Preview

The Book of Genesis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
936 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Book of Genesis
The book of Genesis consists of numerous different stories written in different styles, by different people conveying various messages. Numerous devices are used in order to communicate the meaning of each story. Although all of them describe people in the ancient Israel, in particular their life and relationships, there is a deep subtext in them. Evidently, each story is based on the faith in God and knowledge that He is powerful. However, many stories in Genesis are duplicates (stories told more than once) and, moreover, most of them are mixed. Evidently, different Jewish traditions had different names for God. Consequently, in the Bible God is called different names, which sometimes helps to identify the author of the text. In my essay I will focus on the story written by the person who call God "Yahweh" (Jehovah) and therefore is named the "J-author", and the "P- author" (priestly source, or based on the documentary hypothesis theory by Julius Wellhausen.
Creation
The Creation story, in particular, the "J" part of it, has two layers. The first one is what is seen on the surface: God playing with mud, not expecting that it would result in anything particular. It is ironic that the very idea to create the man seems to appear unexpectedly and throughout the whole story God seems to be thinking on the spot and greatly enjoying the process He is involved in. Therefore, through a nice story about the creation of Earth and men, the author makes it clear that (1) a man cannot live without a woman, as she is the only one who really suits him, and (2) what really gives joy to manhood is companionship. "The Lord said, "It's not good for the man to be alone."…" (Gen 2: 18).
The P version of creation, however, presents the story in a more structured and organized way. There are 7 days, each one of them having a purpose; it reminds more of a constructor put together. The P author makes it looks like God thoroughly planned everything and then only fulfilled his ideas. Man

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Exegesis of Genesis 22:1-19

    • 2399 Words
    • 10 Pages

    The book of Genesis forms part of a series of ‘historical’ books that begins with the creation story and ends with the destruction of the kingdom of Judah (6BCE.) These narrated events are in a chronological sequence (Barton 2001:38).It is the first book of the Old Testament and Pentateuch (Barton 2001:12) . Jews name these five books the Torah or ‘the law’(Holdsworth 2005:71). The passage(Gen22:1-19) reveals God’s relationship through a trial with a major character, Abraham. Key themes that are central to the Pentateuch lie within the passage; the sovereignty and grace of God; sacrifice and obedience; the establishment and reaffirming of covenants and the redeeming nature of God. What lies before and after this encounter will be considered to try to determine the ‘original’ intended meaning and to examine its relevance and application for people today.…

    • 2399 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Bible Among Myths

    • 9041 Words
    • 25 Pages

    The author, a research professor at Wesley Biblical Seminary by the name of John N. Oswalt, attempts to explain the similarities and differences of the Holy Scripture and its teachings from that of the neighboring Ancient Near East beliefs. Moreover, he attempts to answer the question of how scholarly opinions of the disagreements found between Genesis and Babylonian accounts of the origins of the world.…

    • 9041 Words
    • 25 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genesis and Gilgamesh

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After reading the flood story of Gilgamesh and the flood story in Genesis it is obvious that there is a relationship between the two. If someone were to tell you a summary of one, they would ultimately be telling you a summary of the other. But just because the overviews are the same does not mean that they are not different. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the story of Genesis have very minor differences, but these differences make each story distinct.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It is truly amazing to find out how much God’s love is to mankind is. HE is a supreme being, because how can we explain the knowledge he possess. HE is a God of new beginnings and HE has existed before the world was even created. The bible says “In the beginning, God…” there was no account of how HE came into existence and the whole idea of what we are seeing today has been predetermined by HIM and it is still very much relevant to our lives today.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genesis World View Essay

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What does Genesis, chapters one through eleven in particular, teach pertaining to the world? Specifically speaking in regards to the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization. In accordance with all that, how then could this affect your worldview today? What exactly does the bible say? How exactly can it shape the way we see life and are these conclusions about the world we live in today parallel with what the bible states as truth?…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Book Of Genesis Analysis

