When translating the Bible, there are often many directions the translator can go and still be in agreement with the original text of the Bible. However, I think that caution should be exercised. If we go in directions that make one part of the Bible disagree with other parts of the Bible, does that constitute good or proper translating? I do not believe so.
I want to know what the original author wanted to say. But I will not get that understanding if I have him not being consistent with himself. This is especially true with the things of Creation where not much is known to us in today's world.
In addition, it seems that many translations take their direction from tradition (traditional ways of translating the text) rather than trying to understand what was really said.
There are two ways of translating the first two verses of the Bible from the original Hebrew and there is no way from the text itself to determine which of the two are correct. The King James and all the revised versions can be said to favor the concept that God created all of the original stuff of our planet on the first day of Creation Week, God created everything at one time. On the other hand the Anchor Bible, the TANAKH, and now the Brown Bible favor the idea that there was something already present at the beginning of Creation Week. Both are valid renderings of the original Hebrew text.
Remember, the original Hebrew only had consonants and their were no spaces to separate the words. In addition there was no punctuation. The ancient reader had to determine where the words started and ended, and no vowels are supplied in the original writings to fully show what the words might be.
When the translator starts reading the text, if he uses certain vowels, he gets one meaning, however if he uses different vowels, he gets another meaning. So the two groups of translations result from supplying different vowels to the same consonants of the original Hebrew text.
Since the original text is ambiguous, we will need to look elsewhere for the answer. What does Moses seem to suggest in the rest of the text concerning how to translate the first verse? (see NOTE 1:1b create, NOTE 1:1c sky and NOTE 1:1d land).
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 1254, means to shape, fashion, make, or create. It can even indicate a transformation of nature. It is always refering to divine activity.
Most believe this word means that God creates out of nothing, ex nihilo. However, elsewhere in the Bible Create is used to mean: cut down and to carve (see Joshua 17:15, 18; Ezekiel 23:47) or even to choose (Ezekiel 21:19). In these examples create was used to mean "to form" or "to fashion". Some think these examples come from the Piel form and is different from the Qal form used in Genesis. However this argument is not conclusive. Also create is used in places to indicate a transforming nature (Isaiah 65:17-18; Jeremiah 31:22). So it is probably best to consider the meaning by its usage in the text itself.
Lets see how the word "Create" is used in Genesis to indicate divine acts of making things. It is used quite a bit in the creation story. To better understand what Create means, let's look at the text referring to when God made humans.
Both make and create are used in reference to the making of humans. Both male and female are mentioned, so both Adam and Eve are included. Below, the word "create" is also used in connection with sea creatures, and birds. The word "made" is used in connection with the beast of the earth.
The above examples show us that "make" and "create" is used for the creation of man (both Adam and Eve), sea creatures, land animals, and birds. There are some who believe that when the word "create" is used, it means that God creates things out of nothing.
This understanding of "create" would dictate that God must have created everything in creation week.
Yet when we read other parts of the Bible, we see that this is not necessarily the case. In the following verse, we see that God took dust and formed man.
In the following verses we see how God made Eve. Also we see that God formed every beast of the field and every bird or the air, out of the ground!
This is very interesting! We see that God formed both Adam and Eve, all the wild animals, and all the birds from preexisting matter. Yet the words: Create and made are used to describe the very same process. So the word "create" could possibly be translated as: prepare, modify, or transform; since it seems that God uses preexisting matter at least some of the time.
If God used preexisting matter when He made Adam, Eve, and the animals; then God could have also used preexisting matter on the first day and all the other days of creation week. We would all have to agree that God is not restricted to the using of preexisting matter in his creative acts!
So, in an endevor to have the Bible be consistent with itself (See NOTE 1:1a), a better understanding of the word create is to include the possibility that things made by God can be created using preexisting matter.
See NOTE 1:7 to read notes on the word "made" or "make".
If we had a better understanding of the words in the text we might be able to understand what the author is really speaking about. Also we might gain clues that might help us determine how to begin Genesis 1:1 (See NOTE 1:1a)
The words we need to look at are sky (or heaven) and land (or Earth).
HEAVEN
The word "Heaven" can be used to refer to three different things. It can refer to the atmospheric heavens, the stars in the sky that can be seen from the earth, and to the Heaven where God is.
However, every time we see statements in the Bible where the Biblical writer refers to both the "heaven(s) and earth" together, it is always clear what he means. He always refers to the atmospheric heavens and to the surface of the earth. It is not referring to the stars and to our earth as a planet!
Let's look at some examples:
No one believes that the planet earth and the starry universe will be destroyed in the great battle of the last day.
See NOTE 2:6 for story information of Genesis 1:2
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 776 means earth, land, city, or under world.
If we had a better understanding of the words in the text we might be able to understand what the author is really speaking about. Also we might gain clues that might help us determine how to begin Genesis 1:1 (See NOTE 1:1a)
EARTH (See NOTE 1:2a for definition)
Today, the word 'Earth' usually means our whole planet. This would include all the matter that the Earth is composed of to make a planet. However, we need to understand what is meant by the word 'Earth' in the Bible? Let's look at some of the text that refers to the third day of creation week.
We can see that God called the dry land that appeared, Earth! So when Moses uses the word earth, he means the dry land, not the whole planet.
If there was no dry land before The Lord gathered the water together on the third day of creation, then what He did was to create earth or dry land by using preexisting matter. Nothing in the text refers to a whole planet. The creation of dry land that is no-longer flooded by water is the creation of earth.
Later on when Moses describes the flood, he informs us that the flood destroyed "the earth".
The planet Earth is still here. God did not destroy the whole planet, just the dry land which is called earth. The following verses help to support the idea that the word "earth", is understood to be the dry land.
It should be clear that the word "earth" is used by the Bible writers to refer to the surface of our planet, not to the planet itself. Nowhere in Daniel or Revelation does the whole planet get destroyed. It is flooded by Noah's flood and burned by fire in the last days, as described in Revelation, but the planet is never destroyed.
