Genesis: Chatpers 1 to 5

These are the pre-Noah portions of the Bible.  I read this a little more than a week before beginning this blog:

CHAPTER 1

The world is created.  It’s spoken into existence, which is an odd way of creating things.  It’s like the little kid in that one episode of Twilight Zone.  There are only six days in this chapter.  I wonder why they put Day Seven in the next chapter?  

At any rate, there is a logic to creation.  Start big and work your way small.  There are one or two oddities showing the ancient Hebrew view of the natural world.  First, light begins on Day 1, but the sun and stars don’t show up until Day 4.  (So… what is the light then?)  Also, the Hebrew (and other ancients) noticed that the seas were blue and the skies were blue, and assumed they were the same thing.  This Bible has a little picture of the ancient world’s view of nature.  You have essentially a giant dome above, and above the dome is the water in the sky & above that heaven and God.  And when it rains, the floodgates open --- they are literal gates keeping the water above the sky. 

           

The order of creation: Day 1: light, and thus dark.  Day and night are created.

           

Day 2: the sky and the seas are created.  Basically, what’s above is separated from what’s below.

           

Day 3: The earth is created and the specific seas.  By this day, the globe as we know it is in place.

           

Day 4: The stars, sun, and moon are created.  So still to be determined – what caused the light on Day 1.  This is the biggest stuff being created, but they are far away and thus more secondary to the Hebrew.

           

Day 5: Fish populate the seas and birds enter the air.

           

Day 6: Animals inhabit the land.  Oh, and then God creates man in his image and gives him dominion over all.  And though Eve is still a Chapter away, this clearly states that “male and female, he created them”

CHAPTER 2

Day 7: God rests. 

           

Then comes the story of Eden.  A few interesting things here.  First, there is a new order of creation, and it’s not quite the same.  First there’s the heavens and earth (OK, that works), but then a river, then man, and only afterwards the animals and birds.  Then Adam’s rib becomes Eve.  I guess it could be just the animals of Eden, but the Bible says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helper suited to him.  So the LORD God formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds of the air.”  It says all twice, and notes man had been alone. (And of course, Chapter 1 had woman already existing.

           

One thing Biblical scholars have noted – going back to the ancient Hebrew written language, there are two ways God is referred to in the Bible: God, and LORD God (and it’s always all capped when referred to like that: LORD God).  Biblical scholars believe there were four separate authors who wrote the Torah.  One is called the Priestly source – he handles the cubits, and begottings and the pro forma boring parts no one cares about.  Stylistically, he’s supposed to be the easiest to note, especially when reading ancient Hebrew.  Second, the guy who wrote Deuteronomy was someone completely different.  (Stay tuned: in the historical books at one point there is a noting of how they discovered a long lost holy book – it’s believed they just forged Deuteronomy then).  The other two sources can be identified a few ways, mostly by how God is referred to – LORD God or just good old fashioned God.  The belief is you had two written traditions during the divided kingdom days and when Israel fell, the priests from the north came south with their book, and they were combined.  Sometimes they two get mushed together.  That’s supposed to happen with the Flood.  Technically it happens in this chapter, as the seventh day is God and the rest is LORD GOD.

           

Essentially then, you get two different creation stories.  One has the world created in seven days.  The other has the Eden.  By and large they coexist fairly well, but you can  see the seams showing in places. 

           

Oh, apparently there is some ancient Hebrew wordplay.  The word for ground was “Adama” and God first fashions man out of the dust of the ground – Adam from adama. 

CHAPTER 3 

Huh.  A talking snake.  The Bible isn’t too big on talking animals, but here you get one.  I know common theology, at least Christian theology, is that it’s Satan, but the Bible just say snake.  And in fact God specifically condemns the snake to crawl on its belly and be stepped on by people for what it had done. 

           

There is more ancient Hebrew word play at work.  The notes in my Catholic Bible say the ancient Hebrew word for cunning/wise is “arum” which apparently similar or the same as the word for naked.  So Adam and Even eat from the Tree of Knowledge to gain wisdom and instead learn they are naked. 

           

Adam doesn’t come off too well in this story.  God comes and he hides.  Then God asks what happened and he totally throws Even under the bus: “The woman whom you put here with me, she gave me fruit from the tree.”  How passive.

           

Eve gets her punishment – labor pains.  Also, it’s made clear than man shall rule over woman. Adam also gets his punishment – farming.  Yeah, farming.  No more will it be easy to get food from the ground.  Hard toil will be required. 

