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Begetting from the Beginningsea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing thatmoves on the earth.”The imperative to “be fruitful and multiply” expected of the first humanbeings goes hand-in-hand with the act of God’s blessing them. Procreationrequires that a human act be carried out, but the results of the human actare efficacious only through divine provision. We already have perhaps ahint of the forthcoming drama found later in Genesis where the offspringof the covenantal blessing arises not simply through the human procreative act but as a result of God’s supernatural act of provision.While the act of being fruitful and multiplying is thus a divinehuman act, in actuality the Hebrew author sometimes stresses one aspectmore than the other. By examining whether blessing is mentioned inthe immediate context of the reference, and by looking at the subjectand form of the verb, we can get a relatively good sense of where thedominant emphasis is being applied. Table 1.1 provides a list of all theoccurrences of the couplet in the Old Testament (it never appears at allin the New Testament). Of the twelve Old Testament references to beingfruitful and multiplying, only five are clear imperatives upon humansor creatures (bolded in the table). It is given as an imperative to humanbeings only in three instances: to the first human beings, Adam and Eve;to Noah and his family; and to Jacob. At first it might seem surprisingthat it was given to Jacob and not also to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob’s sons,or Israel as a nation. But it does make some sense when we consider thatAdam was the progenitor of the human race, Noah was a second Adam,and Jacob was the immediate progenitor of the nation of Israel.2 Each ofthe three was father to a human race of critical importance.From the table it seems surprising that the mandate is given twiceto Noah, and in the second instance it is issued without the blessing.However, as Genesis 9:1–7 forms a single text unit, the command, asgiven in verse 7, may be nothing more than an emphatic reiteration ofverse 1. Maimonides cites Genesis 1:28, 9:1, and 9:6–7 as proof-texts forincluding “be fruitful and multiply” among the commandments of theTorah.3 Whether Maimonides was correct to include it among the divinecommands for all human beings is debatable. What we can concludefrom the creation account is that procreation is part of the pattern of the275HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Redeeming Singlenesscreated order, it is associated with God’s blessing, and it was an explicitdivine commandment given to Adam, Noah, and Jacob.Table 1.1: Occurrences of “Be Fruitful and Multiply”in the Old TestamentTextReferentGod’s BlessingStated inContext?Subject ofVerbVerb FormEmphasizedActionGen. 1:22sea creaturesand birdsyesSea creaturesand birdsimperativepluraldivine andanimalGen. 1:28the firsthumans (Adamand Eve)yesthe firsthumans (Adamand Eve)imperativepluraldivine andhumanGen. 8:17animalsnoanimalsindicative-pluralanimalGen. 9:1NoahyesNoahimperativepluraldivine andhumanGen. 9:7NoahnoNoahimperativepluralhumanGen. ineGen. Gen. 35:11JacobyesJacobimperativesingulardivine andhumanGen. Lev. Jer. 23:3remnantnoremnantindicative-pluralhumanEzek. 36:11post-exilic IsraelnoGod and Israelindicative-pluraldivine andhumanThe Provision of MarriageWhile marriage is not explicitly mentioned early in the creation account,it is certainly implied in the concluding clauses of Genesis 1:27: “In theimage of God he created him; male and female he created them.” The biblical etiology (an account of something’s origin) of marriage as a divinelysanctioned human institution does not appear until the final scene of thecreation account in Genesis 2:18–24. In this latter episode we find nomention at all of procreation as the basis for marriage; rather, here themotivation for the account is the initial observation by the Lord God that285HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Begetting from the Beginning“it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fitfor him” (Gen. 2:18).With this initial pronouncement God puts Adam to sleep, takeshis rib from him, and creates Eve. The didactic function of the episodeis made clear in the concluding pronouncement in 2:24: “Therefore aman shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, andthey shall become one flesh.” So while an implied purpose for marriagein the creation account is to enable fulfillment of the divine mandate to“be fruitful and multiply,” the explicit purpose the account gives is forcompanionship and assistance.Here we see emerging a seminal theology of marriage. The wifeserves both as relational companion and as provider of material assistanceto the husband. The husband in turn functions in a complementary rolefor the wife. The separation of the two incidents perhaps serves to highlight the author’s point that marriage was intended to provide more thanthe mere need to procreate legitimate heirs; it was also the foundation ofthe new institution of relational support in the human family unit.In Jesus’ discussion with the Pharisees about divorce, he cites asthe basis for marriage Genesis 1:27, “male and female he created them,”which he conjoins with the conclusion in 2:24, “Therefore a man shallleave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shallbecome one flesh.”4 In the context of Genesis 2, the “therefore” of verse24 follows from the man’s condition of first being alone (v. 18) andsubsequently receiving the woman as “flesh of my flesh” (v. 23). Jesus,however, links the conclusion not to the man’s need for companionshipbut rather to God’s ordained pattern of creation as constituting them“male and female.”Maimonides also lists “taking a wife” through contractual arrangement among his 613 commandments of the Torah but cites a casuisticlegal precept in Deuteronomy 22:13–15 rather than Genesis 2 as thebasis of the commandment.5 Maimonides’ understanding of marriageas a commandment of the Torah would have resonated with the earlierrabbinic tradition, which presumed marriage to be a requirement as themeans to fulfill one’s lifelong procreative duty to “be fruitful and multiply,” illustrated well in the second-century rabbinic tractate Abot R.Nathan:295HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Redeeming SinglenessMarry a wife when you are young, and marry a wife when you are old,beget children when you are young, and beget children when you areold. Do not say, “I shall not get married,” but get married and producesons and daughters and so increase procreation in the world. “For youdo not know which will prosper, the one or the other, or perhaps both ofthem will survive, and they shall both turn out well. In the morning sowyour seed and in the evening keep it up” (Eccles. 