7:22 All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

A Multidisciplinary Contextualized Analysis of Select Passages From Genesis Version 2.0

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/105W22

[This is an excerpt from a new edition of a study of the book of Genesis, the first edition of which can be found here. The purpose of this exercise is to compare a close reading of the text to our current understanding of language, paleontology, and the physical sciences. Constructive discussion on the elements presented is always encouraged!]

Although the theological presumption is that all life on Earth has the breath (“Nishmat” נִשְׁמַת) of the spirit (“Ruach” ר֫וּחַ) of life (“Chayyim” חַיִּים) in it, the coincidence of these terms in the Bible is surprisingly rare. When employed as a direct reference to God’s spirit or His breath being imbued in people or animals, the exhaustive list of verses is as follows:

• Genesis 2:7 Yahweh God formed [Adam] from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (“Nishmat”) of life (“Chayyim”);

• 6:3 Yahweh said, “My Spirit (“Ruach”) will not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh”.

• 6:17 “I, even I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”) from under the sky.”

• 7:15 Pairs from all flesh with the breath (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”) in them went into the ship to Noah.

• 7:22 All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath (“Nishmat”) of the spirit (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”), died.

Following the contextual use of these terms in the aforementioned verses, the first mention of a being animated with the breath (“Nishmat”) of life (“Chayyim”) is Adam at his formation. Since the animals of the garden were also “formed”, one can infer that they were produced in the same manner. For all of the reasons and practicalities discussed in previous sections of this analysis, this ad hoc formation is different than the creation and takes place after the six “Yamim”.

This differentiation suggests that God created life on Earth by decree which motivated the anti-entropic processes that resilted in the state of life at the end of the sixth “yom”. But those who populated the garden were formed from extant materials and animated directly. The purpose was to share a place on Earth with His creation, and these select specimens were imbued with the capacity to coexist with Him and each other.

After his expulsion from the garden, Adam retained an extraordinary lifespan as did his descendents. God suggests in Genesis 6:3 an association between His “Spirit” (“Ruach”) and this superhuman capacity. He then specifically condemns “all flesh having the breath (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”)”. The death of those people in Genesis 7:22 is the last such reference found in the Bible of persons containing God’s breath (“Ruach”) which suggests it is this particular group that He sought to eliminate, not the entire population of planet Earth.

Those with God’s breath (“Ruach”) that were exempted from this fate are Noah and the animals taken onto the Ark. Again, it is specifically “Pairs from all flesh with the breath (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”)” that were directed onto the ship. The only animals that would have such a specific characteristic were those formed in the garden.

Their common origin in the garden and a personal relationship with God is the common thread that ties the passengers of the Ark together.

Although there are few references to God using His Spirit to animate man after Genesis 7:22, the prophecy of the dry bones in Ezekiel 37 explicitly and repeatedly mentions how He will use the breath (“Ruach”) of life (“Chayyim”):

37:5 The Lord Yahweh says to these bones: “Behold, I will cause breath (“Ruach”) to enter into you, and you will live (“Chayyim”).

37:6 I will lay sinews on you, and will bring up flesh on you, and cover you with skin, and put breath (“Ruach”) in you, and you will live (“Chayyim”). Then you will know that I am Yahweh.”

37:14a “I will put my Spirit (“Ruach”) in you, and you will live (“Chayyim”).”

This reversal of entropy is this analysys’s hypothesis of God’s standard for what is work of Him and how He directed the “Yamim” of creation. Interestingly, God uses a seemingly similar process in Genesis 2:7 for the ad hoc formation of Adam and is support for a morbid interpretation of “dust” (ā·p̄ār עָפָר֙) in that passage. This process of restoring people to a state before their death is mentioned not only in Ezekiel 37, but is echoed by Jesus in Matthew 20:16 and John 5:28-29.

Support for this hypothesis comes from the unusual employment of repetition in an otherwise parsimonious Bible. It is my observation that phrases aren’t repeated in short order for emphasis, but that what seems like a paraphrase of one thing is really a differentiation from another.

7:21 All flesh died that moved on the earth, including birds, livestock, animals, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every man.

7:22 All on the dry land, in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

7:23 Every living thing was destroyed that was on the surface of the ground, including man, livestock, creeping things, and birds of the sky. They were destroyed from the earth.

Seemingly, these are three effectively identical statements: Everything on or above the land died. However, there is a notable difference in some of the terms in each iteration.

In 7:21 “Gava” (גָּוַע) typically translated as “died” or “perished” carries a context of inevitability or finality, often in a lamenting or resigned sense. Genesis 25:8 is one such example. Here it memorializes those who dies as a result of the flood.

In 7:22 “Muth“ (מוּת) also translates as “died”. However, the context is death as a consequence like in Genesis 2:17 and Deuteronomy 30:19. This is to clarify that the flood was a punishment for those with “the breath of the spirit of life”. This is a distinct category from those mentioned in the previous verse. And that man (“adam” אָדָם) was mentioned in the verse prior suggests that there were humans and creatures who died that were not deserving of their fate.

Verse 7:23 evokes “Machah” (מָחָה) which means “to erase” or “blot out”. Although often translated to “destroy”, in this context it does not mean to break but to delete. Those who expired in the flood were not simply killed but done so to the point of having never existed.

Verse 8:21 also suggests that the ground itself (“adamah” אֲדָמָה) was devalued or lessened in some way. Typically translated as “cursed”, it is often in the context of reducing significance, weight, or honor. This implies that not only was the life of those on the land ended, but the flood made the land itself somehow diminished or irreparably altered from its pre-flood state.

Per a direct reading of the verses in these chapters and with minimal inferences, it is specifically the line of Adam, “in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life,” who God sought to erase from the land. Colatterally, He, “curse[d] the ground,” where His spirit would take residence in the garden as another way He physically distances His Spirit (“Ruach” ר֫וּחַ) from mankind. Now, it is only the righteous Noah and the invited animal passengers of the garden who still possessed His Spirit and are charged with taking it into the world at large.