…then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

1) What is the significance of “dust”?
One of the definitions given for “dust” in the Strong’s concordance is “rubbish”. It’s good for nothing, blows in the wind, is the meanest or lowest state of the earth as it is simply walked on by the rest of creation. It’s meaningless, as “dust in the wind”, and transient, being here one moment and gone the next.

2) What is important about God “breathing” into Adam?
Utterly unlike the insignificance of dust, which is entirely a product of the earth, God’s breath comes explicitly from His own Being straight into man’s nostrils. What is made from the earth’s elements, will one day pass away and return to the earth as dust (Ecclesiastes 12:7). But the soul, the living essence of God’s vitality, is His own and will one day return to Him (Ecclesiastes 12:7). The psalmist sings, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!” The Hebrew word for “breath” in this psalm is exactly the same as the one here in our verse in Genesis 2:7. Its meaning is not a physical composition of oxygen and nitrogen, but of the very breath of the Living God. The psalmist is reiterating the solid truth that this “breath”, our “souls”, belong to their Maker, the Lord God. What we do with our souls, and how we steward that gift, is of utmost importance!

3) What is significant about becoming a “living being”?
The body would be lifeless without the soul. Before God breathed His breathe into the body formed from dust, it was undoubtedly a masterpiece, but still a lifeless shell nonetheless. The body is a temporary tent for the soul to dwell (2 Corinthians 5:1-10). As such, the soul utilizes the tent or body to accomplish works while in the body. When God breathed into Adam, He gave mankind the gift of life itself, just as He Himself is life. He gave humanity the ability to live, and move, and work, and create, and think. Paul, in 1 Corinthians, says that, “The first man Adam became a living being; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 15:45) Meaning that while Adam was awakened to physical life, Christ (the second Adam), awakens our souls to real life as it was meant to be lived: for the glory and praise of God.

1) What is the significance of “dust”?
Even in this one verse, we see the actions of the Creating God to be already painting the glory of the gospel! We, taken from a state of meaninglessness and hopelessness by being enslaved to Sin, fills us with Himself, shapes us by His design, and gives us meaning and purpose and fulfillment. We have no purpose apart from God, we are simply, “but dust”. (Psalm 103:14) But with Him, we are indeed His workmanship! (Ephesians 2:10)

2) What is important about God “breathing” into Adam?
The gospel of Mark records Jesus as saying, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? For what can man give in return for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37) The significance of not only having a soul, but knowing who created the soul, and who owns the soul should change our perspective on what we do with our life. One day, when our bodies have returned to dust and we die, our souls will live on forever, just as God is an eternal Being. He has given over to us the care and keeping of our soul and permitted us the choice on how to steward such an incredible gift. How are you caring for your soul? Check here for great resources on what it means to have good soul care!

3) What is significant about becoming a “living being”?
It would be a serious mistake to live only for the fading, fleeting body and its desires and emotions and passions, when it is only the soul that will last forever. It’s like buying eggs, and throwing away the eggs so you can attempt to eat the carton. The carton will not come close to satisfying our need for food like an omelet would. Jesus came to renew our soul, to give us a new heart and passions that reflect His, as the author of the soul in the first place. We will only find satisfaction in both this life and the life to come, when we allow Him to remake us. Only He who has made the soul, has the ability to bring newness to it, which is why nothing we craft with our own hands or hearts will ever fill us up.
Only He who made the soul is able to re-new or re-make it.

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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Looking for other journeys from this theme?
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