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Getting Started with Genesis

by Lauren Stouffer and Ted Hildebrandt
Copyright © 2012

Introduction to TANAK and Torah

The Old Testament, as it is commonly referred to in the Christian
community, is a collection of canonical texts that were revealed to the Jewish
people. Among Jews, the Old Testament is often called the TANAK, a name
which defines the texts in relation to their genres rather than defining them in
relation to the New Testament. The term TANAK refers to the three parts of the
Hebrew Bible: the Torah (“law,” Gen – Deut), the Nebi’im (“prophets”; former
prophets, Joshua-2 Kings; later prophets, Isaiah-Malachi), and the Ketubim
(“writings,” Psalms, Prov et al.).
The Torah is also referred to as the Pentateuch (Greek for “five books;”
Gen-Deut). The title Torah is the Hebrew word meaning “teaching” or
“instruction,” and as such, these books provide a record of God’s initial contact
with humankind, including his specific promises to the Hebrew people leading up
to the covenant relationship that he established with them at Sinai.
Jews and Christians throughout history have believed that Moses wrote the
Torah sometime between 1400 and 1200 BC. In addition to the fact that much of
the material in Exodus through Deuteronomy relates directly to Moses’ life, the
text itself refers to Moses in connection to both the oral reception of revelation
(Exod 3:4,14f; 6:27; 14:25; Lev 1:1; 13:1; 27:1; Deut 5:4ff; etc.) and the actual
writing of the books (Exod 17:14; 24:4, 7; 34:27; Lev 4:1, Num 33:2; Deut 31:9,
19, 22, 24, etc.). Rabbinic material, the ancient Jewish historian Josephus, and
Jesus (John 1:17) accept Mosaic authorship of the Torah.
This traditional view of authorship came into question during the 19th
century. Julius Wellhausen suggested that the Pentateuch, instead of being a
unified collection of documents written by Moses, was instead an edited collection
of four separate source documents. Wellhausen’s documentary hypothesis, also
known as the JEDP1 theory, suggested that the books of the Pentateuch were
written between 850 and 400 BC from four separate sources and later collected
and edited into the present Torah. The debate over the authorship of the
Pentateuch continues to this day.

Introduction to Genesis
Genesis is a book of beginnings. Its original Hebrew title, Bereshit,
translated “in the beginning,” is the opening word of the book, of the Torah, and of
the entire Bible. The name “Genesis,” Greek for “beginning” or “origin,” came
into use ca. 250-100 BC when the Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek, a
translation that became known as the Septuagint,2 often referred to as the LXX.
The material in Genesis provides a foundation for God’s subsequent revelation to
humankind, so a good understanding of the themes, issues, and significance of this
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book of beginnings will be an important resource for anyone seeking to come to a

greater understanding of God and of the biblical text.

The Book of Genesis

Genesis, the first book of the Torah, is made up of both narrative and poetic
material. The first 11 chapters provide a universal history of human civilization
before narrowing the focus in chapter twelve to Abraham and his descendants,
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
Structurally, Genesis seems to be broken down into ten sections punctuated
by the word toledot3 (“the account of” e.g. Gen 2:4). In this literary structure,
each list of generations divides the narrative and provides a transition into the next
section.

Content
Chapters 1-11: Universal History
Genesis opens with God’s creation, forming and filling of the universe in
the seven days of creation, culminating with the creation of humankind. This
creation account emphasizes God’s unique and all-powerful nature in the face of
the polytheism prevalent in other ancient near eastern cultures. Adam and Eve,
created in the image of God (the imago Dei), live and work in the Garden of Eden,
partaking freely from the Tree of Life (ch. 2). However, the serpent deceives them
into disobeying God’s instruction not to eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge
of Good and Evil. As a result of their disobedience, Adam and Eve are dismissed
from the garden paradise of Eden, and curses are leveled on the serpent, the
woman, and the man (ch. 3). Spiraling down from the fall of humankind to Cain
killing his brother Abel (ch. 4), then to the flood and Noah’s deliverance on the
ark (chs. 6-9) and the scrambling of languages at the tower of Babel (ch. 11), the
first chapters of Genesis are universal in scope.
Several of the stories in the opening chapters of Genesis have parallels in
other ancient Near Eastern cultures. Notably, Mesopotamian accounts of the
creation (the Enuma Elish,4 Atra-hasis5) and the flood (the Gilgamesh Epic6)
contain striking parallels to the biblical accounts. However, the stories in Genesis
are unique in that they describe an all-powerful, wise, moral God while the
Mesopotamian accounts describe chaotic battles and licentious behavior on the
part of numerous deities. Thus, while literary parallels do exist, the biblical
accounts are unique in their understanding of God and his relation to humankind.

