Bible Verse Lookup

This new account, also known as the “creation account,” has distinct characteristics compared to the previous one. It is not a hymn. God does not give commands for things to appear. Like a potter, he shapes man from clay and breathes the breath of life into him. He places him in the Garden of Eden and warns him about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He creates all living things from clay to accompany him, and upon finding no suitable helper, puts him to sleep, and from his rib “forms” a creature: woman. 
Long ago, this story was retold by the Israelites, primarily to explore the origins of humanity and the distinctions between humans and other creatures.
According to this account, humans share three common characteristics with animals:
1. Both have been formed using “soil clay” (7.19).
2. Both receive from God the “breath of life” (cf. 7:15,22).
3. Both are “living beings” (7.19).
But God makes man in his image and likeness (1:26), and this begins to take shape from the moment God breathes his breath into the nostrils of Adam, who has just been fashioned from “adamah”—clay from the ground—from which the animals were also made. Man’s actions should therefore differ from those of the animals, as he is not only driven by his instincts but also, and above all, by the Spirit of God within him. Thus, a human being is not human solely because they have a body; what is specific occurs when the Spirit of God inhabits them, and they live moved by him. In other words, humanity arises in man and woman when their materiality—their “adamancy”—is animated by the Spirit of God.
From this interpretation, we can draw valuable conclusions about living out our faith and achieving personal growth. This passage invites us to be aware of our natural “adamancy” (our instincts), but also to recognize that within each of us is the presence of the Spirit of God, who moves and waits for us to allow him to humanize us.