7Then the LORD God
formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life. Thus the man became a living being. (Kent P. Jackson, Genesis: A New English
Translation with The Joseph Smith Translation and Commentary [Provo, Utah:
BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 8)
* from the ground An important
feature of his creation account is that it highlights humankind’s connection
with the earth. The name ‘adam, a masculine noun meaning “human,” is connected
with the word ‘adamah, a feminine noun that means “ground,” “earth,” and “soil.”
It is translated as “ground” in this chapter, which best represents the intent
of the Hebrew here. Thus, Adam’s name means something like “earth man,” not
with reference to the planet but to the ground from which he as formed and will
return (2:7; 3:17, 19). The elements of the earth would not be the only
component in Adam’s creation. Abraham’s account records that after the Gods
formed man from the ground, they “took his spirit (that is, the man’s spirit),
and put it into him.” Next a divine act brought the body-spirit combination to
life: the Gods “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,” by which “man
became a living soul” (5:7). (Kent P. Jackson, Genesis: A New English
Translation with The Joseph Smith Translation and Commentary [Provo, Utah:
BYU Religious Studies Center; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2025], 9)
