to the Father through the
Son’s example than any other source. The mother is often times called upon to mediate between
the father and the children, as Jesus has become our mediator. A man and a woman in union
with the Holy Spirit are in the image of the Godhead. As Jesus was the first begotten of the
Father, so Eve was the first begotten of the man.
One other point is that man was put to sleep on the sixth day and a rib taken from him that he
might receive his bride the woman. Jesus was put to sleep death on the sixth day and pierced
under His rib that when he awoke He would receive His bride, the Church.
Another form of completeness occurred at the union of Adam and Eve for they now could create
little people in their own image, which Adam could not do before Eve came along. And he
cannot create except he create through Eve the same way the Father creates nothing except He
creates through the Son and without the Son nothing is made. John 1: 2
From my point of view, this next statement should be pleasing to women. To know that man was
not sufficiently in the image of God with out the woman. That together they constitute the image
of the Godhead, both equal yet both having different roles as the Father and the Son have
different roles in the Godhead. For some men this statement may bring them down a notch and
for some women this statement may bring them up a notch Some men may have taken advantage
of the meaning in Gen. 1:26 thinking
that man alone is in the image of God, but the Hebrew word for man (Adam) can mean
individual or mankind. Gen. 5: 2 states that God called their name Adam. Either way you look at
it, Let us make man in our image or Let us make mankind in our image, or Let us make the man
in our image by giving him a wife. The objective in verse 26 is to make man in the plural image
of a plural God. Though man was created in the image of God, he knew something was missing
after naming the animals, and felt incomplete and alone. Let me point out in the first half of
Gen.1: 27 that man starts out in the singular,
but the verse ends with the plural creation of them, referring back to verse 26 when the Godhead
united in Their plural decision to share their plural creative powers with Adam by his plural
union with Eve.
If man were created on the sixth day, just think of all he had to do within a twelve hour period;
because the first twelve hours were evening, which leaves only morning. He needed first to be
created, Be placed in the garden, be given the instructions about the tree of life and the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil, name all the animals, be put to sleep to have a rib made into a
woman, and then name her. God could do this in twelve hours. But I see this as rushing man.
Another good reason for man being created on the third day. Because on the third day man
would be created, witness the creation of the trees and plants of the garden, and learn about the
tree of life and the tree of good and evil. Day four man would witness the creation of the planets
and the stars, and sense his need for companionship. For he was alone. Day five he named only
the birds. (Gen.2: 19 & 20 does not say man named the fish). Day six he witnesses the rest of the
animals being created from dust and names them. Adam sees that he is yet without a partner like
himself. He is then put to sleep, and then awakes to meet the woman, who he then names Eve.Finally, when we have man being created on the third day of creation we not only have the Bible
telling us that God created the earth and every thing in it, and God making a claim that He made
us and every thing around us. We have an eye witness in Adam, who saw God create the plants,
the sun moon and stars, the fish birds and animals. Giving even greater emphasis to the creation
story verses evolution. It s nice to know that we serve a God who is willing to give us evidence
of His creative powers through an eye witness account of His creation. A God who gave
evidence of His love through the life of His Son. A God who treats His creature as intelligent
beings able to weigh the evidence. As He did on the road to Emmaus, when He hid His identity
from the two disciples, until they came to an intelligent understanding of the lives work of the
Savior of the world. Not expecting them to accept His own personal testimony that He was who
He claimed to be. Luke 24: 13 - 35. And when John the Baptist sent his two disciples to Jesus,
saying, "Are You the coming One, or do we look for another? Then Jesus
answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind
see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the poor have the gospel preached to them. Luke 7:
19 - 23 Jesus did not say yes, I am He, but gave them the evidence.