11:6).6The presumed close tie between marriage and procreation was acommon concept in the ancient world. Prescribing them as codifiedlegal mandates was also common, beyond mere Jewish interpretations ofthe Old Testament. The idea of state-instituted laws requiring marriagewas also common amongst Greco-Roman political theorists. In Plato’slater discussion of political theory, given in his Laws, for example, herecognizes that the foundational building block of any political state liesin the partnership of marriage. Thus, it follows that the state’s first legalenactment should be the institution of laws requiring a man to marry.7Plato was not alone, for, as we shall see later, similar ideas were commonto other ancient writers.In exploring the close connection between marriage and procreationin the ancient world, we begin to see clearly the distinctive view of marriage given in the Genesis account. First, we are struck by the immediateprominence of God’s blessing on the whole created order through procreation. Marriage is acknowledged implicitly from the very beginningin God’s creation of humans as male and female. Marriage thus providesthe means to accomplish God’s initial blessed mandate to human beingsto “be fruitful and multiply.” But in providing a secondary account of theinstitution of marriage at the end of the creation story, the biblical authoremphasizes that marriage has been ordained by God to be more than justa provision for procreation; it is also the means for companionship andsupport through a couple’s unity in forming a new family unit.Offspring and the FallHaving already seen the prominence of procreation within the creationaccount, it is not surprising to find that offspring emerges as a recurring theological motif through the development of biblical history. The305HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Begetting from the BeginningHebrew term used for offspring is the word zera’, which can be translatedinto English as “offspring” or “seed” or other words, depending on thecontext. Just as the English word seed can refer botanically to the seedsown by a farmer, the semen of a male animal, a single physical offspringof a human or animal, or the aggregate descendants of a human being, sotoo a similar range of usage applies in the Hebrew. Although the onceubiquitous King James Version nearly always translated zera’ as “seed,”modern translations tend to translate the term into a range of contextually specific English equivalents such as “seed,” “semen,” “offspring,”“children,” “lineage,” or “descendants.”Even before the narrative moves out of Eden, we encounter theimportance of offspring in the account of the fall. The text of Genesis 3portrays three separate culpable agents. The Serpent deceived Eve witha lie. Eve listened to the Serpent, disobeying God. Adam listened to Eve,disobeying God. In God’s pronouncement of judgment upon the Serpent,two references to offspring occur:I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between youroffspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shallbruise his heel. (Gen. 3:15)The judgment upon the Serpent is that there will be constant enmitybetween his offspring and the woman’s offspring. At one level, we couldhave here a biblical etiology of why snakes bite men, and why men try tokill snakes. But as Gordon Wenham points out, this is a judgment againstthe Serpent, not the woman.8 The serpent is at a tactical disadvantage.Moreover, a wound to the head is more likely to be fatal than a wound tothe heel. Likewise, a personified speaking serpent in the account suggeststhat it represents more than a suborder of reptiles but rather the personified power of evil hostile to the plans and purposes of God.In short, the enmity between two sets of offspring points to the futurecontinued struggle between human beings (the offspring of the woman)and the personified forces of evil in Satan and his cohorts. Whereas theforces of evil will inflict harm upon the offspring of Eve, the offspring ofEve will eventually fatally crush the forces of evil.Patristic authors from Justin and Irenaeus onward have regarded315HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Redeeming SinglenessGenesis 3:15 as the protoevangelium, the first Old Testament prophecyof Christ.9 The patristic authors employ the ambiguity between the collective offspring and a singular offspring in making the assertion. Paultells the Roman church, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan underyour feet” (Rom. 16:20). If this is an allusion to Genesis 3:15, it suggestsan image of God crushing Satan through his people, i.e., the church. Soperhaps there is a sense in which both a particular and an aggregate senseof seed are simultaneously in view.Another OffspringThe next reference to offspring in Genesis occurs in Genesis 4:25 as partof Eve’s response when she bears her third son, Seth. The dominantstoryline of Genesis 4 concerns the contrast between Abel’s acceptablesacrifice and Cain’s unacceptable sacrifice, Cain’s accountability beforeGod for his subsequent murder of Abel, and the portrayal of how Cain’sviolent disposition is subsequently passed down through his progeny, asrepresented by the figure of Lamech. From the foundation of human history we can observe two distinct