SAMPLE CONTENT • NOT for SALE “Then He Said to Me, ‘These Words Are Faithful and True.’” Revelation 22:6A Christian Standard Bible

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SAMPLE CONTENT • NOT FOR SALE “Then he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’” Revelation 22:6a Christian Standard Bible

CONTENTS

1. Introduction to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) Translation 2. The Award Winning Tools of our CSB Study Bible 3. Available covers, ISBN and List Price Information 4. Genesis Sample (Intro-Chp 13) 5. Philippians Sample (Entire Book)

2 1-800-251-3225 FAITHFUL and TRUE

These words describe God’s Word (Revelation 22:6). They also describe the heartbeat of pastoral ministry. As a pastor, you want to be “faithful” and “true” to the Word that reveals God’s character and transforms lives.

At LifeWay, we share your commitment to God’s Word, and that is why we are delighted to present you with the CSB Study Bible, which includes thousands of notes, articles, and features to help Bible readers understand and share the Word of God.

As a translation, the Christian Standard Bible (CSB) combines accuracy and readability, without compromise. It was developed by a team of top biblical scholars from a variety of denominations. As you will see, they have prepared a translation that is both highly literal to the original languages and highly readable, achieving an optimal balance of the two.

As a pastor, I have grown conﬁdent in the CSB’s accuracy and precision. It is a text I can use for sermon preparation and serious Bible study. I am also conﬁdent in the CSB’s readability. Because it is clear and easy to read, I can share it with people who are new to the Word of God as well as with those who are already regular Bible readers.

As a study Bible, this resource draws from renowned biblical scholars from multiple denominations. The study notes and articles provide helps for the student of God’s Word who desires to understand more of the Bible’s original context and apply the Bible’s truths in today’s world.

Our hope is that God’s Word, delivered through this excellent translation and with these helpful study notes, will encourage and challenge you.

TREVIN WAX, PH.D. Bible and Reference Publisher LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, TN

Learn more at CSBible.com Introducing the CHRISTIAN STANDARD BIBLE

Faithful and True: These words remind us that God’s Word reveals His character and will to us, transforms our lives, and leaves us in awe of His glory. At LifeWay, we strive to be faithful and true to the Word of God in all that we do, and we know that God is faithful and true to guide us as we publish biblical resources for life. BIBLE TRANSLATION CONTINUUM We are excited to introduce you to the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). Throughout its history, the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) has held ﬁ rm in its commitment to combine strong biblical scholarship with a translation ﬁ t for modern readers. Continuing this commitment to scholarship and readability, the Christian Standard Bible is now positioned to serve more people and churches than ever before.

For the most up to date news on CSB, visit CSBible.com

2 OPTIMAL EQUIVALENCE—A BEAUTIFUL BALANCE

The CSB was created using Optimal Equivalence, a translation philosophy that balances contemporary English readability with linguistic precision of the original languages. In the many places throughout Scripture where a word-for-word rendering is clearly understandable, a literal translation is used. When a word-for-word rendering might obscure the meaning for a modern audience, a more dynamic translation is used. This process assures that both the words and thoughts contained in the original text are conveyed as accurately as possible for today’s readers.

BIBLEBIBLE TRANSLATION TRANSLATION CONTINUUMCONTINUUM

INTERLINEAR KJV CSB NIV GNT CEBMSG

NASB ESV NKJV NRSV NLT LB

FORMAL DYNAMIC FWORDORMA LFOR WORD THOUGHT FOR THOUGHT DYNAMIC WORD THOUGHT FOR THOUGHT FOR WORD Bible translations shown in the top half of the chart are original translations directly from ancient languages to English. Versions shown below the line began with the English text of another Bible translation.

Bible translations shown in the top half of the graph are original translations directly from ancient texts to English. Those below the line are revisions of earlier English translations.

On one hand, the CSB provides a highly accurate text for faithful sermon preparation and serious study, translated straight from the biblical languages by scholars who love God’s Word. It is highly faithful to the original text. On the other hand, it does not compromise readability and clarity for those who may be less familiar with the traditional (and sometimes di cult) vocabulary retained in some translations of the Bible.

Beyond that, we know that the good news of the Bible is meant to be shared. A translation that hits the sweet spot between ﬁ delity and readability opens the door for every believer to share the Bible with someone who has read it for a lifetime, or with someone who has never before read its life-changing message.

