Table 1: Summary of the 3 classes of commandments or Biblical narrative that are interpreted symbolically. Further details may be found in the text. (Q3) Symbolic intepretation of narrative: Just as there are 3 classes of symbolic interpretation of commandments so too there are 3 classes of symbolic interpretation of narrative. Class 1: If a verse explicitly compares two objects using the Hebrew Letter prefix CAPH meaning "like" then we are forced to interpret the verse(s) symbolically. For example the verse Like a panting gazelle on streamlets so does my soul pant for you, God, clearly uses the panting for water of the gazelle as a symbol for the yearning for God by man. Using our definition of symbol we see that this symbolic association demands enriching our ordinary conception of yearning for God with all the characteristics of panting gazelles. NOTE 16 Class 2: If the Bible mentions an object or procedure and then abruptly changes to a new topic with an associational or linguistic link to the first mentioned object or procedure then we are justified in interpreting the first mentioned object or procedure as symbolic of the second (even if the Bible did not explicitly use the Hebrew letter prefix, CAPH, For example, God showed Almond blossoms (The Hebrew Root ShKayD) to Jeremiah and then says to him,"you have seen well for I am hastening(( The Hebrew Root ShKayD)) to bring my prophecies. " The abrupt change from Almonds to a statement of hastening coupled with the linguistic association of almonds and hastening (both are meanings of the same root (The Hebrew Root ShKayD)) necessitates a symbolic interpretation. Class 3: If a Biblical chapter meets the following two criteria (a) the chapter indicates some central theme (b) the chapter then presents a sequence of statements using objects and procedures most of which have clear symbolic associations with the central theme via - linguistic associations - other symbolic associations elsewhere in the Bible - known basic facts about the objects and procedures mentioned (function and form). Then the chapter as a whole should be interpreted symbolically even though there is no explicit declaration of symbolic linkage and even though the object and central theme aren t explicitly related. Class 3 will be used to justify the assertion that Gen 1 must be interpreted symbolically. Therefore we carefully explore several examples. Example 1: Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1 explicitly presents the following theme: Avoid doing what you want in your youth because you will pay for it(eventually). Therefore, because of this central theme, all commentators interpret Ecc 12:2-6 as referring to a symbolic description of old age . Thus the ceasing of flour grinders refers to loss of teeth , doors that can t open refers to constipation , shaking beams refers to bone problems , etc NOTE 17 Example 2: The beautiful Lily Psalm (80) is a masterful example of a required symbolic interpretation without explicit symbolic declaration. In Ps 80:1-8 the Psalmist asks for Divine help for the nation. Then abruptly in Ps 80:9-12 the Psalmist speaks about the Egyptian vine that God planted. Finally in Ps 80:13-17 the Psalmist entreats God to save this vine which everyone is trampling. We are never explicitly told that the Egyptian vine symbolizes the Jews that God saved from Egypt; we also have no explicit linguistic link between the initial request to save the nation and the final request to save the vine. However, the central theme coupled with the description of a flowering vine that was trampled is clearly symbolic of Jewish history and necessitates symbolic interpretation. Example 3: The famous animal coexistence vision mentioned in the Isaiah-11-Messianic-prophecies clearly is a symbolic support of the central theme of peace in the Messianic times and necessitates symbolic interpretation of all the animals as representing types of nations, a frequent symbolic theme in the Bible. (Q4) How do we interpret symbols: Reviewing the examples presented in table 1 we see that if we have chosen to interpret a commandment or Biblical narrative symbolically then the method of implementing this symbolic interpretation is to use those - explicit symbolic associations found elsewhere in the Bible (e.g. Blood=soul;animal=personality) -linguistic associations (e.g. the Hebrew root ShKaYD means both Almond and quickly) -the object s function (e.g. flour grinders symbolize teeth , whose function is to grind) -the object s form( (e.g.shaking