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Genesis Exegetical Essay

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Writing 5 Rachna Shah

An Exegetical Analysis of Genesis 2:7

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“Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being” (Gen. 2:7 NIV).

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Is the meaning of life the same for animals and humans? What, if any, is the unique justification for our existence? The Book of Genesis provides one explanation to these questions in its narrative of divine providence. The text conveys man’s primeval history, focusing on how and why God created the world and man within it. In Genesis 2:7 in particular, the formation of man illustrates that divine sovereignty established human responsibility. Through the recurring motif of dust and other primitive …show more content…

The verse analyzed in this paper is situated within the story of Adam and Eve, where after the earth and the heavens are created, God prepares the earth to be ready for man by “send[ing] rain” (Gen. 2:5 NIV) upon it. Rain is necessary in that it provides water, a condition necessary for life, and the ability for man to “work the ground” (Gen. 2:5 NIV). These passages set the stage for God’s formation of man by emphasizing the importance of natural elements in setting the stage for higher stages of …show more content…

Genesis 2:7 establishes the foundations of the God-man and the Earth-man relationships. We have seen that it also uses dust as a recurring motif to represent man’s fragility and the spiritual and humbling relationship between him, God, and the Earth (pot, potter, and clay). Man is raised out of the dust, but it can just as easily return. In combining the motifs of formation and dust, Genesis 2:7 illustrates that man is a temporary receptacle for God’s spirit who exists on his behalf: life is God-given, God-dependent, and God-directed. Divine sovereignty and will precedes and establishes man’s justification for existence and his ability to continue

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