Religion:
God Rested

According to Genesis 2:2, God “rested” after creating the heavens and the earth. The word “shabat” (Hebrew: “rested”) is the origin of the English word “sabbath.” This verse demonstrates that God is semipotent, not omnipotent.

The idea that God is omnipotent is a pagan, Greek idea. The early Christian church was heavily influenced by Greek philosophy, and the idea that God is omnipotent became Christian doctrine.

By the time a modern reader reads Genesis, they’ve already been taught that God is omnipotent, and proof to the contrary goes unnoticed. Sort of like how YHWH lies to Eve and no one notices.

—JoT
March 2006

Notes

“Genesis 2:2”: Technically, these verses should be Genesis 1:33, but a clerical error places the start of chapter 2 three and half verses too soon.

Not coincidentally, it’s a clerical error in both senses of the term. I figure it was an intentional error, an attempt to blur the break between Jahwist and the Elohist creation stories.

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This essay is about YHWH, God, the Bible, omnipotence, scripture, Christian doctrine.

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