Holy means Whole: According to Biblical Parallels (Genesis 1:28-29,30; 2:3) (for the future)



When I was young, I understood the idea of parallels through the analogy of railroad tracks since I grew up crossing a set of tracks quite a few days, as a child walking home from school. Since we are talking about basic things like railroad tracks, I have a confession to make. I am a person who loves to deal with the basics, even after having gone beyond them for a while. That is the reason I am a pastor and not a scholar. I am a middle person who stands between those who see only the forest and no trees and those who see only the trees and no forest. In other words, I stand between the lay person and the scholar. I am trying to make my argument to both sides from the middle. The scholar knows it is relevant to talk about Hebrew parallelism. The lay person knows that parallels are relevant to not just railroad tracks, but to life in general. Parallels in Genesis 1-2, like the two rails for train tracks, turn out to be very important for how I understand holy. It is now part of the reason I am convinced holy means whole.


I have shown earlier that there is a parallelism of seven rails forming one track between the seven days of Genesis 1-2, but I think there is another set of tracks that must be considered. In Genesis 2:3 we have two parallel tracks in "blessed" and "made holy." These two tracks are joined by "and." Yet what has been overlooked is that we may have a similar parallel set of two tracks in Genesis 1:28-29,30 where we read: "God said" and "God said." These two tracks are also joined by "and."


We have a further indication that they could be parallel in the words that show the relationships between portions of the passage. Both texts have "Then" at the opening and "and" in the middle. In addition, both texts have the word "blessed." This word is the reason why the parallels could be very relevant to the meaning of holy.

Genesis 1:28 reads, to begin: "Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ...." It is common sense to recognize that what God says following explains what it means when it says that "God blessed them." What He says to them is: "`Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth." So Scripture gives us a great definition for blessing that can be applied elsewhere to other things.


So does the context give us a definition for "made holy" as well? It just might. Genesis 1:29 reads, to begin: "And God said, ...." This follows after the "Then ... God said, ...." of Genesis 1:28. Notice the parallels with Genesis 2:3, which reads: "Then God blessed ... and made ... holy...." Note first the "then" followed by "and." Then note that "blessed" comes before "made holy." The first instance of "said" in Genesis 1:28 explains "blessed," the second instance in 1:29 could then explain "made holy." There is one other possible parallel. In both texts, there is an explanation attached at the end. Genesis 1:29 reads: "to you it shall be for food." Genesis 2:3 reads "because in it He rested from all His work ...." It could be that one addresses our food needs and the other are rest needs.



So here is how the parallels chart out for a visual:




First parallel:
Then God blessed them and said to them, ..... (Genesis 1:28a)


Then God blessed the seventh day ..... (Genesis 2:3a)




Second parallel:
Then ... God said to them .... And God said .... (Genesis 1:28b-29a)


Then God blessed the seventh day ... and [God] made it holy (Genesis 2:3a-b)




Third parallel:
to you it shall be for food (1:29g)


because in it He rested from all His work .... (Genesis 2:3c)




If these tracks are parallel, and I think I have provided good evidence that they are, then we can discover what holy means from a biblical explanation like what we find for blessed. The key concept in what God says, appears to be that of "every," since it is found twice in relationship to both herbs and trees. The stress on what God has given is that He has given not just these two kinds of things to eat, but that He has given so extensively of each. We read in Genesis 1:29: "And God said, `See I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food." But if "every" occuring twice isn't enough for you, in addition, it occurs four times in Genesis 1:30. It reads: "Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food.'; and it was so."

The meaning of "every" is literally "ever each" according to Webster's New World Dictionary. It also means "each and all." So each herb and all herbs that yield seed are included. No kind is left out and no one is left out among those that yield seed. So each tree and all trees whose fruit yields seed are included. No kind is left out and no one is left out among those that yield seed. This concept of "every" has close ties to the meaning of whole.

"Whole" has for one of its definitions that it something "containing all the elements or parts." In other words, each of the parts and all of the parts are present. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the greatest Baptist preacher, gave wholeness this definiton years ago. So "every," or "each and all" could be a great definition for what wholeness is.

Going beyond just parallels for a moment, there is a lot of common sense in all of this. As I said earlier, I am not a scholar and a good percentage of this world's population is not. I don't know how many Ph.D.s there are, but I would imagine the percentage is small, maybe 5%. It is not to say that scholars are bad or unnecessary, its just that the percentages will likely never be real high. This means if God intends to reach the general population, the meaning of words must be more easily accessible than just what is accessible to scholars examining numerous trees rather than the forest. The great news is that an English speaker with an English translation can find this definition of holy right alongside a great definition for blessed. In Genesis 1-2, it falls within the immediate context of made holy itself. It is right there in an immediate context without the use of a dictionary by a lay person or without the use of a lexicon by a scholar. This is tremendous news.

Please allow me to extend the scholarship argument just a little further. There are those who are great at details. We need scholars for some things in life. It is indespensible in some cases. But for many of us, we can rely on the person who knows the details rather than know them for ourselves. Yet we must also be able to check on their conclusions or work and Genesis 1:1-2:3 gives us an opportunity to check on the work of scholars in a way that does not require detail work, so much as being generally knowledgeable about English. Every, each and all, be fruitful, multiply, etc. are not tough words in our vocabulary, but basic words in our vocabulary. This raises the status of a Bible accessible to all of us; and lowers, but does not destroy, the status of dictionaries and lexicons. See, it is great that someone knows Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It is even better that someone knows Ugartic, Akkadian, Babylonian, etc., but this mastery will always elude the majority of us. In this case all a person needs is to be able to read is 3 verses from Genesis 1:28-29 and Genesis 2:3. That is a lot less detail to know. This is a boost to common sense from another angle.

So made holy means made whole and it makes a great deal of sense in this context. It makes common sense too, because it is so accessible to lay people just like the meaning of blessed. Pull down your Bible and read it for yourselves. And then rejoice that God has made the meaning of holy available in such a close proximity to the word itself. May God bless your day.


In Christ,

Pastor Jon