3 Expanded and improved AWARD featuring additional WINNING word studies, feature articles, STUDY TOOLS and more!

The CSB Study Bible o ers an updated edition of the award-winning Holman study system, which includes exclusive features including over 16,000 study notes, tools, word studies, and articles from respected Bible scholars. The result is a study Bible that helps the reader better understand and apply the life-transforming message of God’s written Word.

Exclusive features include: Detailed book introductions and outlines, concordance, center-column cross- references, smyth-sewn binding, presentation section, two-column text and topical subheadings, as well as;

16,124 Study Notes 21 Illustrations/Reconstructions 19 Charts 368 Word Studies 44 Paintings 61 Timelines 55 Maps 94 Photographs 34 Articles

The CSB Study Bible features the highly reliable, highly readable text of the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), which stays as literal as possible to the Bible’s original meaning without sacriﬁ cing clarity. The CSB’s optimal 55 MAPS blend of accuracy and readability makes Scripture more moving, more memorable, and more motivating to read and share with others.

66 INTRODUCTIONS INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS The book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of created order, and no part of creation is to be consid- : Since pre-Christian times authorship of the ered an extension of God. All that God created is good, its Hebrew and Greek names (Hb bere’shithTorah, the, “In five books that include the book of Genesis, because he is a good and majestic God. God is Lord, Beginning” [based on :]; Gk Geneseoshas, “Of been Birth” attributed to Moses, an enormously influential maintaining sovereignty and involvement with his cre- [based on :]), Genesis permits us toIsraelite view the leader from the second millennium BC with an ation. God’s control over human history is so complete beginning of a multitude of realities thataristocratic shape Egyptian our background. Even though Genesis that even the worst of human deeds can be turned to is technically anonymous, both the Old and New Tes- serve his benevolent purposes (50:20). daily existence: the creation of the universetaments and unanimously recognize Moses as the Torah’s the planet earth; the origins of plant andauthor animal (Jos 8:35; 23:6; 1Kg 2:3; 8:9; 2Kg 14:6; 23:25; 2Ch : Adam and Eve were created in the image life; and the origins of human beings, 23:18;marriage, 25:4; 30:16; 34:14; 35:12; Ezr 3:2; 6:18; Neh 8:1; of God, unique from the rest of creation, to have fellow- families, nations, industry, artistic expression,9:14; Dn 9:11,13; Mal 4:4; Mk 12:19,26; Lk 2:22; 20:28; ship with him. Humans are a paradox. On the one hand, 24:44; Jn 1:17,45; 7:19; Ac 13:39; 15:21; 28:23; Rm 10:5; people are the capstone of all God’s creation, created in religious ritual, prophecy, sin, law, crime,1Co 9:9; conflict, Heb 10:28). At the same time, evidence in Gen- God’s image (1:26-27) and possessing Godlike authority punishment, and death. esis suggests that minor editorial changes dating to an- over all the created order within their realm (1:28-29; cient times have been inserted into the text. Examples 9:1-3). On the other hand, they are sinners—beings 4 include the mention of “Dan” (14:14), a city that was not who have used their God-given resources and abilities named until the days of the judges (Jdg 18:29), and the in ways that violate God’s laws (2:17; 3:6) and hurt oth- use of a phrase that assumed the existence of Israelite er people (3:8-11; 6:5,11-12). Even so, during their life- kings (Gn 36:31). time God expects people to follow his laws (4:7), and he blesses those who live according to his ways (6:8-9; : The Torah (a Hebrew term for “law” or “in- 39:2,21). God wants to work through individuals to bring struction) was seen as one unit until at least the second a blessing to every human life (18:18; 22:18; 26:4). Nev- century BC. Sometime prior to the birth of Christ, the To- ertheless, Genesis teaches that because of sin all human rah was divided into five separate books, later referred beings must die (2:17; 3:19; 5:5,8,11). Since all human to as the Pentateuch (literally, five vessels). Genesis, the life is created in the image of God, no person or class of first book of the Torah, provides both the universal his- humans is superior to others. Humanity was created to tory of humankind and the patriarchal history of the na- live in community. The most fundamental unit of com- tion of Israel. The first section (chaps. 1–11) is a general munity is the family: a husband (male) and wife (female) history commonly called the “primeval history,” show- with children. ing how all humanity descended from one couple and became sinners. The second section (chaps. 12–50) is a : Evil and sin did not originate with God. Adam and more specific history commonly referred to as the “pa- Eve were created innocent and with the capacity to triarchal history,” focusing on the covenant God made make choices. Sin entered the world at a specific place with Abraham and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, and and time in history. Adam and Eve chose freely to dis- Jacob’s 12 sons. Genesis unfolds God’s plan to bless and obey God, fell from innocence, and lost their freedom. redeem humanity through Abraham’s descendants. The Their sinful nature has passed to every other human book concludes with the events that led to the Israelites being. Sin resulted in death, both physical and spiritual. being in the land of Egypt. Sin has led to a world of pain and struggle.

