Introduction to Genesis

Meaning: “origin” or “birth” Content: ---how the world and the human race came into existence ---how humans first disobeyed God ---how God began to establish a special relationship with a series of chosen men and their families: Noah  Abraham  Isaac  Jacob  Joseph

Significance of Genesis

Time of redaction: 5th BCE —a period when the people of Judah were in exile in Babylon.

Genesis as an attempt to consolidate Jewish identity in the midst of an alien culture

After Reading

Outline of Genesis

I. (chap. 1-11): creation history

God’s creation of the world and of humankind, and the development of human society Human beings occupy center stage in this account God’s anger at humanity: ---expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden ---the flood: reversal of the creation ---destruction of the Tower of Babel

I. (chap. 1-11): creation history

Noah has found favor in God’s eyes.  a new beginning  God’s declaration of his commitment to the people of Israel  humanity in Genesis

II. (chap. 12-50): stories of four men and their family God’s promise to Abraham: a positive covenant builds on the merely negative promise after the flood Now there is a purpose in history: other people will be blessed through the people of Israel, who are chosen for a particular close relationship with God.

God’s covenant fulfilled in unexpected ways The pattern of exile from home: Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers must leave the land of their fathers, deferring the hope of a settled home in the promised land.

 The pattern recalls the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.

God’s covenant fulfilled in unexpected ways The strife between family members, especially brothers The theme of the triumph of a younger brother over an elder  These recall the story of Cain and Abel

God’s power

Repeatedly, we see God’s covenant fulfilled in unexpected ways, revealing his power and his surpassing of merely human expectations .

A literary reading of Genesis

God: the most vivid and complex character of the book of Genesis ---enjoying an evening stroll through a cool garden ---willing to scheme and make deals ---having his particular friends and his favorites ---capable of emotions: pleasure, hope, anger, regret

A literary reading of Genesis

Human characters are also strikingly vivid: ---of intense feelings ---relationships, loves, hatreds, fears, and desires are evoked in compelling detail.

A literary reading of Genesis

Simple language with complex meanings: ---We often seem to be invited to ponder several possible layers of meaning in what people say.

---Reasons for these preferences seem to exist, but they are often deeply hidden.

A literary reading of Genesis

Jacob (renamed Israel) as a fully human, rounded, believable character: ---presented in fascinatingly un-idealized terms

A literary reading of Genesis

The symbolic meaning of Joseph’s dreams: ---a middle ground between internal and external world: a) internal: his state of mind, his hopes for greatness b) external: God has favored him and will set him above his brothers

Joseph as prototype priests & prophets He can discern divine purpose in the signs that remain mysterious to ordinary humans.

A bridge to the book of Exodus: ---The Hebrew people will need long-term faith in God and in their destiny to survive the years of exile.

Hospitality

Hospitality plays an essential part in the value structure of the text. It is often through human hospitality that God’s plan can succeed: Abraham