Chapters 12-50: The Patriarchal Narratives

The second part of the book of Genesis shifts its focus away from
humankind in general and focuses specifically on Abraham and his descendants.
God promises Abraham three things in a covenant: 1) that his progeny would
multiply so that he would become the father of a great nation (12:2); 2) his
descendants would possess the land of Canaan (12:7); and, 3) that through him,
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all of humankind will be blessed (12:3). As Abraham’s life unfolds, his dynamic
relationship with God is displayed through his struggles for an heir in light of his
wife Sarah’s barrenness (chs. 15-16, 21), the birth of Ishmael by his handmaid
Hagar (ch. 16), his interceding for his nephew, Lot, who narrowly escapes the
destruction of Sodom (ch. 18), and his demonstration of faith through his
willingness to sacrifice his special son, Isaac, at God’s request (ch. 22).
The narrative continues with the story of Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, and
their twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Although Jacob is the younger brother, God
chooses Jacob over Esau before their birth (25:23). Jacob later buys the birthright
from Esau (ch. 25) and tricks his blind elderly father, Isaac, into giving him the
blessing intended for Esau (ch. 27). This results in Jacob fleeing Esau’s vengeance
to Bethel on his way to Haran the family’s ancestral home. It is at Bethel that
Jacob meets God for himself and dreams of a stairway to heaven often designated
as Jacob’s ladder (ch. 28). It is at Bethel that God reiterates the covenant to Jacob.
Jacob then travels to Haran and stays there for 20 years. In Haran, Jacob works 7
years for his uncle Laban in order to secure the marriage to Laban’s daughter
Rachel. The trickster Jacob is tricked by Laban into marrying Leah before he is
permitted to marry his beloved Rachel. Jacob, his wives Leah and Rachel, and his
two concubines give birth to the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israel.
As Jacob returns to the promised land, he wrestles with God at Peniel
(“face of God”). He is crippled in the divine encounter and terrified at the prospect
of meeting his brother Esau after 20 years of separation. His name is changed
from Jacob (meaning “heel-grabber”/“deceiver”) to Israel (meaning “struggles
with God,” ch. 32). Rachel, after having Joseph, Jacob’s favored son, dies giving
birth to Benjamin just outside Bethlehem.
Jacob’s favored son Joseph is the focus for much of the remainder of
Genesis. He struggles having been sold into slavery by his own brothers. He is
later thrown into prison as a result of resisting the advances of Potiphar’s wife (ch.
39) yet the Lord was with him. After interpreting the Pharaoh’s dreams he winds
up second in command over all of Egypt as the one organizing the storage and
rationing of food during a severe 7 year famine (chs. 37-41).
The aged Jacob comes to Egypt to be received by Joseph. Jacob
pronounces a prophetic blessing on his 12 sons representing the 12 tribes of Israel.
Judah is specially designated as the one who would receive the royal scepter of
kingship (ch. 49). When the book of Genesis ends, Joseph’s brothers and their
descendants have settled in Egypt. Jacob’s body is transported back to the cave of
Machpelah where his fathers had been buried near Hebron. Joseph is embalmed
with the promise that when Israel leaves Egypt they will carry his bones out with
them. Their story is continued in the book of Exodus when, 400 years later, the
mighty hand of God would bring them out their slavery in Egypt under the
leadership of Moses.
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Key Theological Themes

The material found in Genesis provides a foundation for the remainder of
the biblical history of redemption. Several important themes introduced in
Genesis and developed throughout Scripture are worth noting, especially in light
of contemporary debates related to care for the environment and the meaning of
human life.

Anthropology
The book of Genesis is the foundation for theological beliefs relating to the
meaning of our purpose within God’s created order. Our understanding of
ourselves as beings created in the image of God (imago Dei; 1:26f) and charged
with having dominion over God’s creation (1:28) will greatly impact our views on
many modern political, social, and ecological issues. The ability of human beings
to make choices and then be responsible for the consequences begins with Adam
and Eve’s choice in the garden, continues with Abram’s choices to leave Ur and
offer up Isaac and concludes the book with the brothers having to face the
malevolent choices they made against Joseph.

Theology
Israel was unique among cultures in the ancient world due to the Israelite
belief in one God. Indeed, the most important verse in Judaism known as the
Shema,7 Deuteronomy 6:4, affirms this oneness. The belief in one God is
especially evident in the creation account as God is displayed creating everything,
including the heavenly bodies which, in other ancient cultures, were considered to
be deities themselves. Monotheism, the belief in one God, is a critical theological
theme in Genesis.

Election and Choice

God’s choice of Abraham and his descendants to be set apart as a special
people is known as election. However, election of one person may result in the
rejection of another (for example, the story of Jacob and Esau: Gen. 25:23 and
Mal. 1:2-3), making election a difficult theme to engage. The nation of Israel
became the instrument through which God would reveal his word and bring
salvation to humankind, not because Israel was any better than any other group of
people, but because God chose to use Israel to accomplish his purposes. The idea
of election should be held in a delicate balance with the human ability to make
choices within a dynamic relationship with a loving God.

