Genesis“In the beginning…”

Scripture WorkshopEpiscopal Church of the Resurrection

January 14, 2009

Questions?

• What do you know about Genesis?• Who wrote it? When? Why? Where? For

whom?• What role does it play in our culture today?• What is it: History, myth, theology, fact,

parable?

Some Big Ideas with there roots (rightly or wrongly) in Genesis

• Original sin• God created us in his/her image• Creationism• Flood stories• God created men first• Sodomy is bad• Sabbath

Complex Sources• Genesis is composed of three main sources,

each of which aggregate numerous earlier sources

• Stories were told and re-told and re-intepreted and re-contextualized before and after they were written down

• Sources distinguished by style, vocabulary, perspective, name for God, and the stories they tell

• Combination creates contradictions, inconsistencies, repetition, abrupt changes

• Combined sources often difficult to separate

Earliest Sources• All of the stories that created these sources first

existed as oral traditions and over time were written.

• Some material from within Judaism, some from neighboring civilizations

• Stories with ancient middle eastern parallels include creation and the flood.

• Some characters (Nephilim) and notions of God borrow from neighboring civilizations

• Same 3 primary sources make up Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.

Yahwist (J) Source• Refers to God as Yahweh• Likely written during 10th C, during reign of David

and Solomon, though came from North• Oldest and largest source (730 verses)• God is personal and transcendent, human and

folksy. Helper and opponent• Themes: Alienation, judgment, mercy• Stories: Adam & Eve, Cain & Abel, Flood (parts),

Babel• Establishes much of Genesis’ narrative

Elohist (E) Source• Refers to God as Elohim (simply means “God”)• Likely written during 9th in North, during period of

Elijah’s activity• 336 verses• Emerged as Israel tried to merge variety of religious

trends. Defines clear covenantal relationship• Begins at Genesis 15• Much of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph sagas from E• Glosses over moral imperfections of Israelites,

emphasizes religious (vs. political) nature of Israel

Priestly (P) Source• Refers to God as El Shaddai (the Lord)• Written during 6th century, durin gthe late exilic

period.• Only has 153 verses, but forms the outline into

which J and E were inserted.• Includes first creation story and much of Genesis

1-11. Little narrative tension• Concerned with cleanliness and covenant, off

spring, land issues, names. Focuses on theological reading of covenants

• God is distant and more formal

Combined Sources• In 9th C J and E were rivals. When North fell a

redactor supplemented J with parts of E, and thus E is much less completely preserved

• Affirmed national political tone of J but permeated it with religious and ethical qualities of E

• 300 years later the writing of P and combination with J&E was probably a single process.

• Affirmed J&E religious and political tendencies and subordinated them to ritual concerns of E

• P was final editor or guide for the final editor

Narrative Blocks• First Creation Story• Second Creation Story• The Flood• Tower of Babel• Abraham Cycle– Traveling, covenant, Sodom & Gomorrah, birth of Isaac,

Sacrifice of Isaac• Jacob Cycle– Jacob & Esau, Jacob & Laban, wrestling with angel, rape of

Dinah• Joseph Story– Sold into slavery, interpreting dreams, brothers journey to

Egypt, death

Literary forms within GenesisLegendary narrativesHymns/songsLamentsLawsPriestly sayingsProphetic sayingsProverbsRulesLegal MaximsTreatiesRequests/wishesSalutationsBlessings/cursesNovellas

OathsOraclesJudgmentsCultic regulationsApprovalsrejectionsrebukesConversationsFormal speechesSermonsPrayersLettersMythsFairy Tales

ListsHistorical NarrativeBiographyOraclesSpeechesVision reportsRiddlesWisdomParablesFablesAllegories LegendsSagasAnecdotes

First Creation Story 1:1-2:4b• Before creation earth is formless, dark wasteland

and wind swept over waters• Creation takes on clear pattern:– “Let there be…”– Creation– Completes the day (Jewish days: Sunset to Sunset)

• Steps in creation– Light; separation of waters; dry land, vegetation; sun,

moon, stars; fish, birds; land animals, humans; sabbath

First Creation Story 1:1-2:4b• Priestly account: Very orderly. God is distant, not

anthropomorphic• Similarities between this story and a Babylonian

version, but it’s been re-done to reflect Israel’s theology

• Something exists before creation, but it is chaos –similar to Babylonian accounts

• Darkness was considered to be evil, and its origin is mysterious

• God creates through the spoken word – naming something signified power over it

First Creation Story 1:1-2:4b• Creation is orderly• Some repudiation of claims of other religions• Light created before sources of light• Humans are culmination of humanity• 1:26 uses “us”. Difficult to interpret• “Image”: God’s representative on earth?

Something else?• Humans created male and female in God’s image• adam means humanity in Hebrew• God is outside of the universe

Workshop Schedule

• January 14: Introduction• January 21: Creation Stories, 1:1-5:32• January 28: The Flood, 6:1-11:27• February 4: Abraham Cycle, 11:28-36:43• February 11: Stephen in Mexico• February 18: Jacob Cycle, 25:19-36:43• February 25: Joseph Story, 37:1-50:26