The Book of Genesis

([be ~In (l[:estament for ~cbools THE BOOK OF GENESIS IN THE TEXT OF THE REVISED VERSION WITH INTRODUCTION, MAPS, NOTES, QUESTIONS, SUBJECTS FOR STUDY AND INDEX EDITED BY THE REV. A. R. WHITHAM, M.A. PRINCIPAL OF CULHAM COLLEGE, HON. CANON OF CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD, EXAMINING CHAPLAIN TO THE PRIMUS OF SCOTLAND, AND AUTHOR OF '' THE LIFE OF OUR BLESSED LORD," "A SHORT NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY," AND "OLD TESTAMENT HISTORY," ETC. ETC. RIVINGTONS 34 KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN LONDON 1928 Printed in Great Britain by 'l'. and A. CONSTABLE LTD. at the Unh,ersity Press, Edinburgh PREFATORY NOTE THIS edition of Genesis is intended for the use of Middle and Upper Forms in Schools, or for the general reader. The notes, in conjunction with the introductions, deal concisely with difficulties or points of special interest in the text, and give information in accordance with modern Biblical scholarship; at the same time they aim at placing the whole history in its setting, as part of the Divinely guided religious education of Israel, leading up to the· Christian revelation. The questions at the end of each chapter will be found useful for class work,• especially for written answers. The subjects for study may be used for essay-writing. The authorities suggested are not of the nature of a bibliography, but are such as the teacher will usually have access to, and from which he will be able to supplement the information in the notes. The Text is that of the Revised Version, by special permission of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. vii CONTENTS PAGE PREFATORY NOTE THE BOOK AND ITS PURPOSE XI COMPOSITION AND SOURCES XIV HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF GENESIS XVlll CHRONOLOGY XXl PROBLEMS OF GENESIS XXlll THE RELIGIOUS TEACHING OF GENESIS • , XXVlll TEXT OF THE BooK OF GENESIS IN THE REVISED VERSION, WITH NOTES, QUESTIONS, AND SUB- JECTS FOR STUDY 1 INDEX 241 LIST OF MAPS 1. WESTERN AsIA, ILLUSTRATING GENESIS x. 53 2. WESTERN ASIA, ILLUSTRATING THE MIGRATION OF ABRAHAM 68 ix I. The Book and its Purpose THE Book of Genesis, the first of the five books which Jewish tradition ascribed to Moses, is so called from the Greek word meaning "birth" or "beginning." It is the word by which the Greek translators of the Old Testament rendered to"ledoth or" generations" in Genesis ii. 4 and elsewhere. The Hebrew name for the book is simply its first word, B'reshith, "in the beginning." The idea which underlies the whole plan of the Old Testa ment is to illustrate from the beginning of the world God's purpose to redeem mankind by means of a chosen people. Genesis sets before us the first stages of the revelation of this purpose. Beginning with the Creation, it traces the history from this point of view, down to the separation of the people of God in one family, and its temporary settlement in Egypt. Genesis falls into two well-marked divisions :- 1. Chapters i.-xi. contain a selection of narratives concern ing the origin of the world and the early history of the human race. The first three chapters form a sort of a prologue which deals with the fundamental questions : " How did this world come into being? " "Why is it in a condition which needs redemption 1" To answer these problems two independent accounts of the creation of the world and man are given, each showing it to be the direct work of the one and only God, and then follows the momentous story of the Fall. From this point two strands of human history are suggested, first, the development on natural lines and general deterioration of mankind, until the Divine judgment brings upon them the catastrophe of the Deluge, and a new beginning ensues ; secondly, the preservation throughout of a line of men of faith, in which lies the hope for the future, This is seen Xl xii THE BOOK OF GENESIS before the Deluge in the descendants of Seth, and afterwards in those of Shem, the son of Noah. 2. Chapters xii. to 1. form a more consecutive narrative. In contrast with the early or prehistoric traditions which have been put together in the first section, we are presented at the outset with a more definitely historical event, the Divine call of Abraham, the man of faith, with whom God is described as entering into personal relations in the form of a "covenant." From him the "people of God" now trace their descent. We see in his life the beginnings of the instruc tion and discipline of those who were from century to century to preserve the revelation of God and to cherish the hope of redemption. The chosen line is traced through Isaac, and Jacob and his twelve sons, the "children of Israel." Various side-lines are summarised and dismissed. So at the end of the book the eve is reached