Why the Verb ‭אדב‬ Does Not Mean ‘to Create’ in Genesis 1.1-2.4a

Abstract

The linguistic and textual examination of the seven usages of the verb ‭אדב‬ in Genesis 1 leads to the conclusion that the verb ‭אדב‬ in Genesis 1 does not mean ‘to create’ but ‘to separate’. This hypothesis is subsequently tested against external evidence from cognate literature in Mesopotamia. In these Mesopotamian accounts of creation, the opening lines often describe the (divine) acts of separation of heaven and earth. The Sumerian verb bad and the Akkadian verb parāsu employed in these texts designate clearly ‘to separate’. Textual evidence from the Hebrew Bible appears to support this hypothesis, too, for example, the fact that in the Hebrew Bible the noun ‘creator’ is never expressed with the participle of ‭אדב‬ , but always with the participle of other verbs. Thus, based on internal and external linguistic and textual evidence and on a controlled argumentation, it is highly plausible and very likely that the type of action expressed by the verb ‭אדב‬ in Genesis 1 is of a very concrete, spatial and physical character, and can be rendered by ‘to separate’. Finally, an analysis is made of the differences between ‭לידבה‬ and ‭אדב‬ .