gen 1:28

[Ghostdog]

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth

 

ifadam and eve were the first humans then why did they need to replenish the earth?

[RdJ]

Dutch translation says fill.

Apparently it's old English for fill:

https://creation.com/genesis-1-28-replenish-or-fill

[AdHoc]

10 hours ago, Ghostdog said:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth

 

ifadam and eve were the first humans then why did they need to replenish the earth?

The sentence construction and grammar of the first two verses of the Bible indicate that God created all things in good order. The literal translation of Genesis 1 verse 2 is

 2 BUT the earth BECAME a chaos, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

Now, not only is God not the author of chaos, but darkness and a covering of water are sure indicators of His judgment. Something bad happened to a perfectly good earth - something so ugly that God was moved to cover the earth with water and switch off the lights. Bible students argue over this, but Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 both address a Principality that could not have been a man on earth. The theory is that Lucifer, an angel or cherub of light, was the first governor of the earth. Initially he was a good governor, but he overturned God's order (or tried to), and this ended in ruin and chaos. But God could not ever look on ruin and chaos and somebody had inhabited the earth, for God says in Isaiah 45;

18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited*: I am the LORD; and there is none else.

It could be that one of the reasons why God man was made was to fill, or replenish the earth. the same words were said to Noah when there were just eight people left on earth.

If you are interested, one of the most well known students of prophecy, G. H. Pember, wrote a book with the full argument called "Earth's Earliest Ages". It's been reprinted lately. It is very compelling.

* The grammar is clear, but there is another element sometimes missed by students of the Bible. The word "created" in the Hebrew means "made out of nothing". The word "made" in the Hebrew means "made out of existing materials". And the word "formed" in the Hebrew means "formed like a potter forms his wet clay". The word "created" is only used twice in Genesis Chapter 1 - (i) the creation of the heaven and the earth, and (ii) the creation of the living things. Every other time God "made" something, it was with existing materials. This means that all the materials in Genesis 1, after verse 1, except for the souls of man and the animals, were already there. And when God talks about it being "inhabited", He does not say; "I created it to be inhabited". He says I "FORMED" it to be inhabited. That means that the work of six days was a restoration, not a creation.

The word "formed" indicates that things were a certain way and the potter changed the "form". Unfortunately for our curiosity, when God wants to wipe out the old, He does such a good job of it that the evidence is just not there. That is why evolutionists seem to hit a wall at about 2,500 BC. It is the date of Noah's flood and all record of the past is gone. Just enough remains to say that the earth was in existence and the fossils hint at life before this flood. So also the immersion in Genesis 1:2. It just wiped out history. A universal flood is likened, in 1st Peter 3:18-21 to wiping the conscience clear.

[Who me]

replenish /rĭ-plĕn′ĭsh/
intransitive verb
To fill or make complete again; add a new stock or supply to.
"replenish the larder."
To inspire or nourish.
"The music will replenish my weary soul."
To become full again.
To recover former fullness.
transitive verb
To fill again after having been diminished or emptied; to stock anew; hence, to fill completely; to cause to abound.
To finish; to complete; to perfect.
Similar: finishcompleteperfect
verb
To refill; to renew; to supply again or to add a fresh quantity.
To fill; to complete; to supply fully.
Fill something that had previously been emptied.

Dictionary  definitions  -

replenish /rĭ-plĕn′ĭsh/
intransitive verb
To fill or make complete again; add a new stock or supply to.
"replenish the larder."
To inspire or nourish.
"The music will replenish my weary soul."
To become full again.
To recover former fullness.
transitive verb
To fill again after having been diminished or emptied; to stock anew; hence, to fill completely; to cause to abound.
To finish; to complete; to perfect.
Similar: finishcompleteperfect
verb
To refill; to renew; to supply again or to add a fresh quantity.
To fill; to complete; to supply fully.
Fill something that had previously been emptied.

Shows that it means both to refill or to fill from the beginning.

[Your closest friendnt]

11 hours ago, Ghostdog said:

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth

 

ifadam and eve were the first humans then why did they need to replenish the earth?

Did God say that before the 16 century? 

[grahampaul]

23 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Did God say that before the 16 century? 

i am curious as to why would you ask this.

[Your closest friendnt]

4 hours ago, grahampaul said:

i am curious as to why would you ask this.

Hello @grahampaul

The point God wanted to make it was that the Serpent won't cause the death of Adam and Eve or the extinction of the human race or Abraham and his offsprings because God had a plan and he announced his plan in Genesis 3 about the seed of the woman. And the events of Cain and Abel devastated Adam and Eve God gave them Shem. 

God had a plan for the Savior of mankind to come and who will also judged the Serpent. They were protected by God and were blessed to have many children. And He announced it early in Genesis that they were blessed to multiple and fill the earth,because he had proposed to make it come to pass. 

And It's because I looked up many of other versions and they says to multiple and fill the earth. KJV it does say to replenish the earth. A version that came in sirculation about the 16th century. And that's why. Why they did that I do not know. That's what I meant, instead of arguing and I didn't want to mention the version by name. And the OP he must have known that and I wanted to remind him that he should have  let the readership know about that.

God bless 

 

Edited June 4, 2024 by Your closest friendnt

[grahampaul]

now i see, thank you.   

[Your closest friendnt]

@Ghostdog

Thank you for bringing this up. I do not know why a few  translations use the word replenish in Genesis 1:28. 

They were a few translators at work together and they were educated people. And they were writers of other works and other translations.

 Did they always used the word replenish instead of fill in their other works or books? Would be interesting to know. This is what is called investigating work or Journalism. That opens the question that they may have been under compulsion to agree to that, like under some pressure from somebody else. Maybe from a religious authority. If it was that can been seen in their teachings. They wanted to used it for something, even to exercise control or blind obedience or royalty from others. This may not apply to this matter but I have been in some places where the teacher who also is someone with authority in the church substitutes some words in the bible passage and comes up with something and wants everyone to show his solidarity with him by agreeing even though they strongly disagree.  

The Ancient translation from Aramaic to Greek and the Greek versions say, to multiple and fill the earth. 

■ What is the difference between fill and replenish. 

》Replenish suggests it was once full, but now it's not. Refill does not mean the same as fill. Refill does not mean the same thing as fill, but replenish does mean the same thing as fill. 

■ What does replenish mean spiritually?

》Replenish is a word that means to refill, recharge or restore. If you don't take the time to replenish emotionally, spiritually, physically, environmentally and socially you will dry up and have nothing left to give.Apr 24, 2019 

■ What does replenish your life mean?

》Quint Studer. Published Dec 26, 2023. How does one replenish themselves and others? A common definition of the word replenish is “to make full again.” This is often used in terms of supplying what is lacking, used up, etc.

■ How do you use the word replenish?

》To replenish something is to refill it. If you have a pet pooch, you're probably obligated to replenish his food bowl to avoid being barked at incessantly. Use replenish when talking about something valuable or desirable, such as money or food.

[Logostician]

The Hebrew word for "replenish" is male, pronounced 'maw lay'.  It means fill, or bring to fullness or completion.

The same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 9:1 where we see the English word "replenish".

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.

In both cases the world needed to be filled.  But for different reasons.

I suggest always going to the original Hebrew in the Old Testament, and Greek in the New Testament, when any English translation is confusing.  The Strong's Concordance is a good tool for this.