In 2 Peter, we see a very clear reference of the earth standing out of the water:
Peter is speaking of the earth as the land. In verse 6, he says that the world was destroyed because it was flooded with water. Again, a clear picture that it was the land that was destroyed by flooding. Our planet was never destroyed.
So because it is clear that it is the land that is being mentioned and not our planet, the word "earth" has been changed to "land" in this version of the Bible.
Let's look at some examples:
No one believes that the planet earth and the starry universe will be destroyed in the great battle of the last day.
"without form and void" come from two Hebrew words, Strongs no. 8414, the meaning is difficult to pinpoint. It can mean formlessness, confusion, unreality, emptiness. Strongs no. 922 means emptiness.
Some think these two words refer to a time when nothing existed, no matter was present. People who have this idea, usually think of the word "Earth" as representing the whole world instead of just the land. In addition, they believe that when God created, He created things from nothing. He said it, and it was there! So it is easy for them to assume that there was nothing before Creation Week.
If the word Earth is referring to the dry ground, as it is defined in Genesis 1:10, and not the entire world; It seems like the best understanding of "without form and void" would be to describe a surface of the dry ground as being shapeless or a desolate waste.
We find in Jeremiah 4:23-24 that the earth, at the end of time, will go back to the same condition as it was at the beginning, a shapeless desolate (empty) waste.
Jeremiah describes the earth as a place that is without form, and void. Yet, there are still mountains and hills that were unstable. This state is probably much like the other planets in our solar system or else where. So the earth before creation week could have been a desolate wasteland, much like the other planets in our solar system.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 6153 and 1242, ereb boqer. ereb = evening or night, boqer = morning. These two words are in association with: Strongs no. 1961 which means to be, to become, to exist, to happen. Together this can be translated as: there was evening, and there was morning; or as I had initially translated it: Evening passed, and morning passed. A more accurate reading might be: there was sunset, and there was sunrise. "ereb boqer" does not neccessary say there was dark and there was light, but that the sun set then the sun rose.
Following this phrase is simply the words: the first day. So it is saying: there was evening, and there was morning, the first day; Or more accurately: there was sunset, and there was sunrise, the first day. Clearly the Hebrew is referring to a full day, a 24 hour period of time. Some even suggest that the phrase should be translated as: there was night time, there was day time, the first day.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 6213 means to do, to make, to fashion, or to accomplish. The idea of the word, or the emphasis is on the fashioning of the object.
When used in reference to God's actions, "Make" is used to emphasizes the reality of God's actions in our world. He really does exist and He interacts with man in a real physical way! So, God acts in the sphere of history to ensure that His sovereign purpose reigns. The acts God did in Egypt, the signs and wonders God has performed throughout history, are brought to view by this word "make" (asa).
There is a significant interchange between the words "make" and "create" in Genesis that is of great interest. They are almost used interchangeably. "Create" indicates an activity that only God can do, and "make" emphasises the fashioning of His creations. God is personally involved with making the new world and mankind.
God could have created man by just commanding man to exist. But He did not. Instead, He personally chose to make man in a more personal way. In a personal way God instituted marriage by creating Eve out of Adam's rib. In the same way, God chose to create the animals and birds out of the ground in a physical way. God is our personal God!
Many tend think the word "create" also emphasizes the absolute newness of the created object, that it came into existence at that time, having no previous existence. However, we can easily find examples, in the Book of Genesis, that does not fit with this view of a totally new creation having no previous existence. See Note: 1:1B for details.
See Note: 2:22 for details on a different word to describe the building and forming of Eve.
The atmosphere is called heaven (or sky). See NOTE 1:1c
The Hebrew word that is translated as signs in most Bibles, has a fuller meaning than just signs. It can mean: sign, pledge, token, memorial, omens promised by prophets as pledges of certain predicted events, as pledges of divine presence & interposition. There seems to be a spiritual aspect of the word.
So "signs" is expanded in this translation to read "signs, as tokens of God's promises"
Almost all the translations that I have found say something like: "He made the stars also". However the original text only say:
16 Then God made two big lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and He made the smaller light to rule the night; and the stars.
That He made the stars at this time is added to the text of all these translations. "And the stars" can fit into the sentence two ways.
One way is to say: 16 Then God made two big lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and He made the smaller light to rule the night; Oh, and he made the stars also.
Another way is to say: 16 Then God made two big lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and He made the smaller light to rule the night and the stars.
Possibly another way is to say: 16 Then God made two big lights. He made the brighter light to rule the day and He made the smaller light to rule the night with the stars.
The whole point of Moses' disscussion is to talk about the two great lights that God made. To say that he made the stars also, (at this time) creates problems because it doesn't fit in with the rest of the text. However if the lesser or smaller light is to rule the night and the stars; Now the stars make sense with the rest of the sentence. The stars are not some third thing that Moses suddenly mentions, but instead, the stars is something that the small light rules over.
From all the different versions of the Bible that I own, only the Jewish TANAKH says it differently. It has the original without trying to explain which of the two are possible. This at least makes it possible that the smaller light rules over the stars.
It might be that the punctuation found in the present day Hebrew texts dictate the popular view to be correct. However, when was the punctuation added. Did those who added the punctuation, have a correct view of the text. This is a possible problem when we consider that there could be a decrease in knowledge since early man, when he was created. Moses could have known more concerning the origins of the earth and creation week from what was passed down through Abraham to his present generation.
The original text didn't even separate the words. Only a straight list of letters exists in the original. So the reader had to determine what constitutes the words and how they are used. That is until punctuation became incorporated into the text, thus adding tradition in the way the Bible is read.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 929, means beast, animal, cattle. It can refer to domestic animals, usually including large cattle and sheep, or as in 1:26, it can collectively refer to animals or "God's creations".
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 776, means earth, land.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 7704, means field, country, land, the home of wild animals.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 2416, means living thing, animal, wild animal.
