Origins The Book of Genesis 1-11

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OriginsThe Book of Genesis 1-11

• By Chaplain Ron McCants

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Six Days of Forming and Filling
God beginning heavens and earth formless,
uninhabitable, watery, darkness, hovering Spirit
4 filled with lights 5 filled with fish
birds 6 filled with beasts, man

• 1 light
• 2 water/skies
• 3 dry land w/plants

Thus, heavens and earth completed
and all their hosts. 21
Notice all these created things were also
Egyptian gods. First laws of covenant God alone,
no other gods, no idols. Compare Gen 1 order to
Deut 415-19 (Gen 1 in reverse)
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Cosmic Origins Genesis 1-2The Literary World
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Literary History Four Sources in the Pentateuch
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Timeline
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• The Yahwist deals with the character flaws,
  blatant sins, of the main characters. He exposes
  
• the lie of Abraham when he tells Pharaoh that
  Sarah is his sister (Genesis 1210-20)
• the underhanded deceit of Jacob in tricking Esau
  and Laban (Genesis 27 30-31)
• the dastardly trick of Simeon and Levi in killing
  the Shechemites (Genesis 34)

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• The Elohist had a special interest in the faith
  and obedience of the covenant people. He was
  concerned that the people be obedient first of
  all to God.
• The Elohist is fond of using repetitions when God
  is calling someone, for example, "Abraham,
  Abraham" (Genesis 22) and "Moses, Moses" (Exodus
  3). And the preferred response is "I'm here".

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• D (Deuteronomist) mostly found in Deuteronomy.
  Some scholars contend that it is the oldest of
  the four sources during the time of King Kezekiah
  and/or King Josiah of the Southern Kingdom.

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• P deals more with formal religion and worship,
  the priesthood and its regulations, genealogies,
  and sacrificial practices in short, everything
  that enabled the community to maintain a right
  relationship with God and retain its identity in
  the face of changing times.

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Note Table 3.1

• The apparent parallels between Genesis 1 and the
  Babylonian Creation Epic (Enuma Elish) on page 54

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The Communal OriginsGenesis 2-3

• Catalyst The serpent tempts the woman.
• Rebellion The woman and man eat the forbidden
  fruit.
• Confrontation The man and woman hide, but the
  LORD finds and confronts them.
• Rationalization The man blames the woman ( and
  by implication, God ) the woman blames the
  serpent.
• Result (alienation) The harmony of humankind
  with the creator and with nature, and the harmony
  of male and female, is broken.

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Christian theologian, Saint Augustine (354-430
C.E.)

• Christian doctrine Original Sin. The view that
  sin is inherited by all subsequent humans after
  Adam and Eve.

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Class Assignment

• On Page 71 Read Genesis 3 The Garden of Eden
• Divide into three groups.
• Give presentation of statement and answers in
  class.
• Group a. Focus on the portrayal (read the
  rest and answer questions)
• Group b. Some readers take the story literally
  (read the rest and answer questions)
• Group c. Some feminist readers reject the story
  (read the rest and answer questions)
• Be prepared to discuss in class.
• Each student will turn in a written response to
  questions that pertain to his or her group.