: Genesis is a narrative of relationships, and : God is the sovereign Lord and Creator of certainly relationships grounded in covenants with God. all things. God created everything out of nothing. No These covenants provide a unifying principle for under- preexistent material existed. He is the Creator, not a standing the whole of Scripture and define the relation- cra sman. This indicates that he has infinite power and ship between God and man. The heart of that relationship perfect control over everything. He is separate from the is found in the phrase, “They will be my people, and I will

BC BC

A caravan of camels casts a long shadow in the desert. Job 2100?–1900? Abraham 2166–1991 Isaac 2066–1886 Jacob 2006–1859

2134–1991 2113–2006 1991–1786

Abraham moves from Haran to Canaan. 2091 Contraceptives are developed in Egypt. 2000 Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2085 Chinese create first zoo, Park of Intelligence. 2000 God’s covenant with Abraham 2081? Babylonians and Egyptians divide days into hours, minutes, 01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39 Earliest pottery in South America 2200 and seconds. 2000 Construction of Ziggurat at Ur in Sumer 2100 Mesopotamians learn to solve quadratic equations. 2000 Code of medical ethics, Mesopotamia 2000 Courier systems of communication are developed in both China and Egypt. 2000

01_Gen.indd 2 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a f the night. They will serve as signs for sea sons a : Jr : earth.” ²³ Eve ning came and then morn ing: b b Ps : and for days and years. ¹⁵ They will be lights c : Dt : ; Ps the fifth day. in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on :- ; Is : ²⁴ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro duce liv- d : Jr : the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two e : Ps :- ing crea tures ac cord ing to their kinds: live- great lights — the great er light to rule over the f : Gn :; : stock, crea tures that crawl, and the wildlife g : Gn :; : day and the less er light to rule over the night h of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds.” And c Gn :, ; :; Rm — as well as the stars. ¹⁷ God placed them in : ; Co :; it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the : ; Co :; :; earth ac cord ing to their kinds, the live stock Eph :; Col :; earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to Jms : accord ing to their kinds, and all the crea tures sep a rate light from dark ness. d And God saw i Gn :; Ps :-; that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their Jms : that it was good. ¹⁹ Eve ning came and then j : Gn :; Mt :; kinds. And God saw that it was good. morn ing: the fourth day. Mk : ²⁶ Then God said, “ Let us g make man in k : Gn :, ²⁰ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter swarm with our im age, ac cord ing to our like ness. h They liv ing crea tures, and let birds fly above the will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the earth across the ex panse of the sky.” ²¹ So God sky, the live stock, the whole earth, and the creat ed the large sea-creatures and ev ery liv- crea tures that crawl on the earth.” i ing crea ture that moves and swarms in the wa- ²⁷ So God created man in his own image; ter, e ac cording to their kinds. He also cre at ed he created him in the image of God; ev ery winged crea ture ac cord ing to its kind. he created them male and female. j And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed ²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “ Be them: “ Be fruit ful, mul tiply, and fill the wa ters fruit ful, mul ti ply, fill the earth, k and sub due of the seas, and let the birds mul ti ply on the it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky,

A : Or for the appointed times B : Lit with swarms of C : Or created sea monsters D : Or human beings ; Hb ‘adam, also in v. E : Or as F : Syr reads sky, and over every animal of the land G : Or scurry H : Or man as his own image; he created him as