In verses 1:24 and 1:25, cattle (776) is translated as tame animals and animals of the earth (2416 776) is translated as wild animals. In verse 1:26, animals or God's creations (776) is translated as animals. In verse 2:19, animals of the field (2416 7704) is translated as animals of the field. In verses 2:20 and 3:14, cattle (776) is translated as tame animals and animals of the field (2416 7704) is translated as wild animals.
It is interesting that when Moses mentions the animals, he separates the cattle or the tame animals from the other animals of the field. Before sin there is no need for man to use cattle for any purpose. God gave them fruit, and every green erb to eat. Also, the earth is not yet cursed so there is no need to plow the ground. The original world was a very rich place. It was a very easy place to live. Only after the earth was cursed was there any need to use animals for survival.
Maybe, Moses is writing in terms that the Israelites understand.
It is thought by many that by doing a word usage study of the word "subdue" (or to master it) they can understand what is meant by that word in Genesis 1:28. "Subdue" usually means to subdue, bring into bondage, keep under, force, attack, assault. Literally it means to rape the earth or to conquest which refers to forced servitude. Therefore many think that "subdue" in Genesis 1:28 implies that creation never has done man's bidding gladly or easily, even from the the time that man was created. They think that God Himself was telling Adam that he must bring creation into submission by brute strength for his own selfish reasons. Creation is not to rule man. (TWotOT)
However, they ignore the fact that this statement in Genesis 1:28 was made in a world free from sin. The animals originally had no fear of man, nor did Adam and Eve fear the animals. There is no evidence within Holy Scripture that Adam and Eve had to subdue anything through violence before sin entered the world.
When Satan tempted Eve, He said: for God knows that as soon as you eat the fruit from this tree, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God who knows good from evil!" Genesis 3:5. God later says the same thing in Genesis 3:22. . . . "Now that the man has become like one of us; who knows both good and evil. . . So, we can see that Adam and Eve did not know evil before they sinned. When they suddenly saw that they were naked, they tried to put leaves together as something to cover themselves, but they did not even think of killing an animal. God Himself had to kill an animal for them, make the garment, and dress them. God showed how they were going to have to survive from that time on.
Up to this time, Adam and eve only ate fruit and seeds. There was no reason why the animals would fear Adam and Eve. In addition there was no violence on the earth. Later, we see that God chose to destroy the Earth with a global flood because the world was filled with sin and violence:
Being vicious and violent is the result of sin being in the world. Here we see that because of the violence, God was going to destroy them.
So, there was no reason why the animals would fear Adam and Eve at the beginning. Before sin entered the world there was no violence. Adam and Eve did not have to subdue or attack nature in violence at all.
The Earth was not cursed at that early time when God told Adam to master the earth! The ground was cursed only after Adam and Eve had sinned. Genesis 3 describes what happened and verses 17-19 show how God specifically cursed the ground for man's benefit:
It was only after sin entered the world that the earth became a wild place. The ground started to grow weeds and thorns instead of what man wanted to grow. It is then and only then that man had to work long hours in the day with heavy exertion; and only by the sweat of man's brow, would he be able to eat bread until he dies and returns to the ground.
Now, something really significant occurred after the flood! We see that God for the first time allows man to kill so that he can eat meat. In addition, God caused a fear of man to be place on animals:
In today's world, fear is a part of life. Birds, fish, and animals all run from us, and with good reason. Man is violent and many enjoy being cruel to animals.
Adam and Eve did not eat animals and they did not have to work long hours to till the ground. There was absolutely no reason why the animals would fear Adam and Eve before the fall. Before sin entered the world there was no violence. Adam and Eve did not have to subdue or attack nature in violence at all. So, the animals were perfectly at home with Adam and Eve.
Man was originally made in a world free from sin. This was a place where the love of God was every where. All through the Bible, we see that God wants us to be like him. I cannot even imagine that God would want us to wish and do the things that Satan would want us to do! It is only after sin entered the world that the animals became fearful of man and became wild. It was only after sin entered the world that all nature changed. Plants grew thorns and thistles. Other plants became poisonous. Yes we find it to be true today, that nature does not do man's bidding gladly or easily. Today, we have to be careful how we go in the woods. Today the survival of the fittest, and violence of taking things by force, is what we expect.
So, I agree with those who see this word "subdue" as denoting a responsibility for building up Creation for the purpose of pleasing God. God would want us to be kind and to help the animals to be happy in their life; Just as God Lifts us up, He would want us to lift up the Creation that has been placed in our hands.
So I do not think that it is reasonable that a word study of "subdue" under conditions of sin would reflect what God wanted to say to man before the fall, when God wanted to teach Adam His love in person. To teach man to be loving like He Himself is in nature with what we know Jesus would have done. Mike Brown
See NOTE 7:11 to read a discussion on the great deep broken open at the time of the flood. Reasons as to why it did not rain on the original earth is part of the discussion.
It sounds like God just turned the sprinkler system (mist) on. First Moses says that there was no rain, so things did not grow; Then God caused a mist to cover the whole earth.
Moses simply states that there was a lack of something, for example "there was no rain" or "the earth was a shapeless desolate (empty) waste and the surface of the ocean was in darkness". Then with no preliminaries, Moses writes a simple sentence that shows how God changed things. The Spirit of God moved gently over the water. or And mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
When we tell a story we usually describe the problem, then we tell how we are going to fix the problem. Moses seems to do the same thing. However, he does not give us any explanation. Instead, he first states how it was. Then the very next statement tells what God did next. No explanation at all.
Here are a few examples:
In Hebrew, Adam means man.
This word often translated Being really means soul. It = that which breathes, the breathing substance or being or even a person or animal. In the sentence one should notice that man became a living soul. He became a living breathing person. It does not say that the man or body was given a living soul. Two things contributed to the living breathing person or soul. 1. dust of the earth. 2. breath of life. When the dust of the earth and the breath of life came together, Adam became a living person.
One source says that Bdellium is a sweet-smelling gum resin like myrrh. It is an odoriferous yellowish transparent gum. It has a similar color as manna Numbers 11:7. However, another source suggests that Bdellium might be pearl.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 1129 means to build, to build up, to rebuild, to make. God is fashioning the rib into a woman.
