Genesis

HUMA 3810 6.0

Provocative Quote of the Day

• “[G]ranting a Bachelor of Arts degree on someone who never heard of Cain and Abel and never heard a Haydn symphony is a fraud.”–Dennis Prager

Franz Josef Haydn

• Austrian composer• 1732-1809• Father of the Symphony

– Wrote 104 symphonies– “Surprise,” Farewell”

• Father of the String Quartet

• Teacher of Mozart and Beethoven

• Oratorio: “The Creation” (1798)

Outline of Genesis

• Genesis 1-11: Primeval (His)Story

• Genesis 12-50: Patriarchal/Ancestral Narratives– Genesis 12:1-25:18:

Abraham– Genesis 25:19-36:43:

Jacob– Genesis 37-50: Joseph

Franz von Stuck, The Fiery Angel

Pentateuchal Criticism in a Nutshell

• Jean Astruc, physician to Louis XV– Moses’ sources J & E

• J & E & P• De Wette & D• Graf, Wellhausen & JEDP

– Prolegomena to the History of Ancient Israel

• Gunkel & Sitz-im-Leben– The Legends of Genesis

• Attacks on previous consensus

Creation

Two accounts of creation in Genesis:• The second is the older (Gen 2:4b-24)

– A “J” (Yahwistic) text dating to 9th century BCE reflective of a rural highland culture?

– Or a 6th century narrative of exile?

• The first is later (Gen 1:1-2:4a)– A “P” (Priestly) text dating to the 6th (or 5th)

century BCE– An answer to Mesopotamian cosmology

Let’s read the second one first

The Eden Narrative Part 1• In the day that the LORD God made the earth and the

heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up--for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground--then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east; and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Gen 2:4b-9 according to the NRSV)

Points to Consider• Earth preexists creation• First act: the creation of humanity• Then the planting of a garden and the creation

of plants (including the tree of the knowledge of good and evil)

Michelangelo, The Creation of Man

The Eden Narrative Part 2• Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the

man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner." So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.  (Gen 2:18-22)

Points to Consider

• Order of creation:– Man/Human– Plants– Animals– Woman

• God depicted anthropomorphically– Planted, put, took,

formed, breathed– In Chapter 3:

walkedLukas Cranach, Adam and Eve

The Eden Narrative Part 3After they ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil:• To the woman he [God] said,

     "I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;         in pain you shall bring forth children,     yet your desire shall be for your husband,         and he shall rule over you."And to the man he said,     "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,         and have eaten of the tree     about which I commanded you,         'You shall not eat of it,'     cursed is the ground because of you;         in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;    thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;         and you shall eat the plants of the field.    By the sweat of your face         you shall eat bread     until you return to the ground,         for out of it you were taken;     you are dust,         and to dust you shall return." (Gen 3:16-19)

Points to Consider• The necessity of pregnancy and births for the

preservation of the community• The tough tilling of the soil life is short, brutal, and

filled with toil• Reflective of the experience of early Israelites living in

the rugged hill country?Michelangelo, The Expulsion

Paradise Lost• Eden = delight ( Edna) • aetiological narrative (why things

are the way they are, cf. Hesiod) snakes, man/woman patriarchal society, world as a whole

• puns: ‘arûmmîm/‘arûm; ’îsh/’ishah; ’adam/’adamah

• snake = source of temptation, not evil personified (snakified?) no duality

• knowledge = sexuality • Gilgamesh Epic: Enkidu & the

prostitute; death • eating forbidden fruit: sexual act• woman as active/ man as passive • punishment explains human

misery & justifies patriarchal society

• only after loss of paradise, man names woman “Eve”

Franz von Stuck, Adam and Eve

The “P” Creation Account

• In the beginning when God created [or: When God began to create] the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Gen 1:1-5)

Points to Consider• The raw material of the

earth preexists creation• If so, then there is no

creatio ex nihilo; creation consists of the imposition of order on chaos

• First act of creation is light

• God creates by speaking/thinking avoidance of active anthropomorphisms

Order of the “P” Account

1. Light

2. Firmament

3. Dry land and vegetation

4. Sun, moon, and stars

5. Sea creatures and birds

6. Animals and humans

7. The Sabbath

The Creation of Humanity according to “P”

• Then God said, "Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."    So God created humankind in his image,         in the image of God he created them;         male and female he created them.God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth."  (Gen 1:26-28)

Points to Consider

• Human beings created as the culmination of material creation

• Both male and female created simultaneously

• Humans created in the image of God to have dominion over creation God : universe :: humans : created world

Salvador Dali, The Likeness of God

Mesopotamian and Biblical Cosmologies Compared

Creation in Babylon• According to the

Enuma Elish:• Result of

“conflict myth” in which Marduk (storm god) defeats Tiamat (saltwater).

• Humankind created as slave to the gods.