beams symbolize bone problems ) In other words we use the Bibles own metaphors and the symbolism inherent in the Hebrew Language to interpret a Biblical symbol. In conclusion:: We have discussed a variety of methods by which to recognize the necessity of symbolic interpretation. The Biblical examples presented--the Lily Psalm, Ecclesiastes 12 and the animal coexistence messianic vision---clearly point to a need for underlying systematic methodology in understanding symbols. The above principles shed light on basic approaches to symbolic phenomena. SECTION IV: GENESIS 1: AN INTERNAL LITERARY ANALYSIS Having established criteria for when symbolic interpretation is required let us now examine Genesis 1 using purely internal literary analysis (The contribution of commentators will be reviewed later). There are 3 primary stages in this analysis. Stage 1: In stage 1 we review about half a dozen phrases in Gen 1-6 which deter us from interpreting Gen 1 literally and require us to interpret Gen 1 as dealing with the creation of prophecy. These phrases are listed in Table 2 which should be self explanatory: Example a) the phrase "SPIRIT OF GOD" occuring in the verse (Gen 1:2) occurs 3 dozen times in the Bible and exclusively refers to a prophetic spirit of a person. By contrast the word "SPIRIT" can mean prophetic spirit or physical wind. Example b) The fact that the snake spoke suggests that the snake was human. Example c) The cities Kayin built for people suggests that other (non prophetic) people already existed. Other proofs presented in Table 2 are less forceful but are brought down for completeness: Example d) It is plausible to interpret Gen 2:19 as stating that God brought non prophetic women before Adam who had affairs with them but was unsatisfied till he met a prophetic woman. Example e) Had Gen 1 been describing a sequence of 7 days of creation of the physical world then it should have described these days using ordinal numbers---1st, 2nd, 3rd. Since however it uses the cardinal numbers ---day 1,2,3---it follows that the Bible is describing a set of days without any sequence being intrinsic to them. This is consistent with the viewpoint that half a dozen skill competencies are prerequisite to becoming a prophet and these skill competencies are presented in Gen 1. Although it is not clear what all these half a dozen skill competencies are we can easily recognize some of them such as (i) separation of one spiritual and physical lives(Monday)(ii) the capacity to endure the fire visions of prophecy(Wednesday) (iii) awareness of the herd type nations like Egypt that are against individuality (Thursday) Further details are exhibited in Tables 2 and 3. Stage 2: If we accept the implication of Table 2, then Gen 1 is speaking about the central theme, creation of prophecy. The many other verses in Gen 1 talk about a variety of topics and seem to be unrelated. But the presence of--- (a) a central theme and (b) a diverse collection of other unrelated items--- are precisely the criteria that Class 3 of Table 1 requires in order to impose a symbolic interpretation. In other words, our requirement to interpret Gen 1 symbolically is similar in methodology to our requirement to symbolically interpret the description of old age (Eccl12), the vine of the Lily Psalm or the animal coexistence Messianic vision. Stage 3: Having established a central theme of prophecy and a need to interpret Gen 1-3 as symbolic we need to create a symbol dictionary which takes key words in Gen 1 and interprets them symbolically in terms of prophecy. We have summarized the main results with supportive arguments in Table 3. Using Table 3 we could translate Gen 1 as follows: (1) Because of the choicest aspects of man God created (both) the spiritual and physical worlds, (2) But the physical world , had been (till now) confusing and annoying, darkness over an (emotional) jungle with however a pre-prophetic spirit hovering over (Adam s) emotions . (3) So God said,"Let there be the lights of prophecy ", and it was so..... (6)And God said let man separate his spiritual and physical urges . ..(7).and God helped man to separate his spiritual and physical emotions .....(14) And God said let there be the fire visions of prophecy... In the interests of space we have only translated a few selected verses with the kernel ideas presented in table 3. As already indicated the consequence of this symbolic interpretation is that Genesis 1 outlines the prerequisites for prophecy (each day gives one prerequisite)