God is pictured as the master builder. In addition to Gen 2:22, God is poetically pictured as building the universe (Amos 9:6 and Ps 104:2-3).
This word, "to build" is usually associated with the building of houses, cities, towers, altars, etc. To build, can even be used idiomatically to bring about an increase in offspring (Gen 16:2)
This verse communicates a close and intimate relationship that Adam could not find apart from one who shared his own station and nature; indeed, his own life. It reflects God's desire to provide man with a companion who would be his intellectual and physical counterpart. The permanency intended in the relationship is expressed in the assertion that man should leave his parents and cleave to his wife. (TWotOT)
The relationship of husband to wife is used as a metaphor of God's relationship to his people. This relationship is the basis of assurance for the people of God in the book of Hosea where the marriage relationship forms a central motif (see Hos 2:16).
Serpent is used rather than snake, to denote that this snake is different from all the other snakes. Serpent actually is the most common word for snake in the original hebrew. Opinions differ as to whether this was a satan-inspired snake or a name for satan himself.
While many Bible translations read that the serpent was the most cunning of the creatures that God had made, a literal translation reads that this serpent was more clever than any creature of the field that God had made. So the text itself seems to indicate that this serpent, whether he looked like a talking snake or whether Satan revealed himself, was different from all the created creatures of the field. This was the crafty tempter, the ungodly oppressor!
Since the text suggest that the serpent is more clever than any creature, it is clear that Satan is being suggested. So [who is Satan] was added to the text to let you know that Satan is being suggested in the text itself.
See NOTE 3:1B to know who Satan is and what He has done.
See NOTE 3:1A to know that Satan is the serpent.
Who is Satan? Why is he on the earth to tempt Eve? What does he have to gain? Let's look at what Scriptures say about his actions.
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We see that Satan and his angels had a war in Heaven and they lost. So they were kicked out of Heaven. For some reason, God did not destroy them at that time and they were allowed to drag us into their war. As we read more scripture, we will realize why God did not distroy them at that time. We will need to look for the clues as they come in the Bible.
We often think of Heaven as being an angelic place where nothing bad ever happens, a place where everyone is happy. Yet, here we see that there was a war, an intergalactic war that actually starts in Heaven!
Heaven must have been an extremely unhappy place for war to start. And in the next Bible text we will see that this unhappiness has spread to the earth as Satan and his angels were forced to retreat.
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It is clear that Satan was originally one of the highest angels in Heaven. He was the anointed cherub that covers . . . Did his wings or whatever cover the throne of God. I do not know, but it looks like Satan originally had a very high position standing in the very presence of God!
What makes this war so very ominous is that it started so close to the throne of God? Lucifer's position in Heaven as the covering cherub allowed him to be on the holy mountain of God, midst the fiery stones where God is. How could that happen? how could War start with Lucifer being so close to God? What could have caused Lucifer to rebel against God Himself!
Verse 15 (above), says that Lucifer was originally perfect until iniquity was found in him. This must have been the time when the unhappiness started in heaven. We know that other angels followed Lucifer in his activities since they also were kicked out of heaven. So we can understand that Lucifer's unhappiness spread to others in Heaven. Lucifer and his followers must have been very unhappy. What could they have been talking about? Let's see if the answer can be found in the Bible.
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Now we can see why they were not happy under God's rule. Lucifer, who is now called Satan, the great dragon, is the one who wanted to take over God's throne in Heaven. Lucifer wanted to be like God. We can see that they were very unhappy. This is why there was war in Heaven. They actually attacked God. This is an amazing thing when we consider that neither Satan nor his wicked angels are able to create nor are they able to fight on an equal par against God. So the war must be on an issue that does not involve the power of God.
See NOTE 3:4 to see what Satan has to offer his followers.
Satan speaks very confidently to Eve that Eve will not die. We can also see that Eve believes Satan as well. Yet, when we look into scripture, we can see that Satan can offer nothing of lasting value. He himself, will be distroyed in the lake of fire with all those who follow him. In the following commentary, it will be seen that Satan and the wicked angels know this very well.
From the Bible, we know that Satan rebelled against God (See NOTE 3:1B to know who Satan is and what He has done). This is an amazing thing when we consider that neither Satan nor his wicked angels are able to create nor are they able to fight on an equal par against God. This is reflected in the text below.
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It should be clear that these gods are really Satan and his evil angels, and that they have not made anything nor can they make anthing. They will not be allowed to continue to live. They will be destroyed and they will have an end.
God alone will rule. Of the two opposing sides in the intergalactic war; Only God will rule because He is the Creator, this power is what separates the two sides.
Satan has never had the same power, and it is clear from the Scriptural texts below that the evil angels literally shook with fright when they confronted Christ while He was on the Earth.
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This kind of conflict didn't happen once, here is an other example of demons speaking out against Jesus:
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This time the demon cried out saying: you came too soon. It's not time yet. "Have You come here to torment us Before the time?" The apostle James, in the Bible text below, said it well when he said the devils tremble!
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So what is it that Satan and his opposing group of evil angels were trying to do? How did they think they could win against God? See NOTE 3:5a
See NOTE 3:4 to see what Satan has to offer his followers.
How does Satan gain the advantage when he gets Eve to sin against God? Satan wants Eve to eat the fruit so Satan can win some how. So, what does Satan get out of Eve's sin?
Our first clue comes from the book of Job. Not only are we told what happens to Job, but we also get to understand what is happening behind the scenes. Also understand that the story of Job is extremely important to the question of why God permits suffering.
As depicted in the book of Job, there is a meeting in Heaven. It must be in heaven because there is no record of God having regular meetings with the sons of God on Earth. In addition we find that Satan is also present and apparently he should not be there. At least it sounds like he is uninvited. Even God asks why he has come.
