The First Creation account as allegorical prose based on numbers six and seven

Summary: The first creation story in the Torah is not a scientific account but a poetic narrative emphasizing the order, purpose, and divine design of the universe, centered around the symbolic use of numbers—especially six and seven, which represented natural and divine aspects of the ancient world. Each day of creation follows a deliberate structure showing how domains (like land, sea, and sky) were formed and then filled with life, culminating in the creation of humans, who, while biologically close to animals, are uniquely made in the "image of God" with moral and spiritual faculties. The Sabbath is portrayed as an integral and sanctified part of creation itself, embedded within a poetic structure marked by repeated sevens to emphasize its holiness and divine origin. Ultimately, the chapter communicates that creation was not random but a divinely orchestrated process aimed at preparing the world for human life and spiritual purpose. The universal and particularistic aspects of the Sabbath are also discussed.

My riveting book that explains our current world

"The Struggle for Utopia - A History of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Messianism" by Arnold Slyper. Wonderful reviews. Available on Amazon, at US bookstores, and at Pomeranz Bookseller in Jerusalem (with courier service available). " Brilliant and thought-provoking."

Counterintuitive as it may seem, the first creation story in the Torah is not primarily about how the universe was created. Rather, it is an exquisitely constructed poem built around numbers six and seven and which illustrates the principles by which the world was created by Elohim and His cessation from creative activity on the seventh day.

In the ancient world, certain numbers had meaning. Number seven represented the perfection of the Divine. Although this number is used extensively in the Torah, its meaning is not a Jewish invention. The ziggurat in Babylon on which the biblical tower of Babylon story is likely based had seven stories. On the seventh story, closest to the heavens, was the temple of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon. The Amarna letters discovered in an archive in Egypt were written on clay tablets between about 1360 and 1332 BCE and consist primarily of 382 letters of diplomatic correspondences between the Egyptian administration in the New Kingdom and its representatives in Canaan and Amurru, and well as with neighboring rules. Two of the letters specifically mention the writer falling before the Egyptian Pharaoh seven times seven i.e., 49 times, thereby expressing extreme deference to the Pharaoh, even to the point of his divinity.1 The Gilgamesh myth, soon to be discussed, mentions the number seven several times. Some may be indicative of a week, but others have religious significance. For example, the hero of the myth, Utnapishtim, offers sacrifices in groups of seven after his delivery from the flood.

The focus on number seven in the creation account begins with its opening sentence, which has seven Hebrew words:

בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹק֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃ — Bereishis boro Elohim et hashomayim ve’et ha’aretz

In the beginning, Elohim created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Its second sentence contains 14 words, a multiple of seven:

וְהָאָ֗רֶץ הָיְתָ֥ה תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ וְחֹ֖שֶׁךְ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תְה֑וֹם וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹק֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם — Veha’aretz hayeto tohu vovohu vechoshech al pnei tehom veru’ach Elokim merachefet al pnei hamayim

And the earth was without form (tohu), and void (vohu); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of Elohim was hovering over the face of the waters (ibid 1:2).

The text is emphasizing in this way that every aspect of the universe was created by One God, Who is represented in a literary form by the number seven. The second sentence tells us that the disorder and chaos characterizing the beginning of the earth was also a creation of Elohim. These two sentences are also indicative of creatio ex nihilo, the concept that matter is not eternal, without beginning or end, but was formed by a Divine creative act.

It is worth noting parenthetically that the opening sentence of the Bible has unusual wording, in that its first word bereishit is in the construct form, meaning “in the beginning of . . . ” However, the subject of the “of” is missing! The usual way of saying “in the beginning” in Hebrew is not bereishit but barishona, meaning first of all.

Many commentators consider this first sentence as a general introduction to the creation story with an implied subject — i.e., “In the beginning of [everything].” Bereishit is also functioning as a wake-up word: “In the beginning of, God created the heaven and the earth.” What do you mean “in the beginning of”? In the beginning of what? In the beginning of everything of course!

Just as the presence of the Divine was conceptualized in the ancient world by the number seven, so the natural world was represented by numbers six and 60. Six is a perfect number in the mathematical sense in that the sum of its proper divisors is 6, and the product of its positive divisors is also 6 (i.e., 1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6). We have a vestige of the ancient use of six today in our 24-hour day (6 x 4). There is no scientific reason that there should be 24 hours in a day. It is a made-up construct based on an ancient convention.

