Unit 2 Lecture 1

Israel Looks at the Beginnings

Genesis is a Greek translation of the Hebrew title for this book. This Hebrew phrase means "in beginning." Genesis not only introduces the Pentateuch, or Torah, but the whole of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanak.

There are 2 major parts to the book of Genesis.

a. Chapters 1 thru 11 -- the Creation, the Fall, and the consequences of the Fall.

b. Chapters 12 thru 50 -- the patriarchs or ancestors of Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph).

Note that Chapters 37 thru 50 are sometimes viewed as a third section. These chapters tell the story of Joseph.

Genealogies and Link Stories

The common understanding is that Genesis is deliberately organized around a framework of genealogies. There are ten specific genealogies which begin with the formula "these are the generations of..." These 10 genealogies introduced in this way are:

1. the heavens and the earth

2. Adam

3. Noah

4. Noah's sons

5. Shem

6. Terah (the father of Abram/Abraham).

7. Ishmael

8. Isaac

9. Esau (This line about Esau gets repeated in 36:9).

10. Jacob

The genealogies function as a fast-forward, covering many generations in very little space. These genealogies give a sense of the book's purpose. That purpose is to answer the question "Who are the people of Israel and how are they related to all of the other peoples of the world?"

Another feature of Genesis that holds it together as a cohesive literary work is what scholars call "linked stories." Link stories are sets of stories that are very much alike. Often these link stories have different characters but they seem to act out the same set of actions. These linked groups of stories include:

1. Drunken Father and Disrespectful Children.

2. Wife-Sister Deception.

3. Endangering the Son.

4. Birth of Twins.

5. Finding a Wife at the Well.

6. Confusion of Siblings.

The Primeval History (Genesis 1-11)

The nature of this material is theological not historical or scientific. It's theological in that it speaks of God's activity in creation. It is the product of Israel's thoughts and beliefs about how the world came into being.

Israel's neighbors also had creation stories. One of the most famous stories is called the Babylonian creation epic, or Enuma Elish. This ancient poem describes how a battle between Marduk and Tiamat brought about the creation of the universe. Tiamat came at Marduk with her mouth open, intending to devour him. Marduk unleashed the four winds, who entered her mouth, blowing her up like a balloon. Then, Marduk took his sword and sliced her in half. He used the upper half of her body for the dome of the heavens and the lower half to create the earth. Marduk then killed Tiamat's latest lover, Kingu, and made human beings out of his blood. Both Genesis 1:1-2:4a and the Enuma Elish have a number of similarities. But there are also some important differences between the two stories.

Creation

There are two accounts of creation in Genesis.

1. The first creation story is located in Genesis 1:1-2:4a. This creation story is from the P source. The priestly writers were well aware of other Creation stories. They expressed the conviction that the God of Israel was the only God and the Creator of the visible universe. In the myths, the gods arose out of the creative process. In Israel's creation myth, God did not arise from Creation, God was the Creator! There is no speculation about God's beginning; Israel assumed that God was and always had been. Thus, the emphasis in Israel’s Creation story is more on God than on what was created. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (1:1) This is a summary statement of all that is to follow. God (called Elohim) is transcendent (meaning God is separated from the material universe) and powerful (meaning God speaks and things come into being). There is no struggle to bring order to chaos, but the majestic God calls things into existence. Note that certain phrases appear and reappear, for example:

"and God said,"

"God called (named),"

"God saw that it was good,"

"God made,"

"And there was evening, and there was morning."

There seems to be a conscious effort to counter the Near Eastern Creation myths.

There are some striking similarities among all these myths but also real distinctions.

2. The second creation story is located in Genesis 2:4b-2:25. The first thing to notice is that God is referred to as the "Lord God" (2:4). The Hebrew for Lord God is Yahweh Elohim. This is the Yahwistic version of Creation. It is believed that this story is much older than the more highly developed account in 1:1-2:4a. The main interest is the creation of humanity, which is placed first. The creation of the world is already assumed to have taken place. Furthermore, God's creative acts are described in human terms. The language here is anthropomorphic, that is, "to describe God in human terms." God is pictured as acting in human ways as he made human beings, talked with them, and disciplined them when they did wrong (Gen. 3).

Adam's name literally means "dust," "ground," or in Babylonian language "red." Adam is created by God from the dust of the earth and given life by the breath of God. He is not created for idleness. He is placed in the garden and given the responsibility for its cultivation (2:15). He has both privileges and responsibilities. Adam has his "dos" and "do nots." The major "do not" is "Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" (2:17). He is given power over the animals. But there is still the basic human need for companionship. So woman is created, and man is complete (2:23). Made for each other, they have nothing to hide (2:25).

