How is the Second Person hidden in the Creation Accounts?

[Jim_Baur]

How is the Second Person of the Trinity hidden in the creation accounts of Genesis?

How are the Creation Accounts revealed in the Incarnation of the Second Person?

How many accounts of creation are there in the Holy Bible?

Thanks!

 

[BerhaneSelassie]

Other than reading the verse where God says “Let us make man…” as suggesting the trinity, Some people throughout history have given Genesis 1:1 a sort of alternate translation from Hebrew. Here is one example of a THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE APOSTOLIC PREACHING by Irenaeus

So then we must believe God in all things, for in all things God is true. Now that there was a Son of God, and that He existed not only before He appeared in the world, but also before the world was made, Moses, who was the first that prophesied,says in Hebrew: Baresith bara Elowin basan benuam samenthares.And this, translated into our language, is: “The Son in the beginning: God established then the heaven and the earth.”

Obviously the Hebrew transcription there is inaccurated after the word “Elowin” which resembles old Hebrew (Elowhym), perhaps because the words were taken from Hebrew to Greek to Armenian? Genesis 1:1 really reads:

Bereshit bara Elohim et hashamayim ve’et ha’arets.

Regardless, it is a somewhat accurate possible translation, though not the primary one. The word Irenaeus and some others in Church history, even one former Jew I’ve talked to who was taught Hebrew by rabbis, focused on was “bara” which typically means “create” but also can be read “son”.

The Spirit hovering over the waters can be either the Holy Spirit or Jesus.

I think there is only the Jesus’ account, and other scriptures like Isaiah and Wisdom and Sirach and others just comment on the Genesis account, even John.

Proverbs 8:30 (NAB) speaks of Wisdom during creation

Then was I beside him as his craftsman, and I was his delight day by day, Playing before him all the while,

And our tradition identifies Wisdom here as the Word.

tbc

 

[Jim_Baur]

BerhaneSelassie

Thanks!

The translation that you gave from Irenaeus reminds me of the translation that Augustine and Origen give in their works on Genesis, Augustine’s “On the Literal Interpreation on Genesis” and Origen’s “Homilies on Genesis”. The translation is of St. John 8: 25, Jesus says: “I am the Beginning.” The American English is something like, “I have told you from the beginning.”

I am not sure how the Vulgate and Origen’s Greek came to those conclusions. Perhaps Origen is because of Rufinus’ translation.