“light-giving objects,” were worshiped as gods (3:22; 11:7; Is 6:8). At least five dierent sug- abilities, will, and emotions. Based on God’s in the cultures that surrounded ancient Israel. gestions have been put forward to explain commands in Gn 1:28, others have suggested In Genesis, however, the sun, moon, and stars them: they may be references to (1) the that it consists of the role humans are to play are portrayed as servants of God that would Trinity; (2) God and his angels; (3) God and on earth—their rulership over the planet and fulfill three roles: separating the newly creat- creation; (4) God’s majesty as expressed by a its resources, and secondarily the physical, ed realmsGEN ofES dayIS :and night; marking time so literary device known as the “plural of majes- mental, and spiritual abilities that enable that those who worshiped the Creator a could ty”; or (5) a polytheistic view of God. Since the them to fulfill that role. The NT teaches that keep their² Jafestivals pheth’s in each sons: of the seasons Go mer, (cp. Ma Bible gog, teaches Mad elsewhere ai, a :- that Ch there :-; is only one⁸ Cush Christians fa thered will somedayNim rod, bear who the beimage gan of to be Lv 23:4,44); and providing light on the earth. God (Dt 6:4; Mk 12:29;Ezk 1Co :- 8:4), the fi h option Christ (1Co 15:49; 1Jn 3:2). Ja van, Tu bal, Me shech, and Ti ras. ³ Go mer’s b : Kg :; pow erful in the land. ⁹ He was a pow erful hunt- 1:16-19 Compared to the elaborate worship is not tenable. 1:27 The creation of humanity is the crown- sons: Ash ke naz, Ri phath, and To gar mah. Is : er in the sight of the L . That is why it is that all the other ancient nations give to the The two b Hebrewc : - words Ch translated : - as im- ing event of chap. 1, as shown by the fact that sun, moon,⁴ And and Ja stars, van’s the sons: simplicity Eli ofshah, God’s Tarage shish, and likeness Kit- ared often understood said, as “ Likecreated Nim is repeated rod, a threepow times. er ful The hunt verb er cre in- the : Gn : Expanded and improved creativetim, word and is striking. Dodanim. They are purely ⁵ From inan- thesehaving de the scen- same meaning.e Gn :; : But some inter sight- ofated the (Hb L .” bara’) ¹⁰ is His the kingsame domone used start in ed1:1, with imate objects created and ruled by God. preters suggest thatf : “image” Mc : refers to the referring d to a kind of creative activity that dants, the peo ples of the coasts and is lands g Babylon, Erech, Ac cad, and Cal neh, in the 1:20 The fi h day’s events complement those ability to reason, with: - “likeness” Ch referring to only God can ,e do. The term man (Hb ’adam) :- ¹¹ featuring additional of day spread two, filling out the into newly their formed lands heavenly ac cord theing spiritual to their dimension. What exactly is land the ofis Shi used nar. elsewhere From in the Hebrew that land Bible he to refer went to clans in their na tions, each with its own h : Jr :; As syr ia f and built Nine veh, Re ho both-ir, Ca- domains above and the watery regions below. “image” of God? SinceAm the: Bible teaches that to humanity in general, not just males (7:21); word studies, feature articles, 1:21 Thelan reuse guage. of the verb created (Hb bara’; God is Spirit (Jn 4:24), many commentatorslah, ¹² and all people, Re sen, both be male tween and female, Nin e are veh created and the cp. v. 1) emphasizes⁶ Ham’s sons: God’s cauthority Cush, Miz over rathe im, believe Put, and it refers Ca- to the non-material aspects great of cityin the Ca image lah. of God (cp. Jms 3:9). It should large sea-creatures. This point was especial- a person—our moral sensibilities, intellectual not be concluded ,g that God is both male and and more! ly significantnaan. to ⁷ theCush’s ancient sons: Israel- Seba, Havi lah, Sab tah, ¹³ Mizra im fafemale. thered Christians the peo are generally ple of Lud, ites, whoseRa a mah, neighbors and worshiped Sab te ca. And Ra a mah’s sons: Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh,agreed that ¹⁴ God Pathrus, does not Casluh have a ( the Rahab,She a mythical ba and sea De monster. dan. yom Phi lis tines cameliteral from physical