Creation, Creation, Creation
This Week
- Who wrote the Bible?
- Is God majestically transcendent or intimately immanent, otherworldly or within our very selves?
- Did fallen angels really procreate with humans?
- How many of each animal did Noah actually take on the ark?
- Like/Follow: https://www.facebook.com/OutOfTheWhirlwind
First, a Proverb (because the only way to digest them is in bite-size portions).
Proverbs 1:1-6 (SAAS translation, from the Orthodox Study Bible)
1 The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David,
Who reigned in Israel,
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
And to understand words of discernment;
3 To receive both subtlety of words,
And to understand true righteousness and upright judgment;
4 So as to give astuteness to the simple,
And both perception and understanding to a young man;
5 For a wise man who hears these things will be wiser,
And the man of understanding will gain direction.
6 He will understand both a parable and a hidden saying,
Both wise words and riddles.
Epoch One—Before the Patriarchs (Creation–2000 B.C.)
These chapters deal with “pre-history”–the thousands of years of human history that preceded the invention of writing. There are a few different ways to approach this.
You could take the skeptical approach: how could someone 5 to 10 centuries before Christ have any idea what happened thousands of years before their time? These are just myths, no more reliable than the Gilgamesh Epic or Hesiod’s Theogony.
You could take the conservative “simple faith” approach: this was hand-written by Moses who was given divine inspiration to know things he could not have possibly known by natural means.
Or you could approach it the way I do as a scholar who believes in and loves the God whom Jesus called “Father.” It is important that we not impose 21st-century American expectations upon Hebrew and Greek texts penned 2000-3000 years ago. In general, we should cautiously accept the best answers biologists, archaeologists, historians, and other scientists can give us regarding matters of fact. At the same time, if God could create the universe out of nothing, then all things are possible. Matters of truth, then, may safely yield to faith. There can be miracles … when you believe!
(https://youtu.be/NieC8KA0EvI)
I’m sure most of you have seen it, but when we get to Exodus, you’re definitely going to want to watch The Prince of Egypt (https://amzn.to/2MiBbkD).
Days 1-2
Genesis 1:1-4:26
Before we get into the text, take a moment to check out Terrence Malick’s beautiful visualization of Creation:
(https://youtu.be/KkvVZYnoxYs)
[From Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life]
Watch entire film here:
https://amzn.to/3oanpyI
In my previous post, I introduced the concept of source criticism, which seeks to uncover layers of tradition behind the final Biblical text. The general consensus among Biblical scholars is that Genesis through Deuteronomy is a patchwork of at least four sources: the Jahwist (a 9th century BC document written in the southern kingdom of Judah), the Elohist (from the northern kingdom of Israel), Deuteronomistic Historians (a later prophetic tradition), and the Priestly tradition. For more on these sources, refer to my next post: “Old Testament Overview.” Why is this important? Distinguishing among these sheds light on the apparent contradictions and sudden shifts in tone we will find throughout these first five books. We get a perfect example here at the very beginning of our study.
Genesis opens with two accounts of Creation. Chapter 1 – 2:4 comes from the Priestly source. The rest of chapter 2 through chapter 4 comes from the Jahwist. There are two very different views of God at play here, but as Friedman points out, “the combining of the sources produced a work that is greater than the sum of its parts.”
The P creation story begins with “the skies and the earth” (1:1) whereas the J story begins [2:4] with “earth and skies,” reversing the order. … [F]rom their very first words, the sources reflect their perspectives. P is more heaven-centered, almost a picture from the sky looking down, while J is more human-centered (and certainly more anthropomorphic), more like a picture from the earth looking up.
The more transcendent conception of God in P merges with the more personal conception in J, and the result is: the Five Books of Moses in its final form now conveys a picture of God who is both the cosmic God and the “God of your father.” And that combined conception of the deity who is both transcendent and personal has been a central element of Judaism and Christianity ever since.
This may also help to explain P‘s preference for the majestic “Elohim” or “El Shaddai” and J‘s use of God’s personal name, YHWH, throughout his account.
