Title: Origins The Book of Genesis 1-11
1OriginsThe Book of Genesis 1-11
2Six 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)
3Cosmic Origins Genesis 1-2The Literary World
4Literary History Four Sources in the Pentateuch
5Timeline
6- 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)
7- 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".
8- 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.
9- 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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12Note Table 3.1
- The apparent parallels between Genesis 1 and the
Babylonian Creation Epic (Enuma Elish) on page 54
13The 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.
14Christian 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.
15Class 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.