The Discovery of Genesis (22 page)

For the radical
walking
, there is a second form
which makes the creation story even more vivid. In this pictographic representation, one can see Adam himself clearly. The three upper strokes
are his
hair
; the vertical stroke I his
body
; the small horizontal stroke to the right of the vertical stroke his arm; and the remaining portions are his legs
. The character
to create
must therefore refer specifically to the creation of man and not to animals or other matter. This is even more remarkable when one understands the meaning of the Hebrew name “Adam,” which is “ground.” Both Hebrew and Chinese recognize Adam’s origin from the dust of the earth.

Adam was the first man in earth’s history. The word
first
⁶
records this fact as the most important
first
of all. Adam is recognized as a
live
,
,
dust
,
man
. It would seem that this very primitive character for
first
would not be so constructed unless the inventor of the written language was familiar with the creation story!