Garden Temple

It is particularly interesting that among the preceding cultic affinities drawn between Eden and Israel's temple was the observation that the word pair usually translated as "cultivate" ['abad] and "keep" [shamar] occur together in the Old Testament elsewhere referring only either to Israelites "serving" God and "guarding" (keeping) God's word (approximately 10 times), or to priests who "keep" the "service" (or "charge") of the tabernacle (5 times). Not only does Genesis 1-2 portray Adam as a kingly gardener but one who performs acts of worshipful obedience in doing so. Consequently, he is being portrayed as a priest in this task.

Cosmic Expansion of the Garden Sanctuary Through Adam's Rule as a Priest-King in God's Image

Not only was Adam to "serve" in and "guard" the initial stage of the Edenic sanctuary, but Genesis 1:28 affirms that he also was to subdue the entire earth: "And God blessed them . . . Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:27 provides the means by which the commission and goal of verse 28 was to be accomplished: humanity will fulfill the commission by means of being in God's image.¹ They were to reflect God's kingship by being his vice-regents on earth. Because Adam and Eve were to subdue and rule "over all the earth," it is plausible to suggest that they were to extend the geographical boundaries of the Garden until Eden extended throughout and covered the whole earth.² They were on the primeval hillock of hospitable Eden, outside of which lay the inhospitable land. They were to extend the smaller livable area of the Garden by transforming the outer chaotic region into a habitable territory.

In actuality, Adam, as God's vice-regent, and his progeny were to put "the finishing touches" on the world God created in Genesis 1 by making it a livable place for humans. The penultimate goal of the Creator was to make creation a livable place for humans in order that they would achieve the grand aim of glorifying him. This penultimate goal would appear to be confirmed by Isaiah 45:18: "God formed the earth and made it . . . and did not create it a waste place, but formed it to be inhabited" (likewise cf. Psalm 115:16). God's ultimate goal in creation was to magnify his glory throughout the earth by means of his faithful image bearers.

As we will see below, this is consistent with the notion in Babylonian and Egyptian tradition of people being created to serve their god in a temple and extend that god's glorious light by building more temples or widening the borders of an original temple. In Adam's case, however, it is more probable that he was to spread God's luminescent presence by extending the boundaries of the original Edenic temple outward into the earth. Furthermore, in contrast to ancient Near Eastern accounts, God did not create Adam and Eve because he was tired of the drudgery of providing for himself, but that humanity would reflect his glorious image in extending his sacred presence outward into the wider regions of the earth.³

In this regard, Genesis 1:26-27 says four times that God made Adam in his "image" or "likeness," and Genesis 2 says God placed him into the garden-like sanctuary. Ancient kings would set up images of themselves in distant lands over which they ruled in order to represent their sovereign presence. For example, after conquering a new territory, the Assyrian king Shalmanesar "fashioned a mighty image of my majesty" that he "set up" on a black obelisk, and then he virtually equates his "image" with that of "the glory of Assur" his god.⁴ Likewise, Adam was created as the image of the divine king to indicate that earth was ruled over by Yahweh.⁵ In the light of Genesis 1:26-28, this meant the presence of God, which was initially to be limited to the temple of Eden and the adjoining garden, was to be extended throughout the whole earth by his image bearers, as they themselves represented and reflected his glorious presence and attributes.

The following parallels from Assyria and Egypt (discussed below) show that typically images of gods were placed in the god's temple and that kings were viewed as living images of a god. Against this background and in the light of Genesis 1:26-28, Adam's commission to "cultivate" (with connotations of "serving") and "guard" in Genesis 2:15 as a priest-king is probably part of the commission given in 1:26-28.⁶ Hence, Genesis 2:15 continues the theme of subduing and filling the earth by humanity created in the divine image.⁷ This "ruling" and "subduing" "over all the earth" is plausibly part of a functional definition of the divine image in which Adam was made, though there is likely an additional ontological aspect of the "image" by which humanity was enabled to reflect the functional image.⁸ Just as God subdued the chaos, ruled over it, and created and filled the earth with all kinds of animate life, so Adam and Eve were to reflect God's activities in Genesis 1 by fulfilling the commission to "subdue" and "rule over all the earth" and "be fruitful and multiply" (Gen. 1:26, 28).⁹

In the light of the above, one can conclude that Adam's kingly and priestly activity in the garden was to be a beginning fulfillment of the commission in 1:28 and was not to be limited to the garden's original earthly boundaries but was to be extended over the whole world. In particular, for example, Adam's speaking and naming of the animals (Genesis 2:19) expresses part of his rule over the creation and reflects God's naming of parts of creation in Genesis 1 through his creative speech.¹⁰ The Qumran community represents the first extant interpretation making a link between Genesis 1:26, 28 and Genesis 2: "You molded [Adam], our [fa]ther, in the image of [your] glory . . . [in the gard]en of Eden, which you planted, y[ou] made him to rule . . . in order that he would walk in a glorious earth," and "he guarded."¹¹

Similarly, that Adam and Eve were to become "one flesh" in 2:24 is certainly part of the beginning of the commission to be "fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth," further underscoring that humanity's function in the image of God as "male and female" (Gen. 1:27)¹² was to be extended until the earth was filled with people performing this function. Accordingly, a significant increase in population would necessitate an expansion of the original sacred habitable dwelling of the first primal couple.¹³ In this regard, Matthew 19:4-6 (= Mark 10:6-9) is one of the earliest texts relating Genesis 1:27 to Adam and Eve in Eden.

Jesus identifies humans as "male and female" in the image of God who were to begin to fulfill their commission in the Garden by maintaining their unity. Reproducing offspring in God's image is a natural implication of the first couple's unity.

I have found corroboration for the link between Genesis 1:26-28 and Genesis 2:15ff. in John Walton's Genesis commentary. Walton contends that Adam was much more than a gardener; he was to maintain the created order of the sacred space of the sanctuary. He also concludes that such maintenance indicates that the "cultivating" and "guarding" of Genesis 2:15 is an expression of the "subduing and ruling" of chapter 1.¹⁴

Consequently, as observed earlier, Adam's priestly role in the Garden was to "manage" or "care" for it by maintaining its order and keeping out uncleanness. This included "gardening" but likely went beyond it to managing the affairs of the sacred place where God's presence dwelt and maintaining its orderliness in contrast to the disordered space outside. This management included "guarding" Eden from the threat of unclean things entering into it and corrupting it. And would not this management also logically include Adam's teaching of God's Law (from Gen. 2:16-17) to Eve in order that they both would help one another to obey in order that spiritual chaos might not set in? The picture, therefore, is that of a "warden" managing a sacred ward. As the first couple had children, it is certainly plausible to suggest that the management of the Garden extended to teaching them God's Law and serving God by obeying it. Furthermore, Walton observes that if people were going to fill the earth [according to Genesis 1], we must conclude that they were not intended to stay in the garden in a static situation. Yet moving out of the garden would appear a hardship since the land outside the garden was not as hospitable as that inside the garden (otherwise the garden would not be distinguishable). Perhaps, then, we should surmise that people were gradually supposed to extend the garden as they went about subduing and ruling. Extending the garden would extend the food supply as well as extend sacred space (since that is what the garden represented).¹⁵

The intention seems clear that Adam was to widen the boundaries of the Garden in ever increasing circles by extending the order of the garden sanctuary into the inhospitable outer spaces.¹⁶ The outward expansion would include the goal of spreading the glorious presence of God. This would occur especially by Adam's progeny born in his image and thus reflecting God's image and the light of his presence, as they continued the mandate given to their parents and went out to subdue the outer country. The original purpose of an expanding Eden will be supported by our next chapter which be exclusively dedicated to tracing other passages in the Old Testament and early Judaism that interpret the Garden in this manner.

