Creation Narratives

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Creation Narratives

• Genesis 11-23
• How to Study the Bible
• March 9, 2008

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To get us thinking

• What are some challenges we face when it comes to
  interpreting this portion of Scripture?
• What are some interpretations you have heard for
  this passage?

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Some challenges

• We dont read Hebrew.
• Were not familiar with ancient Near Eastern
  literature and culture.
• Current scientific theory postulates that the
  earth is billions of years old and that life took
  billions of years to evolve.
• Some see Gen. 1 as a litmus test.

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So we must ask

• How are we to understand Genesis when it comes to
  the number of days in Gods creative work?
• How are we to understand the meaning of this
  passage?

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A few interpretations of the week of Creation

• The Reconstruction Theory
• The Concordist Interpretation
• The Literal Interpretation
• The Literary Interpretation

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Reconstruction Theory

• The 6 days in Genesis are not days of creation
  but days of reconstruction.
• God was restoring Creation after a huge disaster.
• Disaster occurred between verses 1 and 2. Gap
  theory.
• Something made the earth formless and empty.

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Arguments for

• And the earth became formless and empty. vs.
  Now the earth was formless and empty.
• Interpret the presence of darkness to mean that
  evil came into the world.
• Evidence death of animals in fossil record
  before human beings.
• Evil attributed to the revolt of Satan (Isaiah
  142-3 and Ezekiel 2811-19)

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Arguments against

• Biblical theology asserts the fall of Satan, but
  we do not have the details.
• This probably shouldnt be a key part of our
  understanding of Creation.
• Satan is nowhere mentioned in the text.
• Chaos and darkness do not have to be the result
  of evil or catastrophe.
• Overall not enough indications in the text to
  point us in this direction.

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Condordist Interpretation

• The days in Genesis represent the eras seen in
  geology and science rather than 24 hour days.

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Arguments for

• Argument centers on the word for day (yom).
  Usually means 24 hour day yet can mean an
  indefinite or considerable length of time.
• Evidence the seventh day doesnt end.
• Seems to be responsible to both revelation and
  knowledge acquired (science).

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Arguments against

• The passage doesnt seem to allow us to define
  yom as eras - the use of morning/evening markers
  for each day.
• Problems with scientific details
• Trees (day 3) precede marine life (day 5)
• Birds (day 5) precede insects (day 6).
• Creation of sun/moon/stars on 4 days, after the
  earth had vegetation, even after trees.

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Literal Interpretation

• The days are taken in the ordinary sense.
• Narrative aims to give us the chronology of the
  work of creation.
• History in the simple sense (modern sense).

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Arguments for

• No indications in the text of figurative
  language.
• Assert that the Word emptied of its power when
  not taken literally.
• Creationism - argue for a young earth and a
  flood that explains geological phenomenon and
  fossils.
• Can always fall back on miracle of Creation.

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Arguments against

• Does not seriously take into account the genre of
  Genesis 1.
• Does not seriously take into account the ancient
  Near Eastern context.
• Difficulty reconciling Genesis 1 with Genesis 2
  (humanity then plant life).

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Literary Interpretation

• The week is an artistic arrangement - not to be
  taken literally.
• Authors intention is not to provide us with a
  chronology of creation.
• Authors main interest is to provide a theology
  of the Sabbath and other crucial themes using
  this literary device.

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Literary Interpretation

• Overcomes a variety of problems
• Interprets the ordinary days within a larger
  figurative whole.
• Differences between Gen 1 2 no longer a
  problem.
• Delay in the creation of stars not an issue.
• Scientific version of the past does not challenge
  or confront this interpretation.

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However

• Just because this interpretation overcomes a
  variety of problems does not mean we should
  support it.
• We should only support an interpretation if the
  text leads us in that direction.
• Genre and style of Genesis 1. Ancient near
  eastern culture.

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Genre

• Reading contract between writer and reader.
• Communicated through form and content.

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Genre and communicating truth

• Truth located only in algebraic formulas or
  Western-style history?
• A lot of poetry in the Bible - Psalms, Prophets.
• Authors choose the genre that would make their
  message memorable and compelling.

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Form of Genesis 1

• Lots of repetition
• and God said (10)
• let there be (8)
• and it was so (7)
• and God saw that x was good (7)
• Some form of naming or blessing (5)
• there was evening, and there was morning (6)

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Form of Genesis 1

• We usually associate this type of repetition with
  poetry.
• Yet this is not the ancient Hebrew poetry we
  usually find (Ex 15).
• But this is also not a straight narrative, cf.
  Gen 2.
• Composite genre - poetic narrative?

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Form of Genesis 1

• Opening sentences can act as a table of contents
  - telling us what to expect.
• Gen 12 the earth was formless and empty.
• We need to look for instances where God brings
  structure and fills voids.

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Form of Genesis 1

• Days 1-3 and 4-6 are correlated.
• Days 1-3 days of giving form to what was
  formless - separation.
• Days 4-6 days of filling the newly created empty
  forms - adornment.
• Progression from heaven to earth.
• Climatic activity is prep of the land for
  humanity.

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Form of Genesis 1
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Form of Genesis 1

• Highly detailed and stylized
• Cautions us against taking the account too
  literally - points towards the week being used as
  a literary device.

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Content of Genesis 1

• 24 hour period - 12 hour working period from
  morning to evening
• Day (yom) - ordinary sense - evening/morning
  markers.

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Form Content

• Truth claims are probably more theological and
  historical (in the modern sense)

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Gen1 in Ancient Near East

• What are the issues a 2nd millenium B.C. culture
  might be interested in?
• Who is God/gods? How does he/they related to
  creation and humanity?
• Who are we? Who is God? What is our
  relationship to God and to our world?

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Ancient Near East

• Babylonian - humans made to do menial labor for
  the gods.
• Egyptian - uncertain.
• The idea of humans bearing Gods image found only
  in Egypt and Genesis 1.
• Humanity (Gen) vs. King (Egypt).
• Increasing order in other narratives.
• Difference Yahweh is in command.

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Purpose of the week as literary device

• Theology of Sabbath woven into the theological
  fabric of creation and existence.
• Two peaks of Creation - humanity and Sabbath.
• Humanity as crown of creation.
• But Sabbath as supreme goal of creation.

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Theological implications

• Human beings are the image-bearers of God with a
  commission as stewards.
• Sabbath relativizes the works of humanity.
• Protects humans from making work the purpose and
  value of their lives.
• We can only be image-bearers of God when when our
  relationship to Creation involves intimate
  communion with the Creator.

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