genesis
situating genesis in the hebrew
bible
TaNaK
T - torah
N - neviʾim (prophets)
K - kethuvim (writings)
genesis
12:1-3
1-11
12-50
genesis
12:1-3
1-11
12-50
genesis
chaps. 1-11: primeval history
genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth.
genesis 1:2
Now the earth was ṯōhû wāḇōhû, and
darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and ruaḥ ʾӗlōhîm was hovering over the
surface of the waters.
ṯōhû wāḇōhû
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LXX: ἀόρατοσ καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος
NETS: invisible and unformed
KJV: without form, and void
NASB: formless and void
NEB: without shape and empty
NIV: formless and empty
NRSV: a formless void
Message: a soup of nothingness, a bottomless
emptiness
ṯōhû wāḇōhû
Everett Fox: wild and waste
genesis 1:3-5
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there
was light. And God saw the light: that it was
good. And God separated the light from the
darkness. And God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night. And there was
evening, and there was morning: day one.
genesis 1:6-8
And God said, “Let there be a rāqîaʿ in the
midst of the waters, and let it separate waters
from waters.” And God made the rāqîaʿ, and
He separated the waters that were below the
rāqîaʿ, from the waters that were above the
rāqîaʿ. And God called the rāqîaʿ Heaven.
And there was evening, and there was
morning: day two.
genesis 1:6
• And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst
of the waters . . . (KJV).
• Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst
of the waters . . . ” (NASB).
• And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of
the waters . . . ” (NRSV).
• And God said, “Let there be a vault between the
waters . . . ” (NIV).
• Then God said, “Let there be a space between the
waters . . . ” (NLT).
• God spoke, “Sky! In the middle of the waters . . . ”
(The Message).
genesis 2:1-4a
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished,
with all of their array. God had finished on the
seventh day, his work which he made, and he
ceased (šḇṯ) on the seventh day from all his
work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day and he hallowed it, for on it he
ceased (šḇṯ) from all his work which God
created by doing.
genesis 2:1-4a
These are the begettings of the heavens and the
earth when they were created.
exodus 20:11
For six days YHWH made the heavens and the
earth, the sea and all that is it, and he rested on
the seventh day. Therefore, YHWH blessed the
day of the Sabbath, and he hallowed it.
isaiah 66:1-2 (NASB)
Thus says the LORD, “Heaven is My throne
and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a
house you could build for Me? And where is a
place that I may rest? For My hand made all
these things, Thus all these things came into
being,” declares the LORD.
psalm 132:7-8 (NASB)
Let us go into His dwelling place;
Let us worship at His footstool.
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength.
psalm 132:13-14
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.
“This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
the number seven, creation, and the
tabernacle/temple
• tabernacle: “the LORD said to Moses” occurs seven
times. the first six concern building the tabernacle
(Exod. 25:1; 30:11, 17, 22, 34; 31:1), and the final is
a command to observe the sabbath (31:12).
• it took seven years to build the temple (1 kings 6:3738).
• the temple was dedicated during Sukkot, which occurs
in the seventh month, and lasts seven days (1 kings
8:2; cf. deut. 16:13-15).
• temple dedication + seven day feast + another sevenday feast (1 kings 8:65; 2 chron. 7:9)
Day 1 (1:3-5)
Day 4 (1:14-19)
-Light / Darkness
-“Day” / “Night”
-Lights
-“Greater” / “Lesser”
-role: rule and distinguish
Day 2 (1:6-8)
Day 5 (1:20-23)
-raqia (Dome)
-“Heavens”
-Sea creatures
-Winged creatures
-Blessing: fill creation
Day 3 (1:9-13)
Day 6 (1:24-31)
-Dry Land
-“Earth” / “Seas”
-Vegetation
-Land animals
-Humans
-Blessing: fill and subdue
-Provision of food
(vegetation)
Day 7 (2:1-3)
-God ceases from His work
-Seventh day is blessed and
consecrated
genesis 2
• a focus on the creation of humans
– ‫אדם → אדמה‬
– God’s breath + the ground (v. 7)
– work the ground
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eden
harmony: humans and animals
trees: life and knowledge of good and evil
marriage
genesis 3
• serpent: crafty (‫)ערום‬
– where did evil come from?
– believing lies
• a different world
• 3:15
• pricker bushes
genesis 4
• it spreads quickly
• brothers killing brothers
• um, cain got married? to who?!
genesis 4:19-24 (NASB)
Lamech took to himself two wives: the name
of the one was Adah, and the name of the
other, Zillah. Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was
the father of those who dwell in tents and have
livestock. His brother's name was Jubal; he
was the father of all those who play the lyre
and pipe. As for Zillah, she also gave birth to
Tubal-cain, the forger of all implements of
bronze and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain
was Naamah.
genesis 4:19-24 (NASB)
Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, Listen to my voice,
You wives of Lamech,
Give heed to my speech,
For I have killed a man for wounding me;
And a boy for striking me;
If Cain is avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”
genesis 7:11 (ESV)
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the
second month, on the seventeenth day of the
month, on that day all the fountains of the
great deep burst forth, and the windows of the
heavens were opened.
end