Dating Adam

Robert L. Miller (102733.3377@compuserve.com)
02 Jun 96 00:54:00 EDT

Dick Fischer has frequently cited the hebrew words adam and ish to support a
distinction between adamites and the rest of human kind. I decided to look up
the words in Harris, Archer & Waltke's Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament. On page 10 of Vol. 1 they state that the etymology of the word 'adam
is uncertain but probably refers to the ruddiness of man's complexion. They
further state that the word refers to man as " being in God's image, the crown
of creation. It should be distingushed from 'ish (man as opposite of woman, or
as man distinguished in his manliness), 'e nosh (man as weak and vulnerable,
geber (man as mighty and noble)..." "'adam also refers to generic man as the
image of God and the crown of creation or is a personal name. Hence in Gen 1-3
it is the word usually used for man. (In later passages of Scripture it is
difficult to distinguish in meaning from "ish)." This would seem to support
Dick's distinction, but turning to page 38 they say, "The word 'ish connotes
primarily the concept of man as an individual and thus differs in that regard
from the more general concepts inherent in the words 'e nosh and 'adam
(mankind)." "The word is used variously in the OT. Most commonly it denotes any
individual male." This definition of the word would seems to be in conflict with
Dick's use. Do we have some other Hebrew scholars who can clarify the use of the
words, especially in light of the emphasis Dick has given to them?

On a slightly different note, several have pointed out the conflicts of both
Glen and Dick's creation scenarios with scripture, and the apostle Paul's words
have again been recently cited. I wanted to point another of Paul's commentaries
not often cited, that more or less parallels Rom 5. In Acts 17, Paul's sermon on
Mars hill, he says, "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord
of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. ...From one man
he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth:and he
determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find
him,..."

Finally, as some have suggested, let me introduce myself. I am a retired high
school science teacher and have been an ASA member since around 1958. I live in
Gilroy, CA (garlic capitol) on a small farm and am raising eucalyptus trees. I
am active in the Bay Area section of ASA and plan to be in Toronto on July 23.
Hope to see you all there.

As a retired teacher I feel keenly the lack of materials available for teachers
in public schools, that take a rational approach to creation and science,
especially when I saw the tables loaded with curriculum materials from ICR at a
recent presentation at my church. Is there no hope?

Bob Miller