Echoes of Eden: Noah's Interpretation of Adam
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| "The first leaf of the Mosaic record has more weight than all the folios of men of science and philosophers." -Jean Paul. |
Importance of the Early Genesis Narratives
... from beginning to end a singular story is told in the Torah (first five books of the Bible), not just in the smattering of verses but woven into its very fabric. Perhaps, by examining the narrative structure of the Torah with its many parallel story lines and recurring themes, we may see signposts pointing consistently and undeniably toward the Messiah and our need for Him.
It's a messy story, to say the least, but that's just the backside of the tapestry view. As we follow the common threads through the fabric of these Biblical accounts, a much bigger picture comes into view. We will see how the genius of God beautifully weaves His eternal plan through the warp of rebellious humanity, which resists Him at every turn.
This article will overlay and compare the Biblical accounts of the fall of Adam at the culmination of creation and Noah's disgrace upon entering the new world after the flood.
Restraining the Chaotic Waters
And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, that the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark and looked, and indeed the surface of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dried.— Genesis 8:13-14
The earth drying up is noted three times in the above portion of Scripture, taking us back to the third day of creation.
Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth ...
— Genesis 1:9-10
In both cases, the dry land appears immediately after chaotic waters are divided in the first event and receding in the second. These "dry land" episodes set the stage for soon-to-follow parallels linking Noah's and Adam's narratives.
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| Leaving the Ark on Mount Ararat by Raphael, 1483-1520 |
Old and New Creation Blessings
"be fruitful and multiply"
Creation:
- Genesis 1:22 (birds and fish)
- Genesis 1:28 (humans)
- 8:17 (every living thing of all flesh)
- 9:1 (Noah and his sons)
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| Landscape with Noah, Offering a Sacrifice of Gratitude by Joseph Anton Koch |
Old and New Creation Prohibitions
... the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat ...— Genesis 2:16-17
Noah's new world:
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
— Genesis 9:3-4
Every tree was given for food in the garden with one prohibition—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In Noah's story, every moving thing was given for food with the prohibition of eating flesh with its lifeblood still in it. The language used to describe both the provision and the prohibition in Noah's story matches the earlier chapters of the Genesis garden story.
A Revisit of the Image of God
"Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God He made man.
— Genesis 9:6
Following Adam and Eve's expulsion from the garden, their son Cain killed his brother Abel. The connection between these two dots may suggest that this type of violence was a major part of the destructive practices of the antediluvian world, which necessitated this addendum.
The Garden and the Vineyard
And Noah began to be a man of the ground, and he planted a vineyard.— Genesis 9:20
The vineyard planting appears to be an independent move on Noah's part. There is no mention of God instructing Him to plant the vineyard, nor is there any participation from God recorded in the text.
Connections with "a man of or from the ground" and the planting theme, noted in the above verse, are also recast from the following scene earlier in Genesis.
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.
— Genesis 2:7,8
The mention of Noah's connection with the ground, overlaid with the above verse, further substantiates Noah's independent move. The verse above distinguishes that man, apart from God, is merely dirt.
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| James Tissot Brooklyn Museum |
Naked and Ashamed
... and he (Noah) drank of the wine, and became drunk, and lay uncovered in his/her tent.— Genesis 9:21
Perhaps Noah's drunkenness suggests an intoxicating element of the garden scene.
The partaking of the fruit and the drinking of the wine ends in subsequent nakedness or uncovering, linking both the garden and Noah's vineyard narratives.
... she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked.
— Genesis 3:6-7
In the case of Adam and Eve, they became conscious of their own nakedness. In Noah's event, Ham "saw the nakedness of his father."
And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brethren without.
— Genesis 9:22
Curses follow in both cases. In the Garden scene, both the ground and the serpent were cursed.
So the Lord God said to the serpent:
"Because you have done this,
You are cursed ...
Then to Adam He said, "Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it':
"Cursed is the ground because of you ...
— Genesis 1:14
In the Noah event, Noah's grandson Canaan, Ham's son, was cursed.
So Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his younger son had done to him. Then he said: "Cursed be Canaan ... "
— Genesis 9:24-25
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| Noah's Drunkenness Romanesque facade of the Cathedral of Nimes, France |
Why Does the Curse Fall on Canaan?
Now the sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.
— Genesis 9:18
No other grandchild is mentioned. Canaan, Ham's son, is also noted when the nakedness scene occurs.
The age-old question is, why was Noah's grandson cursed instead of Ham, who reportedly "saw his father's nakedness?" And what was it that "his younger son" had done to him?
The laws in the book of Leviticus may give us a vital clue as to what really happened in the tent while Noah was intoxicated.
The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s nakedness ... The man who lies with his father’s wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness
— Leviticus 18:7-8, 20:11
If the Leviticus law explains that Ham was with Noah's wife, Canaan would have been the offspring of that union and thereby cursed. It might also explain why Shem and Japheth walked backward to cover 'their father's nakedness/wife."
Additionally, the Hebrew word "tent" in the Noah account is used in a female form, suggesting an uncovering in the female's portion of the tent. In the ancient world, women had their own tent or occupied their own space within the family tent. The women's portion or tent was where intimacy would have taken place. Noah going into "her" tent while intoxicated suggests he was, perhaps, seeking an occasion with his wife.
Another clue that Canaan may have been the son of Noah's wife appears in Canaan's curse. He is noted as a brother of Shem and Japheth.
Canaan ... A servant of servants
He shall be to his brethren . . .
... Blessed be the Lord,
The God of Shem,
And may Canaan be his servant.
May God enlarge Japheth,
And may he dwell in the tents of Shem;
And may Canaan be his servant."
— Genesis 9:25-27
The narrative comparisons link the generational consequences of eating alternative fruit and drinking wine.
Moreover, we also see comparisons in both stories in which a woman is approached by someone wicked. In the case of Eve, it was through the manipulative deception of the serpent. In Noah's case, Ham was the perpetrator.Conclusion
Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph ... the son of Shem, the son of Noah ... the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.— Luke 3:23,36,38
Jesus is the second Adam who gets it right on our behalf.
"The first man Adam became a living being." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
— 1 Corinthians 15:45
And as it was in the days of Noah, He will return soon.
... as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be ... be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
— Matthew 24:37-39
This lesson concludes with the names and their meanings in the genealogy from Adam to Noah, revealing the Gospel message of God's Son, who, unlike all who came before Him, successfully secures salvation for humanity. The video above is a short teaching on the names and their meaning. I have refined a couple of the meanings of the names based on personal word studies
Adam -ManSeth -Appointed
Enosh – Mortal
Kenan – Sorrow
Mahalalel – The praised God
Jared – Shall come down
Enoch – Dedicating
Methuselah – His death shall bring
Lamech – Despairing
Noah – Comfort and rest
Man is appointed to mortal sorrow, but the praised God shall come down, dedicating Himself. His death shall bring the despairing comfort and rest.
Chuck Missler discovered the above revelation.
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