The Psalmist, commenting on the purpose of Adam and humanity in Psalm 8, also indicates that the ultimate goal of humanity was to fill the whole earth with God's glory. The Psalm begins in verse 1 and concludes in verse 9 with the same stated goal: "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth." This "majesty" is God's glorious "splendor" (cf. v. 1). The goal of divine splendor is to be achieved "in all the earth" by humanity whom God "has crowned with glory and majesty" by making him in his image (v. 5). In particular, Psalm 8 says God's glory is to be spread throughout the earth by humanity "ruling" over all "the works of thy [God's] hands" (vv. 6-8). Included in this rule was making "the enemy and revengeful cease" (v. 2), which the Aramaic translation identifies with the "author of enmity," the Devil. Genesis 1:28 is best taken as a command, possibly with an implied promise that God will provide the ability to humanity to carry it out.¹⁷ A medieval rabbinic commentary expresses well the aspect of "mandate" involved in the verse:

the rationale of the commandment is that the world should be settled, because God . . . desires its settlement, as it is written, "He did not create it a waste but formed it for habitation" [Isa. 45:18]. And this is a great commandment for whose sake there exist all of the other commandments, for they were given to human beings and not to the ministering angels . . . And he who does not fulfill it annuls a positive commandment . . . because he himself demonstrates that he does not wish to fulfill God's desire to settle his world" (Sefer ha-Hinnukh).¹⁸

The Ancient Near Eastern Concept of the Cosmic Expansion of Temples Through the Rule of Priest-Kings in the Image of a Deity

It should not be surprising to find some parallels to biblical ideas in the literature of ancient cultures surrounding Israel. The biblical writers were sometimes aware of the ideas reflected in this literature and sometimes intentionally presented their versions as the true ones in contrast and even contradiction to the others. The narrative of creation, especially the creation of humanity, would have been a prime place to point out the unique witness of biblical revelation. On the other hand, the very fact that this revelation is being set against the same general pagan conceptions means that there will also be some similarities between the two which mutually interpret one another. And, as we have noted earlier, the fact that unbelieving humanity is still in the image of God, distorted as that image is, indicates that their conceptions about the nature of deity and of humanity contain some truth. That unregenerate humanity can still have some glimmers of such truths is part of God's grace in natural revelation (e.g., see Rom. 1:20, which is set in the context of idolatry which follows).

For example, the notion that Adam was set in a sanctuary as a royal "image" of his God is an ancient concept found even outside Israel. The following examples of this show how natural it is that images of a god are placed in a temple after it has been constructed.¹⁹ Ashurbanipal II (883-859 B.C.) "created an icon of the goddess Ishtar . . . from the finest stones, fine gold . . . (thus) making her great divinity resplendent," and he "set up in (the temple) her dais [throne platform] (with the icon) for eternity."²⁰ The resplendent glory of the image was to reflect the luminescent glory of the goddess herself. Accordingly, the light of the deity was to shine out from the temple into the faces of humanity. Consequently, the idols in Assyria were made of precious metals in order to reflect the heavenly glory of the god they represented.²¹

Pharoah Seti I (1302-1290 B.C.) built for the Underworld god Osiris "a temple like heaven; its divine ennead are like the stars in it; its radiance is in the faces (of men) like the horizon of Re rising therein at early morning."²² The Egyptians believed that the sun god, Re, would empower other lesser deities to enter stone images placed in temples.²³ Accordingly, an inscription from the Pyramid Age affirms that the Creator Ptah "fashioned the [lesser] gods . . . He installed the gods in their holy places . . . he equipped their holy places. He made likenesses of their bodies . . . Then the gods entered into their bodies of every wood and every stone and every metal."²⁴ Ramses III (1195-64 B.C.) said that in the temple of the sun god Re, he "fashioned the gods in their mysterious forms of gold, silver, and every costly stone . . ."²⁵ Indeed, "the King is a sacred image, the most sacred of the sacred images of the Great One . . ."²⁶

The Egyptian king is not merely a "sacred image" of the deity,"²⁷ but he is a living image of the god.²⁸ Furthermore, other Egyptian texts say that the god "Horus has acted on behalf of his spirit in you [the Pharaoh],"²⁹ and one king is recorded as saying, "I am the essence of a god, the son of a god, the messenger of a god."³⁰ Perhaps most striking, because of its similarity to Genesis 1:26, is the statement by Ramses II (1290-1224 B.C.) about his relationship to his god³¹: "I am thy son whom thou hast placed upon thy throne. Thou hast assigned to me thy kingdom, thou hast fashioned me in thy likeness and thy form, which thou hast assigned to me and hast created."³² In addition, Ramses II was even to build temples for the gods: the creator god Ptah said to the same Pharoah, "thou buildest their [the lesser gods] holy places . . ."³³ In this task, as well as others in relation to the temple, the Egyptian king also served as a priest performing rituals.³⁴ In the context of an inscription about a temple for the god Amun, the god is recorded as calling the king Amenhotep "My son . . . My living image."³⁵

The Genesis portrayal of humans being created in the image of God and being placed in the sanctuary of Eden is even generally in line with the ancient Near Eastern practice in which images of the god were placed in a garden-like temple. There is a fascinating parallel from Mesopotamia, where "the creation, animation and installation of divine images followed a strictly specified set of rites."³⁶ A series of rituals were acted out in the workshop of a craftsman, at a riverbank, in an arboreal garden and finally, in a temple. Through the rituals the inert image of a god was born, brought to life, clothed, and changed into a living manifestation of the god. The image was then installed in a temple. Likewise, God formed Adam in his "workshop" (Gen. 2:7a), was transmuted into a living person by God's breath (Gen. 2:7b), and was fully brought to life (Gen. 2:7c). Next, he was installed into the Garden (Gen. 2:15).³⁷ Such a background suggests further that Adam was an "image" of the true God, not a false pagan deity, and, as such, was placed into the garden temple.

As an image of the true God, in contrast to ancient Near Eastern priest-kings, Adam's priestly service and temple-expanding task also finds further striking parallel in ancient Near Eastern literature. Again, these similarities are only imperfect shadows of the genuine task described in Genesis 1-2. The notion of a human king created for the purpose of serving gods in a temple appears in an Akkadian prayer employed in dedicating the foundation stone of a temple:

When Anu, Enlil and Ea had a first idea of heaven and earth,

They found a wise means of providing support for the gods:

They prepared, in the land, a pleasant dwelling,

And the gods were installed in this dwelling: their principal temple.

Then they entrusted to the king the responsibility

of assuring them their regular choice offerings.

And for the feast of the gods, they established the required food offering!

The gods loved this dwelling!³⁸

Enuma Elish VI. 7-8 asserts that Marduk would "create Man! (Upon him) shall the services of the gods be imposed"³⁹ (twice more in the immediate context it is said that Ea "had created mankind" and "imposed the services of the gods upon them that they may be at rest" [VI. 33-36]). Such "services" most likely are conceived of as being performed within the temple of the gods, since the "service" enables the gods to be at "rest," a rest which we have seen occurs uniquely in a temple (on which see the above discussion of Enuma Elish VI.51-58). Another cosmological Akkadian text affirms that Ea "created the king, for the mainten[ance of the temples]; [He created] mankind for the doi[ng of the service of the gods (?)]."⁴⁰ A similar text says, "let us create mankind. The service of the gods be their portion." Then the kind of "service" humanity is to perform is explained:

To place the hoe and the basket

Into their hands

For the dwelling of the great gods,

Which is fit to be an exalted sanctuary,

To mark off field from field,

. . .

To water the four regions of the earth (?),

To raise plants in abundance,

. . .

To fill (?) the granary,

. . .

To make the field of the Anunnaki produce plentifully,

To increase the abundance in the land,

. . .

