Okay, so Genesis - the beginning of it all. The first Book of both the Torah and the Christian Bible. Genesis opens with those familiar words, "In the beginning..." The Apostle John would take us back to Genesis when he opened the Book of John with, "In the beginning was the Word..."
I believe that starting with some basics about a Book is important in order to get a good overview of what is coming, where it is coming from and so on. The Book of beginnings is no different, so here is an introduction to the Book of Genesis.
The Creation by divine word, rebellion by man,
grace from the Lord, election of Abraham’s family, and Jacob’s
descendants that embody and convey the message of salvation. These
are the themes that are seen so boldly and clearly in Genesis the
first book of the Bible.
God is
the Creator of all things. From the outset in the Book of Genesis,
the focus of the strong light of revelation turns upon the Almighty.
He is the Beginning, the Cause, the Source of all that is. He brought
into being all the things and the persons that were to fit into his
plan for the ages. All the matter necessary for his later working, he
miraculously created.
(from
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c)
1962 by Moody Press)
GENESIS AT A GLANCE
CREATION:
I.
Creation Gen 1:1-2:3
DEVELOPMENT:
II.
The Man Gen 2:4-25
III.
The Fall Gen 3
IV.
The Race Gen 4
V.
Line to Noah Gen 5:1-6:8
VI.
The Deluge Gen 6:9-8:22
VII.
The Covenant Gen 9
VII.
The Nations Gen 10:1-11:9
IX.
Line to Abram Gen 11:10-26
X.
Abraham Gen 11:27-25:11
XI.
Isaac Gen 25:12-18
Gen 25:19-35:29
Gen 36
XII.
Jacob Gen 37:10-50:26
(from
Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)
Name:
means “source, origin.” The Hebrew name comes from the book’s
first word, “in the beginning.” Both names are appropriate, for
Genesis sets the stage for a full understanding of biblical faith.
The
book of GENESIS, Genesis(NT:1078) has its name from the title it
bears in the Septuagint, Biblos(NT:976) Geneseoos (NT:1078), (chap.
2, ver. 4,) which signifies "the book of the Generation";
but it is called in Hebrew Bªree'shiyt (OT:7225), "In the
beginning," from its initial word. It is the most ancient
history in the world; and, from the great variety of its singular
details and most interesting accounts, is as far superior in its
value and importance to all others, as it is in its antiquity.
Structure:
The
book of Genesis narrates that history in broad, deep, comprehensive
sketches, from its first beginning to the time of the patriarchs,
whom God chose from among the nations of the earth to be the bearers
of salvation for the entire world. This long space of 2300 years
(from Adam to the flood, 1656; to the entrance of Abram into Canaan,
365; to Joseph's death, 285; in all, 2306 years) is divisible into
two periods. The first period embraces the development of the human
race from its first creation and fall to its dispersion over the
earth, and the division of the one race into many nations, with
different languages (2:4-11:26); and is divided by the flood into two
distinct ages, which we may call the primeval age and the preparatory
age. All that is related of the primeval age, from Adam to Noah, is
the history of the fall;
the mode of life, and longevity of the two families which descended
from the two sons of Adam; and the universal spread of sinful
corruption in consequence of the intermarriage of these two families,
who differed so essentially in their relation to God (2:4-6:8). The
primeval history closes with the flood, in which the old world
perished (6:9-8:19). Of the preparatory age, from Noah to Terah the
father of Abraham, we have an account of the covenant which God made
with Noah, and of Noah's blessing and curse; the genealogies of the
families and tribes which descended from his three sons; an account
of the confusion of tongues, and the dispersion of the people; and
the genealogical table from Shem to Terah (8:20-11:26).
The
second period consists of the patriarchal era. From this we have an
elaborate description of the lives of the three patriarchs of Israel,
the family chosen to be the people of God, from the call of Abraham
to the death of Joseph
(11:27-50). Thus the history of humanity is gathered up into the
history of the one family, which received the promise, that God would
multiply it into a great people, or rather into a multitude of
peoples, would make it a blessing to all the families of the earth,
and would give it the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.
