6. Johnston, “Genesis 1,” 179. Levenson (Creation and the Persistence of Evil, 66) acknowledges the lack of battle in Gen 1 but proposes its absence indicates it has already been won. See also Brueggemann, Old Testament Theology, 147.
7. Dyrness, Themes, 65.
8. See ibid., 63.
9. Ibid., 65.
10. Ibid., 66.
11. Merrill, Everlasting Dominion, 101.
12. Goldingay, Israel’s Gospel, 110.
13. Rich Mullins, “We Are Not as Strong as We Think We Are,” Songs (Reunion, 1996).
14. Golding, Israel’s Gospel, 57.
15. Wilson, Psalms, 558.
16. See Clifford, “Psalm 89,” 44–47.
17. Some early Christian scholars were quick to equate the personification of wisdom in Prov 8 with Jesus Christ. However, this connection is highly problematic theologically and not easily defended exegetically. For discussion, see Waltke, Proverbs 1–15, 127–30. For a brief history of interpretation of Prov 8:22 in early Christianity and Judaism, see Clifford, Proverbs, 98–99.
18. See Garrett, Proverbs, 108.
19. Clifford, Proverbs, 100. Contra Perdue, Proverbs, 142.
20. Garrett, Proverbs, 109.
21. Bartholomew and O’Dowd, Wisdom Literature, 89.
22. For discussion of Isaiah’s theology of creation in Isa 40–55, see Mangum, “Creation Traditions in Isaiah 40–55.”
Mangum rightly argues that Isaiah utilizes creation themes in order to demonstrate Yahweh’s superiority over other so-called gods in the ancient Near East. Also helpful is Lessing, “Yahweh versus Marduk,” 234–44.
23. Note also that Yahweh’s discipline is for his people’s good (Isa 43:14). He is not a sadist who punishes for the sake of punishment. This sentiment is repeated several times in the Bible (e.g., Prov 3:12; Heb 12:6; Rev 3:19).
24. For more discussion on the creation motif as it relates to the creation of the nation of Israel, see Schnittjer, The Torah Story, 232–34; Enns, Exodus, 39–42.
25. On the interrelated themes of creation and exodus in the latter half of Isaiah, see Harner, “Creation Faith in Deutero-Isaiah,” 298–306; Ollenburger, “Isaiah’s Creation Theology,” 54–71.
26. Note the sarcasm of 44:9–20, where Yahweh points out the absurdity of worshiping the created thing instead of the creator.
27. Lessing (“Yahweh Versus Marduk,” 234) points out that worship causes humans to become like that which we worship. We are always imaging something and, as creatures of Yahweh, it is crucial that we worship him alone. See also Beale, We Become What We Worship.
28. For a discussion of John’s reliance on Genesis for crafting John 1:1–18, see Borgen, “Creation, Logos, and the Son,” 88–97.
29. Polhill, John, 102.
30. Ridderbos, John, 36.
31. For an overview of patristic interpretation of this passage, see Tyra, “When Considering Creation,” 251–73. See also Tyra, “All Creatures Are Martyrs,” 27–53.
32. There are many excellent resources on how Christians should care for creation. See, among others, Bouma-Prediger, For the Beauty of the Earth; Liederbach and Bible, True North; Berry, ed., The Care of Creation; Snyder and Scandrett, Salvation Means Creation Healed; Moo and White, Let Creation Rejoice.
2
Be Fruitful and Multiply
Bryan C. Babcock
Introduction
During the creation narrative, God blesses the first couple saying “be fruitful and increase in number.” This phrase is repeated by God when addressing Noah and Abraham and always in the context of an increasing population. At first reading, the blessing makes total sense. God is addressing the first created humans and the world needs to be populated for mankind to survive and flourish. However, the blessing (conveyed as a command) is repeated to other key figures in the biblical narrative after survival of mankind is secured.
So, what is the intent of the blessing? A literal reading might imply that one is blessed if they have lots of children. If this is the case, then in a modern Western context very few are blessed, as most families have a maximum of two or three children while the biblical norm is eight to twelve. Would the opposite apply? If a couple is not able to have children are they somehow less blessed (or cursed)? Are those families who limit the size of their families blocking or limiting God’s blessing?
These are difficult questions. The key to understanding the phrase “be fruitful and multiply” is through a hermeneutical examination of the passage. The methodology demonstrated in this chapter will explore the use of the phrase “be fruitful and multiply” across the entire canon of Scripture. The goal is to illuminate the intended meaning of the phrase for the initial Old Testament audience. Then to interpret