To pour out cold water

In the great house of the gods, which is fit to be an exalted sanctuary.⁴¹

This text may refer to agricultural work within a temple or to an actual construction of a temple. The former appears to be the case because "the exalted sanctuary" is in existence before humanity's creation⁴² and because the directly following context of the quotation describes only horticultural tasks. It is not clear whether humanity performs this "service" both inside and outside the sanctuary, or whether the whole earth is considered a sanctuary in which the work on earth is performed. If the latter, the service in the sanctuary is to be performed throughout the entire earth. If the former, the work on earth is in some way inextricably linked with service in the sanctuary. Thus, these Babylonian texts provide background to understand better that Adam's agricultural role in Eden was a priestly function associated with service in a temple.

A similar text to the preceding from the Enuma Elish (VI.107-130) clarifies that cultic "service" in an initial sanctuary was to be widened to include "service" within other sanctuary-shrines throughout the land and likely beyond:

Let him [Marduk] exercise shepherdship over mankind, [his] crea[tures(?)].

Let them provide for their maintenance (and) let them take care of their sanctuaries.

. . .

A likeness of what he made (?) in heaven [let him make (?)] on earth.

Let him teach mankind to fear him (?).

Let the subjects be ever mindful of their god (and) their goddess.

. . .

Let offerings be brought for their god and goddess;

Let their god not be forgotten, (but) let them support (him).

Let them make their land shine by building shrines for themselves.

Let mankind stand (in awe) before our god.

. . .

Let his ways shine forth in glory . . .

. . .

In the brightness of his [Marduk's] bright light let them walk about constantly.

(upon) the people, whom he created . . . ,

He imposed the services of the gods . . .

Not only was humanity's "temple service" to extend beyond only one sanctuary-shrine to others but, as this occurred, the glorious light of the god would shine forth further because the human servants continued to perform their cultic tasks in "fear" of and faithfully in the presence of their god.

Perhaps not coincidentally, a similar extension of temple boundaries is observable in Egypt from the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2200) and onward; unlike the preceding Babylonian example of extending by building numerous sanctuaries, this involves the extension of the boundaries of only one temple:

"We find the yearning for limitation side by side with the desire to transcend and dissolve all boundaries." By expanding a divine cult complex, a king [Pharaoh] resolved this tension creatively, simultaneously transcending old limits and establishing new ones. As each king pushed the perimeter of walls and courtyards farther and farther in to what had previously been secular space, the area of the sacred was greatly extended.⁴³

The process of temple expansion represented an attempt to extend the space of existing order into the outer chaotic sphere.⁴⁴ In addition to widening a temple horizontally, the Egyptians also built various levels skyward as well as into subterranean areas.⁴⁵ Such a phenomenon of outward extension may be due to the Egyptian belief that at the beginning of creation a small hillock arose, from which grew the entire creation. Since the temple symbolized the entire cosmos, and in particular the holiest place was conceived of as resting on this primordial mound,⁴⁶ it would have made sense for kings to want to continue to extend the boundaries of their temples ever outward, in imitation of the cosmos that was expanded in the beginning by the Creator. The floor level of the temple gradually got higher as one approached the sanctuary in order to signify the primeval mound.⁴⁷

The Egyptians employed other architectural features to portray the temple as a kind of expanding new creation. The temple pylons pictured the divine Pharaoh defeating his enemies, just as the Creator of the world had overcome chaos and "expanded the territory of cosmos."⁴⁸ Imitation of the original cosmic expansion was also reflected by making the holiest place the narrowest and smallest part of the temple complex, with ever-widening sacred spaces as one proceeded into the outer courts.⁴⁹ Just as light flashed over the earth at the beginning of creation, so the king-priest's representation of the god in relation to the temple was to shine out divine light increasingly throughout the earth.⁵⁰ The divine light of Isis is said to illumine "the Two lands with her radiance, and fill[s] the earth with gold-dust," so that her "radiance [is] inundating the faces."⁵¹

These examples of expanding temples were imperfect echoes of the original commission to the first human priest-king to subdue and rule over the earth and fill it with God's glory by widening the primal garden sanctuary. Genesis 1-2 also stands as a polemic against all imperfect attempts to fulfill this commission apart from faithful service to the true God.

Adam's Commission as a Priest-King to Rule and Expand the Temple Is Passed on to Others

As we will see, after Adam's failure to fulfill God's mandate, God raises up other Adam-like figures to whom his commission is passed on. We will find that some changes in the commission occur as a result of sin entering into the world. Adam's descendants, like him, however, will fail. Failure will continue until there arises a "Last Adam" who will finally fulfill the commission on behalf of humanity.

The Nature of the Commission and Temple Building

Some commentators have noticed that Adam's commission was passed on to Noah, to Abraham and on to his descendents:

And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Gen. 1:28).

And God blessed Noah and his sons . . . "Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth . . . be fruitful and multiply; populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it" (Gen. 9:1, 6-7).

And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so be a blessing; (Gen. 12:2) and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly . . . And I will make you exceedingly fruitful, . . . And I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan . . . (Gen. 17:2, 6, 8).

. . . indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice (Gen. 22:17-18).

Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham (Gen. 26:3).

And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed . . . (Gen. 26:4).

And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham" (Gen. 26:24).

And may God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you; that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham (Gen. 28:3-4).

God also said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you" (Gen. 35:11-12).

Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous (Gen. 47:27).

In fact, the same commission given to the patriarchs is restated numerous times in subsequent Old Testament books both to Israel and the true eschatological people of God. Like Adam, Noah and his children also failed to perform this commission. God then gave the essence of the commission of Genesis 1:28 to Abraham (Gen. 12:2; 17:2, 6, 8, 16; 22:18), Isaac (26:3-4, 24), Jacob (28:3-4, 14; 35:11-12; 48:3, 15-16), and to Israel (see Deut. 7:13 and Gen. 47:27, Exod. 1:7, Psalm 107:38, and Isa. 51:2, the latter four of which state the beginning fulfillment of the promise in Israel).⁵² The commission of Genesis 1:28 involved the following elements: "God blessed them;" "be fruitful and multiply;" "fill the earth;" "subdue" the "earth;" "rule over . . . all the earth" (so Gen. 1:26, and reiterated in 1:28).

The commission is repeated, for example, to Abraham: (1) "I will greatly bless you, and (2) will greatly multiply your seed . . .; (3-5) and your seed will possess the gate of their enemies [= "subdue and rule"]. And in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed . . ." (Gen. 22:17-18).⁵³ God expresses the universal scope of the commission by underscoring that the goal is to "bless" "all the nations of the earth." It is natural, therefore, that in the initial statement of the commission in Genesis 12:1-3 that God commands Abraham, "Go forth from your country . . . and so be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Commentators apparently have not noticed, however, something very interesting: that the Adamic commission is repeated in direct connection with building small sanctuaries! Just as the Genesis 1:28 commission was initially to be carried out by Adam in a localized place, enlarging the borders of the arboreal sanctuary, so it is likely not accidental that the restatement of the commission to Israel's patriarchs results in the following: God appearing to them (except in Gen. 12:8; 13:3-4); they "pitch a tent " (literally a "tabernacle" in the LXX)," on a mountain; they build "altars" and worship God (i.e., "calling on the name of the Lord," which probably included sacrificial offerings and prayer⁵⁴) at the place of the restatement; the place where these activities occur is often located at "Bethel"—the "House of God" (the only case of altar building not containing these elements nor linked to the Genesis 1 commission is Gen. 33:20).