lines of progeny coming from Adam andEve—one represented by Cain marked by violence, which was eventuallydestroyed in the flood, and the other represented by Abel and Seth, whichwas marked by obedience, sacrificial death, and new life.While the traditional contrast of the chapter is between Cain andAbel with Seth only mentioned in the concluding two verses, when welook at the description of the birth accounts it is Cain and Seth that formthe interesting parallel, while there is only passing mention of the birthof Abel. The births are described as follows:. . . and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man withthe help of the LORD.” (Gen. 4:1). . . and she bore a son and called his name Seth, for she said, “Godhas appointed for me another offspring instead of Abel, for Cain killedhim.” (Gen. 4:25)In each case Eve bears a son, names him, and makes a declaration to theLord commemorating the occasion; but in two instances the subject,verb, and object are different. In the first instance the act of producing a325HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Begetting from the Beginningchild is Eve’s. Eve “gets” for herself a “man” with the “help” of the Lord.To commemorate her act, she names her son Cain, meaning “possession,”a wordplay on the Hebrew verb qanah meaning “get.”In the second instance God is the subject and Eve is the indirectobject. This time Eve acknowledges that God appointed another offspring. She names this son Seth, meaning “substitute,” which is also anapparent wordplay on the Hebrew verb shith for “placing” or “appointing.” The contrast in the type of birth is expressed in the names of Eve’ssons. Cain is the result of Eve’s own act of getting a man, whereas Seth isGod’s provision of an appointed offspring. In her effort, Eve bears sinfulprogeny of violence and ultimate death. But God provides through heranother offspring that ultimately brings life and hope.The theme of offspring as a special provision of God is a recurringone throughout the book of Genesis. It is a theme that reinforces a fundamental difference between the God of the Old Testament and fertilitydeities popular among Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors.10 Unlikethe gods of other Semitic traditions, the God of Israel has no femaleconsort and is not worshiped by means of cultic prostitution. Mostimportantly, the God of Israel is not manipulated by human beings as inthe case of other fertility-oriented religions, where, through the worshipand sacrifices of human beings, the gods were stimulated to replenish theearth. But from the first generation of humankind, Genesis emphasizesby contrast that it is God alone who provides the appointed offspring.The vocabulary distinction between Eve’s bearing Cain as a “man”and God’s providing Seth as “another offspring” also hints that, as inGenesis 3:15, messianic implications are in view. These messianicovertones in the provision of Seth were recognized within the Jewishinterpretive tradition even prior to the New Testament era.11 In the bookof Jubilees, for example, it is Adam rather than Eve that names Seth andcomments on his birth:He [Adam] named him Seth because he said, “The LORD has raisedup another seed for us upon the earth in place of Abel because Cainkilled him.” (Jub. 4:7)12At least three changes in vocabulary underscore that messianic335HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Redeeming Singlenessovertones are in view. The child is not merely provided by the Lord buthe is one “raised up” by the Lord. He is a child provided by God notjust to Eve but “for us,” with Adam rather than Eve as prominent. Thechild is placed by the Lord “upon the earth,” ostensibly to complete amission.The other messianic hint is in the term “another offspring” or“another seed.” As in English the Hebrew word for “another” (’akher) usedhere can connote the sense of “subsequent” or “following,” but it can alsocarry the nuance of “other” or “different” (e.g., Lev. 27:20; Ps. 109:8). Alater Jewish midrashic commentary thus concluded:And what was that “other child” [that would arise from another sourceto which she made reference]? It was the king-messiah.13Though the Jewish interpreters could see that the modifier “another”might imply something more significant than simply that God provideda “subsequent” offspring, the particular nature of the different offspringprovided by God is here unspecified. The full nature of that special character is to be fully revealed only in the course of the developing storylineof the biblical text.Abraham and His OffspringWe turn next to the substance and content of God’s covenant blessingto Abraham. Whereas the history of the human race begins with Adam,the history of God’s chosen people begins with the figure of Abraham.Abraham is thus a pivotal figure in the whole of biblical history and theology. The central drama of the book of Genesis is the narrative accountof God establishing his covenant with Abraham and confirming it withhis descendants. God’s covenant with Abraham is a unilateral promissory covenant—a commitment of how God will bless Abraham and hisdescendants. And, not surprisingly, the provision of offspring featuresprominently both in the narrative drama of the story of Abraham and inthe substance of the covenantal promises. To see this effectively and toexplore the implications requires a careful examination of the substanceof covenantal promises that God gives to Abraham as they unfold in thenarrative. This occurs not on a single occasion but through a series of345HGHHPLQJ6LQJOHQHVV L LQGG 0

Begetting from the Beginningepisodes during the course of his sojourn in Canaan as God developsand tests his faith.Abraham’s Call: Genesis 12:1–9The accoun

FOREWORD BY JOHN PIPER redeeming sing leness re d eeming sing l eness Danylak ÒFinally! IÕve been hoping and praying for a book like Redeeming Singleness for years. With insight and clarity, Danylak has presented profound, biblical, and theological truth that can revolutionize the churchÕs understanding and a!rma - tion of singleness.