Philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and even theologians have given many different definitions of man; yet the Bible has no substantive definition of man, but the Bible captures three relationships of man in different situations: man and God, man and man, man and earth. The biblical account gives a gradual understanding of the question of “what is man?” Genesis begins by saying, “So God created man in his own image”, ﹙Genesis 1：27﹚, and from the very beginning of this first man created by God, man is constantly searching for this perfect portrait of God, and this portrait has progressed in the course of history; just as modern scientists, when studying bees, find that although they fly in all directions, they have a very close connection with other bees, and they do not act independently. When scientists work on a project, they recognize many other things. Because everything in the universe, on the surface, seems to operate independently, but in fact it is related to each other. People are also like this.

The first and second chapters of Genesis describe human creation, and they are very beautiful and moving. Biblical scholars estimate that Genesis was written around 500 B.C. It was a time of great misery for the Jews, most of whom were exiled to Babylon and lived in slavery. Most of the historical materials of the past were preserved in their memories and were rarely recorded in books. The exiled Jews came from different parts of Palestine and were of different status, including priests and those who held various positions in the Temple. The nation of Israel was divided between those from the North and those from the South, and they were all keen to preserve their traditions. However, in the face of this great tragedy, the lines of their division had become more and more blurred, the memory that remained in their minds no longer distinguished between north and south, it all belonged to the Jewish people. Understanding the above background will make everyone more aware of appreciating the Bible book and understanding the repetition of the Bible. The story and parable of the creator in the first and second chapters of Genesis are written in the culture of the day, which was of course very different from the scientific teaching method of today and cannot be compared with it. The most important thing is to know the meaning behind the story and metaphor. Moreover, the moral standards of the day are not the same as those of today. It is therefore important to read the Bible without prejudice and to enjoy the way stories and parables are portrayed and expressed.

“These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet on the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up – for the Lord God has not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground – then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being.” ﹙Genesis 2：4-7﹚
The Book of Genesis describes man’s creation in a few short sentences, which are often repeated in the Bible. The “man” spoken of in the Bible is an amazing mystery. “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.” ﹙Ps 139：14﹚ The Bible often describes man in extreme contrasts. “Then God said: let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind. So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” ﹙Genesis 1：26-27﹚ “And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed.” ﹙Genesis 2：8﹚ “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it.” ﹙Genesis 2：15﹚

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God forms man from the dust of the earth, “all that is of earth returns to earth, and what is from above returns above.” ﹙Sirach 40：11﹚ Man should wake up to the fact that death will come suddenly, and the seeds of death will sprout and grow at any time. From the day he leaves his mother’s womb, he will face death, and no one, rich or glorious, or poor as a child, will be spared. “To all creatures, human and animals.” ﹙Sirach 40：8﹚ Jobs said, “Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?” ﹙Job 3：11﹚ For he knew man’s end well: “As the cloud fades and vanishes, so those who go down to Sheol do not come up.” ﹙Job 7：9﹚ The Biblical Book of Wisdom shows that death is man’s greatest challenge, but it also shows that of all animals, only man is aware of his own vulnerability. “No one has power over the wind to restrain the wind, or power over the day of death.” ﹙Ecc 8：8﹚ “Then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place, and were praised in the city where they had done such things. This also is vanity.” ﹙Ecc 8：10﹚ “God is testing them to show that they are all but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.” ﹙Ecc 3：18-20﹚ Although a person may make a difference in his life, he will not escape death. “For there is no enduring remembrance of the wise or of fools, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. How can the wise die just like fools?” ﹙Ecc 2：16﹚ Nevertheless, Ecclesiastes encourages people to always be grateful and enjoy the short-lived fragments of life. “Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come.” ﹙Ecc 12：1﹚ This is not an attitude of forgetting the contradictions of life. Ecclesiastes depicts the end of life in a poetic way: “Before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it.” ﹙Ecc 12：6-7﹚ Although the flesh of man returns to dust with death, the breath of God’s gift returns to God, which leaves a glimmer of hope for death. Ecclesiastes also speaks of God’s judgment. “I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work.” ﹙Ecc 3：17﹚ Therefore, one should fear God. “I know that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it; God has done this, so that all should stand in awe before him.” ﹙Ecc 3：14﹚ Another aspect of the Book of Wisdom states that death is not qualified as a final conclusion. It is natural for man to resent death; however, it must be clear to all that man was created for life, not for death. The Book of Wisdom clearly affirms that human nature has long sown the seeds of eternal hope.