The combination of these five elements occurs only elsewhere in the Old Testament in describing Israel's tabernacle or temple!⁵⁵

Therefore, though "occasions for their sacrifices were usually a theophany and moving to a new place,"⁵⁶ there appears to be more significance to the construction of these sacrificial sites. The patriarchs appear also to have built these worship areas as impermanent, miniature forms of sanctuaries that symbolically represented the notion that their progeny were to spread out to subdue the earth from a divine sanctuary in fulfillment of the commission in Genesis 1:26-28.⁵⁷ Though they built no buildings, these patriarchal sacred spaces can be considered "sanctuaries" along the lines comparable to the first non-architectural sanctuary in the Garden of Eden. It will also be important to recall later that a holy piece of geography or a sacred area can be considered a true "sanctuary" or "temple" even when no architectural building is constructed there.

These informal sanctuaries in Genesis pointed then to Israel's later tabernacle and temple from which Israel was to branch out over all the earth. Not many commentators hold this view. After writing the first draft of this chapter, I found that A. Pagolu, The Religion of the Patriarchs, is perhaps most clearly in agreement.⁵⁸ He says that Isaac's building of an altar at Beersheba was because that place already "had a tradition as a patriarchal sanctuary," as a result of Abraham's similar earlier cultic activities, and, Pagolu contends, Jacob's subsequent similar activities appear to confirm this (for Abraham's activities at Beersheba, see Gen. 21:33; 22:19, and for Jacob's, see Gen. 46:1-14). Pagolu adds that, in addition to Isaac building this site because of a divine theophany and moving to a new area for the purpose of worship, "it is possible to suggest that building an altar at Beer-sheba, the southernmost border of the promised land, may have represented not only a claim to the land but also a legitimation of the sanctuary for later Israel."⁵⁹

Geerhardus Vos agrees that the theophanies at these altar sites prepared for the more permanent theophany at the Jerusalem temple. He makes the astounding, and as far as I can tell, unique claim that these episodes not merely point to a future and greater temple but represent "the renewal of the paradise- condition and as such presages a full future paradise. It points to the new world."⁶⁰

That these miniature sanctuaries adumbrated the later temple is also suggested by the facts that "before Moses the altar was the only architectural feature marking a place as holy" and that later "altars were incorporated into the larger [structural] sanctuaries, the tabernacle and the temple."⁶¹ The small sanctuary in Bethel also became a larger sanctuary in the northern kingdom of Israel, though it subsequently became idolatrous and was rejected as a true shrine of Yahweh worship.⁶²

The result of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob building altars at Shechem, between Bethel and Ai, at Hebron, and near Moriah was that the terrain of Israel's future land was dotted with shrines. This pilgrim-like activity "was like planting a flag and claiming the land"⁶³ for God and Israel's future temple, where God would take up his permanent residence in the capital of that land.⁶⁴ Thus, all these smaller sanctuaries pointed to the greater one to come in Jerusalem.⁶⁵ The patriarchs were like people climbing a tall mountain for the first time and planting the national flag to indicate that the climber's native land had first conquered the mountain.

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to Abraham at the Mountain of Bethel and Moriah

Abraham, after receiving the Genesis 1 promissory commission, went "to the mountain on the east of Bethel ["House of God"], and pitched his tent . . . and there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 12:8; so likewise Gen. 13:3-4). Sometimes mention is made only of the commission and of the tent and altar (Gen. 13:18; 26:24-25). Only an altar is cited together with the promise in Gen. 22:9-18, though there the site is also called "the mountain of God," a name often attached by synecdoche to Israel's temples.⁶⁶ That "Mount Moriah" is the site of Abraham's aborted sacrifice of Isaac and apparently also the site of the Solomonic temple (2 Chron. 3:1) suggests "that God had long intended that the temple would eventually be placed in the vicinity of Jerusalem."⁶⁷ The observation that mount "Moriah" is mentioned only elsewhere in the Old Testament in 2 Chronicles 3:1 only enhances this point: "Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah . . ."⁶⁸

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to Jacob at the Mountain of Bethel

Though a "mountain" or "hill" is not explicitly associated with Bethel in the Jacob narratives, it is likely the same or, at least, near the same location of Abraham's earlier similar experiences (notice that "go up to Bethel" occurs twice in Gen. 35:1, 3 in the introduction to the narrative of Jacob's experience at Bethel). When the divine promises of blessing are first made to Jacob (28:13-14), they are preceded by his dream of a "stairway" connecting heaven and earth and angels ascending and descending on it and God appearing beside it (28:12). Jacob responds by saying, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (28:17). He then sets up a "pillar, and poured oil on its top" (equivalent to building an altar) and names the place "Bethel" (28:18-19). He concludes by declaring that "this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house" (28:22). This statement indicates that from the stone a sanctuary, indeed, a temple would arise.⁶⁹ He returns to "Bethel" later (Genesis 35:1-15), and the text notes three times that Jacob builds an "altar" there (35:1, 3, 7, and 14; Jacob also establishes a sacred "pillar" in v. 14).

This episode further links the altar construction of the patriarchs with the notion of "temple," since Israel's later temple was the place in all of the world where heaven was linked to the earth, particularly the "Holy of Holies" that represented God's invisible presence in heaven. It is helpful in this respect to recall that the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies was considered God's "footstool," conjuring up the picture of God sitting on his throne in heaven with his legs extending to Israel's temple on earth (Isa. 66:1; Acts 7:49; cf. also Ps. 99:5; 110:1; a "footstool" was attached to Solomon's "throne" in imitation of God's throne [2 Chron. 9:18]). Indeed, Bethel became the site of "the ark of the covenant of the Lord" during the time of the Judges, continuing apparently into the time of Samuel. This means, of course, that the tabernacle was likewise there, since Phineas, Aaron's grandson, served as high priest at Bethel, and Israel "offered burnt offerings and peace offerings" during his tenure (see Judges 20:18-28; 1 Sam. 7:16; 10:3).

The associations with a temple in Genesis 28 are enhanced by the ancient Near Eastern associations of "stairway-like" structures that connected heaven to earth, allowing heavenly beings to descend and dwell in a temple.⁷⁰

Jubilees 32:16-32 is the earliest Jewish commentary (2nd cent. B.C.) identifying Jacob's building activities at Bethel as temple construction: "Jacob planned to build up that place and to build a wall around the court with a wall, and to sanctify it, and make it eternally holy."⁷¹

With respect to the expectation of Israel's eschatological temple, the Qumran Temple Scroll says, "during the day of [the new] creation . . . I [God] shall create my temple, establishing it for myself for ever, in accordance with the covenant which I made with Jacob at Bethel"! (11Q19 XXIX, 8-9, my translation). The "covenant" refers to the threefold promise God made to Jacob at Bethel, which, as we have seen, is the reapplication of the Adamic commission: (1) that God would "be with" Jacob and his seed and "keep" them and "bring them back" (2) in order to possess the promised land (Gen. 28:13, 15); (3) that his seed would "spread out" to the four points of the compass, so that "in you and your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed" (28:14).