them), body. and He Caphis in no tor. h 1:22-23 The first of three bless- Hebrew pronunciation [YOHM] way limited by space but is every- ings GodA : pronounced Some Hb mss, in Sam, the LXX cre read- RodanimCSB translation ; Ch : B : Or Uruk day, C : time Or Akkad D : Or365 and all of WORD themwhere E : fully Or STUDIES presentin Babylonia (Ps 139:7-10; F : = Egypt ation narrative occurred when Uses in Genesis 152 Ac 17:28). Therefore, he cannot God blessed the water animals Uses in the OT 2,301 be said to be literally either male languages, nations, and lands (vv. 5,20,31; cp. been lost in history, but they are associated he was also famous as a powerful hunter. and birds. This blessing is similar Focus passage Genesis 1:5,8,13-14,16,18-19,23,31 or female, or both. People are the to theRv one 14:6). for Thuspeople, some but of lacks the names refer to the with regions in Africa and Arabia. Mizraim is Nimrod’sonly origins beings are that from are Cush created, that in is, Afri- regions where that person’s descendants set- the Hebrew word for Egypt. probably ca; his empire was Asian, stretching across the commands to “subdue” and Yom means day, the Hebrew day lasting fromHavilah one evening to the image of God (Gn 9:3-6). The tled; some refer to people groups. refers to a dierent geographic region than the the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The order of “rule” (v. 28). the next (Gn 1:5). Yom describes a working day (Ex 20:9) or day Bible never lumps people into Fourteen of ’ descendants Havilah of 2:11. Two dierent persons by the place names suggests that Nimrod’s empire 1:24-2510:2-5 The term living creaturesJapheth s of the month (Zch 1:7). It indicates a time (Pr 24:10) or occasion the category of animals. Instead, are listed here. name of are listed in Genesis genealo- expanded from south to north, and included in vv. 20 and 24 is thePeoples same as of is the coasts(Nm and10:10). is- In the day o enSheba appears as when (Zch 8:9). The it separates the creation of peo- refers to people living in areas reachable gies (v. 28; 25:3); is also found in 25:3. It and , the capital cities of two translatedlands “living being” in 2:7. plural can represent age (Jb 32:7),Dedan lifetime (Jos 24:31), or reign Babylonple fromNineveh all other beings and at- by ship, especially in the Mediterranean basin. is best to understand each of these as dierent of Israel’s most formidable future enemies. The sixth day is for creating land (Is 1:1). The plural denotes a number of days (Neh 1:4), a time tributes the most privileged roles The fact that group had persons, and the founders of dierent people corresponds to the ancient regions creatures, includingeach people. The its ownperiodlanguage (Lv 25:8), some time (Gn 40:4), a year (Lv 25:29), or years Shinarin creation to humans alone. suggests that this listing refers to the situation groups. of Sumer and ; to ancient Uruk; three groups of animals are do- (Ex 2:11). With the definite article yom suggests today (Dt 4:39), 1:28 In thisAccad the longestErech of the five a er the Tower of Babylon event (11:1-9). . . . to Nimrod; may be ancient mesticated livestock, crawlers, now (Neh 1:6), 10:8-12wheneverNimrod (1Sm 1:4), onebegan day (Jbto be 1:6), powerful or by day Calah blessings foundRehoboth-ir in the account Thirty of ’ descendants are in- , that is, he was successful as an Asshur. and wild10:6-7 animals. Ham s (Neh 4:22). Yomin could the land characterize a particular event such as of creation, God gave humanity cluded in this list. The geographic or ethnic aggressive empire builder. Like many other The most complex portion of the 1:26 God’s use of plural pronouns the day of Jezreel (Hs 1:11). Similarly, the Day/day of Yahweh, 10:15-20five dierent commands. Implic- identifications of most of the names have ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian kings, Hamite list is the branch, with eleven (us . . . our . . . our) to refer to him- or the Lª«¬, is a time or day that belongs to the Lord in a it in the firstCanaan three commands self has raised many questions special way (Zph 1:14). is God’s blessing on the institu-

