Replenish

[Justice]

What exactly does replenish mean?

Yes, I've read the dictionary, and I know what it says.

Main Entry: re·plen·ish

1 a : to fill with persons or animals : stock b archaic : to supply fully : perfect c : to fill with inspiration or power : nourish

I can't disagree that it's one possible meaning. But, the "re" part of it has always bugged me a bit. It sounds like the original word was meant to mean "re" fill something. If God was saying this to Adam about having offspring, then one can be led to think there were people here before. I wonder how many definitions of words have been derived because people just understood it that way?

I guess what I'm asking is what does God mean when He said:

Genesis 1:

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

I have always considered replenish here as a continuation of "Be fruitful, and multiply, and..." But, I am re-thinking my position.

I'm leaning toward it being the beginning of the next statement ,"and replenish the earth, and subdue it..."

I'm seeing it more in line with what the Jaredites did when they landed in the proimised land:

Ether 6:

18 And it came to pass that they began to spread upon the face of the land, and to multiply and to till the earth; and they did wax strong in the land.

Why is this difference significant?

Well, it ties in nicely with something else God says to Adam:

Genesis 3:

23 Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

If God gave the commandment for Adam to multiply, AND to [till] the earth, think of the significance! Adam and Eve could not have children (seed) in the Garden (for whatever reason). They also did not till the earth because the earth was in a perfect state, nothing died or needed to be "replenished." There was no need for "seed" while in the Garden.

They needed to fall in order to do both of those things, which both had to so with "seeds."

Consider Eve's words about what they learned from the Fall:

Moses 5:

11 And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.

I've believe for a long time that God used "seeds" as a way to teach them about procreation, but never saw it so literally before. He then used their understanding of "seed" to teach them that they were His offspring:

Genesis 1:

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

This takes us to the third way scriptures use "seed," and that is as "the Word of God:"

Matthew 13:

18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

John 1:

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Think of how seeds are realted to the flesh of a fruit.

Wonderful symbolism.

Any comments before I go any farther?

Edited December 5, 2009 by Justice

[Lorenzo]

The word translated ‘replenish’ (KJV) simply means ‘fill’ in the Hebrew.

In the English of King James’ day, ‘replenish’ also usually meant ‘fill’, not ‘refill’.

"replenish"

male' (maw-lay')

a primitive root, to fill or (intransitively) be full of, in a wide application (literally and figuratively)

[Justice]

This topic may sound very wierd and very insignificant, so let me add one additional thought that might help you see where I'm going with this.

In today's world of mass media and mass marketing, with stores and malls filled with needed things, we can lose sight of the value of tilling and planting to Adam and Eve. Today one works at a job and earns a government approved representation of their time and can use that legal tender in place of goods for exchange to get the necessary item of living.

In Adam and Eve's day, if they did not learn and know how seeds work they would die. It was a perfect similitude for seeds also being "offspring" (no more human life upon the earth) and for the "word of God" (no spiritual life without).

I believe the Lord has something for me to learn somewhere down this path. He has been leading me for many years with knowledge line upon line. When I read the above quoted verse in Ether yesterday at lunch time it dawned on me that the Lord didn't just command them to have offspring, but to learn to till the earth and provide for themselves now.

Having to do this by farming they would be entirely dependant on the Lord for the things they could not control, like for sunlight and rain (and seeds). This provided them perfect examples of what it means to have faith in the Lord.

I hope my ramble here has meant something to someone. Sometimes I "talk just to talk." I hope this is not one of those times.

Edited December 5, 2009 by Justice