Thus, Qumran interprets that the future establishment of Israel's eschatological temple will be the fulfillment of this threefold promise and repeated Adamic commission.⁷² Furthermore, this will take place at the time of the new "creation," as a recapitulation of the primal Edenic temple within which Adam and his seed should have carried out their commission by spreading out over the earth. Quite intriguingly, Philo, the first century philosophical theologian, understands the incipient sanctuary building episode at Bethel to have fulfillment throughout the earth in all saints who become cleansed by God's word and, consequently, "become a house of God, a holy temple, a most beauteous abiding-place" (On Dreams, i.148-49).⁷³

For all or some of these reasons, the Aramaic translation of the Old Testament identifies the place of God's appearance to Jacob as a "sanctuary" (Targum Pseudo-Jonathon of Genesis 28:11, 17; Targum Neofiti 1 of Genesis 28:22 [literally, "a house of holiness"]). Later Judaism identified the stone that Jacob set up as a sacred "pillar" to be the foundation stone of Solomon's temple (Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, chap. 35) and of the temple to built at the time of Israel's restoration (cf. Midr. Tanhuma Gen. 6.20; likewise b. Pesachim 88a).⁷⁴

The holy site established by Jacob at "Bethel" near "Haran" in Genesis 28 and 35 is the clearest of the patriarchal sanctuary building episodes, which is enhanced by its location at or near the second altar built by Abraham (cf. Gen. 12:8, where the vicinity of "Bethel [House of God]" and "Haran" [Gen. 12:4] are also mentioned). In this respect, Genesis 28:11 introduces the narrative there by saying, Jacob "came to the place [maqom]," which may indicate that this site was already considered holy because of Abraham's repeated earlier worship there, which itself is twice referred to as "the place [maqom]" in Genesis 13:3-4 (e.g., note "the place of the altar" in 13:4).⁷⁵

In keeping with the thesis that the patriarchal shrines both recalled the original temple in Eden and anticipated the tabernacle and temple, it is not likely coincidental that in the seven instances where the patriarchs build their holy places, "tree[s]" are present or close by on four occasions (Gen. 12:6; 13:18; 22:13; 35:8⁷⁶), though all of them probably had a significant arboreal feature in their midst.⁷⁷ In the light of the links with Genesis 1-2 noted above, the common feature of a tree next to these worship sites, where humans experience God's presence, might well evoke "the tree of life" in the Garden of Eden.⁷⁸

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to Noah Even Earlier on Mount Ararat

Though Noah precedes Abraham and his sons, it is more instructive for our purposes to discuss his significance now, rather than earlier, against the background of what took place with Abraham and his descendants. That "Noah built an altar to the Lord" (Gen. 8:20), also in direct connection with God's re-application of the Adamic commission (Gen. 9:1, 7; cf. 8:17), indicates that this also may have been an even earlier inchoate temple-building event. The following observations only enhance this suggestion. First, he "offered burnt offerings on the altar." Second, these offerings were a "soothing aroma" before the Lord. The only other place where "burnt offerings" (in singular) are a "soothing aroma" to God are the offerings in the tabernacle.⁷⁹ Third, Noah offers these sacrifices on a mountain (in the mountain range of Ararat). Fourth, the distinction between "clean and unclean" animals is made for the first time in the Bible (Gen. 7:2, 8), and only "clean" animals could be offered as a sacrifice (Gen. 8:20). The only other situation where a distinction between "clean and unclean" animals is made is in the context of requirements of those who want to be able to have access to the outer court of the tabernacle (Lev. 11:47; 20:25; Deut. 12:15, 22).⁸⁰

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to Israel at the Mountain Sanctuary of Sinai

Israel's encounter with God at Mount Sinai is presumably another experience of worship at a sacred location that approximates a temple site. First, some of the same things seen with the sanctuary building of the patriarchs appear here too. For example, Israel is to worship on a mountain (Exod. 3:12), though Sinai is never called "house of God." In addition, the Sinai episode exhibits other features typically associated with Israel's later tabernacle or temple.

First, Sinai is called "the mountain of God" (Exod. 3:1; 18:5; 24:13), a name associated with Israel's temple on Mount Zion.⁸¹

Second, just as with the tabernacle and temple, so Mount Sinai was divided into three sections of increasing sanctity: the majority of Israel was to remain at the foot of Sinai (Exod. 19:12, 23), the priests and seventy elders (the latter functioning probably as priests) were allowed to come some distance up the mountain (Exod. 19:22; 24:1), but only Moses could ascend to the top and directly experience the presence of God (Exod. 24:2).

Third, just as an altar was in the outermost section of the temple, so an altar was built at the lowest and least sacred part of Sinai, where Israel "offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and . . . sprinkled [it] on the altar" (Exod. 24:5-6). The temple atmosphere of this text is apparent from observing that the phrase "burnt offering[s]" occurs approximately thirty-eight times together with "peace offerings" in the Old Testament, and the vast majority refer to sacrifices in the tabernacle or temple (though even some of the remaining uses may be linked to a sanctuary setting: e.g., Judges 20:26; 21:4, 1 Sam. 10:8; 13:9). Likewise, the majority of the numerous uses of each of the two phrases by themselves refer to the same temple context.

Fourth, not only does the top part of Sinai approximate the Holy of Holies because only Israel's "high priest," Moses, could enter there, but it was the place where God's theophanic "cloud" and presence "dwelt" (Exod. 24:15-17; for Moses as a "high priest" see Philo, Vit. Mos. 2.75). Significantly, the only other times in all of the Old Testament that God's presence is spoken of as a "cloud dwelling" is with respect to God's presence above the tabernacle (Exod. 40:35; Num. 9:17-18, 22; 10:12). Even the word "dwell" (shakan) could be rendered "to tabernacle" (mishkan) and the word "tabernacle" is the noun form of this verb (which is used with the verb in three of the four preceding texts). So also, 1 Kings 8:12-13 says that God "would dwell in the thick cloud" in the temple completed by Solomon. Furthermore, the "ten commandments" and the "ark" are created at the top of Sinai (Deut. 10:1-5), just as later they find their place in the inner sanctum of the temple, once again in God's presence.

Fifth, earlier in Exodus God's presence at Sinai was depicted as a "cassia tree [seneh, or "bush"] burning with fire, yet the cassia tree was not consumed" (Exod. 3:2). In the light of the parallels already adduced, this "unconsumed burning tree" may be the proleptic equivalent to the lampstand-like tree in the Holy Place whose lamps burned continually.⁸² Correspondingly, the ground around the burning tree is called "the place" of "holy ground" (Exod. 3:5). The correspondence of this small area at Sinai with the later "Holy Place" is seen from the only other uses of "holy place" in Hebrew, four of which refer to the section of the sanctuary directly outside the "Holy of Holies" (Lev. 7:6; 10:17; 14:13; 24:9) and the remaining two refer to the temple in general (Ezra 9:8; Psa. 24:3).

As in the case of the temporary patriarchal shrines, so the Siniatic holy place is linked to development of the themes found in Genesis 1:28. God sends Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt's womb because the embryonic seed of Jacob has come to full term, in fulfillment not only of the Abrahamic promises but also of the promissory Adamic commission:

"But the sons of Israel were fruitful and swarmed greatly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them."⁸³

In this respect, subduing the land of Canaan is also mentioned (Exod. 3:8, 17). Not surprisingly, there is also a link with the promise to "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" (Exod. 3:6, 15-16).⁸⁴

In the light of the association of Sinai as a temple, it is hardly accidental that Revelation 11:19 later alludes to the theophanic phenomena at Sinai in describing the opening of the heavenly Holy of Holies at the end of history, when "the ark of his covenant" will be revealed ("there came about lightnings and sounds and thunders").⁸⁵ Jewish tradition likewise believed that at the final resurrection, "the ark will be the first to be resurrected . . . and be placed on Mount Sinai" (Lives of the Prophets, 2:15), thus enhancing the notion that Sinai itself was viewed as a mountain temple.

In this light, Sinai was an appropriate place for God to show to Moses "the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture" in order that they would construct it exactly as it was "shown" to Moses (Exod. 25:9; cf. 25:40). Hence, once Israel leaves the stationary sanctuary of Sinai, the commission is passed on to them to build the mobile tabernacle in order that God's glorious presence would continue to "dwell among them" during their wilderness wanderings (Exod. 25:8). The building of the tabernacle itself would be a step toward the construction of the immovable temple in Jerusalem.

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to David and Solomon at Mount Moriah

What appears implicit with the patriarchs and with Moses at Sinai becomes explicit with Israel's tabernacle and temple. 1 Chronicles narrates David's preparations for building the temple that Solomon will accomplish. David's preparatory actions include all the same elements found with the small-scale temple building activities of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which confirms that their building activities were, indeed, miniature versions of, or pointers to, a later sanctuary.

