Meanings of names in Genesis 2 and 3

Posted by Allen Watson
Definitions from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary

As I posted back on January 5:

Names represents states of consciousness. Places represent places in consciousness. Every character in the Bible is some aspect of you.

Below, I have copied a number of definitions of names and places from Genesis Chapter 2, showing their relation to states of consciousness, from the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary by Charles Fillmore, co-founder of Unity. You might want to print these out to save yourself time in looking them up during your study.

Continuing Fall Ch 3...

This story opens us up to the possibility of our capacity for acting in both good and evil ways and this duality exists in all people. Welcome to the exploration of the shadow. We can choose whether to act out of our better selves or our darker impulses.

This story declares truth about me Gen 3

Judaism does not have the concept of original sin. Instead, it has the concept of "inclination to evil" (yetzer hara).

As consciousness opened to the possibility of an alternative to the way of unity consciousness everything became “fractured & distorted.”

This story is a reminder that the fellowship we were meant to have with God and each other, somehow, in one moment, was over come by ego, selfishness and ungratitude.

Passing through the Cherubim

V 24 God places the cherubim with a flaming sword at the entrance of Eden not to keep Adam and Eve out but to guard the way, lest they eat of the Tree of Immortality in the state of duality. The implies that Adam and Eve had not been immortal.

So, the cherubim with the flaming sword. What do they represent?

You Are Not Enough the Way You Are Gen 3

V 5 ...you're not enough the way you are; created in the image and likeness of God you've got to make something of yourselves

The story we tell ourselves goes like this: Our beginnings are in our achievements. There are no gifts to be given because there's no giver. We end up only with whatever we manage to scrape together for ourselves. Whoever has the most stuff when he dies wins. 'This story ends in despair.

All I see between the devil and me is… Gen 3

In "The Creation of the World and Other Matters" by Arthur Miller, God and Lucifer have a conversation about the problem of Adam and Eve enjoying life and the garden, but not reproducing.

The Garden of Eden was where?

Someone once asked a respected theologian where the Garden of Eden was. He replied, "1413 East Elm Street, Knoxville, Tennessee." "You're kidding!" the questioner exclaimed. "I thought it was in Mesopotamia." "Well," the theologian drawled, "you couldn't prove it by me. For it was right there on East Elm when I was but a boy that I one day took some money from my mother's purse, went to the store, bought some candy, and I ate it. Then I came home and was so ashamed, I hid in a closet. That's where I was when my mother came looking for me, calling out, 'Where are you? What have you done?'"

Some excerpts from Charles Fillmore's writings on Genesis 1

Charles Fillmore’s teaching about the six days of creation:

The six-day creation of the universe (including man) as described in Genesis is a symbolic story of the work of the higher realms of the mind under divine law. (Atom-smashing Power of the Mind, p. 12)

Read in the light of Spirit, the first chapter of Genesis is a description, in symbol, of the creative action of universal Mind in the realm of ideas.

Creation Story Reloaded Genesis 2

V 20 'no suitable helper was found.'

I can recall the ride home from Sunday school in my familys' green Rambler station wagon when I asked my parents about Eve being made from Adams rib. 'What about it,' they asked, 'Well it seemed to me that making a man and all the animals out of the ground was pretty cool,' I said in my most off hand manner. 'Darn right,' my parents agreed together.

Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Preface

The four-page Preface to the Metaphysical Bible Dictionary is a gem, describing what metaphysical interpretation is, and the principles employed by Charles Fillmore and the other Unity teachers who helped compile the dictionary. In particular, on the third page, is a concise summary of many of the principle metaphysical meanings of the book of Genesis that will be of particular interest to everyone who engaged in today's discussion about Chapter 1. For those who do not yet own the dictionary, I have posted a scan of those four pages as a PDF file. See the link at the bottom of the "Key Bible Study Links" section of the righthand sidebar, "MBD Preface".

Three levels of Bible interpretation

In class today I mentioned the idea of three levels of interpretation. I found the idea, actually in a writer from the Second Century, Origen of Alexandria. The following is an extract from an article in New Thought Magazine, "The Biblical Foundation of the New Thought Movement," by Mary A. Tumplin, in the Autumn 2009 issue:

Reading for our February meeting

We had 19 people at the 8:45 AM meeting today of the Metaphysical Bible Study group! We're off to a great start. I spoke to at least one other person who said they had been unable to be there today but planned to come in the future, so we may be growing. Rev. Billie gave a very interesting talk this morning based on the metaphysical interpretation of Numbers 22-24 in the Old Testament, and promoted our group as well.

We agreed, in the meeting, to meet next month (Feb. 14) to discuss Genesis 2 and 3. Please read through these passages between now and then, and post any thoughts or questions on the blog (http://metabible.blogspot.com). Remember, you must be registered as an "author" to post on the blog. To be an author, simply email me, Allen Watson, to send you an invitation. When you receive the invitation, follow the instructions it contains.

