If you have any type of study Bible, look at the introduction to the book and note what it tells you about Genesis. You might find a basic outline of the book. The notes may also give you information such as historical dates of Genesis, the author, and other such things. You might also find commentary that provides a theological context for the book. Some of the information provided in your study Bible may be accurate; some may be less certain, and offered because the editors have a particular theological lens through which they understand Genesis.
Our study through Genesis will be gracious in many of these regards. For instance, you will not be told whether to see Creation from a “young earth” (a few thousand years old) or an “old earth” (billions of years old) point of view. Regardless of what you might hear otherwise, both of these views can be held within the Christian faith. Our approach to Genesis will attempt to focus on the questions that the book actually seeks to answer. To our example mentioned here, we prefer to see that Genesis is not so much concerned with dating the creation event, but rather that you know Who brought it to pass.
What type of work is Genesis? Understanding the nature of Genesis is important in our effort to understand the message of Genesis. The early chapters of Genesis (1-11) are a type of story known as myth. This term can cause confusion and tension, as myth in our culture conveys something untrue, like a made-up story we tell our children before bed time. This is not what is meant by myth in such ancient cultures. Myth was a traditional story used to convey truth through generations. This is especially important regarding the topic of origins, as such things lie beyond historical documentation. Understanding this can help us avoid unnecessary difficulties with the text of Genesis, like forcing the text to answer questions it wasn’t meant to answer (age of the earth, how long were the “days” of creation, etc.).
Origins. The Hebrew Bible (what we call Old Testament) is not the only document in history that seeks to give an account of origins. Many other civilizations have similar accounts: the Sumerian Eridu Genesis, the Babylonian Enuma Elish, and many others contain elements that are similar to those of Genesis, including the bringing of order out of chaos and an account of a devastating flood. What, then, would make us believe that the Hebrew account deserves primacy? A simple answer is because this is the account that eventually leads us to Jesus. If Jesus is the uniquely begotten Son of God, if his death and resurrection are true along with the implications thereof, then we have every reason to consider the scriptures of His people to be authoritative. Our faith informs us that the Creator, for reasons only of His grace and not by their merit, chose the Hebrew people to reveal Himself to the world.
To help see what the Bible holds as important, read the following passages:
– Job 38:1-11
– Isaiah 40:12, 22
– Psalm 104:1-9
– Psalm 33:6-8
These are examples of many passages in the Bible that exalt the unique creative role of God. Creation is a declaration of His power and majesty. It is this that scripture wants to emphasize. Dating creation seems to be a non-issue in scripture. Recognizing the ultimate glory of the Creator is of primary importance.
Geography. The Genesis narrative covers much ground. It begins with a garden “in the east,” often thought to be in the region of southern modern Iraq. This region, called Mesopotamia (“land between the rivers”) is the setting for the early chapters of the book. Chapter 12 moves the narrative northward, then southwest to the area known as Israel or Palestine. Before Genesis ends, the narrative ends up in Egypt.
Composition. As many study notes will indicate, Moses has been traditionally identified from Jewish and Christian perspectives as the author of Genesis, and of the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) as a whole. While this certainly is a traditional view, there are sound questions regarding the pure authorship of Moses for these works. Genesis itself is considered to contain sections that come from three different sources, known as the Priestly (P), Yahwist (J), and Elohist (E) writers. One of the most observable examples of source transition in the text is to compare Genesis 1:1-2:3 to Genesis 2:4-25. In the first section the divine name is translated as “God,” while in the second section the name is translated “the Lord God.” This is because the Hebrew used in the first section is Elohim, while in the second it is Yahweh. Such a distinction is one of many clues used in source criticism to identify different writers.
What view must we take on interpretive issues such as these? Each student will be at liberty to discover for himself or herself. Age of the earth, literal or figurative interpretation of days, Mosaic authorship: these and similar questions are non-essential to Christian faith. Energy spent defending such things would be better given to absorbing what the text of Genesis really wants us to see. And what is it that the text of Genesis wants us to see? The answer is what we will uncover in ensuing weeks.
Homework for Next Session: read Genesis chapters 1-2, the two accounts of creation.
The Winding Path 