A sexagesimal system, i.e., a number system based on 60 (which is also 6 x 10), was also in use in the ancient world. Vestiges of this are our 60-minute hour, 360-degree circle (60 x 6), and 180-degree sum of the angles of a triangle (60 x 3). Again, these conventions are historical rather than dictated by nature.

Of course, modern science indicates that the universe developed over billions of years, rather than being created in six conventional days. Nor is there any scientific basis for treating the six divisions of Genesis I literally as six scientific phases. Rather, this chapter is describing in a poetic form the order and design typifying the creation of the natural world and the creation of man in a literary convention familiar to people at that time. It is also directing us to the seventh day of creation by means of this same convention.

The days of creation

The Bible’s description of each day of creation uses a consistent format. Day 3 is a fairly typical example:

Elohim said, "Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered to one place, that the dry land may appear"; and it was so. Elohim called the dry land "earth", and to the gathering of waters He called "seas." And Elohim saw that it was good. And Elohim said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed, and fruit trees producing fruit each according to its kind, containing its own seed on the earth;" and it was so. And the earth sprouted vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit, each containing its seed after its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Genesis 1:9-13).

First Elohim speaks. But who is He speaking to? There is no one around to listen! The presumption must be that this soliloquy is more in the way of God planning than talking. Many of the classic Jewish commentators interpret it as an expression of God’s purposeful will.2

There then follows the details of God’s will — "let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered together and let the dry land appear". There is also within the third day of creation the notion that the earth does its own creating — “And Elohim said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed. . . .” (Ibid 1:11) This is also apparent on the fifth day of creation with the seas and firmament when God says: “Let the waters teem with creeping living creatures. . . .” (ibid 1:20), and the sixth day when Elohim says, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind” (ibid 1:24).

These verses can certainly be read as compatible with an evolutionary understanding of life. However, the description of day 6 clarifies that this creation is directed by Elohim, rather than being an autonomous process. Hence, after Elohim said: “let the earth bring forth living creatures (ibid 1:24), the text follows with:

And Elohim made the beasts of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and all the creeping things of the ground according to their kind; and Elohim saw that it was good (ibid 1:25).

Most of the six days of creation terminate with the expression that Elohim saw that it was “good,” or that “it was so (vayehi chen),” namely that it fulfilled the function to which it had been designated. Each day also ends with the expression “it was evening and it was morning one day, a second day, a third day” etc.

This format for each day emphasizes the design and order pervading the universe. Nothing in nature is presented in this account as occurring independently of the will of God. Moreover, the purpose of all of creation was to bring into existence a planet suitable for the habitation of man.

Cassuto points out that the purpose manifested throughout creation is emphasized by a specific stylistic form. From days 1 to 3, Elohim created stationary domains. On days 4 to 6 their purpose becomes established when they became filled with moving entities. This is summarized in table 1.3

Hence, day 1 is linked to day 4 when Elohim formed heavenly luminaries to govern the light-and-darkness cycle established on day 1 and these were placed within a firmament created on day 2. The reasons for the creation of these heavenly bodies are described as: (i). To separate day from night; (ii). For signs, seasons, days, and years; and (iii). To provide light to the earth. As will be explained in the next chapter, two of these reasons are mentioned in the Enuma Elish myth and all may have been mentioned in the original version as the fragment containing the description of the sun has been damaged. Animals and man were created on day 6 on a land containing vegetation previously prepared for them on day 3.

Day 6 is of particular interest, since this is when man, the culmination of the creation account, was created. As the Talmud states:

Man was created last so he should find all things ready for him. If he is worthy, he is told: “All things were created in your behalf.” At the same time his late appearance on earth conveys an admonition of humility. If man becomes too proud, he is reminded: Even gnats proceeded you in the order of creation.4

Given the importance of man in the overall scheme of creation, one might have thought that he warranted his own day of creation. That he is created on the same day as the animals conveys a powerful message, namely that as organic material with a limited lifespan the dividing line between him and animals is not that great:

And Elohim said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kind": And it was so. And Elohim made the beasts of the earth according to its own kind, and the cattle according to its own kind, and every creeping thing of the ground according to their kind: And Elohim saw that it was good. And Elohim said, "Let us make man in Our image (bezalmeinu), after Our likeness (kidmuteinu),⁠ and they shall rule over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle,⁠ the entire earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." And Elohim created man in His image (bezalmo), in the image (bezelem) of Elohim He created him; male and female He created them. And Elohim blessed them and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and every living thing that moves upon the earth." And Elohim said: "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; it shall be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to all the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves upon the earth in which there is a living spirit, every green herb is for food:” And it was so. And Elohim saw all that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (ibid 1:24-31).