• Human society as a reflection of divine order gods created in human image.

Points of Comparison to Consider

Process of demythologization in Genesis 1?• Deep (Tehom) vs. Tiamat• Wind vs. Marduk• Greater light, lesser light, and stars vs.

Shamash, Sin, and Ishtar• Sabbath vs. unlucky 7th day• “These are the generations of the heavens

and the earth when they were created.” (Gen 2:4a) vs. divine couplings

Anti-Babylonian Motif Frames Genesis 1-11

Breughel, The Tower of Babel

Creation in Ugarit

• Late Bronze Age city in which our only primary textual evidence for Canaanite mythology discovered

• Before creation, Baal, the storm god, must defeat both Sea (Yam) and Death (Mot) another conflict myth

Conflict Myths in the Hebrew Bible: Isaiah

• Awake, awake, put on strength,         O arm of the LORD!     Awake, as in days of old,         the generations of long ago!     Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,         who pierced the dragon? Was it not you who dried up the sea,         the waters of the great deep;     who made the depths of the sea a way         for the redeemed to cross over? So the ransomed of the LORD shall return,         and come to Zion with singing;     everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;         they shall obtain joy and gladness,         and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isa 51:9-11)

Conflict Myths in the Hebrew Bible:Psalms

• O LORD God of hosts,         who is as mighty as you, O LORD?         Your faithfulness surrounds you. You rule the raging of the sea;         when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass;         you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;         the world and all that is in it--you have founded them. The north and the south--you created them;         Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. You have a mighty arm;         strong is your hand, high your right hand.

(Ps 89:8-13)

Conflict Myths in the Hebrew Bible:Job

• The shades below tremble,         the waters and their inhabitants. Sheol is naked before God,         and Abaddon has no covering. He stretches out Zaphon over the void,         and hangs the earth upon nothing. He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,         and the cloud is not torn open by them. He covers the face of the full moon,         and spreads over it his cloud. He has described a circle on the face of the waters,         at the boundary between light and darkness. The pillars of heaven tremble,         and are astounded at his rebuke. By his power he stilled the Sea;         by his understanding he struck down Rahab. By his wind the heavens were made fair;         his hand pierced the fleeing serpent. (Job 26:5-13)

Summary thus far

• Biblical myths of creation anchored in their broader cultural context

• Differing views of creation in the Hebrew Bible– Pastoral (Gen 2)– Rigidly structured and demythologized (Gen

1) anti-Babylonian polemic– Fragments of conflict myths in which God

must defeat the forces of chaos before creation can begin (Second Isaiah, Psalms, Job)

A Musical Prelude• Richard Wagner

(1813-1883)

• Arguably the most influential composer of the 19th century

• Wrote operas/music dramas (Gesamtkunstwerk/ Leitmotif)

• An absolute bastard and anti-Semite

Artur Szyk

(1894-1951)

Richard Wagner (1813-1883):Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 1

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe!Als Eva aus dem Paradies von Gott dem Herrn verstoßen, gar schuf ihr Schmerz der harte

Kies an ihrem Fuß, dem bloßen.Das jammerte den Herrn; ihr Füßchen hatt er gern, und seinem Engel rief er zu: »Da, mach der armen Sünd'rin

Schuh'; und da der Adam, wie ich seh, an Steinen dort sich stößt die Zeh, daß recht fortan er wandeln kann, so miß dem auch Stiefeln an!«

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe!

When Eve was thrown out of Paradise by the Lord God, the gravel hurt her foot, the bare one.

This pained the Lord, since he liked her little foot, so he called to his angel: “Make that poor sinner some shoes; and since Adam, as I see, just stubbed his toe on a stone, measure him for a pair of boots, so he can continue walking!”

Richard Wagner:Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 2

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe! O ho! Tralalei! Tralalei! O he! O Eva! Eva! Schlimmes Weib, das hast du am Gewissen, daß ob der Füß am Menschenleib jetzt Engel schustern müssen! Bliebst du im Paradies, da gab es keinen Kies: um deiner jungen Missetat hantier ich jetzt mit Ahl und Draht, und ob Herrn Adams übler

Schwäch' versohl ich Schuh und streiche

Pech! Wär ich nicht fein ein Engel rein, der Teufel möchte Schuster sein!

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe!O ho! Tralalei! Tralalei! O he!O Eve! Eve! You wicked

woman, it’s your fault that angels now have to cobble shoes for human feet!

If only you had remained in Paradise, where there is no gravel:

On account of your youthful transgression, I have to work with awl and wire, and because of Mr. Adam’s weakness, I have to put soles on shoes and work with tar!

If I weren’t such an angel, the Devil could be a cobbler!