Transgression (Gen. 3:1-24)

Created in God's image, their hubris ("pride or arrogance") moves them to substitute their judgment for that of God. This sense of pride underlies the appeal of the serpent to the woman when he tells her that if she eats the forbidden fruit, she will "be like God, knowing good and evil" (3:5). The forbidden fruits appeal

1. to Eve's appetite ("good for food"),

2. to her sense of beauty ("a delight to the eyes"),

3. to her sense of pride ("the desire to make one wise") (see 3:6)

The ancient writer here shows how well he understood the nature of temptation. The woman falls for the serpent's line. The man is no less gullible than the woman and falls for the same line. Suddenly, they are ashamed of what they see in each other, so they try to cover their nakedness with clothing made of leaves (3:7). Discovery of disobedience brings God's displeasure. Since humans want to be like God, they have to take the responsibility for their action. Now, they hide from God, who created humanity and gave them paradise (3:10). As a result of their disobedience they are banished from the garden and separated from God.

Notice some basic elements in this story:

*Talking animal.

*They ate of forbidden fruit and gained knowledge of good and evil.

*God does not allow them to eat of tree of life and gain immortality.

*God tosses them out and causes Eve to have pain in childbirth and domination by her husband.

*Adam forced to work.

*Work becomes burdensome and much of the joy of life is lost.

*Now humanity has costly knowledge of human mortality.

*Before they are thrown out, God clothes them.

The biblical writer here has given his view of humanity's basic problem in relation to God. Adam (humankind) wants to be God, but the Creator cannot and will not yield his unlimited authority to His Creation. Humans have been given as much power as they can handle wisely. To give them more would be disastrous to them, so limits have to be established (3:24).

Cain and Abel (Gen. 4:1-26)

The first sin creates even more disastrous consequences as its influence passes from generation to generation. Guilt and suspicion between husband and wife pay off in brother killing brother in the next generation. The murder was instigated by jealousy on Cain's part over Abel's more acceptable sacrifice. God prefers Abel's animal sacrifice to Cain's grain sacrifice. Cain murders Abel. This is first human murder. But murder will not stay hidden. The ancients believed that when a body was not properly buried, as would be usual in the case of murder, the blood of the victim would cry to God until justice was done (4:10). So, try as he might, Cain could not escape the consequence of his sin (4:13). Even so, God showed mercy by giving Cain a protective mark (4:15). But Cain's murder of Abel was only a beginning. By the time of Lamech, a great, great, great grandson of Cain, human life was so worthless that Lamech could brag, "I killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me." (4:23).

Adam's Descendants

The narrator ties the stories of Creation to the story of the Flood by "the list of the descendants of Adam" (Gen. 5). This genealogy rapidly moves the reader from Adam to Noah, like a literary fast-forward.

The Flood

There are two Babylonian flood stories that should be noticed.

1. The Epic of Gilgamesh.

2. The Atrahasis Epic.

Israel itself had at least two different flood traditions. This can be seen when one separates the passages using Lord from those using God. Each series of passages tells a story of the Flood. The two have been blended without regard to duplications. It is evident that there was an ancient belief that the marriage of divine men and human women produced a race of giants (6:4). The Israelite tradition used this as an illustration of the depths of human sinfulness. Also, the shedding of blood is especially singled out as taboo. Remember Cain and Abel. According to the Biblical narrative, God is grieved over humanity's violence. Noah had "walked with God." Noah was saved along with his three sons: Ham. Shem. Japheth. He was instructed to build an ark and what to put in it as well as how to build it from the start.

The Covenant (Gen. 9:1-17)

Noah represented a new beginning. Like Adam, he was told to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth" (9:1, 7). After the flood, God institutes the first of four biblical covenants. God made a covenant, or contract, with Noah and his descendants which said that humanity would never again be destroyed by a flood. This covenant, was initiated by God, not Noah, and was evidence of divine mercy extended to the survivors of the Flood. The covenant with Noah and his descendants is universal and "everlasting." It includes a declaration of the sacredness of life, the life of both human and animal and a divine promise never again to drown the earth (9:1-11). The pact with Noah has a "sign" which is the rainbow. It is a visible symbol of God's reconciliation with humankind.

The Tower of Babel

This is an etiological account explaining the great diversity of languages spoken in different geographical areas. When humanity, united in language and purpose, attempts to build a tower "with its top reaching heavens" and thus "make a name for [themselves]," Yahweh realizes that "nothing will be too hard for [humans] to do." Accordingly, he overthrows the tower, "confuses" their speech so that they can no longer understand each other, and scatters a linguistically divided humanity throughout the earth The Tower of Babel is another example of the problem of pride or hubris.