Although man and animals were created on the same day, nevertheless, the Bible makes many distinctions between them. Rather than the earth being the source of creation for animals and the oceans for the creation of fish, man is not described in Genesis I as being brought forth from the earth in the same formula used for animals: “And Elohim said: “Let us make man in Our image . . . “ (ibid 1:26).

There is much discussion among commentators as why God suddenly uses the plural — “Let us make man. . . .” Some suggest that He was addressing the angels (even though the text does not suggest that angels were consulted).5 Nachmanides proposes that the use of the plural denotes the involvement of God together with the earth.6 The Abarbanel also views man as being made from both heavenly and earthly components — a soul from above and a body from below. Others suggest this expression expresses the pluralis majestatis (the royal “we”). This is not the only time in the Torah that a plural form of the verb is used for God. We will meet it again in the Tower of Bavel story when YHWH says “Come, let us go down . . .” (Genesis 11:7). This also could be an expression of the royal “we.”

There is also much discussion among commentators as to the meaning of the expression “in our image (bezelem) after our likeness [of Elohim].” The simplest explanation is that it refers to all the faculties that man possesses that animals do not, in particular those necessary to rule the earth to “subdue it [the earth], and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves that moves upon the earth."7

Another aspect of the image of God has been understood as man’s capacity to distinguish right from wrong, what we commonly call conscience.8 There were individuals between the generation of Seth and Noah, including Noah himself, who are described as having “walked” (hithale’ach) with Elohim, even though they not recipients of a moral code from God. Nevertheless, what is often called “natural law” is not a strong moral force, in that a sense of right and wrong can easily be rationalized in the direction one wishes. The biblical narrative subsequently presents the flood as a response to widespread corruption, while Abraham is later chosen to promulgate God’s morality to the world.

The topic of the God-like attributes of man is discussed further in the next chapter.

The sanctification of the Sabbath

The institution of the Sabbath introduced the dimension of sacred time into the biblical account of the world. Genesis I teaches us that the Sabbath is deeply embedded within creation and is as much a part of creation as the forming of the waters and the dry land. Its institution began at the beginning of time on the seventh day of creation and its recognition will continue into eternity.

The paragraph describing the institution of the Sabbath has a wonderful lilt to it because of its poetic format. This is best appreciated in the Hebrew, although it is also noticeable to an extent in English. The passage reads as follows:

וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃

וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹקִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה

וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃

וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑ו

ֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹקים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃

(Sentence #1): Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their hosts.

(Sentence #2): And Elohim finished on the seventh day

His work (melachto) which He had made (asa);

(Sentence #3): And He rested (vayishbot) on the seventh day

from all His work (melachto) which He had made (asa).

(Sentence #4): And Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it;

because in it He had rested (shovat) from all his work (melachto) which Elohim created and made (la’asot). (Genesis 2:1-3).

The poetic nature of this passage is fashioned in a number of ways. The middle of each of the three sentences which I have labeled #2, #3 and #4 contain the words “bayom hashevi’i” or “yom hashevi.” This means “on the seventh day” or just “the seventh day,” and this phrase acts as a refrain for these sentences. The end of sentence #4 also constitutes a summary of the ends of sentences #2 and #3.

Significantly, each of sentences #2, #3, and the beginning of sentence #4 contain seven Hebrew words. Moreover, the entire paragraph contains 35 Hebrew words (5 x 7). 9

Thirty-five is also the number of times that the word Elohim is mentioned in this chapter, on the reasonable assumption that verses one to three of chapter 2 really belong to the first chapter. These number games are not a coincidence. They signify that the institution and sanctification of the Sabbath is an integral part of Elohim’s universe.