Richard Wagner:Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg 3

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe! O ho! Tralalei! Tralalei! O he! O Eva! Hör mein Klageruf, mein Not und schwer Verdrüssen! Die Kunstwerk', die ein Schuster schuf, sie tritt die Welt mit Füßen. Gäb nicht ein Engel Trost, der gleiches Werk erlost, und rief mich oft ins Paradies, wie ich da Schuh und Stiefel ließ! Doch wenn mich der im Himmel hält, dann liegt zu Füßen mir die Welt, und bin in Ruh Hans Sachs, ein Schuh- macher und Poet dazu!

Jerum! Jerum! Hallahallohe!O ho! Tralalei! Tralalei! O he!O Eve! Hear my complaint,

my need, and dismay!The work of art that a cobbler

makes is walked all over by everyone.

If there weren’t a comforting angel, who saves people from such work, how I would abandon shoes and boots!

Yet, when the one in Heaven takes me up, the world lies at my feet, and I can happily be Hans Sachs, a shoemaker and a poet too!

The Flood

Joseph Anton Koch, Noah’s Offering of Thanks (ca. 1803)

The Flood• combined from two traditions

– 40 days & nights (7:4) vs. 150 days (7:24) – 7 pairs clean, 1 unclean (7:2) vs. 1 pair of each (6:19)

• reversal of creation waters of chaos inundate the earth

• Mesopotamian setting – floods not characteristic of Canaan – parallels: Ziusudra/ Atrahasis/ Utnapishtim

• ethical reason for flood in Genesis (noise vs. evil) – Noah righteous “in his generation” saved – in Mesopotamian stories: rescue arbitrary

• ante- and post-diluvian life spans in Bible & Sumerian King List

The End of the Primeval Story• Table of Nations (Gen 10) ethnic relations as family

relations • Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) as anti-Babylonian satire

(É.SAG.ILA) & Etemenanki

Lodewyk Toeput, Tower of Babel 1583-1587

The Ancestral (Patriarchal) Narratives (Gen 12-50 )

• scope of work – Abraham: Gen 12:1-25:18

– Jacob/Israel: Gen 25:19-36:43• Isaac a shadowy transitional figure: son of father, father of son

– Joseph: Gen 37-50

Sacrifice of Isaac from Beth Alpha Synagogue, early 5th century

Historicity?

• long search for extra-biblical evidence – Mari (MB – tribal structures –

Hammurabi/Shamshi-Adad/Zimri-Lim)– Nuzi (LB – social customs)– Ebla (EB)– “J” (exilic) – anachronisms: camels, Philistines

Stories about self-understanding of the relationship between Israelite tribes • Abraham (Hebron & Jerusalem Judah) • Issac (Beersheba & northern Negev) • Jacob (Shechem/Nablus & Bethel Ephraim/Israel)

– Benjamin as southernmost tribe (indicated by name)

• each tribe had its ancestral legends tribes took on common father (Jacob/Israel)

• Judah most important (from biblical perspective) later its patriarch the oldest ancestor Isaac an attempt to bind the traditions?

• relationship to other nations also conceived in familial terms– Arabs < Hagar (Gen 16; 17:18-21; 21:1-21; 25:12-18)– Edomites < Esau (Gen 36)– Ammonites & Moabites < Lot & his daughters (19:30-38)

Historical Memories?

• Hab/piru (‘Apiru) > Hebrew (עברי) – Amarna Letters Amenophis IV =

Akhenaten ca. 1350 – found in 1887 by Bedouin woman

• Hyksos period: Dynasty 15 (& 16), ca. 1630-1550 – hekau-khasut “rulers of foreign lands” – 2nd Intermediate Period

Major Themes• (unconditional) covenant (ברית)

– land & descendants & blessing (Abrahamic vs. Noahide)

– Noahide covenant: Gen 9:1-17 – Abrahamic covenant: Gen 12:1-3; 15

• dangers to promise– Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel barren (maidservants:

Hagar, Bilhah, Zilpah) – ancestress in trouble (Gen 12; 20; 26) – Gen 22: ultimate test of faith Akedah (Eliezer,

Ishmael etc. not inheritors of promise no land at the end of book!

More Themes

• older son not the one who inherits – Isaac not Ishmael – Jacob not Esau – Judah and Joseph not Reuben – Ephraim not Manasseh

• renaming as symbolic of new relationship with divine (rebirth) – Abram Abraham, Sarai Sarah, Jacob Israel – Ordeals: Akedah (Gen 22), Jacob’s struggle with the

angel/God at the river (Gen 32:23-33)

• end of Genesis leaves us hanging – promise far from fulfillment (Israel in Egypt)

Texts

• Gen 12:1-9 blessings of progeny and land (& “Canaanites then in Land”)

• Gen 18 how many men? Vv 7-8 & the question of kashrut • Gen 38 Judah & Tamar • Gen 39 Potiphar’s wife & Anubis (older)/Bata (younger)