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We most likely are looking at a meeting of extraterrestrials. Each member at the meeting is a representative of their own world. We can know that this is a meeting of representatives because of how Satan says he has a right to be there. We will see that Satan is saying that he is the representative of Earth! So what we have here is a system of government for the Universe that God Himself oversees.
Apparently this was an important event. In this meeting the sons of God are presenting themselves before the Lord. It seems that all who were there, except one, had a right to be there. At least we don't have any record of God questioning their presence. The whole point of this part of the story is that Satan was not invited. When God asked Satan why he was there, he essentially answered: from walking around on the Earth.
Is Satan claiming ownership? I think so. Remember, this intergalactic war is over the question of ownership of the throne of Heaven. Satan wants the throne. Apparently, Satan is starting a legal process that he thinks will allow him to take over one planet, the Earth.
In the meeting, Satan seems to conclude that he either owns or he rules our world. He is actually claiming rulership of the Earth in that meeting! That is why I think he went to the meeting. He sees himself as the leader of the whole planet Earth. This meeting most likely is a meeting of the leaders of the Universe with God; So Satan felt he had a right to be there.
We can determine this point of rulership further from the following discussion:
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Because of the fact that God answers Satan, we should understand that what they were talking about was extremely important! Why didn't God just throw Satan out? God already threw Satan out of Heaven once before. God could have thrown Satan out again, but He didn't. He definitely has the power to do so. But instead, God just questioned Satan verbally and challanged his stated position.
We should realize that the manner in which God answered Satan is important as well. They were not talking by themselves, there was an audience surrounding them. All the representatives of the Universe were there personally witnessing what was happening.
Remember, we most likely are looking at a meeting of extraterrestrials. Each member at the meeting is a representative of their own world. A system of government for the Universe that God Himself oversees.
Since Satan himself has rebelled against God, we can see that the rebellion was trying to enter into the system of government of God's Universe! If it was a matter of power, God could have destroyed Satan right there, or He could have just thrown him out. But God did not. Instead, God entered into dialog with him.
Let's talk about the dialog itself. If this discussion wasn't concerning ownership or rulership of the Earth; then, why does God answer Satan's statement of walking over the face of the Earth, with: "Have you considered my servant Job. . ."?
In this discussion, Satan apparently says he has control of the Earth. So God begins questioning Satan's claim by pointing his attention to Job, whom Satan is not able to control. God emphasizes the fact that Job is upright, just, and he fears God.
I can imagine that Satan here begins to squirm as he essentially says: Well of course Job likes you. You give him everything he wants, why wouldn't he obey You? So God tells him: OK, I'll let you try. We'll see who really is in control, but you can't touch his body to make him sick.
If you read the book of Job, you will see that Job does not know a thing about this discussion. He is clearly having a hard time with the reality of his bad fortune. In addition he is forced to consider, from an earthly point of view, why all sorts of bad things are happening to him. Satan seems to be controlling all Job's personal friends as well.
This story is very interesting. Apparently Satan's ownership of the Earth depends upon everyone being subject to Satan's leading. As long as Job was a decided follower of God, Satan could not claim the Earth. We actually do not know if Job was the only follower of God, but at least he was the one that God chose to mention.
Does this war Between God and Satan depend upon the allegiance of people? It would seem so, the whole story in the book of Job is dependent on the idea that things will be decided, on what one person does on earth. If Job continues to follow God then God has the advantage, on the other hand, if Job listened to his wife and friends and cursed God, then Satan would have had the advantage. That is if he was the only righteous person on the world.
Something really terrible and awful must have happened in Heaven when Satan rebelled. To have a third of all the angels of Heaven take off to side with Satan, against God in a war. Remember this rebellion happened in Heaven! How could this happen? To have the angels who live in Heaven, in the very presence of God, to rebel against God himself!
What did Satan do to the angels to have them rebel against God? What did he say to them that would make them fight against God Himself?
We know that God is all powerful, that He created all things. So why would they decide to enter a war that could not be won by power? They must have known something about God perhaps. It is quite possible that they knew enough about God that they were confident that God would play fair. God would keep to the rules of the Universe that He has created. So they knew that this war must be over opinions rather than power. All the worlds of the Universe might have to decide who is right in this war.
It is also possible, that because Satan is the source of evil in the Universe, that he and his new followers just became so selfish that they lost all sense of reason when they started demanding things of God. They knew that God would play by the rules even when they broke the rules. They probably thought they could take advantage of God.
Let's continue the story of Job to see how it ends out.
A second meeting of the sons of God with God is described in Job chapter two. Again the same issues are brought up but with slightly different specifics in the arguments. Satan failed the first time around to change Job's allegiance from God to himself. So this time he is calling fowl. He still claims the Earth as his and he wants even more power in trying to force Job to obey him. Read the account and see what happens.
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We can see from the actual text that Satan still claims the Earth. It seems that Satan believes that if all people were under his control then the Earth would rightfully belong to him! There also seems to be some truth to Satan's claim since God counters Satan on the very level that Satan is thinking on.
It seems that these meetings are a regular event and here, God counters Satan's claim by pointing to Job which Satan was unable to control. God adds to what He said before by stating: he still holds to his integrity. Also very interesting to note, we see that God takes the blame! He doesn't say that Satan is moving to destroy Job but He says that you have moved me against him, to destroy him.
Let's look at another clue to this war. See the disscussion, NOTE 3:5B, of what Satan originally did to start claiming the earth as his.
See NOTE 3:5A to see what Satan has to offer his followers.
We see that Eve was exploring the garden that God had given them when she approached the forbidden tree. As she was wondering why God did not want them to eat from that tree, Satan went in for the attack:
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When Satan came to our world with two people on it, some how he had to win their allegiance to him. This is according to what we found out from Job's experience. He had to become their leader in order to take over the world. As we can see in the third chapter of Genesis, Satan used deception to not only place doubt in the mind of Eve about God, but he was really saying that God is not fair. Satan played on her emotions to get her to want to become like God herself.
It is amazing what Satan had done. In just a few words, he was able to give Eve a whole new series of ideas.