Daniel will post a list of suggested (but optional) weekly readings which you can do in addition to the one passage selected each month for group discussion. These additional readings will give a representative sampling, or a kind of synopsis, of the entire Bible over the course of the next two years. Daniel promised to keep the readings to a length that can be read in 30 minutes each week.

Other Metaphysical Interpretation principles

In the class some of us took during SEE week last summer, we learned that the key to metaphysical interpretation is learning the meaning of names (people and places), of certain key words, and of certain symbolic numbers.

Names represents states of consciousness.
Places represent places in consciousness.

Every character in the Bible is some aspect of you.

Guidelines for Metaphysical Bible Interpretation

Last year, in "New Thought Magazine", I ran across an article that contained these guidelines for metaphysical Bible study.

1. Elements in Scripture represent ideas in mind.

2. Allegorical interpretation explains the idealistic process of "ideation and formation" in such a way that an increase in spiritual understanding and actual spiritual development results.

3. All allegorical interpretations must be in harmony with the principles of Being and primarily the assertion that: "There is only one Presence and one Power everywhere: God the good, omnipotent."

4. All allegorical interpretations must be relevant to the interpreter.

5. The Bible as a whole is an "idealistic illustration of the spiritual unfoldment of humanity."

6. All allegorical interpretations must be open to revision so that no interpretation can ever achieve dogmatic status.

7. Normative allegorical interpretations (as offered in "the metaphysical Bible dictionary" and Fillmore texts) presuppose the possibility that individuals may offer different interpretation on the basis of their personal inspiration.

Creation Celebration Psalms Style !

#104
O my soul, bless God! God, my God, how great you are!
beautifully, gloriously robed,
Dressed up in sunshine,
and all heaven stretched out for your tent.
You built your palace on the ocean deeps,

The Divine Indelible Image

V 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
V 27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

v 28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

v 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

v 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

God grants His living image to all humanity, to every human being, investing in everyone equally. All persons have access to God by virtue of being human. Since you are created and endowed with the breath of God, you are important.

God is One who chooses to share power in this relationship. There is no mandate for humans to rule each other, only the earth and animals. So the call is a non-coercive, shared dominion. It is a generous loving power, it is the power to nurture, enhance and empower; it is not dominion for self aggrandizement. Given the image of God as Creator, this commission to stewardship and dominion means to be creative in word and deed.

The word "God" in this chapter primarily refers to God as one who creates. This indicates those created in the image of God are fundamentally creative beings. From the beginning, God chooses not to be the only one with creative power and the ability to exercise it.

Human beings are created to "subdue the earth." The word "subdue" makes clear that the creation is not "perfect." The creation is not presented as "a finished product," to be preserved as it was originally created. [Indeed there is no Divine vision of returning to the Garden; we are headed for a city! Revelation 22] Human beings are not to assume that God will take care of everything, but instead we are called to creative engagement. God creates world in which the future is open to dynamic possibilities in which creative activity is essential to bring order out of disorder and draw out the fullest possible potential of the earth experience.

The image of God is a gift, along with food and fertility. God does not ask for anything in return, [humans are not regulated to the status of servants, to meet some need of God] but are, in gratitude, to share as they had been shared with, and have the opportunity to be in a transformative relationship with God as a friend and lover. This is presented as the way God normally operates, rather than some special exception to the rules. Do we act like someone who bears the image of God? God has invested the image in each one of us. What does this mean to you?
　
Humans are given the administration of God’s own work, as His representatives on earth. They will become the shapers and creators of history. Also, they will brinfg forth murder, polygamy, violence, metallurgy, music & animal husbandry, vineyards etc.

YHWH is the king until the 10th century when Saul is anointed and the kingship is established against Gods' wise counsel. After Israels' failed experiment with kings, Israel is held in captivity.

It's worth noting that God is in relationship with the human and the non-human worlds alike - this understanding underlies Genesis 9, which includes not only God's relationship with Noah and his family but also, God's relationship with the earth itself (9: 13) and with every "living thing" (9:11, 12, 15, 16, 17).

It is also worth noting that the divine indelible image continues through Noah and does not need to be re-established.

In our beginnings and endings, let us remember Gods' spirit is here. When life is chaotic, even when we are surrounded by darkness, something else is here with us even in the middle of the darkness - God Spirit which moves and speaks, and the Word of light arises in spite of the darkness. All praise to the Holy One!

In The Begining, God...

V 1 The verb "create" is used only to talk about what God does. No one else ever "creates" something out of nothing. People can't, we only make something out of pre-existing things.　