of the next great stage in this process of religious evolution, the call of Moses and the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The whole story is told with remarkable dignity and beauty. There is no more impressive book in the Old Testament than Genesis. It has made an ineffaceable mark on human thought about God and His ways with men. The method on which the book is compiled will be described later. Here it is sufficient to point out that though the materials evidently come from very varied sources and bear the marks of primitive legend and folklore, the whole book is informed by a noble and consistent conception of God. Stories derived apparently from heathen mythology have been purified and uplifted and made the vehicles of conveying profound religious truths. We cannot fail to recognise from the beginning a real " inspira tion " in Genesis, a real Divine guidance given to the writers and compilers to choose or reject, to bring out fundamental principles of God's working in human history. There is nothing like this in any other literature. Another secret of the charm and power of Genesis is found in the personal portraits which abound in it and the natural- THE BOOK AND ITS PURPOSE xiii ness of the events and the dialogues. It is all vivid and con vincing. The story of "man's first disobedience" (Gen. iii.), for example, whether we regard it as history or legend or allegory, is told in language that cannot be forgotten, and impresses the reader with its essential truth. The pictures of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph are literary as well as spiritual treasures. They breathe " the freshness of the early world." Even viewed apart, if we ever can so view it, from its religious teaching, Genesis, like the poems of Homer, is very great literature, and the English reader has the advantage of having its record translated into very perfect and splendid prose. II. Composition and Sources Any observant reader of Genesis will probably notice that the book is a compilation. There are very marked differences of style, and sometimes a lack of connection. Two independent accounts of Creation are given ; genealogies, not always consistent, have been introduced into the narrative ; passages like vi. 1-8, the marriage between heavenly and earthly beings, or xi. 1-9, the presumption of the would-be builders of Babel, are inserted without much attempt to connect them with the preceding history. Again there are apparently double accounts of the same event, as in the making of the covenant with Abraham (xv. and xvii.); Jacob's consecration of the pillar at Bethel (xxviii. and xxxv.); the representation of a wife as a sister (xii., xx., and xxvi.). And even the more continuous records like that of the Deluge or the history of Joseph and his brethren, present traces of a combination of narratives resulting some times in apparent inconsistencies. Most modern scholars are practically agreed that there can be distinguished in Genesis, and indeed in the three following books and also in Joshua, two distinct narratives. These are the Priestly narrative (called P); a history compiled by the priests and scribes of later Israel, and an earlier document (JE). In this latter can again be distinguished two sources: J, so called from its characteristic use of Jehovah (or Jahweh) as the Divine Name, and E, which prefers the name Elohim (God). P and JE at some time after the Captivity must have been combined by unknown compilers or redactors into one con tinuous story which was afterwanls divided into books. xiv COMPOSITION AND SOURCES xv Sometimes the two were placed side by side, at other times when they covered the same ground, one which seemed preferable was chosen and the other abandoned ; in other cases the two were dovetailed. In addition to th~ varying use of the Divine Names (a fact which first suggested to scholars the possible divisions of nar ratives) these original sources have all distinct characteristics of style, vocabulary, point of view and general atmosphere. P, the priestly document, was probably drawn up either in the later years of the Exile in Babylon, or shortly afterwards, embodying a mass of traditions and written records which had been preserved by the priests of Israel, of very varying dates. P is marked by orderly arrangement, love of repetition and the use of set phrases, e.g., see Gen. i.-ii. 4. It lays stress on chronology and abounds in genealogies. The Name Jehovah is not used until the story of the call of Moses and the revelation to him of the name of God (Ex. iii.). The point of view is that of the later legislation, e.g., no sacrifices are recorded until Moses is said to have ordained them, nor any distinction till then of "clean" or "unclean" meats.

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