GENESES
[[The Hebrew name of the book is Bereshit (in the beginning). This practice of naming books after the first or one of the first words was common in ancient times. In Greek, the book is called Genesis, from the Greek word with the same meaning. The first eleven chapters are often referred to as prehistory. They describe the creation and early history of humanity. They provide fundamental answers to questions about our existence. It is God who created the universe, made the earth habitable, filled it with life, and finally created man in his own image – to care for and be responsible for creation. Everything was good until sin entered the world. At the same time, God's plan of salvation runs like a thread through the entire book, with a savior who will defeat evil already promised in Gen. 3:15. The story continues to describe how humans grow both in number and in wickedness. Prehistory culminates in the dramatic story of the flood, after which humanity once again begins to spread across the earth. After prehistory, the focus shifts to how God chooses a man and his wife, Abraham and Sarah, to become the special people God will use to bless all of humanity. We follow the drama of how the people grow in four major literary units focusing on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and finally Jacob's twelve sons. The last unit contains the unforgettable story of Joseph.The Toledot formula
The Hebrew word toledot comes from the word for “to give birth” or “to give rise to” (Hebr. jalad). The word toledot is used as a marker for a new unit. In Genesis, the toledot formula appears eleven times (Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). The Core Bible translates toledot with the phrase “continued story.” What follows the toledot formula may be a family tree or a story, but often a combination of the two is included. What they have in common is that the person whose name the toledot bears exists when the toledot begins. The story or family tree starts with him. Sometimes, as in Noah's toledot (Gen. 6:9-9:29), Noah is the main character throughout the toledot, while it is common for the person who gave the toledot its name to die at the beginning, after which the action focuses on someone he fathered, his son. This is the case, for example, in Terah's toledot (Gen. 11:27-25:11), where Terah dies five verses into the toledot, while the rest of the long toledot consists of stories about his son Abraham.
As a rule, the toledot bears a person's name, but the first toledot is called “the toledot of heaven and earth” (Gen. 2:4-4:26). Heaven and earth exist, but man has not yet been created, and from there the story continues. The second toledot is called “the toledot of Adam” in Hebrew (Gen. 5:1-6:8), which can be interpreted either as the toledot of the person Adam or the toledot of “man,” as Adam means “man” in Hebrew. The toledot begins with the creation of man and continues until the flood story begins.
The various toledot units are linked together, so that the beginning of a new unit links it to the end of the previous unit. If one is unaware of this, it may seem as if the text is unnecessarily repetitive in the “seam” between the toledot units, when in fact it is skillfully linked together.
Based on the use of the toledot formula, the Book of Genesis can be divided into twelve overall literary units.
1. The creation story (Gen. 1:1-2:3)
2. The continued history of the heavens and the earth (Gen. 2:4-4:26)
3. The continued history of man (Adam) (Gen. 5:1-6:8)
4. The continuing history of Noah (Gen. 6:9-9:29)
5. The continuing history of Noah's sons (Gen. 10:1-11:9)
6. The continuing history of Shem (Gen. 11:10-26)
7. The continuing story of Terah (Gen. 11:27-25:11)
8. The continuing story of Ishmael (Gen. 25:12-25:18)
9. The continuing story of Isaac (Gen. 25:19-35:29)
10. The continuing story of Esau, in Canaan (Gen. 36:1-8)
11. The continuing story of Esau, as the progenitor of the Edomites (Gen. 36:9-37:1)
12. The continuing story of Jacob (Gen. 37:2-50:26)
It should be noted that there is another toledot formula in Num. 3:1: the toledot of Aaron and Moses – from the time following God's conversation with Moses on Mount Sinai. This last toledot covers the rest of the Books of Moses (from Numbers 3:1 and the entire Book of Deuteronomy) and ends with the death of Moses. This means that the five Books of Moses together consist of 12 overarching literary units preceded by the creation story, the story of the beginning of everything. If we include the last one, this means that Jacob's story would continue from Gen. 37:2 all the way to Num. 2:34. In that case, the unit ends with Israel's first census and how they were to encamp according to their tribes. A perfect ending to Jacob's (Israel's) continuing story.
Reality harmonizes with the Bible's story
The creation story answers the question of who set in motion our finely tuned universe with its matter, time, and energy. It also answers the question of where the wisdom came from that was able to program the program code that constitutes DNA and is found in all life.
Everything is described in the right order. After conditions on Earth were made such that it could sustain life, plant life came into being first, then animal life in the sea and air, followed by life on land, and finally, humans were created. Life is created as different main groups or species of animals. From these, a natural development or specialization takes place, which means that, for example, the wolf, the dog, and the fox have been able to evolve into separate species over time. In these cases, it is only the size or color of already existing organs that changes for natural reasons, driven by natural selection. Archaeological finds harmonize with the biblical account. It is quite obvious that an enormous catastrophe of the magnitude described in the flood story has occurred. Enormous fossil graves bear witness to a terrible catastrophe in which billions upon billions of plants and animals died and were quickly buried, allowing fossils and even coal and oil to form.
The fact that human languages seem to go back to different families and groups has surprised linguists, but it is entirely consistent with what the story of the Tower of Babel describes. There is no good scientific reason why a week consists of seven days, but the Bible provides the explanation in its very first story. The Bible's description of reality is in harmony with reality!
The goal – fellowship with God
One of the names for the five books of Moses is Torah. The Hebrew word Torah means teaching. The word comes from the verb jara, which means to throw (like an arrow) or to shoot something. In 1 Sam. 20:20, the word is used specifically to refer to shooting arrows at a target! Torah shows a direction and provides guidance. The word for sin in both Hebrew (Hebr. chata) and Greek (Greek hamartia) means to miss the target. The goal for humans is to live in communion with God, their Creator.
Written:
The oldest texts may, in one form or another, have been written long before Abraham's time (2000 BC). The latest parts may have been written at the earliest in connection with Joseph's death, perhaps around the 1700s BC. It is also possible that the stories were passed down orally for an unknown period of time before they were written down.
The book as a whole may have been compiled at the earliest after Joseph's death. A likely suggestion is that it was compiled together with the other books of Moses, in which case it would have been during Moses' lifetime at the earliest. Subsequently, updates to names, the report of Moses' death, and explanatory additions were made, some as late as the time of the kings (Gen. 36:31).
Covers the period: Creation to Joseph (1700s BC).
Author: The stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph may have been written by themselves or by someone close to them. It is likely that Moses compiled large parts of the book. That Moses wrote down at least parts of the episodes that took place during his lifetime is confirmed by Jesus in John 5:46.]]
The Creation
Introduction
1In the beginning (as a starting point), God (Elohim) created (Hebr. bara) the heavens and the earth [the entire universe –the spiritual/invisible and the physical world].2The earth was still desolate and empty (uninhabited, inhospitable – Hebr. tóho vabóho) with darkness over the deep, but the Spirit of God hovered (was in motion, floated) over the waters.[The expression “heavens and earth” describes all matter that exists – the entire universe; it is a so-called merism (an expression with contrasts that describes a whole). Verses 1-2 are an introduction that sets the stage before God begins to make the earth habitable and fill it with life in verse 3. Then the first of the days of creation begins in the same way as all the other days with “And God said.” Even though the universe has been created, the earth is still uninhabitable and unsuitable for life, with only darkness resting over the earth's water-covered surface. The word hover (Hebr. rachaf) is only used here and in Deut. 32:11, where it describes an eagle hovering over its nest and encouraging its young to try their wings. The same root is also found in Jer. 23:9 where his legs “tremble.” Here it describes how God's Spirit is in motion, manifested in a quivering, vibrating way – ready for the next step.]
[[Jesus in creation
The first word in the Bible (Hebr. bereshit) begins with the prefix be-, which can mean in, but also with or through (e.g., as in writing with the help of a pen or through someone's efforts, it is possible). This is followed by reshit, which means the beginning and the first, but also the best, the most distinguished, or the finest. It is probably this first word that Paul alludes to when he says in Col. 1:16:
For in him all things were created in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible.
The phrase “in him” can be derived from bereshit, which can also be interpreted as “through/in the first/best” – the only begotten Son Jesus – God created the heavens and the earth.
The first verse of the Bible is mathematically perfect on several levels. It consists of 7 Hebrew words and 28 (4 x 7) letters:
bereshit bara Elohim et hashamaijm veet haarets.
The middle word et consists of two letters, alef–tav, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The word et is an object particle that indicates that the following word, which is “heavens,” is the object in the sentence. In Rev 1:8, Jesus says that he is the alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which is the equivalent of alef–tav in Hebrew. Although this is only a linguistic grammatical detail in Hebrew, it can be interpreted that Jesus is also represented in the middle of the Bible's first verse, moreover at God's side – et follows directly after Elohim (God). Interestingly, the letter Alef was originally written as an image of the head of an ox. The ox was used as a sin offering for the whole people. The sacrificial animal (the ox) was then combined with a cross (a tick), which is how the letter Tav was originally written.
One could view this as a coincidence. The object particle appears countless times, and the idea is not that every time it is used, Jesus is represented. But in the light of the New Testament, one can sense that already in the first verse of the Bible, centrally placed, there is a hint of “the first and the last” who will one day die a sacrificial death on the cross.]]
Six Days of Creation
Day one – light is separated from darkness
3And God (Elohim) said, “Let there be light” – and there was light [over the surface of the earth].And God separated the light from the darkness [the earth's rotation began].5God (Elohim) called the light day, and the darkness he called night.
There was evening, and there was morning – one [whole] day (day one – Hebr. jom echad).
[The first day is described differently from the other days (which are referred to as the second, third, fourth, etc.). Instead of the ordinal number “first,” the cardinal number “one” (Hebr. echad) is used. The word describes a unit consisting of different parts. A man and a woman are two units that together form one flesh (Gen. 2:24). The expression jom echad thus describes a whole day, a 24-hour period, consisting of a period of light and a period of darkness. It is also the first “whole day” described (from the perspective of the earth). Just as in English, the word “day” (Hebr. jom) can mean the light part of the day, a whole day, or part of a day (e.g., a working day).
The phrase “and there was evening, and there was morning” recurs at the end of the first six days, see verses 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. Many believe that the fact that evening is mentioned before morning is based on the fact that a new day In Jewish tradition begins in the evening. In the creation story, however, light begins each day (except the first). God works when it is light, only then does it become dark (evening), and the day is complete when the light breaks (morning) the next day.]
[[The days of creation
No time interval is specified from the creation of the universe in the beginning in verse 1 until the first day, when God lets there be light (verse 3). The sun and moon, which have the task of marking days and time, are given that task on the fourth day, see verse 14.
There are at least three ways in which the six days of creation can be understood from the Hebrew:
• Six 24-hour days that follow each other directly.
• Six 24-hour days, but the days do not follow each other. First comes day one, an unknown period of time passes, then comes a second day, and so on.
• The six days are a beautiful literary way of describing what God does in six distinct stages and in a specific order, but the days should not be understood as literal days even though they are described as such in literary terms.
In addition to these three ways, there is also the idea that the word day (Hebr. jom) refers to a period of indefinite length. When jom is combined with the prefix be (bejom), it sometimes has that meaning. The most common meaning is “that day” (138 times) and refers to something that happens within the span of a day (Josh. 8:25). On about thirty occasions, the meaning is an indefinite length of time and not a specific day, e.g., a time of distress (Psalm 77:3). In addition, bejom is the expression used in Hebrew for “when” or “if” (Gen. 2:16, 17; Ex. 10:28; Lev. 14:57; Ps. 20:9). It is the context that determines the meaning. In the creation story, bejom is not used, only jom, and in combination with morning and evening. The natural interpretation is therefore that the author's intention was to describe ordinary days. The seventh day is described as having no end (no evening or morning) and could continue. This is correct, but the six days of creation all end with “and there was evening, and there was morning,” which makes one of the three alternatives above more likely.]]
Day two – the atmosphere
6And God (Elohim) said, “Let there be an expanse (something expanded, spread out, and made thin – Hebr. raqia) [i.e., the atmosphere, see verse 8] in the midst of the waters, separating (dividing) the waters from the waters.”7God (Elohim) made (Hebr. asah) the expanse [the atmosphere]. And he separated the water that was under the expanse from the water that was above (came from) the expanse.And it was so.8God (Elohim) called the expanse (that which was made thin) heaven (Hebr. shamajim).
And there was evening, and there was morning – a second day (Hebr. jom sheni).
[The word “expanse” is Hebr. raqia, see verses 6-8 and 14-17. Traditionally, words such as vault, fastening, or firmament have been used, but the word is used to describe something (regardless of material) that is extended, stretched out, made thin, and expanded. The verb raqa is used to describe stretching out a tent cloth or hammering out a thin sheet of metal (Ex. 39:3). Here in the creation story, the word describes that which has been stretched out and can be applied to the thin expansion we call the atmosphere.
The Hebrew word for heaven is shamajim. The last part (majim) means water. There are various theories about the first part (sha). It may come from sham, which means “there,” in which case the meaning would be “the water there (up there).” One rabbinical explanation is that it comes from the word for fire (esh), in which case heaven becomes “the waters of fire” (as a description of a fiery red sky when the sun rises or sets). In Hebrew, heaven is always in the dual form and is therefore sometimes translated as “heavens,” see Ps. 115:16. Heaven is used to refer to the starry sky (Gen. 15:5), the sky where birds fly and winds blow (Deut. 4:17), and the place where God dwells (1 Kings 8:30; 2 Cor. 12:2). In Greek, both singular and plural are used, see Matt. 6:9-10.]
Day three – the earth begins to grow green
9And God (Elohim) said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together to one place, and let dry land appear.” And it was so.10And God (Elohim) called the dry land, and the gathered waters he called seas.And God (Elohim) saw [what he had done]: Yes [emphasis], it was good (purposeful, beautiful)!
And so it was.
[Verse 11 is formed as a chiasm where the first line corresponds with the last, the second with the second to last, etc. The phrase “Let the earth bring forth vegetation” corresponds to “above the earth.” At the next level, seed-bearing plants correspond to the phrase “that bear fruit.” Central to this is “fruit trees bearing fruit according to their kind.”
Hebr. deshe is a general word for greenery. Hebr. min comes from a root meaning “to divide, to portion out,” and the word is used for the biblical classification of plants and animals. The concept is used both for large main groups of animals and for specific species, see verses 11, 12, 21, 24, and 25. See also Gen. 6:20. The earth (Hebr. erets) becoming green means that the ground now has vegetation, but this also includes all aquatic plants in the sea, see verses 9-10.]
And God (Elohim) saw [what he had accomplished]: Yes [emphasis], it was good (purposeful, beautiful)!
[This is the only day when God says “it was good” twice, see verses 10 and 12. In Jewish tradition, Tuesday, the third day, is therefore considered an especially good day to start something new. Jewish weddings therefore still often take place on Tuesdays. Jesus attended a wedding in Cana on the “third day,” see John 2:1.]
[[There is a parallel symmetry between the first three days (days 1-3) and the following three days (days 4-6):
• Light and time – The first day focuses on light, and night is separated from day; time begins. On the fourth day, the heavenly bodies are assigned their function as light bearers and signs for days, months, and years.
• Water and air – The second day is about water and the atmosphere that forms a living space (the air). On the fifth day, the water and air are filled with life.
• Dry land – On the third day, the land emerges and begins to grow green. On the sixth day, it is filled with life.]]
The fourth day – the heavenly bodies are given their tasks
14And God (Elohim) said, "Let there be lights (light sources, light bearers – Hebr. maor) in the expanse (expansion – Hebr. raqia) to separate (distinguish) between day and night, and let them be signs [to indicate] appointed times (gatherings, feasts – Hebr. moadim) [Lev. 23] and for days and years.15Yes, they will be as lights (Hebr. maor) in the expanse of the heavens (the firmament), to give light upon the earth." And it was so.[The heavenly bodies previously created (verse 1) are now assigned their tasks. Two different Hebrew words for create/make are used in the creation story:
• Bara is used at dramatic new stages such as when the entire universe is created (verse 1), when animal life begins to be created (verse 21), when man is created (three times in verse 26), and finally in the last summary verse of the story (Gen. 2:3).
• Asah is common in the Old Testament and is used to mean to make, manufacture, or place/set something in a certain way or for a certain function. But also to complete, organize, or arrange something, to appoint or assign someone/something to a task or function, which is the meaning here, see verses 7, 11, 12, 16, 25, 26, 31, and Gen. 2:2.]
And God (Elohim) saw [what he had done]: Yes [emphasis], it was good (purposeful, beautiful)!
[On all the other days of creation, God names what he has done (days 1-3, see verses 5, 8, and 10) or blesses it (days 5-6, see verses 22 and 28). On day four, none of this happens. The heavenly bodies are not created; the only thing that happens is that their function is proclaimed. They are to serve creation on earth, not to guide through zodiac signs and astrology. Nor are they gods to be worshipped, see 2 Kings 21:3.]
[[Time and space
In the early 1900s, Einstein formulated the theory of relativity, in which time is the fourth dimension. Here, in the first verses of the Bible, we sense how God can stand outside of time and know the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10), while at the same time existing in time.
The heavenly bodies are the basis of our perception of time and our calendar. A year is the time it takes for the earth to complete one full revolution around the sun. A month is the time it takes for the moon to revolve around the earth. A day is the time it takes for the Earth to rotate once around its own axis. The fact that we have a week of seven days is actually illogical, as seven is not divisible by the number of days in either a month or a year. Despite this, humanity has always used the biblical seven-day week.
The Hebrew word for year (shana. see verse 14) consists of three letters (Shin–Nun–He) whose numerical value is 355 (300+50+5). In our Gregorian solar-based calendar, a year is 365 and 1/4 days. A normal year in the Hebrew calendar has 355 days, which exactly corresponds to the numerical value. The Hebrew calendar has twelve months, but compensates for this by adding an extra 13th month every second or third year. See also Ex. 12:2 for more on the months.]]
The fifth day – the water and air are filled with life
[The noun swarmlers (from the verb to swarm) refers to the diversity of all life in the oceans, from plankton to large schools of fish. The noun “flying creatures” (from the verb att flyga, “to fly”) includes everything from insects and birds to bats. They are described from the perspective of the earth, when looking up at the sky.]20And God (Elohim) said, “Let the waters swarm with swarming living creatures, and let flying creatures fly over the earth toward the expanse of the sky (literally: on the face of the expanse of the sky).”
[The creation story has an “earthly” perspective. The birds are seen from the earth, as when looking up at flying birds with the “sky” as a backdrop.]
And God (Elohim) looked at [what he had accomplished]: Yes [emphasis], it was good (purposeful, beautiful)!22And God (Elohim) blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and flying creatures (birds, insects) multiply on (beyond) the earth.”
The sixth day – land animals and humans
[When describing land animals, three different Hebrew words are used, which, depending on what they are contrasted with or complemented by, are to be understood in different ways. All three can be used to describe all animal life on land:• Chajah means “living” and is used for animals in general. It is combined twice with the earth (Hebr. chajat haarets). In verse 24, it is contrasted with livestock (Hebr. behemah) and should therefore be understood as wild animals. In this case, the translation “animals of the earth” is used. In verse 30, it is contrasted with the flying creatures of the sky and then refers to all land animals. In this case, the translation “every living thing on earth” is used.
• Behemah describes livestock (domestic animals) when contrasted with the animals of the earth (wild animals). But if it is contrasted with reptiles and other small animals (Hebr. remes), it refers to all larger animals on land, and the translation “four-footed animals” is used. If behemah is contrasted with flying creatures and fish, the meaning is all animals on dry land – land animals.
• Remes means something that “moves,” “creeps,” or “crawls.” It can specifically describe animals that move or crawl close to the ground. It then refers to reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, spiders, and more. But the word can also serve as a summary of all animals – everything that moves. Remes is related to the verb ramas, which means “to move, to wriggle, to crawl”.]
24And God (Elohim) said: “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind:
And so it was.
And God (Elohim) saw [what he had done]: Yes [emphasis], it was good (purposeful, beautiful)!
Now comes the absolute climax of the story: Man is to be created. This is emphasized in several ways. God uses the first person plural “let us” when he speaks. This occurs only here in the creation story. The same way of speaking by God occurs only twice more in the Books of Moses, even then when something out of the ordinary happens, see Gen. 3:22; 11:7. A natural interpretation is that God is speaking to the other persons of the Trinity: the Son and the Spirit (or alternatively to the entire heavenly court, including the angels).
Unlike all animals, man is created in God's image. The two Hebrew words tselem and demot are used. The word image (Hebr. tselem) can refer to physical images, such as idols (Num. 33:52; Ezek. 7:20). It was believed that the person represented in the image was present in the image, that his spirit dwelt there. But “image” is also used to refer to the role of the pharaoh as representative of the sun god Ra on earth. That man is created in God's image – in God's likeness – can be understood as meaning that man is created to function as God's representative on earth. It is man who is to rule over the rest of creation. Humans are also made in God's image in that they are spiritual beings, in whom God's Spirit can dwell (John 4:24). The combination of “image” with “likeness” (Hebr. demot) also means that humans bear a certain outward resemblance to God. Throughout the Bible, when someone sees God in a vision, he is described as “human-like” (sitting on a throne, wearing a robe, etc.), despite all differences.]] 26And God (Elohim) said: "Let us make (Hebr. asah) man (Hebr. adam) in our image (Hebr. tselem), to be like us (to resemble us – Hebr. demot).
[Man – man and woman together – will serve as God's representative on earth.]
They will rule (have authority, be responsible)
Yes, over the whole earth and over all moving creatures that move on the earth [all animal life]."
Male and female he created them.
[This verse is the climax of God's work of creation. Beautifully structured in two affirming chiasms, it establishes that man (Hebrew: adam) is created in the image of God (Hebrew: Elohim) and that man, the image of God, consists of both man and woman together. This is completely unique among all known creation stories. The threefold repetition of create (Hebr. bara) also makes this verse the climax of the story. In the first chiasm, God frames that he created man in his image. In the second chiasm, the verb creates is central, and what constitutes man frames the meaning:
God created man
created he her.
Yes, so it was.
[This is the only day when something is very good (Hebr. tóv meód), cf. verses 10, 12, 18, and 21.]
And there was evening, and there was morning – the sixth day (Hebr. jom ha-shishi).
[The first five days are in indefinite form: day one (verse 5), a second day (verse 8), a third day (verse 13), a fourth day (verse 19), a fifth day (verse 23). Then the pattern is broken and the definite article is used: the sixth day (verse 31) and the seventh day (Gen. 2:2, 3). In this way, too, the last two days stand out as special days.]