The universal and particularistic aspects of the Sabbath

Was the Sabbath intended to have a universal significance or to be an entirely Jewish institution? It is, after all, located in the same chapter as the creation of the universe, which was created for all humanity. It was also created by Elohim, a name which has universal connotations.

To answer this question, we need to delve further into other mentions of the Sabbath in the Torah.

The Sabbath is never called this by name in Genesis, only “the seventh day.” Nevertheless, the three-letter root of the noun Shabbat (שבת) is used as a verb for God’s resting in sentence #4 above.10 This passage also calls God’s creative work “melacha.” This noun is not used again in the first creation story but is used in reference to Shabbat in the Book of Exodus.

This leads us to a crucial point that I will be making a number of times in these essays. This passage about the Sabbath was never intended to be a stand-alone in the Torah. Rather, it is introducing a concept that will be developed further in the Five Books of Moses, up to and including the last Book of Deuteronomy. One can go further than this and state that almost all the early chapters in Genesis were not intended to stand in isolation. All are leading somewhere.

This means that the first creation story is not, as the documentary hypothesis suggests, just a priestly source composed by Temple priests in about the sixth century BCE during the Babylonian Exile (587–539 BCE), or perhaps somewhat later, and related only to other priestly compositions in the Torah. Rather, it is an integral part of a unified composition.

God’s sanctification of the Sabbath at the time of Creation also implies that sometime in the future a people will be designated to sanctify this day throughout history. It is no exaggeration to say that the establishment of an eternal Jewish people is already written into the very first chapter of the Book of Genesis.

The sages express this notion in the midrashic literature by a beautiful exchange between the Sabbath and God Himself:

The Shabbat said: “Master of the universe, everyone has a partner except for me. The six days of creation pair off: Only I have no partner.” God replied: “The people of Israel are your partner.” When Israel stood before Sinai, God said to them: “Remember what I told Shabbat: “The people of Israel are your partner.” This is the meaning of the commandment “Remember (or commemorate) the day of Shabbat to sanctify it (Exodus 20:8).11

The next mention of the Sabbath in any detail after the Book of Genesis is the fourth of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus.12 The Ten Commandments begins with an Elohim designation of God — “Elohim spoke all these words [of the Ten Commandments] saying” (Exodus 20:1), although the name for God YHWH appears subsequently. In that Elohim and YHWH are both mentioned, the Sabbath can be read as having both universal and particularistic implications.

It is noteworthy that this section of the Ten Commandments takes the form of a chiasmus:

A1. Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.

B1. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Sabbath to YHWH, your God.

C. You shall not do any work — you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your maidservant and your animal, and the stranger within your gates —

B2. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea an all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day

A2. Therefore, YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it (Exodus 20:8-11).

Chiastic structures are common in the Torah and it is worthwhile recognizing them since this literary format is used specifically to emphasize ideas contained within them. They can also help clarify the structure of otherwise lengthy passages.

A chiasmus typically consists of two parts, in which the second part mirrors the first — A2 and B2 mirroring A1 and B1. Its centerpiece is often the main point being made by the chiasmus, in this case in line C. Lines A1, B1, A2 and B2 contain nothing new in relation to the creation story, but line C emphasizes the total cessation of work that needs to take place within a household on the Sabbath. It is therefore emphasizing to Jews the particularistic notion of a cessation of work on the Sabbath for everyone in the household, including slaves, and a total reliance on God for sustenance on that day — a particularistic concept, but expressed within the universal context of freedom and belief in God.

Another passage, which is nothing but particularistic, is found in the Book of Exodus in relation to the building of the Sanctuary. In this passage, the concept of holiness of time becomes a stepping stone for the concept of the holiness of place, in this instance the Sanctuary. The construction of the Sanctuary will never override the sanctity of the Sabbath. Moreover, observing the Sabbath has now become a “sign” specific to the Jewish people.

Linguistically, this passage is very much a sequel to the last paragraph of the first Creation story, although it is completely a YHWH-passage. It uses the same verb for doing work as in Genesis (oseh) and the same noun for work (melacha). Nevertheless, the Sabbath is no longer just “the seventh day,” but has been given a name — Shabbat. This passage is also in the form of a chiasmus:13

A1. Nevertheless, you must keep my Sabbaths (shabtotei)

B1. for it is a sign between Me and you for your generations

C1. that you may know that I am YHWH Who sanctifies you.

