This text somewhat analyses the main characteristics of the human beings. When we ask ourselves, what does God mean when he creates us by his image, knowledge should be part of the answer. Knowledge is what makes the humans capable of ruling the earth and maintaining it. Now, there are multiple forms of knowledge. Humans are not meant to have the divine knowledge which God obtains, but a derivative of that. They were “knowers” and not “judges” of the world. The act of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and bad represents this transition in knowledge which taints the role of human beings on this earth as rulers. Eating in particular is the chosen action because it represents that humans are dependent creatures, that even though they are the rulers of this earth, they belong to it. Yet, it also represents the special nature humans have since they are eating from a tree instead of the ground which is a gift from God. In this passage, God puts Adam and Eve to a test, possibly of their greed. The act itself is more than a disobedience, it is a rejection of the divine power of God. They believed that the tree would change them into Gods themselves (because of the serpent) which is a failure to be grateful for the gifts that God has already given them. This act does not give them any divinity, but it does give them the power to judge which is mainly God’s role (when he said that Adam’s loneliness was not good) which makes them more god-like. Yet, at the same time the act itself was a bad act since it was motivated by greed, and since God is all-good, then it makes them less God-like. After this exchange in the nature of humanity, they are in no position to rule the perfect world that God created. God settles by giving them a taste of the badness that they are able to assess which is why he throws them out of the Garden. 

In this passage, I think many complex ideas are highlighted. First, we can see the descriptions of the basic earth, where we can see that a humane relatability when reading the passage. I think this passage shows us a familiar God that we can understand at the very least, which is shown through phrases explaining how God saw that light is good. We can almost get a glimpse of the rationality of God when we observe his thought process come together to create the universe. This passage expresses the beauty of life as a whole by showing a reverse decomposition of its elements. We live day to day not noticing these components, but when we have to rebuild the life that seems normal to us, we can truly appreciate the importance of the contrast between light and darkness, for example. Moreover, God creates humans in his image. This idea is key to the possible divinity of the human soul, which is probably why God tells them to rule and prosper. Humans are the last creation that is God makes, which shows their importance. In other words, we can look at humanity as the grand finale to the creation of the world.

I think that the idea of rest could represent a twofold meaning. The seventh day could represent the greatness and importance of the world God has created. Just like a painter who has to admire the masterpiece he just finished; God takes a day to look at what he has made from nothing. God could also be using the concept of resting to signal that as of now human beings have a responsibility towards this life and some of it is out of God’s reach. To explain, if God created us a free creature then he obviously can’t decide what we choose to do.