"Nothing is here by chance; everything must be considered carefully, deliberately, and precisely." Gerhar von Rad

I have read the Hebrew text is arranged in multiples of 7’s - 7 days, 7 execution reports, ‘and it was so,’ 7 evaluation reports, ‘and God saw that it was good,’ the words "God" and "earth" are used 35 and 21 times each, the 7th day is described in 35 words. The preamble v 1 is 7 words, and v 2 contains14 words, and the entire text ch 1- ch 2-3 is 469 [7x 67] words. This way of thinking suggests to me a very long time, but short of 70 x 7, Jesus' reference to infinity plus 1.

God's first actions, are sovereign creating acts, depicted as the initial edicts of the Great King by which he founds and orders the kingdom.
God as artisan and author carefully crafts the world for the benefit of its future inhabitants - scholars have noted there are 2 panel of 3 days. Broadly days 1-3 are of separation and division followed by days 4-6 filling these created spaces with mobile living things.
God creates order out of chaos. The popular Middle Eastern notion was that water was uncontrollable chaos. In light of flash floods, floods, droughts and changing river beds it probably was every ones worst nightmare, In Genesis, water is simply separated by divine direction, there is no resistance or evil to overcome in the entire story.

God creates by his word. The reccurring image begins in 1 :3-4: "And God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. And God saw that the light was good." Each of God's other creative acts in Genesis 1 is also framed by a similar pattern, typically of three basic elements: God's word ("and God said, 'Let there be X, or "and God said, 'Let x do y), followed by an execution report ("and it was so") and an evaluation report ("and God saw that it was good" - not that it was perfect, more on this idea later).

God creating by speech evokes the image of God as an "author" with absolute power over his creative "work." Like a powerful king whose word is law, God brings new creatures into being simply by decreeing their existence. The creatures are willingly subject to the word of their creator-king; God. God calls upon already existing creatures to bring about new creations. For example, God invites, "Let the earth bring forth," and, we are told, "the earth brought forth." The earth has a role in bringing forth the creation. This story of the world creating itself has been repeated over the millennia as ever new creatures come into being, mediated by existing creatures, from volcanoes to coal to islands.

This is the proof for "all things are your servants" Ps 119:91 The underlying picture is of God as cosmic ruler of a harmonious, well-functioning realm.

News Flash: Creation Story Proves Once and For All: God is an ENFJ

The point then of the creation story, as I see it, is to illustrate the following:

1 All people, and natural phenomena, like the sun, the moon, etc, were created by God, and therefore cannot be gods themselves.

2 All of creation is good and God has entrusted it to humanity.

3 Humanity is created in the image and likeness of God.

4 We, as human beings, are made differently from the rest of creation: let us make vs. let there be, or let the___ do such and such. [BTW the only possible Us in the story text at this point is God and the Spirit of God]

Introduction to Bible reading

Origen, is considered by some to be the first and greatest of all Christian theologians. He lived circa 200 - 250 CE; taught that readers of the bible must learn to distinguish between stories that are true and factual (like the crucifixion of Jesus and the cleansing of the temple) and those that are true and but not factual (like the story of the good Samaritan and the prodigal son.) Origen refused to accept that light and darkness existed before there were a sun and moon and stars. He refused to believe that the maker of heaven and earth couldn't find Adam and Eve when they hid from him. Origin believed that these absurdities - as he called them, were hints that God wanted these stories to be read in an all together different way, 'not as history but as Truth in the semblance of history' as he put it. Truth embedded in metaphor, parable, poetry and fiction is true even if not factual.

I resonate with the idea, articulated by Nancey Murphy, that the literal adherence to Intelligent Design [AKA Creationism 2.0] is tragic. Vast numbers of people have come to the conclusion that evolution and Christianity can't both be true. When they find their way into science classes and recognize the validity of the evolutionary theory, they think that in order to respect their intellect, they must reject religion.　

Science is concerned primarily with natural causes for the things it observes; it is all about the when and how, but not about whom. The whom, and the nature of our special relationship to God is what the creation stories were trying to communicate, not the specifics of how.

"Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I will remember. Involve me and I will understand." —A Chinese Proverb

Guarantee

If you will think about and meditate upon the reading each week and ask yourself, What does it say? What are the messages being communicated?

This type of inquiry involves thinking about and meditating upon what is read. It may mean recognizing that a passage does not mean what we want it to mean, or what we have been told it means, no matter how many years we may have thought other wise.

I guarantee that you will get more out of this group if you will write your reaction and thoughts. In the act opf writing your thoughts will become solid and you can work with them to transform them. There will be at a minimum one question, one application every week that will have a direct impact on your life.
If you tag along with us and stay up to date on the discussion by the time we reach the end you will have a grasp of the whole Bible story and how it all fits together. Also, we will have a greater perception of God, the power of prayer, thanksgiving, the meaning of your own life and peace.