David begins the preparations on a mountain (Mount Moriah); David experiences a theophany (he sees "the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven;" so 1 Chron. 21:16; 2 Chron. 3:1). At this site "David built an altar to the Lord . . . and offered burnt offerings . . . And he called to the Lord" (1 Chron. 21:26). Furthermore, David calls the place "the house of the Lord God" (1 Chron. 22:1) because this is the site of Israel's future temple to be prepared by David and built by Solomon (1 Chron. 22; 2 Chron. 3:1).

Now we can see more clearly that the altar building activities of the patriarchs were constructions of small-scale sanctuaries that find their climax with the larger scale construction of Israel's temple. The episode in 1 Chronicles 21 particularly mirrors the one with Jacob, where also God and angels appear to him and a link between "earth" and "heaven" is underscored.⁸⁶ The reason why David performed priestly activities at this site was twofold: first, because from that very site the temple of Israel was to be built; second, because the 1 Chronicles 21 passage goes on to say that "the tabernacle . . . which Moses had made . . . and the altar of burnt offering were in . . . Gibeon at that time" (21:29). This latter point implies not only that David was not able to travel there to offer sacrifices at the properly designated cultic place, but that a transition from the moveable tabernacle to the permanent temple has begun. Mount Moriah was now becoming the designated place for sacrifice because the temple would soon be built there.⁸⁷

As with the patriarchs, there are also links in the Davidic narrative with Genesis 1:28, though not as explicitly. In direct connection with David's preparations for the building of the temple in 1 Chronicles 29:10-12, he praises God:

'Blessed art Thou, O Lord . . . Thine . . . is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Thine is the dominion . . . Thou dost exalt Thyself as head over all . . . Thou dost rule over all . . . and it lies in Thy hand to make great, and to strengthen everyone.'

David uses language synonymous to that of Genesis 1:28 to praise God himself because he is the one who "makes great and strengthens" his human vice-regents to rule under his hand. Then Solomon is designated in the following verses as the example par excellence of such a vice-regent: "Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king . . . And the Lord highly exalted Solomon . . . and bestowed on him royal majesty which had not been on any king before him in Israel" (29:23-25). It is probably not accidental that a few verses earlier David refers explicitly to the nation's identification with the patriarchs: he petitions "the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers" to preserve the peoples' godly desires and "to give my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep ["guard"] Thy statutes . . . and to build the temple, for which I have made provision" (29:18-19), perhaps echoing the first temple context of Genesis 2:15-16: to "guard" the garden sanctuary by following what God "commanded." Solomon completed the foundation-laying activities of his father: "Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah . . ." (2 Chron. 3:1).

2 Samuel 7 (= 1 Chron. 17) closely links the need to build a temple (7:2-13) with the following aspects of Genesis 1:28: (1) ruling and subduing (7:9-16), and (2) a blessing on God's kingly vice-regent (7:29). It is also not unexpected, therefore, that 2 Samuel 7:9, "I will make you a great name," would allude to Genesis 12:2, "I will . . . make your name great." Accordingly, it is natural that the overall purpose is linked to God giving "rest" to Israel's king from his enemies (7:1, 11). This prophecy is fulfilled only partially by Solomon, however, since 2 Samuel 7:10-16 says that the coming kingdom and temple will last forever,⁸⁸ which was not true with Solomon's and his descendants (Exod. 15:17-18 also affirms the same thing of the coming kingdom and, implicitly, of the temple, to which allusion is made in 2 Sam. 7:10, 12-13).

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to Post-Exilic Israel

That Noah, the patriarchs, Moses, and David were building nascent temple structures is further apparent from noticing that the same embryonic temple-building pattern occurs when the remnant of Israel returns from Babylon to reconstruct the temple. They (1) "built the altar of the God of Israel" on the "foundation" of the former temple at Mount Zion (Ezra 3:2-3). (2) They began "to offer burnt offerings" (Ezra 3:2), and they worshipped through the playing of music and by "praising and giving thanks" (Ezra 3:10-11). (3) They also refer to the structure as "a house to our God" (Ezra 4:3). In this situation, however, there appear to be no clear references to Genesis 1:28 nor the Abrahamic promises. And even before the post-exilic temple was constructed, Ezekiel 11:16 says that though God had exiled Judah and Benjamin to Babylon, "yet I [Yahweh] was a sanctuary for them a little while . . ." This suggests that the presence of the Lord, which gave essential meaning to the temple, continued with the faithful remnant in exile to form a veritable invisible temple for them until they could return and begin building the second temple.⁸⁹

Like Solomon's temple, Israel's second temple did not fulfill the prophecy of Exodus 15:17-18 and 2 Samuel 7:10-16. Therefore, Exodus 15, 2 Samuel 7, and subsequent prophets foresaw an eschatological temple, the ideal descriptions of which both the first and second temples fell short. Not only were these two temples not eternal, but we will see later that they could not fulfill the end-time expectations for other reasons.

Adam's Commission and Task of Temple Building Passed on to End-Time Israel

Israel's prophesied eschatological temple has the same associations as most of the preceding temple constructions. In Leviticus 26:6-12, allusion is made to Genesis 1:28 in direct connection to the erection of the tabernacle in Israel's midst: if Israel is faithful, they will defeat their enemies in the land, and

"I will turn toward you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will confirm My covenant with you . . . Moreover, I will make My tabernacle among you . . . I will also walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people."⁹⁰

Ezekiel 36-37 makes the same link: after promising that God would restore Israel and "multiply men," and make them "increase and be fruitful" (36:10-11), he also promises a "multiplication" of fruitfulness (36:29-30), so that Israel's formerly desolated land will "become like the garden of Eden" in which God "will increase their men like a flock" (cf. 36:35-38). Then, in di-rect development of these preceding ideas and of Leviticus 26:6-12 (!)⁹¹, Ezekiel 37:26-28 again refers to that aspect of the promise of "multiplying them" and ties it to Israel's temple:⁹²

"It will be an everlasting covenant with them; And I will . . . multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place [or "tabernacle"] also will be over them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever."⁹³

Strikingly, there is also an association of an eschatological Eden with an end-time temple (Ezek. 36:35), which Ezekiel later identifies with the latter-day temple in chapters 40-48, which is also depicted with imagery from Eden (e.g., see 43:7-12)! While Leviticus 26 and Ezekiel 37 could be read as prophesying God's tabernacling presence in a temple structure, it is just as possible, if not preferable, to understand them as foretelling a time when the temple will be, not a physical handmade house but God's manifest presence alone that will fill Israel (and the earth) as never before. Leviticus 26:11-12 may suggest this: "moreover, I will make My tabernacle among you . . . I will also walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people." God's tabernacling presence will abide with all his redeemed people. It would be hard for God freely to "walk among" his people if his tabernacling presence were confined to a physical sanctuary, unless one were to think of it more figuratively as when God's tabernacle sojourned with Israel during her wilderness wan-derings.⁹⁴ But the Leviticus promise of God's "walking among" the people likely expresses a more personal and intense relationship than his present dwelling with them within an encased structure.

What indicates that this tabernacle is not to be like the former, smaller physical structures is the phrase in Ezekiel 37:27: "My dwelling place also will be over [preposition 'al] them." Apparently, at the least, the new tabernacle will extend over all of God's people who have been "multiplied" and "shall live on the land," that is, living throughout the land of promise (on which see 37:24-28)!⁹⁵ That the temple's worldwide goal is being achieved is alluded to in verse 28: "the nations will know that I am the Lord" (both in judgment and in "blessing" those who believe).

