Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Dissertations Graduate Research 1978 The Literary Structure of the Genesis Creation Story Jacques Doukhan Andrews University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Classical Literature and Philology Commons Recommended Citation Doukhan, Jacques, "The Literary Structure of the Genesis Creation Story" (1978). Dissertations. 38. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/38 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research at Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your interest in the Andrews University Digital Library of Dissertations and Theses. 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Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary THE LITERARY STRUCTURE OF THE GENESIS CREATION STORY A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Theology by Jacques B. Doukhan August 1978 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT THE LITERARY STRUCTURE OF THE GENESIS CREATION STORY by Jacques B. Doukhan Chairperson: Gerhard F. Hasel Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT OF GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH Dissertation Andrews University Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary Title: THE LITERARY STRUCTURE OF THE GENESIS CREATION STORY Name of researcher: Jacques B. Doukhan Name and title of faculty adviser: Gerhard F. Hasel, Ph.D. Date completed: August 1978 Exegetical research on Gen 1 has been character­ ized since the 18th century essentially by a diachronic concern. Thus the Documentary hypothesis and the so-called Tatbericht-Wortbericht theory have been the two main starting points of any relevant scholarly study of this text. Recently, under the influence of contemporary literary studies, attention has been drawn to the validity of the synchronic approach, and more and more scholars have thus become aware of the importance of the liteary structure of this text. The latter has been dissociated from the thematic distribution of motifs; this tension has 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 3 been explained in terms of different sources, but this explanation has not permitted an adequate control. Thus most scholars assume the existence of a literary struc­ ture, but all disagree about its contours. The purpose of the present study is to discover the "literary structure of the Genesis creation story" as it was intended by the biblical author. The relevance of this inquiry is that it not only works with the liter­ ary data of the text as a whole and in its present form, but also aims to reach the intentional level of the text; the literary structure responds to both requirements and leads thereby to its hermeneutic. Although our approach is independent, it has been inspired by recent methodol­ ogies introduced especially in stylistics and in struc­ turalism. The first step of our work has been concerned with providing a control: the literary structure of Gen 1:1-2:4a (C) must be in agreement with the thematic content and must also be attested in a text of the same nature which will become thereby the control-text (C1). Since Gen 2:4b-25 is also concerned with creation and has been "edited" in connection with C, it appeared that it could serve as the control-text. The analysis of the connection has revealed a striking parallelism between C and C' which manifested itself in the literary struc­ ture and in the agreement of the thematic content. Fur­ thermore, this conclusion has been strengthened by the Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 4 fact that the literary structure of C and its connection to C' have been perceived in various degrees in biblical as well as in extra-biblical texts referring to creation. The second step has been concerned with drawing the implications of these conclusions on the level of the literary composition. The deep connection between C and C' has led us (1) to question the validity of the Docu­ mentary hypothesis; (2) to observe a "lateral" process of writing instead of a "concentric" one as argued by the Tatbericht-Wortbericht and structural approaches, and to infer the unity of the text; (3) to notice three literary genres into which the text has been voluntarily "dressed," namely, genealogy, prose, and recitation. The third step of our work has been concerned with reflecting theological perspectives in terms of three relevant questions in today's debate on creation, i.e., Revelation, Reality, Existence. Thus, in continual dialogue with the most representative theologies on creation, we have drawn theological implications in an attempt to frame an interpretation within these three categories of thought: (1) The literary situation of C has shown us that its author thought of the material he recorded, as a Revelation from above pointing to both its "necessity" and its "possibility" aspects. (2) The literary genres suggest that the author intended to tell about the event but not to provide its mechanism. (3) The author did not content himself "to inform," he also Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. was concerned to transmit his "message" on an existential level. The historical event of creation was required to become history in existence. The Sabbath is the expres­ sion of this faith and, carrying both categories of Revelation and Reality in connection with Existence, it invites thereby a particular dialectic regarding the two "events" of Creation and Redemption. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE LITERARY STRUCTURE OF THE GENESIS CREATION STORY A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Theology by Jacques B. Doukhan APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE: Committee Member: W.