           

Then God makes them clothing.  I just love that – I get the image of God with a sewing machine or something.  Really, God is all over the place here.  He’s walking in the garden.  He’s making clothing.  He actually seems a little skittish around man, saying that, “The man has become like one of us” and worried that if man eats from the tree of life he’ll become immortal, and thus he banishes man from Eden.  Not quite an equal relationship, but there’s a fear of man rising to God’s level.  Also: who is “us” there God?  This some sort of lingering remnant of polytheism?  (God was the God of the Hebrew and only eventually later became THE one and only God of all.  There are other traces of other gods in the Bible, from the pharaoh’s priest’s staff turning to a snake, to Saul consulting a witch to see Samuel, to David having a household idol to stick in his bed when he escapes.

           

Oh, and Eve isn’t named until after the eating incident. The Hebrew word for Eve is “hawwa” and is related to the word “hay” which meant living – thus she’s mother of all living creatures.

CHAPTER 4

Cain and Abel.  This is a pretty powerful story.  This is really well done:  “Am I my brother’s keeper?”  “What have you don’t? Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground?”  There’s a lot of emotion packed into a short space.

           

Apparently God is no vegetarian.  Both Abel and Cain give offerings to the Lord – Abel has flocks and Cain farms.  Cain gives fruit and Abel some carcass parts.  “The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.”  So God prefers meat.  Well good for him.  But again – you get an intensely personal relationship between people and God here.  Later when offerings are given, you won’t have God personally give a sense of his dis/pleasure or not.

           

The mark of Cain is apparently a mark of protection.  That’s not how it’s referred to in mass culture, but that’s how it’s here in the Bible.  Cain’s afraid he’ll be killed by others, but the mark is to protect him.  Still to be determined: killed by whom?  There aren’t many people alive yet.  Cain goes off to found the first city.  How?  There aren’t any people yet.  If nothing else, having the first murderer found the first city shows a clear agricultural preference. 

           

And then when get Cain’s descendents, which would be more interesting if I knew this line ends with the flood.  His great-great-great-great-grandkids become important figures.  One is the ancestor of all who dwell in tents and keep livestock.  Another is the founder of all musicians. Another is the ancestor of all who forge bronze and iron instruments. Back then, you got your job from your dad.  So I guess these guys begin those acts, and they’re kept around after the blood kills the whole line of Cain.

           

Oh, and more Hebrew wordplay.  The Hebrew name for Cain is “Qayin” and the word “Qaniti” means I have produced, which explains whey Eve says she’ll name him Cain because “I have produced a male child.” Seth is close to the word “sath” meaning “to replace” which is why Eve names him Seth saying “God has granted me another offspring in the place of Abel.”

CHAPTER 5

Begetting time. A timeline for the first 10 generations (note: all math done with paper and pencil - too lazy to do anything real, I guess).

Year 0: Adam born (Generation 1)

Year 130: Seth born (Generation 2)

Year 235: Enosh born (Generation 3)

Year 325 Kenan born (Generation 4)

Year 395 Mahalel born (Generation 5)

Year 460 Jared born (Generation 6)

Year 622 Enoch born (Generation 7)

Year 687 Methuselah born (Generation 8)

Year 874 Lamech born (Generation 9)

Year 930 Adam dies at age 930 (Generation 1)

Year 987 God takes Enoch at age 365 (Generation 7)

Year 1042 Seth dies at age 912 (Generation 2)

Year 1056 Noah born (Generation 10)

Year 1140 Enosh dies at age 905 (Generation 3)

Year 1235 Kenan dies at age 910 (Generation 4)

Year 1290 Mahalel dies at age 895 (Generation 5)

Year 1422 Jared dies at age 962 (Generation 6)

Year 1556 Shem, Ham, and Japeth born (Generation 11)

Year 1651 Lamech dies at age 777 (Generation 9)

Year 1656 Methuselah dies at age 969 (Generation 8)

It mostly goes in order.  The ages are completely unbelievable.  It takes Noah 500 years to have kids – that way all his ancestors can be dead when the flood comes.  I guess he has triplets though, as his three sons are all born the same year.

           

Then there’s Enoch, who walked with God for 300 years before “God took him.”  Nothing about dying, just God taking him.  That’s interesting. 

Click here for the next batch of chapters.