D1. You shall keep the Sabbath (hashabat), for it is holy to you;

E1. those who profane it shall be put to death, for whoever does (ha’oseh) work (melacha) on it, that person shall be cut off from among its people.

F. Six days may work be done (ye’oseh melacha), but on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest (shabat shabaton), holy to God;

E2. whoever does work (ha’oseh melacha) on the Sabbath day (b’yom hashabbat) shall be put to death.

D2. The Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath (hashabbat)

C2. to make (la’asot) the Sabbath (hashabbat) an eternal covenant for their generations.

B2. It is a sign forever between Me and the Children of Israel

A2. for in six days YHWH made (asa) the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased (shavat) from work (melacha) and was refreshed (Exodus 31:13-17).

It is noteworthy that the first half of the chiasmus is directed at the individual, being written in the second person singular, while the second part is directed to all the Children of Israel.13

The apex of this chiasmus is at F and summarizes the entire passage — “Six days may work be done (ye’oseh melacha), but on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest (shabbat shabaton), holy to God.”

But why is the Sabbath called a sign in this passage, and is not the punishment for desecrating it rather harsh? In fact, these two questions are related. The Sabbath is now considered a sign of the covenant, and this explains the severity of the punishment.

All the covenants made by Elohim are associated with a sign. The covenant made by Elohim in the Noah story, in which He promises never again to obliterate mankind with a flood, is associated with the sign of a rainbow. Circumcision is the sign of the Covenant of Circumcision made by Elohim with Abraham. Likewise, the Ten Commandments made by Elohim has the sign of the Sabbath. Deliberate violation of the Shabbat is treated as a grave covenantal offense carrying the death penalty.

The sign of the covenant of Shabbat is exclusively for the Jewish people. Which means that the Sabbath is to be observed only by the Jewish people, since only they have a covenantal relationship with God. But does this not present a contradiction between the YHWH and Elohim passages in the Torah, in that at least in the first creation story the Sabbath seems to have universal implications?

The Rabbis have been very adamant about the particularistic aspects of the Sabbath. Its observance is to be exclusively for the Jewish people.14 Even someone in the process of learning about Judaism for the purpose of conversion should not keep the Jewish Sabbath laws in their entirety.

Nevertheless, the notion that the other monotheistic religions should have a special day to commemorate God’s creation of the universe seems highly appropriate and fits into the universal aspects of Shabbat. In fact, this is the position of Christianity and to a degree Islam, although neither of these religions commemorates the seventh day from the time of creation, which is the Jewish Sabbath.

Many early Christians met together on a Sunday. The emperor Constantine made a significant step towards formalizing Sunday as a day of rest and worship when he issued an edict in 321 CE declaring Sunday (referred to as "the day of the sun") a day of rest for Roman citizens. The Council of Laodicea in 364 CE decreed that Christians should, if possible, honor Sunday as their primary day of worship and rest rather than observing the Jewish Sabbath on a Saturday. This council's rulings reflected the effort by Christians to differentiate their practices from Jewish ones. Seventh-day Adventists are among the Christian denominations that observe Saturday as their day of rest, and they perform no secular work or business activities on this day.

In Islam, Friday is seen as a day for heightened spirituality, reflection and community bonding through congregational prayer, although it is not a day for complete cessation from work or regular activities. Some Islamic traditions associate Friday with the completion of creation and the creation of Adam; the Quran itself states that the heavens and earth were created in six days.

This is just the beginning of acknowledgement of the Sabbath. It is of interest that the prophet Isaiah foretells a future messianic time when there will be universal recognition of YHWH and His Sabbath, presumably on the Jewish seventh day:15

And the foreigners who join themselves to YHWH to serve Him and to love the name of YHWH, to become servants unto Him, all who guard the Sabbath against desecration and grasp my covenant tightly — I will bring them to My holy mountain and I will gladden them in My house of prayer; their elevation -offerings and their feast offerings will find favor on My altar, for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples (Isaiah 56:6-7).

In sum, chapter 1 of Genesis contains a treasure trove of profound philosophical ideas. Yet we have not exhausted this topic. To be discussed in the next chapter is how aspects of Mesopotamian mythology became incorporated into the creation story of Genesis and what the religious implications of this are.