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Now, her thoughts were directed to the idea that God is not being fair to her. God is lying while He holds back what should rightfully be hers. While she thinks these thoughts, desire now becomes the major motive that forces her to eat the forbidden fruit.
Earlier, see NOTE 3:1B, we saw that Satan himself wanted to become like God. Now we see that he is tempting Eve with the very same thought in mind. This is very interesting, we now see that Satan tempted Eve using the same thirst for power, the same desire to become like God, that Satan himself felt. Satan literally gave the same sins that he had, to Eve. The same desires he had for power, he gave to Eve.
It stands to reason, that Satan used the same strategy in Heaven as he later used on earth with Eve. He some how made the angels unsatisfied with their positions in Heaven. Maybe Satan's followers became jealous of God. Satan must have told them that God was holding back on them, and that they should have more power.
The same wicked desires that Satan has, he gave to his angels, to take over God's throne and have the power for themselves. That is why these angels are today evil. They have the same desires as Satan and they work along with him in destroying the human race. They will do anything to get their own wishes and takeover God's Throne.
By looking at the history of our world, it is obvious that Satan and his evil angels have been trying to convert the world to their side so they can claim the world as their own, see NOTE 3:5a. In fact they have almost always had the majority siding with them. Only a minority has ever followed God. However, there has always been at least one person who was true to God. There was always a Noah, Abraham, or Joseph, or even a Job to give God the advantage.
Eve, as she is realizing that Satan is correct, she is now passing her allegience from God to Satan. One third of all the angels had already decided to follow Satan, now Eve is doing the same thing.
The issues Satan is raising, are appariently powerful arguments. If Satan was able to win a third of all the angels in Heaven, and now the newly created Eve, what sort of questions might the people on the other worlds have?
Do the people in the other worlds know anything about the war at all? It seems that they do. In the meetings depicted in the first two chapters of Job, see NOTE 3:5a, we saw that everything was done out in the open. Both Satan and God spoke in front of all the other representatives from the other planets of the Universe. Everything that happened occurred in front of everyone!
God actually listens to Satan and answers his charges rather than throwing him out. When Satan says that Job will curse God to his face. God says, OK, why don't you try and see what Job will do. When Satan comes back after having failed the first time, he is still combative saying that if he can make Job really hurt with pain and sickness, Job will then curse God. God answers Satan by allowing him to try again, and harder than he was allowed the first time with physical pain.
It seems that God is allowing Satan's accusations to be tried out in front of the whole universe. He is not allowing his question to be unanswered. Which makes sense when we consider that all the representatives are listening.
At the same time, Satan is having to act out his intensions before the whole universe as well. How far is Satan willing to go in destroying those around him so he can acquire ownership of a world? What kind of government would Satan have? Is Satan really offering a better idea than God?
So maybe the other worlds are watching the events of this war and they do have questions about what is going on in the rebellion. The whole universe has had to graple with the idea that there is a rebellion that started in the very place where God is. How could that be? In addition, Satan, as can be understood in the book of Job, met with God in an open way that is most likely designed to create the most questions in the minds of the Leaders of the Universe.
In the Bible we have seen some of the evidence that the war is about people's opinion, see NOTE 3:5a. On the earth, it seems that it concerns people's allegiance. Who will we serve, Jesus or Satan. In Heaven, where a third of the angels chose Satan, it looks like the same issues were important. What about the rest of the Universe? What are the issues that they are looking at in this rebellion?
Why does he really want to take over the throne. Is it because God is really a tyrant and that Satan is trying to protect us by showing us a better way of living; or is it that Satan is really selfish and he only wants the power of the throne for himself?
In addition, God and Satan seem to following a set of rules. The battle is probably a legal battle.
If this intergalactic war is not really taking place, then is this thing of having Satan tempt us and God letting it happen all a game? What is really happening in the stories we read in the Bible? Is there an actual battle for the ownership of the Earth that is occurring behind the scenes to explain what is happening? Or, do we have God and Satan playing games with the human race in the middle? It will take a knowledge of the entire Bible to answer what is really happening.
When Satan has gone over the line, when he goes too far and tries to take the throne (as indicated in Daniel), then it will be time for Jesus to come down and to take us to live with Him. He will at that time end the misery that continues to presently plaque our world. Death, destruction, and suffering will come to an end at last!
At this point both Adam and Eve physically sinned. They are hoplessly lost and facing total destruction; Except, that Jesus has stepped in to reclaim the world.
Initially, when Adam and Eve were created, they had ownership of the world. God gave them the world and all the animals to Adam. See what God said when He first made them:
| King James Version | The Brown Bible |
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| 26. 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. | 26. Then God said, "Let Us make human beings in our image and likeness. And let them rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the animals, over all the land, and over all the small crawling animals on the land." |
| 27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. | 27. So God created human beings in His image. In the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. |
| 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. | 28. God blessed them and said to them, "Have many children and grow in number. Fill the land and master it in order to serve God. Rule over the fish in the sea and over the birds in the sky and over every living thing that moves on the land." |
| 29. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. | 29. God said, "See, I have given you all the tender plants that are seed-bearing which are found over the whole land, and all the trees with sead-bearing fruit. They will be food for you to eat. |
| 30. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. | 30. I have given every green plant for food to every living thing, every bird that flies in the air, and every animal that walks on the ground." And so it happened. |
So, at this point both Adam and Eve have physically sinned. They have lost ownership of the world. Adam would have forever been the head of our world but now he has lost his position and his possession as ruler of the earth, and Satan now rules.
When Jesus was on this earth, the first time, He Himself said that Satan was the ruler of this ruler.
Also, in the Lord's prayer, Jesus says:
We are still praying for God's will to occur on earth as it is in Heaven. We are praying this because His will is still not yet happening fully. Jesus has not yet taken authority. Yes, that is right. Satan is still the ruler of this world. Death and destruction are still occurring. Jesus still has not taken our world away from Satan. We know that is true because we are still here!
There were other times when Jesus talked about Satan, who is now the ruler of the earth.