Covenant
God’s covenant8 (Hebrew: berith) with Abraham (ch. 12, 15), reiterated to
Isaac (ch. 26) and Jacob (ch. 28) in the Genesis narratives, becomes one of the
most important themes throughout the Bible. Through this agreement, or promise,
God manifests his character and his ultimate plan for humankind that will be
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revealed throughout history. This covenant relationship between God and the
patriarchs is focused on kingship during the time of King David and expanded
upon in the New Covenant which was instituted by Jesus. The covenant becomes
the basis for understanding Israel’s history during the period of the monarchy. The
prophets critique Israel’s unfaithfulness by bringing the covenant lawsuit against
Israel. It is a key theme throughout Scripture providing a context through which to
interpret all of human history.

Questions Raised by Genesis

The material of Genesis raises some important questions related to the way people
think about God, themselves, and the world. Think about the following questions
as you read Genesis:

1) How old is the earth? Can God create through processes? What is the relation
of science to the Bible? What does it mean to be human (chs. 1-3)? How are we to
understand human choice and consequences (ch. 3)?
2) How do we understand sin? What does the presence of sin indicate about the
need for redemption? What role do the Edenic curses play in Eden and the rest
Bible (ch. 3)?
3) Was the flood universal or local (chs. 6-8)?
4) Is it ethical that Abraham sleeps with Hagar having Ishmael (Gen 16)? How
does one understand Abraham lying about Sarah saying she is his sister (Gen 12,
20)?
5) How is the Abrahamic covenant expressed and wrestled with in Genesis and the
rest of the Bible?
6) What does the Bible say about homosexuality (ch. 18)? How does one
understand Sodom?
7) How do we understand election and free will? If God chooses and rejects
people, what kind of implications do our actions and choices have, both
temporally and eternally (ch. 25)?
8) Does the fact that Jacob had more than one wife mean that the Bible condones
polygamy (ch. 29)?
9) How do historical narratives shape our faith? What kinds of lessons can we
draw from the stories of people in the Bible? What kinds of limitations do we face
when reading historical narratives? How does one move from particular historical
narratives to universal ethical norms?
10) How are Adam, Noah and Abraham viewed and understood in the rest of
Scripture? How is patriarchal blessing of Gen 49 reflected in the futures of the 12
tribes (esp. Judah)?
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Conclusion
Genesis is, indeed, a book of beginnings. A careful reading of Genesis can
help us to better understand God’s character through its witness to his creative
power, his covenant faithfulness, and his diverse relationships with humankind.
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1
JEDP: The JEDP theory suggests that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses but rather was composed
by a series of editors. This theory argues that differences in writing styles, complexity, and vocabulary
suggest a fragmented rather than a unified book. The “J” document refers to the selection of passages
referring to God using the name Jehovah (dated ca. 850 BC), the “E” document refers to God using the
name Elohim (dated ca. 750 BC), the “D” document refers to material attributed to the Deuteronomist
writer (ca. 620 BC), and the “P” document refers to that attributed to the Priestly writer (ca. 450 BC).
2
Septuagint: After Alexander the Great conquered the Mediterranean world in the 4th century BC, Greek
became the lingua franca of that part of the world. The translation allegedly was completed by a team of 72
scholars who translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek ca. 250-100 BC, and this translation
became known as the Septuagint, or the LXX.
3
Toledot: The ten toledot in Genesis are:
 2:4—“This is the account of the heavens and the earth…”
 5:1—“This is the written account of Adam’s line…”
 6:9—“This is the account of Noah…”
 10:1—“This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth…”
 11:10—“This is the account of Shem…”
 11:27—“This is the account of Terah…”
 25:19—“This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac…”
 36:1—“This is the account of Esau…”
 36:9—“This is the account of Esau…”
 37:2—“This is the account of Jacob…”
4
Enuma Elish: The Enuma Elish is a Mesopotamian creation account describing creation of the world
coming about as a result of a conflict between two gods, Marduk and Tiamat, and the creation of
humankind for the purpose of doing the work that the gods do not want to do themselves.
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Atra-hasis: Atra-hasis is an early Sumero-Babylonian creation-flood epic myth. The gods rebel after
becoming frustrated with the work of digging canals, and a war of the deities ensues. The problem is
resolved by creating humans to do the work of the gods. The story then moves to the major characters:
Anu, god of heaven; Enlil, god of earth; Enki, god of the underworld; and Atra-hasis, a human king. Enlil,
whose sleep has been disturbed by noisy humans, seeks to destroy humankind with a flood. Meanwhile,
Enki warns Atra-hasis to build a boat in order to survive the calamity.
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Gilgamesh Epic: The Gilgamesh Epic is a Mesopotamian flood account in which Utnapishtim, tells the
story of his survival of a global flood on a large boat along with his family and pairs of animals.
7
Shema: Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” This verse is known as the
central affirmation of Judaism and establishes the basis for ethical monotheism.
8
Covenant: A covenant (Hebrew: berith) is a binding agreement between two parties. The ancient Near
Eastern covenants typically included: a preamble, historical prologue, covenant stipulations, blessings and
curses, witnesses, and provisions for the deposit and reading of the covenant. This format parallels the
Suzerainty covenants drawn up by the Hittites from 1450-1200 BC between the Hittite empire and vassal
nations. Covenants between persons or nations of equal status, known as parity covenants, also existed, but
these covenants were different in form and purpose.