References:

Armana Letters in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna_letters. The correspondence between the patriarch Jacob bowing down seven times to his brother Esau is very apparent (Genesis 33:3).
This is the opinion of Rav Sadia Gaon, Maimonides, Nachmanides, and the Kuzari.
Fourth Paragraph. The Story of the Fourth Day in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Part One. From Adam to Noah by U. Cassuto, p42. The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1998.
TB Sanhedrin 38a.
This is the view of Bereishit Raba 8:3-7, Targum Yonasan, Rashi, Maimonides, and Ibn Ezra. Rashi sees within this expression the notion of proper conduct and that even those low down in the totem pole should be consulted. This, even though the plural form of the verb leaves an opening for heretics to question the notion that there is only One God. Nevertheless, the verb creating returns to the singular form with the creation of man in verse 1:27.
Nachmanides to ibid 1:26. He explains that just as the earth brought forth the bodies of animals and beasts, so too did the earth provide the body of humans. Nevertheless, the spirit came “from the mouth of the Supreme One” (Lamentations 3:38). Moreover, the spirit of man comes directly from God, as this verse in Lamentations continues “and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life.” Nevertheless, this explanation provides no general principle for use of the plural elsewhere in the Torah.
This explanation follows the Medieval commentator Radak who wrote: In our image, after our likeness’ – “This refers to the intellectual soul (nefesh hasikhlit) which is unique to the human species. With this soul, a person knows and understands ideas and abstract concepts; he rules over animals and controls his actions with will and reason. This is what is meant by the ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ of God — not a physical form, since God has no body or image. Rather, it refers to the faculties of understanding and choice, which are divine qualities given to man.” R’ Hirsch explains that humans possess creativity in art, ideas and procreation. Onkelos emphasizes the divine gift of language. TB Sanhedrin 37a writes about the uniqueness of each individual, unlike coins that are stamped from the same mold. Mishnah Avot 3:14 discusses that since people are made in God’s image, every life is sacred and inviolable.
Bereishit Rabbah 8:11 and Nachmanides explain that human beings, like God, possess free choice enabling moral responsibility and autonomy. Abarbanel also emphasizes man's intellectual and moral capacity as a reflection of divine likeness. See also the summary in Commentary to ibid 1:26 in Bereishis. Genesis. A New Translation with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources. Volume Ia. P71. Mesorah Publications 1977, Brooklyn, NY., United States.
Seventh Paragraph. Introduction in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Part One. From Adam to Noah by U. Cassuto, p 15. The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1998.
Chapter 1. The First Story of Creation (P) in In the Beginnings. Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden within Genesis 1-11 by David Harbater, p30, Gefen, Jerusalem.2023.
Bereishit Rabba 11:8.
The Sabbath is also discussed briefly in relation to collecting the manna (Exodus 16:23).
“Shabbat of Sinai, Shabbat of the Mishkan” by Rav Yonatan Grossman in Torah Mietzion. New Readings in Tanach. Shemot. Eds: Ezra Bick and Yaakov Beasley. Maggid Books. Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd, p489, 2012.
The Talmud says: "Rabbi Yohanan said: A gentile who observes Shabbat is liable to receive the death penalty, as it is stated: 'And day and night shall not cease' (Genesis 8:22)” (Sanhedrin 58b). This rabbinic statement is usually understood as a hyperbolic expression of the prohibition against non-Jews adopting the Israelite Sabbath as an obligation. It may also reflect the historical situation, in that the Rabbis felt a distinction had to be made between Jews and non-Jews who were Sabbath-observing, particularly Sabbath-observing Christians. This antipathy was reciprocated when Christianity changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday.
Rashi assumes that these verses are discussing a convert to Judaism. Nevertheless, it is not out of the question that “all who guard the Sabbath against desecration and grasp my covenant tightly” is different from the foreigners, and Isaiah is talking about a more universal recognition of God and His Sabbath by non-Jews and Jews, the former without formal conversion. The hope for universal recognition of God is also expressed by King Solomon without mention of conversion: “And also to the stranger, who [is] not of Your people Israel, but will come from a far country for the sake of Your Name. For they shall hear of Your great Name, and Your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm, and he will come and pray toward this house (I Kings 8:41-42).