The Replenish Argument

Replenish Means to Refill, did it mean that in 1611?

Biblical Texts to Explore:

Genesis 1:28 KJV – And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.


Gap Fact Belief Premise:

The Gap Fact believers are taught that the word “replenish” in Genesis chapter 1 is telling Adam to re-fill the earth.

Perry Demopoulos’ View on Replenish

Now these are FACTS! Therefore the word “replenish” as it stands, and given as a command to Adam and to Noah parallel each other reveals the SUPERIORITY of the Authorized Version of the King James Bible over “the originals” or man’s dictionaries. Just as man may list a number of definitions for a particular word in his own dictionary, God, within His own dictionary, the Bible, defines His own terms by the dictations of context, (Isa. 28:9-13) repetition, (Isa. 28:9-13; I Cor. 2:13; 2 Pet. 3:5-13), division (2 Tim. 2:15) factual events, history and prophecy (Ecc. 1:9). “Replenish” here then means to recover former fullness. There needs no further explanation. – Page 106

My Responses to these Arguments and Premise

The English language has change pretty dramatically in its relatively short history in our 6000+ year history. To ignore that, is I believe a short-sighted truth.

For Example lets look at the Origin of the the word Nice and see how its changed over time.
Nice, it turns out, began as a negative term derived from the Latin nescius, meaning “unaware, ignorant.” This sense of “ignorant” was carried over into English when the word was first borrowed (via French) in the early 1300s.’ – https://www.dictionary.com/e/nice-guys/

Has the Definition for Replenish Changed?

  • It certainly appears that way from the evidence. the first English dictionary ever (Robert Cawdrey’s a table alphabetical (1604)) was produced in 1604 the exact same year the KJV translators were appointed by King James of England
    • This book certainly was available to the KJV translators.
  • If you go look at this dictionary you see the following regarding the said controversial word:
  • Interestingly the dictionary in its preface (to the reader section) says it was created “especially for preachers”

“And” in Genesis chapter 1, is a further explanation many times…

Jeff Trout Commenting on Replenish
  • He compares the command given to animals in verse 22 and says that would tell me there weren’t animals on the earth that God created in Gen 1:1
    • [Gen 1:22 KJV] And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
  • The problem with his thinking is that if you follow this logic to the end then Adam is being told to replenish humans?
    • Why would God tell Adam to make “sons of god” (angels) again?
  • The “sons of god” (angels) do not die? Why would God tell man to be fruitful and multiply the sons of god?

Replenish Played Out With The Meaning “Refill”

Let’s play out as if they are right and replenish meant in 1611 what it does today.

  1. Noah is told to replenish the earth: 
    • The only thing Noah is capable of refilling the earth with is humans. 
      • That is fine because humans existed before the flood. 
      • That makes sense because almost all of the human race was killed in the flood.
  2. Adam is told to replenish the earth: 
    • Here we have a problem, why is God telling Adam to make humans again when he was the first human. 
    • Supposedly the sons of God existed. But angels never die.  Lucifer is still alive as are all angels. 
      • This is of course ignoring all the other problems with when angels were created and what we have mentioned elsewhere on this site regarding the foundations of the earth and the Job 38 misinterpretation.
    • So absolutely nothing died in the so called 1st flood and God is giving Adam a command to refill? 
    • Anyone reading the Bible can clearly see this logic is replete with bad interpretation.
  3. So when you look at the 1604 dictionary.  The simple definition of “Fill” makes a lot more sense. 

Hath God Said,

Did God say anything died that needed to be refilled on the earth before Gen 1:28
No

Implication:

The replenish argument is weak at its core and honestly doesn’t make sense when you look at the facts in Genesis 1. The definition for the word replenish changed in modern English just like the word nice. There is no biblical evidence anything had died before Gen 1:28 that needed refilling, especially humans which is all Adam was capable of refilling the earth with.


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