Days 3-4
Genesis 5:1-6:22
Now, compare Malick’s Creation sequence with Darren Aronofsky’s:
(https://youtu.be/FFCXHr8aKDk)
[From Darren Aronofsky’s Noah]
Watch the whole film here:
https://amzn.to/3nd1tBA
If you’ve seen the film, you may have wondered, “What’s with these ‘Watcher’ creatures? I don’t remember that in the Bible!” Well, there are hints of something like this in the Bible, but keep in mind that Noah is not a straight adaptation from Genesis. Aronofsky also used 1 Enoch as a source. What is 1 Enoch? It’s a book that circulated among the Jews a couple hundred years before Christ and is included in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church’s Old Testament. It is actually referenced in the New Testament by Jude, the brother of Jesus: “Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment … .'” (v. 14, ESV). This is a direct quote of 1 Enoch 1:9 which itself is alluding to Deuteronomy 33:2: “YHWH came from Sinai, … [with] ten thousands of the holy” (Friedman). The Septuagint version adds that “on his right hand were his angels with him. And he spared his people” (LXX2012).
So back to these Watchers: where are they in the Bible? The term is used in Daniel 4 where angels are called “holy ones” and “watchers.” God’s intention for the Watchers may be explained in Deuteronomy 32:8-9 which seems to suggest that God assigned patron or guardian angels over each of the nations (keeping Israel for Himself).
1 Enoch has a section called “The Book of the Watchers.” These are the creatures Aronofsky depicted as beings of light encrusted with earth. In Jewish and Christian tradition, they are the “sons of Elohim” who fathered the “Nephilim” (which means either those who “Fell” their foes in battle, or those who themselves are “Fallen”). With all this for context, let us now turn to our reading for the day, Genesis 5:1-6:22. This entire section is Priestly except for 6:1-8 where we read, “The Nephilim were in the earth in those days and after that as well, when the sons of God came to the daughters of humankind, and they gave birth by them. They were the heroes who were of old, people of renown.” (Genesis 6:4, Friedman)
So, at least in the Jahwist account, we have a tradition that angelic beings actually impregnated human women, creating a race of mighty demigods who were in the land prior to the flood and “after that as well.”
Days 5-8
Genesis 7:1-11:32
Did Noah bring one pair of each animal into the ark (Genesis 6:19) or seven (7:2-3)?
Genesis 7:2-3 is from the Jahwist. Here, Noah brings seven pairs of “pure” animals into the ark so he may offer sacrifices to YHWH without entire species going extinct. After the flood, the Jahwist tells us that “Noah built an altar to YHWH, and he took some of each of the pure animals and of each of the pure birds, and he offered sacrifices on the altar” (8:20).
But in the Priestly tradition, sacrifices are only allowed to be performed by priests in the Tabernacle. So, until we get to Moses and Aaron, the Priestly material will not acknowledge any acts of animal sacrifice. In fact, the Priestly view held that humanity was vegetarian until chapter 9, after the flood, when God declares: “every creeping animal that is alive will be yours for food” (Friedman’s translation). Notice, there is no distinction here between pure and impure. Accordingly, in the Priestly version of the story, Noah only brings one pair of each animal onto the ark (6:19).
If anything in this week’s post was interesting to you, please share it with a friend.
In my next post, I’ll address the question of who wrote the Bible and why we should care, followed by a brief overview of Old Testament history. You’ll learn the origins of the main Pentateuchal sources and their distinguishing characteristics.
Next Week
Days 9-10
Genesis 12:1-15:21 begins the Abram cycle. This section comes mostly from the Jahwist with Priestly interjections at 12:4b-5, 13:6, 13:12a, and 15:13-17a. According to Friedman, however, chapter 14 lacks characteristic signs of any of the main sources and is probably a unique unknown source.
Days 11-12
Genesis 16:1-20:18 brings us the birth of Ishmael. Chapters 16, 18, and 19 are Jahwistic except for 19:29. 16:15 through all of chapter 17 are Priestly. Chapter 20 is our first exposure to the Elohist.
Days 13-16
Genesis 21:1-24:67 introduces Isaac. For the first time we have all three sources (J, E, P) interweaving. The Jahwist account includes chapter 21 verses 1a, 2a, and 7; chapter 22 verses 20-24; and all of chapter 24. The Elohist is responsible for 21:6 and 21:8-22:19, though Friedman credits the Redactor of the Old Epic (RJE) with 22:11-16. The remaining verses (21:1b, 21:2b-5, and all of chapter 23) are Priestly.