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The book of Wisdom is the last book in Biblical Wisdom Literature, originally titled “The Wisdom of Solomon”, because the author hopes to attribute his teachings to the Wise King Solomon, because Solomon is a symbol of wisdom. The author writes: “I also am mortal, like everyone else, a descendant of the first-formed child of earth; and in the womb of a mother I was molded into flesh, ……And when I was born, I began to breathe the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth; my first sound was a cry, as is true of all…..there is for all one entrance into life, and one way out.” ﹙Wis 7：1，3，6﹚ Since life is so short, wisdom points out the idea of the foolish: “Come therefore, let us enjoy the good things that exist, and make use of the creation to the full as in you…..Let none of us fail to share in our revelry; everywhere let us leave signs of enjoyment, because this is our portion, and this our lot.” ﹙Wis 2：6，9﹚ Not only that, but they also neglect their elders, oppress the weak, and frame the righteous ﹙cf. Wis 2：8-20﹚ “For God created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity, but through the devil’s envy death entered the world, and those who belong to his company experience it.” ﹙Wis 2：23-24﹚

The author of Wisdom is convinced that God loves everything and does not hate what He has made, and if God hates anything, He will not create it. God, who loves all things that exist, cherishes all things because all things are His ﹙cf. Wis 11：25-27﹚ The book of Wisdom says, “But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, …… and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace……their hope is full of immortality.” ﹙Wis 3：1-4﹚

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Job is depicted in the book of Job as still seeing the light in spite of the darkness of pain and death. Chapters 31-41 of Job describe that Job had no intention of arguing with his friends about the causes of his suffering, when God appeared in dialogue with Job to make him understand that all creation was created by God and that the emergence of life in the universe was also created by almighty and wise God. So Job said to God in a humble manner: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’….I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you.” ﹙Job 42：2-3，5﹚ Job does not give any explanation for suffering and death, but he sees with his own eyes that he is one of the creatures, created by God, who is the source of all life, who lives in God; this is the dawn he sees in suffering. Job confessed his humility and accepted the limitations of his humanity, but God spoke to him. Thus man is no longer in bondage and can receive the truth and can relate to God and other creatures. Job realized even more that man, though limited, could see the infinity of God. One must know that God is in heaven ﹙Ecc 5：1﹚ and that He has the power of life and death. ﹙Wis 16：13﹚ However, “God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living. For he created all things that they might exist; the generative forces of the world are wholesome, and there is no destructive poison in them, and dominion of Hades is not on earth. For righteousness is immortal.” ﹙Wis 1：13-15﹚

Of all things, only man knows how to talk to God. If you pay attention to the scriptures of the Israelites, you will feel the mood of Israel in its dialogue with the Lord. At times this dialogue is joyful and grateful, but at other times is full of complaints to God. During the forty years of their nomadic life in the desert, they suffered all sorts of hardships. They searched for water and food every day and from time to time they encountered enemies, with whom they had conflicts, or even wars, and their lives were often threatened. Living in the desert made the Israelites feel more in need of unity, and they expressed their hearts and wishes in prayer. While they begged God to protect them, they complained to God “would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become booty? Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” ﹙Num 14：2-4﹚ However the experience of the desert changed their attitude to God. Psalm 90 is a typical example of Israel’s prayer. They trusted God: “Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.” ﹙Ps 90：1﹚ They felt the emptiness of life: “The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” ﹙Ps90：10﹚ They were willing to seek wisdom: “So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart.” ﹙Ps 90：12﹚ They understood the value of suffering: “Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, and as many years as we have seen evil.” ﹙Ps 90：15﹚ They asked for the Lord’s protection: “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands – O prosper the work of our hands!” ﹙Ps 90：17﹚ Although the Israelites, in the midst of many sorrows, “my tears have been my food day and night.” ﹙Ps 42：4﹚， When encountering enemies, “do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals.” ﹙Ps 74：19﹚， When feeling lonely and unsolicited, “incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.” ﹙Ps 86：1﹚ When I am weak, “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast.” ﹙Ps 22：15﹚， Their prayers were sometimes filled with peace and joy: “Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge….The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot….Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. For you do not give me up to Sheol, or let your faithful one see the Pit. You show me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” ﹙Ps 16：1，5，9-11﹚

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There is the breath of God in human beings. Nevertheless, the Bible affirms that man is not God; there is a great difference between man and God. “Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” ﹙Genesis 2：7﹚ It is a great mystery that God makes man different from other animals, and only man can share in God’s “breath of air”. Man is made of dust on the one hand, but on the other hand he is similar to God. Man must wake up to his own nature. “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” ﹙Genesis 1：27﹚ What kind of man resembles God? The first chapter of Genesis describes God’s creation, from the first to the fifth day, God created the sky, the sea, the land, the flora and fauna... After all this, on the sixth day He created man, which means that man is above all things. “God said: Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ﹙Genesis 1：26﹚ Before God created man, he had set his own plan: he would create man in his own image, and he would have man rule over heaven and earth. Heaven is the master of the earth, and He gives man the authority to rule over it. God blesses man even more, asking him to procreate and multiply and fill the earth. All the vegetables, fruits and animals on the ground were fed by God ﹙cf. Genesis 1：28-30﹚ Therefore, man should understand clearly his own identity. Man is a steward, never a dictator, for everything is a gift from God, and totalitarianism is not a portrait of God, for God does not rule over man and does not use him to suit his own whims. God ‘will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep’ ﹙Isaiah 40：11﹚， and “save humans and animals alike”. ﹙Ps 36：7﹚ In this regard, man is also to shepherd the earth like God, so that all creatures may exert their instincts and attain the unity of the beginning of creation. Man should admit that in the course of history, many times man mistakenly believes that he is the ruler of the earth, and abuses it at will, making the earth no longer suitable for life. The above is very much in line with the environmental spirit advocated today.