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Is there a God? How was the world formed? How did it come into existence? In Genesis 1:11, it offers insight into these questions and many more. It sets the foundation on how I view the world. Do I believe in a creator or creation? Do my values and morals line up with the word of God? The book of Genesis can offer us much truth and understanding as we go back through history to learn about the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization.…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Genesis 22

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Throughout the Old Testament, God poses many challenges for people both in the sense of entire nations to individuals as well. In each instance there was a purpose for the challenges. Sometimes God was looking to see how people would act and follow laws and other times he wanted to test them. In Genesis 22 God posed a test for Abraham. He commanded him to travel to Moriah and offer his son Isaac to him as a burnt offering. Abraham obeys God and takes Isaac to the place God had told him. He brings with him two of his servants and on the way to the mountain Isaac asks Abraham why there is not sheep for the offering. It would seem that Isaac was catching on to what was happening and he still did not hesitate to follow his father carrying the very wood he was to be burned with. When Abraham was about to slay his son an angel of the Lord stopped him and told him that since he did not withhold his son he was the favored one.…

    • 1847 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genesis 1-11

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages

    My mind began to fill with questions and thoughts as I read the first eleven chapters of the Bible (see list of questions after my paper please). It never ceases to amaze me that I can repeatedly read chapters of the Bible and learn or notice something fresh each study session. A number of unique things occurred to me this time through.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Genesis vs. Theogony

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Throughout the years, a main topic of discussion is how people were created and came about to live here on this earth. Many people have their own views and opinions on how creation occurred, but two texts in particular that discuss this phenomenon are Theogony, written by Hesiod, and the book of Genesis of the Bible. The Bible is, and has been for years, the most read and religiously followed book of all time, and one book of the Bible that specifically discusses how creation occurred is Genesis, which in fact means creation. Genesis talks about in depth the process in which the earth and life were created and the progression of how the world was populated, while Theogony, written by Hesiod, is a book that discusses the genealogy and the creation of Gods and Goddesses in the areas of ancient Greece. Though both of these books may discuss the same general topics of creations and the nature of the divine, there are still vast differences that exist.…

    • 1396 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Romans 9:6-13

    • 5145 Words
    • 21 Pages

    Hamilton, Victor P. The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50. New International Commentary on the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.…

    • 5145 Words
    • 21 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Abraham and Sarah

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages

    This book examines the dialogue found in Genesis in great detail, explaining the connotations and meanings of language used.…

    • 2454 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Davis, Paul, Harrison, Gary, Johnson, m. David, Crawford, F. John, “The Bedford Anthology of World…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gen 105 Unit 2 Essay

    • 2208 Words
    • 9 Pages

    For instance, there are two separate accounts of creation. One is written by the “J” author, another by the “P” author (Mueller, et al, p. 40). Both discuss the creation of earth but one focuses on God creating humankind with help in the creative process. The other version, the “P” version, tells how Yahweh alone created man with no help in the process.…

    • 2208 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Although Christianity and Islam have been and are dominating the scene it is necessary to place both in their proper perspective taking into account human history of faith in the supernatural or something beyond our five senses. Side by side with this awe mixed fear of the unknown is the feeling of being cocksure and confident of one’ own power. It is the same of the caveman as of the politicians and financiers strutting around Wall Street and Washington. When this feeling of being sure is coupled with a belief, then ‘ism’ is born. This ism can be anything from belief in money-power to mass-power or god-power. Then is another side to our psychology. We try to foist our beliefs on others. It is in our very psyche. For the purpose of understanding two interviews were carried out. The first person interviewed is Albert Lamb and the second person is Azad Rauf.…

    • 2327 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Purpose of this paper is to discuss the creation story in Genesis 1-2, explain why Genesis is not a continuation of Genesis 1, find the major points these stories make about who God is, and explain what Genesis 1-3 tell us today about God and our world.…

    • 702 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays