Introduction
Overview
Genesis plays an introductory role for the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), for the entire OT, and for the entire Bible. The story of Genesis is representative for the story of Israel, as well as for the grand story of human existence. God creates a good place for people to live where they can have a close relationship with him. This is a fantastic blessing (Gn 1–2). These human creatures (and we need to see ourselves here as well) repeatedly rebel and sin against God, resulting in separation and death (Gn 3–11). This is the story of humanity. In God’s great mercy he provides a way of salvation, and this salvation story starts in Gn 12 with Abraham and culminates in the NT Gospels with Jesus Christ, reaching its final consummation in Rv 21–22 with the re-creation of the new heaven and earth.
Genesis 1–11 is a cosmic story, dealing with all people of the earth. The initial blessings of God and the rebellion, sin, and rejection of God by humankind portrayed in Gn 3–11 are universal and include all people of all nations. As the story of salvation begins in Gn 12, however, the focus is on Abraham and his descendants, the people of Israel. But Gn 12:3 sets the ultimate universal agenda: “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” God is going to work through the descendants of Abraham to provide a way of salvation for all who will accept it.
God makes a covenant with Abraham in Gn 12; 15; and 17. It is this Abrahamic covenant that will provide the framework for God’s unfolding plan of salvation for everyone in the world who will believe. It is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant that drives the story throughout the OT and even into the NT. It is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant that reunites the story of Israel (Gn 12–2 Kg 25) with the story of humanity as declared in the Prophets and consummated in Jesus Christ.
Authorship
Moses’s name does not appear in the book of Genesis as it does in the other four books of the Pentateuch, nor is another author identified. For that reason, strictly speaking, Genesis is an anonymous book. There is no real problem with acknowledging this, for the majority of the books in the OT are anonymous. Who wrote Kings? Who wrote Judges? We do not know. The presence of so many anonymous books in the OT invites the reader to focus exclusively on what is said rather than on who said it. Content trumps source.
While some scholars hold to the Documentary Hypothesis to explain the authorship of the first five books of the Bible, Jewish and Christian tradition alike have attributed these books to Moses (see the article “Who Wrote the Pentateuch?”). There are two possible (evangelical) explanations for the origin of Genesis in particular. First, Gn 1–50 could have originally existed as tablets. Moses then arranged these tablets in chronological order and added the material about Joseph. This makes Moses the compiler (not author) of Genesis. Second, Genesis may have been composed around the time of the exodus from Egypt. Emphasizing as it does the promise of God to Israel’s forefathers and the origins of the patriarchs, Genesis would be an appropriate composition to read to the tribes before they departed for Sinai. The most likely author of such a composition would be the person designated to lead them to Sinai—Moses. [Who Wrote the Pentateuch?]
Structure and Content
One structure found within Genesis is an introduction (1:1–2:3) followed by ten sections (2:4–50:26), each of which is introduced by the formula “these are the [family] records of” (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). Five times the formula is followed by narrative (2:4; 6:9; 11:27; 25:19; 37:2). Five times the formula is followed by a genealogy: either a vertical genealogy (a genealogy that focuses on one line of descendants; 5:1; 11:10) or a horizontal genealogy (a genealogy that highlights subgroups; 10:1; 25:12; 36:1). Through both narrative and genealogy Genesis traces a specific line of descendants from Adam to Jacob as a reflection of God’s will for one people. All ten uses of this phrase, except for the first one (2:4), end with the name of a person (Adam, Noah, etc.). The first of these ten ends, by contrast, with “the heavens and the earth.” Together human beings join with the heavens and the earth to form God’s creational family.
It is debatable whether the phrase “these are the family records of” introduces what follows (a superscription) or whether it concludes what has just preceded (a subscription or colophon). In favor of the first interpretation is the fact that the phrase is always followed by the genitive of the progenitor (e.g., “These are the family records of Shem,” 11:10), never of the progeny. In favor of the second interpretation is the fact that often (e.g., 5:1; 37:2) the preponderance of information given about the person named in the phrase comes before the phrase, not after it.
Additionally we may note that Genesis covers multiple generations in chapters 1–11 but only four generations in chapters 12–50. Patriarchal history is the more crucial segment and hence receives a more extensive treatment. Similarly, note that while only two chapters are given to a rehearsal of creation (chaps. 1–2), thirteen and a half are devoted to Abraham (12:1–25:11). Why six times as much space for Abraham as for Adam and Eve? Or why consign the narration of the fall to one chapter (3), while there are twelve chapters for Joseph (37; 39–48; 50), a marginal character not in the Abraham–Isaac–Jacob–Judah chain?
This does not mean that the creation story is less important than the Abraham story, or that the fall narrative is less significant than the Joseph narrative. Longer does not mean more crucial any more than shorter means less important. But it does say something about focus and emphasis. Presumably the creation story, confined to Gn 1–2, could have been stretched over a dozen chapters or so, but it was not. Genesis does not address itself exhaustively to questions such as, What is humankind? or, What is humankind’s origin? Rather, it addresses questions like, What does it mean for a person to follow God in faith? (hence the Abraham story) or, How does God use the life of the one who will honor him? (hence the Joseph story).
Genesis, as the title suggests, is a book about beginnings, specifically the beginning of humankind (chaps. 1–11) and the beginning of a single family (chaps. 12–50). Genesis 1–11 begins with a world untouched by sin. That pristine situation will not reoccur until Rv 21. The untarnished world of Gn 1–2 is shattered by Adam and Eve’s dissatisfaction with their creaturely status, and their coveting of a godlike stature. Sin puts a wedge within relationships established by God. There is alienation between humankind and God, between humankind and the animals, between man and woman, between humans and land, between each person and himself or herself.
In chapters 4–11 sin snowballs. Genesis 3 may be read as the cause and Gn 4–11 as the effects of sin. Cain, Lamech, the sons of God, the contemporaries of Noah, and the tower builders all follow in Adam and Eve’s footsteps. Fratricide, polygamy, lust, violence, and self-aggrandizement are the fruits of disobeying God.
Paul says that where sin increased, grace increased all the more (Rm 5:20). Clearly we have abounding sin in Gn 3–11. Do we also have abounding grace? May Paul’s dictum be applied to Gn 3–11 and beyond? True, God banishes Adam and Eve from the garden, and he makes Cain a refugee, but note that before God banishes Adam and Eve he clothes them; before he exiles Cain he places a protecting mark on him; before God sends the flood he announces to Noah a covenant that will come on the heels of that flood. The God of Gn 3–11 is a God of judgment and a God of grace.
Even the whole patriarchal section (Gn 12–50) may be read as God’s plan of redemption through one family (and eventually one person out of the family) for the sin-infested world of Gn 3–11. Thus Gn 3–11 may be read as the problem, and Gn 12–50 as the solution.
To that end, running throughout the patriarchal narratives is the theme of promise: (1) the promise of a son, (2) the promise of descendants, (3) the promise of land, (4) the promise of God’s own presence, and (5) the promise of spiritual influence among the nations. At every major point the patriarchs are buoyed by the “I will” of God. God’s covenant with the patriarchs is primarily unilateral rather than reciprocal. He is the one who commits himself through self-imposed oath to the fulfillment of this covenant and these promises. Only secondarily is human behavior introduced as a contingency factor. “You will” is subordinated to “I will” in Gn 12–50.
Genesis makes it clear that the greatest threats to the promises of God are seldom external ones. Generally, the most potentially damaging threat to the divine promises is the bearers of those promises. Note, for example, how frequent are deception scenes in Gn 12–50: Abraham and Pharaoh; Abraham and Abimelech; Isaac and Abimelech; Jacob and Esau; Jacob and Isaac; Jacob and Laban; Laban and Jacob; Joseph’s brothers and their father; Judah and Tamar; Joseph and his brothers. All of these produce strife and alienation, and many an anxious moment. Yet an Abraham or a Jacob is never exiled from Canaan along the lines of the punishment meted out to Adam and Eve or to Cain. Nor are they reprimanded by God for their highly questionable behavior and tactics. Silence does not exonerate them. Silence does indicate, however, the primary focus of Gn 12–50—God’s election of and commitment to one family as the means for world redemption. God will no more lay aside the family of Abraham as his chosen vessel than he will scuttle the church and establish a surrogate institution.
Outline
1. Primitive History (1:1–11:32)
A. The Creation of the World (1:1–2:3)
B. Adam and Eve (2:4–25)
C. The Fall (3:1–24)
D. Cain and Abel (4:1–26)
E. From Adam to Noah (5:1–32)
F. The Flood (6:1–8:22)
G. Noah after the Flood (9:1–29)
H. The Table of Nations (10:1–32)
I. The Tower of Babylon (11:1–9)
J. The Shemites (11:10–32)
2. Abraham (12:1–25:18)
A. The Call of Abram (12:1–9)
B. Abram in Egypt (12:10–20)
C. Abram and Lot Separate (13:1–18)
D. Abram Rescues Lot (14:1–24)
E. God’s Covenant with Abram (15:1–21)
F. Hagar and Ishmael (16:1–16)
G. The Covenant of Circumcision (17:1–27)
H. The Lord of Birth and Death (18:1–33)
I. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (19:1–38)
J. Abraham and Abimelech (20:1–18)
K. Friction inside and outside the Family (21:1–34)
L. Abraham’s Test (22:1–24)
M. The Death of Sarah (23:1–20)
N. Isaac and Rebekah (24:1–67)
O. Abraham and Ishmael (25:1–18)
3. Jacob (25:19–36:43)
A. Esau and Jacob (25:19–34)
B. Isaac and Abimelech (26:1–35)
C. Jacob’s Deceit (27:1–40)
D. Jacob Flees to Haran (27:41–29:12)
E. Jacob, Leah, and Rachel (29:13–30:24)
F. Jacob and Laban (30:25–31:55)
G. Jacob and Esau (32:1–33:20)
H. The Rape of Dinah (34:1–31)
I. Jacob Returns to Bethel (35:1–29)
J. Esau’s Descendants (36:1–43)
4. Joseph (37:1–50:26)
A. Joseph and His Brothers (37:1–36)
B. Judah and Tamar (38:1–30)
C. Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (39:1–23)
D. Joseph’s Interpretation of Dreams (40:1–41:57)
E. Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt (42:1–38)
F. The Second Journey to Egypt (43:1–34)
G. Judah’s Plea (44:1–34)
H. Joseph Makes Himself Known (45:1–28)
I. Jacob in Egypt (46:1–50:14)
J. Joseph’s Reassurance (50:15–21)
K. Joseph’s Death (50:22–26)