Along similar lines, Jeremiah 3:16-18 combines the commission found in Genesis 1:28⁹⁶ with the notion of a latter-day temple and makes explicit that God's tabernacling presence would not be restricted to an inner cultic room:

16 "And it shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again.

17 "At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, for the name of the LORD in Jerusalem; nor shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

18 "In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance."

Israel will finally fulfill the Genesis mandate "to multiply and increase" at the time of her latter-day restoration (Jer. 3:16). The fact that Gentiles will stream in suggests that they also will play a role in fulfilling that commission. Though this fulfillment is coupled with a promise of a future temple, it is one that will not be like any earlier structures. Not even the centerpiece of the old temple, the ark of the covenant, will exist in the renewed Jerusalem. Only God's presence will exist as the new sanctuary.

The ark represented the special manifestation of God's ruling presence that extended from heaven to earth. The ark is repeatedly called God's "footstool" (1 Chron. 28:2; Ps. 99:5; 132:7). The Israelites pictured God to be sitting on a throne in heaven with his feet extending to the ark as his footstool in the earthly temple (Isa. 66:1, "Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool;" 2 Kgs. 19:15; Lam. 2:1). A "footstool" was attached to Solomon's "throne" (2 Chron. 9:18), which was modelled after the notion that the ark was the footstool of God's heavenly throne.

Thus, the ark and God's heavenly throne were inextricably linked.⁹⁷ Jeremiah 3 says, not that a future cultic structure in Jerusalem will be the place of God's presence, but the entire future Jerusalem itself will be called "the throne of the Lord." The reason for this is that the essence of the old temple, God's ruling presence, will be expressed in an unfettered way at the endtime.

As we will see, the reason that the ark in the temple will have waned in significance when the Genesis 1:28 commission is finally fulfilled is that there will be a greater temple with a greater glory than a mere physical one, not only expanding to encompass all of Jerusalem (thus the point of Jer. 3:17) but the entire earth, as other biblical texts will testify.

The Differences in the Commission to Adam and That Passed on to His Descendants

Despite the many similarities between the original commission in Genesis 1 and that given to Abraham and his Israelite seed, some differences exist. Before Adam's disobedience, he would have fulfilled the "subduing and ruling" part of the commission by demonstrating sovereignty through cultivating the earth and having mastery over all the creatures of the earth, including the satanic "serpent" who existed outside the Garden and who would subsequently enter into it. After Adam's sin, the commission would be expanded to include renewed humanity's reign over unregenerate human forces arrayed against it. Hence, the language of "possessing the gate of their enemies" is included, which elsewhere is stated as "subduing the land" (note here Num. 32:22, "and the land is subdued before the Lord," where the same word [cabash] is used for "subdue" as in Gen. 1:28).⁹⁸ The mention of "all the nations of the earth" being "blessed" by Abraham's "seed" alludes to a renewed human community bearing God's image and "filling the earth" with regenerated progeny who also reflect God's image and shine out its luminosity to others in the "city of man" who do not rebel and also come to reflect God. Thus, these new converts are "blessed" with the favor of God's presence and become a part of God's ever-increasing kingdom.

Another difference in the repetition of the Genesis 1 commission is that it is now stated formally as a promise,⁹⁹ with the commission being implied. That the aspect of the "commission" is still retained is apparent from the imperatives introducing the commission in Genesis 12:1-3: "Go forth from your country . . . be a blessing." The implication is that humanity cannot carry out this commission on its own, but God will enable them in some way to perform it.

God's assurance that "I am with you" is not formulated until the promise is repeated to Jacob. This assurance is the basis for God's promise and commission to spread out in order that his tabernacling presence would spread (see with respect to Isaac [Gen. 26:24], Jacob [Gen. 28:15], and Moses [Exod. 3:12]). The divine assurance "I am with you" is central to the task of extending the "temple" of God's presence, as is apparent from noticing that this forms part of God's promise and commission to Isaac (Gen. 26:24), to Jacob (Gen. 28:15), and to Moses (Exod. 3:12). It was this very presence that provided enablement of the task and assured the fulfillment of the promise.¹⁰⁰ In response to God's presence, Israel was "to walk in his ways and to keep his commandments" in order to fulfill the original Adamic commission: to "live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it" (Deut. 30:16). Ultimately, only if God "circumcised their heart" would they be able to love and obey him, continue in his presence, and inherit the promise and truly "live" (Deut. 30:5-6, 16).

Essentially the same formula is repeated to Solomon. David says to his son, "the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as he has spoken concerning you. Only the Lord give you . . . understanding . . . so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God" (1 Chron. 22:11-12). It should not go unnoticed that the promise formula occurs in direct connection to Solomon building the temple.

God pronounces the same accompaniment formula when he commissions Jeremiah and enables him to be a "prophet to the nations" (1:5) and "to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant" (1:10; for the formula, see 1:8, 19). God speaks the same formula to Israel when he tells them that his purpose in regathering them from exile was to renew their commission to be a "witness" to the nations about his purpose in creating "new things" (Isa. 43:5-21).

It may not be coincidental that, after the return from Babylonian exile, this formula is also applied twice to the remnant in the land to encourage them to rebuild the temple (Haggai 1:13; 2:4). Haggai 2:5 elaborates the meaning of the formula: "As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst . . ." (likewise it is "My Spirit" that Zechariah 4:6-9 says will empower King Zerubbabel to build the second temple!). The promise referred to is likely that made in Exodus 33:14-17:

And he said, "My presence shall go [with you], and I will give you rest." Then he [Moses] said to him, ". . . how then can it be known that I have found favor in thy sight, I and thy people? Is it not by thy going with us, so that we . . . may be distinguished from all the [other] people who are upon the face of the earth?" And the Lord said to Moses, "I will also do this thing of which you have spoken . . ." (cf. also Exod. 34:9).

Perhaps Haggai 2 also alludes to Exodus 19:5-6: "you shall be my own possession among all the peoples . . . you shall be to me a kingdom of priests . . ." The entire nation was to live in the midst of God's presence, and in this manner they were all to become like priests standing in the presence of God in his temple, being intermediaries for the nations living in darkness and apart from God. Thus, Haggai 2 refers to a time when God will enable his people to build his temple through the power of his Spirit, which is to be a fulfillment of the promise in Exodus 33 and the promissory commission in Exodus 19. In other words, Haggai 2 interprets the promise in the two Exodus texts to be that of building God's end-time temple among his people. Haggai's description of the temple to be built goes well beyond the second temple that was eventually constructed. Though the building project might look insignificant in comparison to the earlier Solomonic temple, nevertheless, God promises to make "the latter glory of this house . . . greater than the former" (Haggai 2:3-9). Since the building of the second temple did not excel the glory of the Solomonic temple nor fulfill the expectation of Ezekiel's prophesied, eschatological temple (see Ezekiel 40-48), "intertestamental" Judaism naturally awaited a future eschatological time when this would finally happen. Not only was the second temple initially smaller than Solomon's but it did not last forever, having been destroyed in 70 A.D., thus causing a crisis in the way Jews thought about the temple from then on.

Certainly Adam's obedience within the garden sanctuary was key to carrying out his mandate by means of God's presence with him (recall "God walking back and forth in the garden" [Gen. 3:8]). But God did not promise to him that his presence would always be with him in carrying out his mandate. Indeed, God withdrew his presence from Adam. As a result of sin, Adam was cast out of the sanctuary of God's glorious presence and was not able to fulfill the divine commission.