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Adam and Eve are hopelessly lost and facing total destruction. Except that Jesus has stepped in to reclaim both them and the world but as we look in the Bible we can see that it will take some time for Jesus to reclaim the ownership from Satan.
Jesus has had to wait until God the Father makes His enemies his footstool.
In Revelation, starting with chapter 4 we see that there is a court session in Heaven. Daniel refers to this same session in Daniel 7:9-10. This occurs at the time of the end. In Revelation we see that there are two witnesses who are here on earth for 3-1/2 years until Satan himself kills them. This is the only time that we know of that Satan actually kills someone himself, personally. In Bible times, it took two people to convict someone. Is this needed for the court proceedings? It might be.
Also, in Daniel 11 & 12 we have Satan sitting down in Jerusalem as God (The Abomination of Desolation), sitting where he should not sit. This action seems to be "the straw that breaks the camel's back". When Satan sits down, Michael stands up (Daniel 12) and the battle of Armageddon occurs. Satan is not only saying he is the ruler of this world, he is saying he is God!
God attacks Satan and his angels and the end of the world comes as Jesus comes to receive His own. Satan has to overstep his authority before God stands up to take away his dominion. So there seems to be a legal battle that is occurring between Jesus and Satan. But one day the court will be in session and Satan's dominion will be taken away from him.
Issues that will eventually be brought up in court so that Satan can be thrown out, have not even occurred yet. Today, Jesus has not yet taken His authority over the earth. It is only much later in the future when Satan tries to sit down as God (The Abomination of Desolation) that God stands up and the end of all things comes to be.
The time that Jesus will rule the earth (the kingdoms of this world) will not occur until the Seventh Trumpet sounds.
It will not be until the Seventh Trumpet sounds that the Kingdom of God will also include the kingdoms of this world, in other words, the earth. At that time, Jesus will reign for ever and ever and all the angels of heaven will rejoice because Jesus has taken His great power and has finally began to reign.
So, it is when the seventh trumpet sounds that Jesus will take back the Earth from Satan which Adam and Eve lost so long ago.
It will be at that time that Jesus will come a second time to set things right.
See NOTE 3:1a to understand the identity of the snake.
See NOTE 3:1b to know who Satan is and what he has done.
The Hebrew for "tricked" can mean: beguile, deceive, lead astray, seduce, mislead, flatter, entice, lie, deal falsely, outwitted, cheated, stealing away hearts or persons.
Satan will try to take over the world and endeavor to force all the inhabitants of the world to follow him, and he will do his best to kill anyone that goes against his plans. However, as indicated in Scripture: Satan will come to his end. He will be destroyed.
Red indicates what Satan will do to God's people. Green indicates what Satan will do to blaspheme God and try to take God's throne. Purple indicates what the wicked will do to serve Satan. Blue indicates what God's people, the righteous will do to serve God. Orange indicates what God does to judge Satan and to give the saints the kingdom.
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When Satan tries to Sit on the Throne and Rule the Earth, God then will Stand Up and End the War!
We can see the same process but with more detail in Daniel 11. Satan will see that he can not turn the righteous toward serving him. So, in desperation, he will try to sit on the throne anyway despite the fact that he has no right to do so. It is at that time that God will stop him in his tracts because he will have gone too far. Look at the following texts:
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Wow! In the verses above, we actually see that Satan will defile the sanctuary fortress, take away the daily, and place there the abomination of desolation. He will put his palace on the glorious holy mountain of God for the purpose of declaring himself as king.
When Satan places the abomination of desolation (planting his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain) he is saying: I rule the earth! In this action that Satan does, he over steps his bounds. He has gone too far. He does not rule the earth because he has not been able to get all to worship him. Nor was he able to make Jesus sin when He was on this earth.
It is then that Michael (Jesus) stands up and Satan will come to his end! A time of trouble will occur at this time that will be unequaled in history and God's people will be delivered. Everyone who is found written in the book of life will be delivered!
Many think that everything has been done at the Cross, when Jesus died. However, here in Daniel, we find that it is when Satan sits down as the ruler on Earth, this is when God begins to act! God brings an end to Satan and his war against God and God's people. Satan has gone too far in fighting God and He will bring Satan to an end.
In the Book of Job, we saw that Job was tested for a time, however when it was all over, God rewarded him. God set things right.
In the last days, we will find that God's people will also be tested for a time, but when Satan steps over the line and sits down as God, then all evil will be brought to an end. It is at that time that the signs of God's wrath will be given unmixed with mercy. The plaques will be poured on the earth and God's people will be delivered.
Jesus, when He was on earth, mentioned this time as well:
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Jesus says that when you see the abomination of desolation, when you see Satan standing in the holy place, where he should not be, then you better flee somewhere! Apparently it is going to be so bad, that if this period was not shortened, no one on earth would be able to live through it.
In the past, we have had nuclear bombs landing on a few cities and we have had wide spread wars. Who knows what might happen at this time of the end. Satan has lost the battle to get everyone to worship him, so now he is going to be desperately trying to take his rulership position by force. Since he is fighting against the Creator of all things he cannot win. Maybe much of Satan's actions is really due to revenge.
At this time Psalms 91 will be a very good source of comfort to God's people since they know that God will protect His people in this time.
Satan was intramental in having Jesus Christ put to death when He was on earth. Rather than being the end of Jesus, it signaled the beginning of the end of Satan. Christ's death is also the means whereby he will save the righteous. Satan has never gotten the best of Jesus or God.
Another plan of attack that Satan has, is to force all people to worship him. If he can force all to follow him instead of God, then he has won! However, If there is even a small minority, even one left who chooses to follow God then Satan has lost!
Satan must have the allegiance of all the people on the earth for him to rule it; And we can see in Daniel and Revelation that he will kill anyone who does not choose him as their leader. Satan will do anything to get to his goal.
There is a time, at the end of this world's history, when Satan will pull all the stops in a desperate effort to have a whole world worship him instead of God. Jesus calls this time the time of sorrows. At this time, the end of the world, Satan will either win and have a world, or he will loose everything including life.
