Thank you for the biblical question on Genesis 1, “Was Genesis 1:28 the first commandment by God to humans? Or was this not a ‘commandment’ per se?”
As one reads Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, God gave Adam a command before he created Eve. Thus the command in Genesis 1:28 follows the command of Genesis 2:15.
Genesis 2 says this, “15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”…18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals. But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man” (NIV).
For one’s consideration of the first command by God is found in Genesis 2.
A. Genesis 2 reveals that God created Adam first before he created the woman.
Genesis 2:15 says this, “15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” The text does not describe the creation of Adam since that was stated in Genesis 1. In Genesis 2, the text reveals the specific place of man in creation. There is the specific reference by God to the man and his role in the Garden of Eden. He was to be the caretaker of the Garden of Eden. At this point there is no mention of a woman with the man.
B. In Genesis 2, God gave specifically the command to Adam not to eat of the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 2 says this, “16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
After God placed the man into the Garden, God declares or commands to the man that he can eat from any tree in the Garden with one prohibition, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The command was specifically given to the man of what he could eat and could not eat. The pronoun, you, is second person singular. Thus God was speaking to the man.
Genesis 2:20b-22 says this, “But for Adam[f] no suitable helper was found. 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.”
Adam was alone. There was no other human being like him in the Garden so God created a being that was like himself, a woman. The woman didn’t hear directly the command. She was created after God gave the command to the man.
In Genesis 3, Eve’s response to the serpent question was this, “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
God didn’t command that he was forbidden to touch it, but not eat it. It is more likely that Adam conveyed the command of God to Eve by adding the words, “and you must not touch it.” since he wanted her to avoid eating the fruit.
C. Genesis 3 affirms that God gave the command to Adam of not eating the forbidden fruit.
Genesis 3 says this, “9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
The text states specifically that God commanded Adam that he was not to eat the forbidden fruit in a question form. Adam doesn’t deny the command of God or plea ignorance to the command. He just didn’t “know” that it was the forbidden it.
D. Genesis 1 states that Adam and Eve were present when God gave them the command to oversee the Garden.
Genesis 1 says this, “26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
In the Genesis 1 account, God uses the plural pronoun, them, in his declaration in the making of man and woman. The text states that God created them and gave them the command to care for the Garden.
Thus the Genesis 1:15 God gives command to both the man and woman, while in Genesis 2:16, God gives the command to man before the woman was created.
As to whether the words being a command, Genesis 2:16 states that the words of God is a command with the permission and prohibition by these words, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” The phrases, “you are free to eat” and “you must not eat” would imply a command of action to the man.
SUMMARY: The first command by God to man is found in Genesis 2:16–17, while the first command by God to man and woman is found in Genesis 1:28.
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Thanks for this beautiful article.
Just a minor one, the reference used needs an update. By “Thus the Genesis 1:15 God gives command to both the man and woman”, you actually mean Genesis 1:28, right?