Abstract

The divine promise in Genesis 1:28 marks the climax in the creation of humanity. In this text, God inaugurates humanity by blessing and issuing them with capacities necessary for the performance of their divine duty. Through a macro-syntactic analysis and a word study, this thesis returns to this text with the aim of establishing the meaning of the root מלא as used in the third imperative “to fill the earth.” Toward this goal, this thesis is asking; What is the meaning of מלאin this context? How does the imperative function in relation to the rest of the imperatives? What underlying nuances are expressed or not expressed in this verb sequence? Why is it included here? In context, this study explores any explicit nuances in the verb מלא as used in Gen.1:28 with the purpose of giving a proper understanding of its meaning and function in relation to the divine image bearer. Based on the literature reviewed, the analysis of the use of מלא in the rest of primeval history and in Gen.1:26-28, this thesis has established that the meaning of מלא in Gen. 1:28 is the following: God’s desire for humanity to migrate or move across the earth for the purpose of “imaging” him by ruling over the creation. The results emphasize that human migration is a divine gift, a good gift that God issued volitionally to humanity at creation for His purpose.