Bereshit
(The Book of Genesis)
Topical Outline of Genesis
Chapters 1-25
Genesis 1-2
Creation of the World
Genesis 3-5
The Fall from Innocence
Genesis 6-10
Noah and the Great Flood
Genesis 11-25
The Life of Abraham
Creation
“In the beginning God
created the heavens and
the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
Creation Account
Genesis Chapter 1
• Creation in Six Days
– God spoke and x came into existence
– Every x was good
• Humans Created on the Sixth Day in
the Image of God
• Humans Given a Creation Mandate
“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth
and conquer it, and hold sway over the
fish of the sea and he fowl of the heavens
and every beast that crawls upon the face
of the earth” (Genesis 1: 28)
Image of God:
Exercise of creative powers and lordship?
Creation Account
Genesis Chapter 2
• Focuses on the Creation of Humans and the
creation of the woman from the man’s rib.
• God is described using more anthropomorphic
language
• God is called Yahweh Elohim, rather than
Elohim (Genesis 1)
The Names of God
Elohim (Genesis 1)
• Derivation:
– el, mighty or strong one, or
– alah, to be struck with fear
• Elohim is used in the P-Source
• Elohim is a plural word
– Plural of majesty?
– Angelic host or some assembly of divine beings?
– Early intimation of the Christian doctrine of the
Trinity?
Yahweh Elohim (Chapter 2)
• Yahweh (YHWH) is the sacred name of
God (not to be uttered), ha shem, the name
• Signifies God’s self-existence and
immutability
• Signifies God as deliverer, E.g., Exodus 3
• Used in the J-Source
The Two Creation Accounts
• Genesis 1: Elohim creates (bara) and makes
(asah) things by the agency of speech.
• Genesis 2: Yahweh fashions (yatsar)
humans and builds (banah) the woman from
Adam’s rib. God depicted as a craftsman.
Garden of Eden
• God brings forth trees from the earth as a
source of food for the human (Genesis 2:9)
• The human is given stewardship over the
garden. (Genesis 2:15-16)
• The human is permitted to eat from all the
trees, except the tree of knowledge, good
and evil. (Genesis 2:16-17)
The Tree of Knowledge
The Prohibition: The human is commanded
by God not to eat from the fruit of the tree
of knowledge, good and evil.
The Consequence: Death is the
consequence of violating God’s command.
The account indicates the human’s moral
relationship with God
Creation of Woman
• God creates the animals for the human, to
be a “sustainer beside him” (Genesis 2:18)
• The human names each of the animals
(Genesis 2:19)
• No animal was sufficient as a sustainer
beside the human (Genesis 2:20)
• From the rib of the human, God builds the
woman to be a sustainer beside the human
(Genesis 2:21-23
Genesis and Science
Literal reading of Genesis conflicts with
Darwinian evolution.
Darwinism: complex life
forms evolved from simpler
forms of life by a purely
natural process called natural
selection.
Random genetic variations
introduced by nature were
conducive to survival.
Resolution?
Reject the idea that God is creator or adopt
a non-literal interpretation of Genesis.
Theistic Evolution
Humans and other life forms evolved according to natural
processes, but God is responsible for initially bringing the
universe into existence (and perhaps for sustaining it in
existence).
God is thus responsible for bringing into existence the
physical laws that make biological evolution possible.
Distinguishing the Doctrine of
Divine Creation and Creationism.
The doctrine of divine creation affirms that
God created and sustains the universe.
Creationism affirms that God created the
universe and living beings in a particular
way, specified by a literal interpretation of
Genesis.
Divine creation is logically compatible
with evolutionary models of human life
and the cosmos.
The Intelligent Design Movement
Negative: Purely naturalistic models are incapable
of providing an adequate explanation of certain
features of the cosmos and living things.
Positive: The hypothesis of intelligent design
must be invoked to explain these features of the
cosmos and living things.
Intelligent Design is not creationism.
Basic Message of Genesis 1 and 2
• Everything ultimately originates from God
and is sustained in existence by Him
• God is powerful, good, and wise
• Humans are unique and have a moral
relationship to God.
Abraham’s Journey