Let's look at some prophecies to see what Satan will do to try to stand on the throne of God. I have color coded the following texts to indicate various activities: Red indicates what Satan will do to God's people. Green indicates what Satan will do to blaspheme God and try to take God's throne. Orange indicates what God does to judge Satan and to give the saints the kingdom.
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We start in the 7th verse of Daniel 7 by seeing that Satan is breaking in pieces and trampling the residue with its feet. The residue is really God's people. He is killing the remnant of God's people. Satan is allowed to prevail over God's people for a time, times, and part of a time. All this happens until Judgement occurs in Heaven and Satan is stopped.
This action of killing God's people, is confirmation that Satan does indeed have to have the vote of everyone living on the Earth for him to take the throne. We can see that the results of this intergalactic war is indeed dependent upon opinion.
Satan has started to eliminate the people who would stand in his way of being the king and leader of this world. Remember, Satan has to have as followers, everyone on earth who is alive. If Satan cannot trick the righteous into following him, then he will try to kill them outright.
In Daniel chapter 8, we see the same exact things happening.
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Now we can see that Satan will try to exalt himself to the level of Jesus our Prince. Satan can be seen as trying to take over the whole world and exalt himself as the Prince of the host!
In Revelation, we see the exact same actions we saw in Daniel. I have color coded the following texts to indicate various activities: Red indicates what Satan will do to God's people. Green indicates what Satan will do to blaspheme God and try to take God's throne. Purple indicates what the wicked will do to serve Satan.
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Satan is enraged with all who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Satan knows he does not have much time left and he knows he needs to kill everyone who is loyal to God. We can see that Satan is enraged with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
It is clear that anyone who keeps all the commandments of God and has the testimony of Jesus, is indeed loyal to God because they worship God with what they do and with what they say. They are completely loyal to God!
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We can see that the wicked worships the dragon (Satan) and the beast. All people who do not have their name written in the Book of Life will worship Satan! To get this to happen Satan had to deceive the whole world. They worship Satan because they want to save their own life, crying out: Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? Satan causes all to receive a mark and that no one can buy or sell unless they have this mark. Later they will find out that they have lost everything when they thought to save their own skin and receive the mark.
It should be clear that the righteous of the world, living in the last days, will experience the same thing that Job experienced. Satan has probably demanded that all the people of the world are his and God probably said: "OK try them".
The last days are the trying time for God's people and the battle between Jesus and Satan is dependent upon what the righteous do. If they hold up, just as Job did; Then Jesus will be victorious in the war.
There are many ways Satan can get the allegiance of the people of this world. One of the most dramatic ways is to have people curse God, as he wanted Job to do. Or to disobey what God would have us do. Another way is to make us so busy that we have no time for God. In this way, the things we are doing have become our god.
Today, so many people have become indifferent to the idea of serving God. Other things have become more important in their thinking. There are some who see a real need to get close to God; However, they keep putting off making a decision. Satan keeps putting ideas and feelings to get them sidetracked.
Since Satan is working so hard to get people to look at him for direction, let's look to see what really makes Satan furiously angry:
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Those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ are those who Satan cannot control. And remember, if Satan cannot control everyone, he will lose his goal to rule the world and loose the war against God. It is no wonder that Satan is angry.
All that he has tried to do to get them to follow him has failed. God's people will not follow Satan's lead at all. Rather, they have chosen to follow and do all what the Lord wants them to do. At this point Satan is so enraged with God's people that he wars against them to put them to death. Since he cannot control them, he will exterminate them.
To remind you what we saw in Daniel and Revelation, here is a synopsis of Satan's actions against the Righteous in the last days:
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It is clear from the Bible itself that God's people will not be taken away in some rapture. No, instead we have seen actual scripture that shows that God's people will be hunted and killed for obeying God. God's people will be like Job, experiencing adversity, yet remaining loyal to God.
Elsewhere, in the book of Revelation, we see that the righteous are again identified as those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus:
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In a time of great hardship, as described in Revelation, God's people are identified as those needing endurance (patience) to continue till the end. Again, this group is identified as those who keep the commandments of God and remain loyal to Jesus.
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When God's people inherit a new life with God, it is because they have been completely loyal to God by keeping his commandments and following him in all ways that they will have a right to eat from the tree of life, and they will have the right to enter into the gates of the New Jerusalem where we will live with God forever.
The Hebrew word for sorrow (KJV) Strongs no. 6093 is the same found in verse 3:17. can mean pain, toil, and suffering
The Hebrew word for pain (KJV) Strongs no. 6089 can mean pain, hurt, toil, and labor
See NOTE 3:16a
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 2332, Eve means life or alive.
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 3045, to know or perceive, in this verse it can mean to distinguish between
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 2015, turn; overturn; turn this way & that, every way, of the flaming sword; translated as:whirling, whirling around, which turned every way, that flashed around in every direction, ever-turning
In Hebrew, Strongs no. 3045, to know or perceive, (the same word as is found in NOTE 3:22) in this verse it means to know a person carnally, of sexual intercourse, sexual relations.
What Eve said could have been translated this way: "I have gained a male child with the help of the Lord", as it is found in many of the newer translations. However the "male child" meaning of the Hebrew word ( see NOTE 4:1d) is an exception to the rest of the Bible. Since Eve is referring to a birth with this term, it is easy to see that these translators are trying to make sense of the word by making it fit the story.
Also, it should not escape our notice that many translators follow a tradition that the scriptures would have its ultimate meaning relating to those who wrote the books and not to things future. With this view of Scripture, it is not hard to see why many translators would want to use the word child instead of man even though translating it as a child is an exception of all of Scriptures.
Another possibility is to use what many versions translate as: given birth, brought forth, gotten, gained, (NKJV does well with: acquired), with something quite different (see NOTE 4:1c).
So it was a temptation to translate it thus: And she said, "I have purchased my husband with the help of the Lord." J.M. Powis