THE TABLE OF NATIONS Genesis 10 55 MAPS City 10 E 40 E ASHKENAZ 50 E TARSHISH 20 E 30 E Pontus BLACK City (uncertain location) SEA 40 N TIRAS GOMER MAGOG LUD Descendants of Japheth LUD Anatolian Plateau RIPHATH 01_Gen.indd 6 Lake CASPIAN 28/10/16 12.39 AEGEAN MESHECH TOGARMAH Van Lake SEA PUT Descendants of Ham SEA TUBAL JAVAN Asia Minor Urmia JAPHETH MADAIE UZAL Descendants of Shem rus lbu au . EBER T Nineveh rz Mts. T ts ig M HAMATHITES PELEG ri Calah s Z RHODANIM HETH Arpachshad ag Great Salt Desert ASSHURR ro Eup . s ELISHAH ARAM h ra MEDITERRANEAN SEA KITTIM te s M LUDIM UZ o Plateau CAPHTORIM Area Akkad u n of enlarged HUL ta R i below Babylon . Erech MASH n Iran LEHABIM s CASLUHIM PUT SHINAR ELAM 30 N NAPHTUHIM CANAAN 30 N Libyan Qattara

Plateau Depression M

Sinai JOKTAN I Z An-Nafud R A DEDAN Desert I M HAVILAH Sahara Desert PERSIAN GULF CUSH Entire inset area SHEM dominated by Syro- the descendants PATHRUSIM ARVADITES of Ham ZEMARITES RED Arabian ARKITES . R

SINITES e 60 E SIDONIANS HAM il AMORITES N Desert PERIZZITES SEA JOBAB 20 N HITTITES HIVITES

CANAAN JEBUSITES GIRGASHITES RAAMAH UZAL SEBA

OBAL SHEBA SHELEPH HAZARMAVETH ARABIAN SEA 0 200 400 Miles HAVILAH SABTAH 0 200 400 Kilometers 20 E 30 E 40 E OPHIR 50 E

The Table of Nations shows that the Bible is firmly based on historical events. It provides the historical context for understanding Abraham, whose family became a nation through whom God would bless all peoples of the earth.

01_Gen.indd 24 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

¹⁷ But the L struck Pha raoh and his a : Gn :; Ch live stock, sil ver, and gold. ³ He went by stages :; Ps : house hold with se vere plagues be cause of b from the Ne gev to Beth el, to the place be- a : Gn : Abram’s wife Sa rai. ¹⁸ So Pha raoh sent for c : Gn :, tween Beth el and Ai where his tent had for- d : Gn : Abram and said, “ What have you done to me? e : Gn : mer ly been, ⁴ to the site where he had built Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? f Gn :; :- the al tar. And Abram called on the name of ¹⁹ Why did you say, ‘ She’s my sis ter,’ so that I the L there. c took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife. ⁵ Now Lot, who was trav el ing with Abram, Take her and go! ” ²⁰ Then Pha raoh gave his also had ﬂocks, herds, and tents. ⁶ But the land men or ders about him, and they sent him away was un able to sup port them as long as they with his wife and all he had. stayed to geth er, for they had so many pos ses- sions that they could not stay to gether, d ⁷ and there was quar reling be tween the herds men Abram went up from Egypt to the Ne- of Abram’s live stock and the herds men of gev b — he, his wife, and all he had, Lot’s live stock. e ( At that time the Ca naan ites and Lot with him. ² Abram was very rich in and the Per iz zites were liv ing in the land.) f

Abram would later use one of the female gation revealed that he had been tricked into feed the large flocks of Abram and his neph- slaves in his group to produce a son (16:1- marrying a woman who was the wife of an- ew Lot. 4,15). other man. 13:4 Abram’s physical return to the place 12:17 If Abram’s wife Sarai remained in Egypt 12:19-20 Even as Pharaoh gave . . . orders where God first spoke to him in the promised as part of Pharaoh’s harem, then God’s plan to and sent Abram, the first Israelite, away and land was paralleled by a spiritual recommit- provide Abram with an heir through her would all he had, so a later Pharaoh would order the ment of his life to God. For the first time since never be fulfilled. To restore Sarai to Abram Israelites in Moses’s day to leave Egypt (Ex he le Canaan for Egypt, Abram called on the and bring the founders of the Israelite nation 12:31-32) with all their belongings. name of the L . out of Egypt and back to the promised land, 13:1 Having been forced to go out from Egypt, 13:5-6 Especially during the dry summer the L struck Pharaoh and his household Abram returned to the Negev, the last place months, the land around Bethel and Ai was with severe plagues. This act foreshadowed he had lived in the promised land (12:9) be- too dry for such a large number of flocks and what God would do in Moses’s day to bring the fore his departure to Africa. people. To remain in the area, Abram and Lot Israelites out of Egypt again (Ex 12:29), to take 13:2-3 Abram moved northward to Bethel, would have to separate. them to the promised land. an area of Canaan with greater rainfall—and 13:7 With limited natural resources, quarrelGENES- IS : 12:18 Pharaoh connected the plagues with thus more vegetation—than the Negev. This ing between Abram’s and Lot’s . . . herdsmen Sarai’s entrance in it. Ev into ery histhing harem. on An earth investi will- move per ish.was probably¹⁸ But anecessary : Gn :-; in :order Heto didwas ev inevitable. erything that God had com mand- a b : Gn : b I will es tab lish my cov enant with you, and c : Mt :-; Lk ed him. you will en ter the ark with your sons, your :-; Heb : d : Gn : ; Lv :- wife, and your sons’ wives. ¹⁹ You are also to ; Dt :- bring into the ark two of all the liv ing crea- Then the L said to Noah, “En ter the tures, male and fe male, to keep them alive ark, you and all your house hold, for I have with you. ²⁰ Two of ev erything — from the seen that you alone are righ teous be fore me birds ac cord ing to their kinds, from the live- in this gen er ation. c ² You are to take with stock ac cording to their kinds, and from the you sev en pairs, a male and its fe male, of an imals that crawl on the ground ac cording all the clean ani mals, d and two of the ani- to their kinds — will come to you so that you mals that are not clean, a male and its fe- can keep them alive. ²¹ Take with you ev ery male, ³ and sev en pairs, male and fe male, of kind of food that is eat en; gath er it as food the birds of the sky — in order to keep off- for you and for them.” ²² And Noah did this. spring alive through out the earth. ⁴ Sev en