Genesis
is purely a historical work. It serves as the narrative preamble to
the legislation of Moses. It possesses, however, a much higher and
broader interest than this. It is the first volume of the history of
man in relation with God. It consists of a main line of narrative,
and one or more collateral lines. The main line is CONTINUOUS and
relates to the portion of the human race that remains in
communication with God. Side by side with this is a BROKEN line,
rather, several successive lines, which are linked not to one another
but to the main line. Of these, two lines come out in the primary
documents of Genesis; namely, Gen 25:12-18 and Gen 36, containing the
respective records of Ishmael and Esau. When these are placed side by
side with those of Isaac and Jacob, the stages in the main line of
narrative are found to be nine, that is, two less than the primitive
documents.
Author:
Every
believer in divine revelation finds himself amply justified in taking
for granted that the Pentateuch is the work of Moses. For
more than 3,000 years this has been the invariable opinion of those
who were best qualified to form a correct judgment on this subject.
The Jewish Church, from its most remote antiquity, has ascribed the
work to no other hand; and the Christian Church, from its foundation,
has attributed it to the Jewish lawgiver alone. The most respectable
pagans have concurred in this testimony, and Jesus Christ and his
apostles have completed the evidence, and have put the question
beyond the possibility of being doubted by those who profess to
believe the divine authenticity of the New Testament.
Yet to
preclude all possibility of mistake, the unerring Spirit of God
directed Moses in the selection of his facts and the ascertaining of
his dates. Indeed, the narrative is so simple, so much like truth, so
consistent everywhere with itself, so correct in its dates, so
impartial in its biography, so accurate in its philosophical details,
so pure in its morality, and so benevolent in its design, as amply to
demonstrate that it never could have had an earthly origin. In this
case, also, Moses constructed every thing according to the pattern
which God showed him in the mount.
Whether
these primary documents were originally composed by Moses, or whether
they came into his hands from earlier sacred writers and were revised
by him and combined into his great work, we are not informed. By
revising a sacred writing, we mean replacing obsolete or otherwise
unknown words or modes of expressing as were in common use at the
time of the reviser, and then putting in an explanatory clause or
passage when necessary for people of a later day. The latter of the
above suppositions is not inconsistent with Moses being reckoned as
the responsible "author" of the whole collection.
Sources
of Information:
- There are only three ways in which these important records could
have been preserved and brought down to the time of Moses: viz.,
writing,
tradition, and divine revelation.
In the prehistoric world, when the life of man was so protracted,
there was comparatively little need for writing of any kind, and
perhaps no alphabetical writing then existed.
Tradition
answered every purpose to which writing in any kind of characters
could be subservient; and the necessity of erecting monuments to
perpetuate public events could scarcely have suggested itself, as
during those times there could be little danger apprehended of any
important fact becoming obsolete, as its history had to pass through
very few hands, and all these friends and relatives in the most
proper sense of the terms for they lived in an insulated state under
a patriarchal government.
Thus,
it was easy for Moses to be satisfied of the truth of all he relates
in the book of Genesis, as the accounts came to him through the
medium of very few persons. From Adam to Noah there was but one man
necessary to the correct transmission of the history of this period
of 1,656 years. Now this history was, without doubt, perfectly known
to Methuselah, who lived to see them both. In like manner Shem
connected Noah and Abraham, having lived to converse with both; as
Isaac did with Abraham and Joseph, from whom these things might be
easily conveyed to Moses by Amram, who was contemporary with Joseph.
Supposing, then, all the curious facts recorded in the book of
Genesis had no other authority than the tradition already referred
to, they would stand upon a foundation of credibility superior to any
that the most reputable of the ancient Greek and Latin historians can
boast.
When
and Where Genesis was Written: --
The residence of the Israelites in Goshen, where they were isolated
from the Egyptians, must have contributed greatly to the preservation
of their sacred antiquities; for there they lived in expectation of a
deliverance, and of seeing the prophecies fulfilled which were made
to their forefathers regarding it. In the household of the pious
Hebrews with whom Moses was brought up, he must have often heard from
the lips of Amram and Jochebed of the bright promises, which had been
made to their illustrious ancestors.
Every
renewal of those promises, with all the special circumstances that
marked the divine manifestations, were, we may be sure, perfectly
familiar to Moses, being the subjects of traditional story in the
houses of the Israelites, and carefully instilled into his mind by
the frequent instructions of his godly parents. The knowledge of
these promises became a part of his intellectual furniture, more
highly valued by far than all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and it had
not been allowed to lie dormant in his breast. It had been the food
of his soul, the subject of his brightest daydreams, the object of
his fondest hopes. It was faith in the destiny of his people that
first enkindled the spark of patriotism in his heart, that led to his
voluntary surrender of all his brilliant prospects in Egypt, and to
his remaining a contented exile in a distant land.
If, as
we have supposed extremely probable, the house of Amram or any of his
Israelite neighbours possessed ancestral records of those interesting
and important revelations, they must have been known and read by
Moses. How much and deeply he must have pondered their contents, and
the evidences of their truth, before he took the final step of
severing the ties that bound him to the royal house of Pharaoh -- of
rejecting the prospect of the brightest crown in the world, and
making common cause with a race of poor and abject slaves. Those
records, which he probably received from his parents, might be
carried with him when he fled into Midian; and there is good reason
to conclude, from the evidence of language as well as of matter, that
Moses compiled the chief parts of the book of Genesis, by arranging
and connecting those ancient memorials, during the middle part of his
life, which he spent in the retirements of Arabia.
Of
course, it would undergo revision -- be supplemented or corrected,
where necessary, under divine direction, after he was appointed to
his divine legation, and engaged, as an inspired writer, in recording
the annals of the Church.
Conclusion:
We have
before us that part of the Bible which we call the Old Testament,
containing the acts and monuments of the church from the creation
almost to the coming of Christ in the flesh, which was about four
thousand years-- the truths then revealed, the laws then enacted, the
devotions then paid, the prophecies then given, and the events which
concerned that distinguished body, so far as God saw fit to preserve
to us the knowledge of them. This is called a testament, or covenant
(Diatheke)(NT:1242), because it was a settled declaration of the will
of God concerning man in a federal way, and had its force from the
designed death of the great testator, the Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world, Rev 8:8. It is called the Old Testament,
with relation to the New, which does not cancel and supersede it, but
crown and perfect it, by the bringing in of that better hope which
was typified and foretold in it; the Old Testament still remains
glorious, though the New far exceeds in glory, 2 Cor 3:9.
We
have before us that part of the Old Testament which we call the
Pentateuch, or five books of Moses, that servant of the Lord who
excelled all the other prophets, and typified the great prophet. In
our Saviour's distribution of the books of the Old Testament into the
law, the prophets, and the psalms, or Hagiographa,(NT:40;NT:1124)
these are the law; for they contain not only the laws given to
Israel, in the last four, but the laws given to Adam, to Noah, and to
Abraham, in the first. These five books were the first that ever were
written; for we have not the least mention of any writing in all the
book of Genesis, nor till God bade Moses write Ex 17:14; and some
think Moses himself never learned to write till God set him his copy
in the writing of the ten Commandments upon the tables of stone.
However, we are sure these books are the most ancient writings now
extant, and therefore best able to give us a satisfactory account of
the most ancient things.
We have before us the first and longest of those
five books, which we call Genesis, written, some think, when Moses
was in Midian, for the instruction and comfort of his suffering
brethren in Egypt: I rather think he wrote it in the wilderness,
after he had been in the mount with God, where, probably, he received
full and particular instructions for the writing of it. And, as
he framed the tabernacle, so he did the more excellent and durable
fabric of this book, exactly according to the pattern shown him in
the mount, into which it is better to resolve the certainty of the
things herein contained than into any tradition which possibly might
be handed down from Adam to Methuselah, from him to Shem, from him to
Abraham, and so to the family of Jacob.
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