GEN
1:24 - Indiscriminate
killing by man forbidden
| JERUSALEM
BIBLE |
(ALTERNATIVE
GENESIS) |
|
God
said 'Let the earth produce every kind of living
creature, cattle, reptiles, and every kind of wild
beast.' And it was so.
|
The
Shining Ones said, 'Let the land be a sanctuary
for all living things - all domestic animals, reptiles,
and every kind of wild beast'. And it was so.
|
Despite
the biblical translation, the text does not include a
word meaning 'produce'; instead, it uses 
= tosewhich meant 'escape'; presumably an escape
for the animals from their predators, and particularly,
exploitation by Man. For this reason, we have chosen the
term 'sanctuary' in the belief that the Shining Ones
forbade any indiscriminate killing by Man.
GEN
1:25 - Caring
for them and tending them as all good farmers do
| JERUSALEM
BIBLE |
(ALTERNATIVE
GENESIS) |
|
God
made every kind of wild beast, every kind of cattle,
and every kind of reptile. God saw that it was good.
|
The
Shining Onesbusied themselves with (cared
for) all kinds of wildlife on the land, and with
all kinds of domestic animals which were plentiful
on the ground. The Shining Onestook a delight
in them all.
|
As
discussed in verses 7 and 16, 
could certainly have meant 'made' or 'manufactured', but
we do not believe that was the intention here. It could
also have meant 'to busy oneself' as used in 1KIN 20:40
- 'But while your servant was busywith one thing
or another...'; or it could have meant 'to care for' as
used in 2 SAM 19:25 - 'He has not cared for his feet or
his hands'.
The
Shining Oneswere not manufacturing,or makinganimals,
but caring for them, and tending them as all good farmers
do.
GEN
1:26 -
Take responsibility for the good management
| JERUSALEM
BIBLE |
(ALTERNATIVE
GENESIS) |
|
God
said, 'Let us make man in our image, in the likeness
of ourselves, and let them be masters of the fish
of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the reptiles
that crawl upon the earth.'
|
The
Shining Onessaid, 'We must produce men in
our image - in the likeness of ourselves - so that
they may be responsible for the fish in the reservoir
[inland waters], the birds on the Heights, and for
all the cattle that are so abundant in the land'.
|
In
the above alternative, we have attempted to put right
an error that has confused mankind for far too long. We
know from later passages in Genesis, and from Sumerian
and Akkadian accounts, that the intention in genetically
hybridising men, was to put them to work in the Garden
in Eden (Kharsag) to assist the Shining Onesin
their agriculture and husbandry.
The
root 
= rdhis ambiguous; it could have meant 'rule' or
'govern' (and so 'be masters of'), which is the sense
in which the biblical translators have accepted it; but
it could also have meant 'take into one's own hands'.
An example of this is JE 5:31- 'the priests take into
their own hands whatever they please'. An alternative
to this phrase is assume responsibility forwhich,
in our view, is the more likely translation.
Men
were not intended, in an all-embracing sense, to rule
over(or be masters of)the whole animal kingdom.
At Kharsag, men were intended to take responsibility for
the good management of the fish and birds, and the domestic
animals which were so important to the Shining Ones.
We
have heard the slaughter of animals - and even the case
for scientific experimentation on animals - justified
by the biblical authority apparently invested in this
verse. But we cannot emphasise too strongly that any such
authority is based on a very dubious premise leading from
a doubtful translation.
GEN
1:28 - Make
it your servant - better still, manage it
| JERUSALEM
BIBLE |
(ALTERNATIVE
GENESIS) |
|
God
blessed them, saying to them, 'Be fruitful, multiply,
fill the earth and conquer it. Be masters of the
fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all living
animals on earth'.
|
The
Shining Ones cherished them and said to them,
'Be fertile and thrive; fill the land and manage
it; take into your hands the supervision of the
fish in the reservoir, the birds on the Heights,
and all the cattle that are so abundant on the land'.
|
When
the biblical text states, 'fill the earth and conquer
it', it uses the root 
.
In our view, 'conquer' is too harsh an interpretation
- Holladay suggests 'make subservient' which is a little
softer - but these terms are redolent of the aftermath
of Yahweh and the conquest of Canaan, which were uppermost
in the minds of the Exilic writers. We suspect that the
original meaning was much more restrained - more like
'make it your servant', or, better still, 'manage it'.