21 ILLUSTRATIONS/RECONSTRUCTIONSthe persons on Noah’s ark, but did not need 6:22 As other heroic men of the Bible would taken aboard the ark, all the clean animals— to cover the whole globe to do so, since the do in later times—Moses and Aaron (Ex 7:6), both those of the land and among the birds flood of Noah occurred before the dispersion Aaron’s sons (Lv 8:36), Joshua (Jos 11:9), of the sky—were to have seven pairs of males of the nations in Gn 10. Gideon (Jdg 6:27), Samuel (1Sm 16:4), Da- and females onboard. The concept of clean 6:18 The term covenant refers to a binding, vid (2Sm 5:25), and Elijah (1Kg 17:5)—Noah animals is explained elsewhere in the Torah formal agreement between two parties—a did everything that God had commanded (Lv 11:1-46); essentially, these were animals sort of treaty, pact, or contract. him. An undetermined amount of time had that were fit for human consumption and 6:19 God’s preservation of Noah meant that passed between this verse and the previ- could be oered as sacrifices to God. On the earth and humanity would still need the ous verses in this chapter. Certainly the meaning of throughout the earth, see note ecological support network of animals. Con- construction of the ark would have been a at 6:17. sequently, Noah was to bring into the ark lengthy endeavor. 7:4 The advance warning God gave Noah one male and one female of all the living 7:1 Following the ark’s completion, the L here about the onset of rain was necessary, 61 TIMELINES creatures. Representatives of all vulnerable gave Noah the order to begin the complex for it almost certainly would have taken sev- species were to be preserved. process of boarding the craft. Because of en days to finish boarding the ark. Loading, 6:20-21 Noah would not have to go on safaris Noah’s righteous walk with God he and his securing, and tending to the dietary needs of to collect the various animals. They would household would be saved. The concept of all the wild animals onboard the three-level Paintings from the tomb of Knumhotep found in the noblemen cemetery of Beni-Hasan, a village on the east bank of the Nile River about 130 miles south come to him so he could keep them alive. On sparing many because of the righteousness of barge-like structure was a complicated and of Cairo. The paintings date from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1099 BC) and show a group of 37 Asiatics as they enter Egypt. This painting provides us at least three other occasions in the Bible God a few occurs elsewhere in the Bible (18:24-32). dangerous task. with an idea of how Abraham might have dressed. directed animals to go to people (Ex 16:13; 7:2-3 While one male and one female of ev- Here rain was the mechanism for the Nm 11:31; 1Kg 17:2-6). ery species of air and land animal were to be deadly act of judgment that would wipe off

01_Gen.indd 29 28/10/16 12.39 44 PAINTINGS

A reconstruction of the ark Noah built. The dimensions of the ark made it eminently seaworthy. The vessel in the Epic of Gilgamesh, an account of a flood that has some parallels to Noah’s, is a cube. Such a vessel would have rolled over at the slightest disturbance.

