AK1710 Roots of Western Culture
Sept. 15: In the Beginning? Genesis
1. Challenges of Studying Texts from Antiquity
 span of time has led to developments in traditions or loss of traditions
 text coloured by perspective of the writer(s)
 limited in scope
2. Pre-Israelite Religion
 “Pre-Israelite Religion”: the religion of the people who will one day be known as
the Israelites, and whose stories and practices will eventually be incorporated
and/or criticized in the Hebrew Bible features the pre-history of Israel (i.e., the
stories that occur before the founding of the nation of Israel)
 the “Hebrews”
o ‘Apiru or Habiru (“wanderers” or “outsiders”); semi-nomadic peoples on
fringes of civilizations; sometimes formed guerrilla bands attacking
caravans or raiding villages; hired selves out as mercenary soldiers or
were forced into slave labour on public projects
o religion of the Hebrews different from the Canaanites and others of the
Fertile Crescent
o standing stones (masseboth); the Gezer High Place (ca. 2500-2000 BCE)
o one name of god used in the Bible shows agricultural influence: Elohim
(“God of gods”)
 Egyptian Hebrews:
o ca. 13th c. BCE a group of Hebrews leave Egypt and return to nomadic
life in the Sinai Desert; name for God=Yahweh
o soon settle in Canaan, joining the other groups there and forming a nation
called Israel
 evidence of mixed agricultural/pastoral religion in ancient Canaan:
o “Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah”
o “Blessed will be Ariyahu to Yahweh and his Asherah”
o pillar Ashtarts
3. The Pentateuch
 comprises first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy
 who wrote the Pentateuch?
 indications in text of multiple authorship:
o author discusses his own death (Deut. 34:5-12)
o different writing styles in the text, differing names for God and certain
places; multiple versions of the same stories (doublets); anachronistic
names for places
4. Group Work: Two Creation Stories in Genesis 1-3
5. The Documentary Hypothesis
 J (Yahwist): version one of the “Old Epic”; uses the name of Yahweh for God;
composed in southern Israel in time of King Solomon or shortly thereafter (ca.
950 BCE)
 E (Elohist): version two of the “Old Epic”; uses the name Elohim for God;
written ca. 750 BCE after the ten northern tribes split from the two southern tribes
 721 BCE northern kingdom of Israel destroyed by the Assyrians
 D (Deuteronomist): ca. 650 BCE a book of the law was found in the Jerusalem
Temple; scholars think this was Deuteronomy; mostly laws in sermonic form
 587 BCE southern kingdom of Judah falls to Babylon; Judahites taken into Exile
 P (Priestly): end of 6th c. BCE Israelites return from Exile in Babylon; there was
then an attempt by the priestly class to reinvigorate and restore worship; part of
effort was to create a unified history of Israel; these priests gave the Pentateuch
its final form (ca. 500-400 BCE) and added legal materials related to worship and
genealogical lists
 the stories of the Pentateuch are united by a single theme: a cycle of
rebellion/disobedience, punishment, mercy
6. Near Eastern Parallels
 what parallels can you observe between the Genesis stories and the readings from
Epic of Creation and the Hymn to Ra?
7. Cain and Abel
 numerous biblical stories of brother against brother: known as “the brother
problem”
 can you see in the story of Cain and Abel any signs of pastoral/agricultural
conflict?
 Mesopotamian influence: Sumerian tale of Dumuzi (a shepherd) and Enkimdu (a
farmer) who are rivals for the hand of the goddess Ishtar