GEN
2:2
| JERUSALEM
BIBLE |
(ALTERNATIVE
GENESIS) |
|
On
the seventh day God completed the work that he had been
doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work
he had been doing.
|
With
that sixth day (stage), the Shining Onescompleted
all the work that they had to do After that seventh day
(stage), they ceased working, with their labours completed.
|
The term
unquestionably, meant 'sixth'; but the Jerusa-lem Bible's reference
to the seventh day at the beginning of the verse is an acceptable
licence.
It has
been one of the enigmas of these passages that, despite the
use of the terms 'evening and morning', it is clear from the
Sumerian account that the Garden in Eden was established in
six earthly days.
The Akkadian
Atra-hasiswrites of the lordlings toiling for 'forty
sanatim, night and day', on the construction of the great
watercourse - but no one knows the duration of a sanat.
However, it is perfectly reasonable to accept that Kharsag was
established in six stages:
1. Reconnaissance
and Exploration.
2. Construction
of the Dam Wall and Reservoir.
3. Sowing
of the Plantations and planting of the Orchards.
4. Basic
Surveying and Astronomical Observation.
5. Stocking
of the Reservoir with Fish and Wildfowl.
6. The
take-over, by Men, of the responsibility for the day-to- day
running of the farming operations.