Just as in the case of Adam, Israel's obedience within their "garden of Eden" to the laws regulating the temple was a part of carrying out their renewed commission as a corporate Adam. Israel's land is explicitly compared to the Garden of Eden (see Gen. 13:10; Isa. 51:3; Ezek. 36:35; 47:12; Joel 2:3) and is portrayed as very fruitful in order to heighten the correspondence to Eden (cf. Deut. 8:7-10; 11:8-17; Ezek. 47:1-12).¹⁰¹ The promised land itself is called God's "holy land" (Psalm 78:54; Zech. 2:12) because it was to be a Garden of Eden¹⁰² on a grander scale. The commission to have dominion (Gen. 1:26-28), first expressed through Adam's role in Eden, is expressed in Israel's temple that also represented God's cosmic rule.¹⁰³

This commission is expressed well in Exodus 19:6, which says of the whole nation "you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." They were to be mediators in spreading the light of God's cultic presence to the rest of the dark world. Such a connection of Genesis 1:28 to Eden and the Temple may have sparked off the following thought in the Hymn Scroll of Qumran: "my dominion shall be over the sons [of the ear]th . . . I will shine with a seven-fold li[ght] in the E[den which]¹⁰⁴ Thou hast [m]ade for Thy glory" (1QH VII, 23-24, where the temple lampstand with seven lamps is probably behind the image of the "seven-fold light").

Nevertheless, like Adam, Israel sinned and was cast away from God's presence and out of the land. At the same time God withdrew his presence from their temple (Ezek. 9:3; 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-23). The same thing happened to restored Israel in 70 A.D., when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, though God's presence had long since left that temple.¹⁰⁵ Thus, the promise of divine accompaniment was not ultimately fulfilled in Abraham or any of the physical descendants nor in Israel's temple but remained yet to be fulfilled.

Another Difference in the Commission to Adam and That Passed on to His Descendants: the Commission as a Mandate to Witness

We briefly observed above that Abraham's descendants were to be a renewed humanity. They were to bear God's image and "fill the earth" with children who also bore that image, being beacons of light to others living in spiritual darkness. They were to be God's instruments through whom God caused the light of his presence to shine in dark hearts of people in order that they too might become part of the increasing expansion of the temple's sacred space and of the kingdom. This is none other than performing the role of "witness" to God throughout the earth.

In fact, we can speak of Genesis 1:28 as the first "Great Commission" that was repeatedly applied to humanity. The commission was to bless the earth, and part of the essence of this blessing was God's salvific presence. Before, the "Fall," Adam and Eve were to produce progeny who would fill the earth with God's glory being reflected from each of them in the image of God. After the "Fall," a remnant, created by God in his restored image, was to go out and spread God's glorious presence among the rest of darkened humanity. This "witness" was to continue until the entire world would be filled with divine glory.

Israel's "witness" as a corporate Adam was especially significant. In this connection, the question of why the tabernacle was sometimes called the "tabernacle of testimony" (5 times, e.g., Exod. 38:21) or "tent of testimony" (5 times, e.g., Num. 9:15) needs addressing.¹⁰⁶ The most obvious answer is that the tabernacle housed the "ark of the testimony" (so 14 times, e.g., Exod. 25:22; 26:33-34). But why is the ark referred to in this way? The reason is that the ten commandments are sometimes called the "testimony."¹⁰⁷ God gave the commandments to Moses at Sinai, and Moses placed them in the ark. The ten commandments were called the "testimony" because they were written "by the finger of God" (Exod. 31:18) and were the visible evidence of God's truth and will. The Law was God's "testimony because it is his own affirmation relative to his very person and purpose."¹⁰⁸ Moreover, this "testimony" functioned for the nation as a "witness" of God's saving acts.¹⁰⁹ This latter point is apparent by recalling that the ark was not only the depository of the ten commandments (Exod. 25:16-22) but also directly in front of the ark was placed items that recalled God's great acts on behalf of Israel: the jar of manna (Exod. 16:31-36), a portion of Moses' incense (Exod. 30:36), and Aaron's rod that budded (Num. 17).

Thus, the ten commandments reminded Israel not only of God's moral will for them but of their deliverance from Egypt (Exod. 20:2), God's creation of the world (Exod. 20:11), and of his presence with and providential care of them in the wilderness. All of these items were an evidential, legal "testimony" of God's saving and preserving presence as it had been manifested in various ways to Israel.¹¹⁰ The emphasis on the divine presence with respect to the ark or tabernacle of "testimony" is underscored by repeated statements that each of the four holy items located at the place of the ark were in God's very presence.¹¹¹ In this respect, the Hebrew of Exodus 30:36 refers to "the testimony in the tent of meeting, where I shall meet with you" (so also Num. 17:4). The Hebrew expression "tent of meeting" referred to "the appointed place where Yahweh will meet with Moses."¹¹² The Greek Old Testament's substitution of "testimony" for "meeting" indicates that the point of God's presence with Moses was that he would "testify" to Moses about himself, his Law, and his redemptive deeds for Israel, all of which have demonstrated his presence with the entire nation.¹¹³

The legal nature of the "testimony" is evident from observing that the cognate noun, 'd, is almost always translated as "witness" and occurs typically in legal contexts (e.g., to find someone guilty of a crime in Israel requires "two witnesses"). A "witness" (martus) "testifies" (martureo) in court to confirm the truth of something (e.g., see the LXX of Num. 35:30). Accordingly, when Israel would disobey God's Law, "the book of the law . . . beside the ark of the covenant" would be "a witness against" Israel (Deut. 31:26). The two tablets of the Law served as a daily reminder of the covenant between Yahweh and Israel.

Part of the point of the repeated reference to the "tabernacle of testimony" and the "ark of testimony" is that Israel herself was to accept God's "testimony" and then bear witness to God's saving presence with her in the past and present by declaring God's own "testimony" to his Law and to the various redemptive acts performed on their behalf.¹¹⁴ In addition, the nation was to be a "testimony" by obeying the Law. All of this would bear witness to the truth of God's presence.¹¹⁵

Consequently, the way God's presence was to spread out from the Holy of Holies was for his people to pay heed to his testimony deposited there by giving testimony in word and obedient deed before the nations to God's truth. If Israel did this, it would show that God's presence was with them as the enabler of their faithfulness. Deuteronomy 4:5-7 expresses this purpose well, especially in linking Israel's understanding and obeying of God's law with his presence:

See, I [Moses] have taught you statutes and judgments just as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do thus in the land where you are entering to possess it. So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on him?

This is likewise closely linked with Exodus 33:14-17, where God tells Moses that "My presence shall go [with you]" and Moses responds by saying that "Thy going with us" will result in Israel being "distinguished from all the people who are upon the face of the earth." After the restoration from Babylon, God commands Israel to be "witnesses"¹¹⁶ to their "knowledge" and "belief" that God was the only true God, and that he will express his divine omnipotence by again delivering Israel out of a second bondage and performing a second exodus to the promised land (Isa. 43:10-12; 44:6-8).

That Israel was to be a "witness" to the nations is implied at various points (cf. Isa. 43:9) but made explicit in Isaiah 55:4, where God says that he had made David "a witness to the peoples," a commission that Israel should share. Israel's kings were to be leaders in bearing this "testimony."¹¹⁷ This commission was Israel's task to "call" the nations to God (Isa. 55:5). In order to accomplish this mission Israel was first to "seek the Lord while he may be found" and "call upon him while he may be near" (Isa. 55:6).

However, just as Adam "hid . . . from the presence of the Lord" (Gen. 3:8), thus ensuring failure to accomplish his mission, Israel, as God's true humanity, also separated themselves from the divine presence and failed to carry out the commission. Thus, it is not an overstatement to say that Israel was conceived of as a "corporate Adam." The nation's task was to do what Adam had first been commissioned to do. Israel failed even as Adam had. And like Adam, Israel was also cast out of their "garden land" into exile. Though a remnant of Israel returned from exile, her failure to carry out the Adamic task continued until the beginning of the first century A. D.

Wheaton College Graduate School

Wheaton, Illinois

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