01_Gen.indd 17 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

days from now I will make it rain on the earth a : Gn : b : Gn :; Pr :; for ty days and for ty nights, and ev ery liv ing Am : ¹¹ In the six hun dredth year of Noah’s life, in thing I have made I will wipe off the face of c Kg :; Ps : ; the sec ond month, on the sev enteenth day of the earth.” ⁵ And Noah did ev ery thing that Is :; Mal : the month, on that day all the sources of the the L com mand ed him. a vast wa tery depths burst open, b the flood- ⁶ Noah was six hun dred years old when the gates of the sky were opened, c ¹² and the rain flood came and wa ter cov ered the earth. ⁷ So fell on the earth for ty days and for ty nights. Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives ¹³ On that same day Noah along with his sons en tered the ark be cause of the flood wa ters. Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth, Noah’s wife, and his ⁸ From the clean ani mals, un clean ani mals, three sons’ wives en tered the ark with him. birds, and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the ¹⁴ They en tered it with all the wildlife ac cord- ground, ⁹ two of each, male and fe male, came ing to their kinds, all live stock ac cord ing to to Noah and en tered the ark, just as God had their kinds, all the crea tures that crawl on the com mand ed him. ¹⁰ Sev en days lat er the flood- earth ac cord ing to their kinds, ev ery fly ing INTRODUCTIONwa ters TO GENESIS came on the earth. crea ture — all the birds and ev ery winged

created order, and no part of creation is to be consid- :from Since the pre-Christian face of the earth times . . . every authorship living ofjudges the andered kings an extensionruled over ofIsrael God. for All forty that Godis meant created by all isthe good, sources of the vast watery Torah, thething five. Elsewhere books that in the include OT God the caused book burn of Genesis,- years (Othniel,because Jdg he 3:11; is Deborah, a good and Jdg 5:31; majestic depths God. is Godunknown; is Lord, the phrase appears to re- has beening attributed sulfur (19:24) to Moses, and hailstones an enormously (Ex 9:18,23) influential Gideon, maintainingJdg 8:28; Eli, 1Smsovereignty 4:8; David, and 2Sm involvement fer to a massive with his outflow cre- of pressurized water to “rain” from the sky as a mechanism of 5:4; Solomon, 1Kg 11:42; Joash, 2Kg 12:1; from underground sources that burst out of Israelite judgmentleader from against the second sinners. millennium The rains would BC withSaul, an Ac ation.13:21). God’s control over human historythe ground is so with complete devastating eect. No known aristocraticcontinue Egyptian unabated background. for forty Evendays andthough forty Genesis 7:5 This isthat parallel even to the 6:22. worst of human deedsphenomenon can be turned in nature to today corresponds to is technicallynights anonymous,. The number bothforty playedthe Old a signifiand New- 7:6-10Tes- Noah’sserve age his atbenevolent the onset of purposes the flood— (50:20).this description. taments cant unanimously role throughout recognize the OT: Moses Isaac and as Esau the Torah’ssix hundred years old—will be used to indi- 7:12 Exactly as God had indicated (v. 4), the author (Joswere 8:35; forty 23:6; when 1Kg they 2:3; married 8:9; (25:20;2Kg 14:6; 26:34), 23:25; cate 2Ch the duration :of the Adamflood (8:13). and EveNo other were createdrain fell inon thethe imageearth forty days and forty 23:18; 25:4;Moses 30:16; was on 34:14; Mount 35:12; Sinai Ezr forty 3:2; days 6:18; and Neh human 8:1; aerof God, Noah unique will be from said tothe live rest to thisof creation, nights .to God’s have word fellow- to Noah is once again nights receiving the law from God (Ex 24:18; age. On the scope of the flood, see note at 6:17. shown to be trustworthy. 9:14; Dn 34:28; 9:11,13; Dt 9:11,18,25), Mal 4:4; Mk Israel 12:19,26; spent forty Lk years 2:22; 20:28;Seven ship days with later him., exactly Humans when God are saida paradox. it 7:13-15 On the The one same hand, day Noah completed the 24:44; Jnin 1:17,45; the wilderness 7:19; Ac following 13:39; 15:21; their disobedi 28:23; Rm- would10:5; occur,people the arefloodwaters the capstone began. of all God’stask creation, of loading created the ark in ; that is, the seventh 1Co 9:9; enceHeb 10:28).(Nm 32:13), At the the same Philistines time, oppressedevidence in 7:11Gen- WaterGod’s came image from (1:26-27) two dierent and sourcpossessing- day Godlike (v. 10) aer authority God’s command was given, esis suggestsIsrael thatfor forty minor years editorial (Jdg 13:1), changes and several dating toes—one an- overbelow all and the one created above. Exactly order withinwhat theirNoah and realm his family (1:28-29; entered the ark. cient times have been inserted into the text. Examples 9:1-3). On the other hand, they are sinners—beings include the mention of “Dan” (14:14), a city that was not who have used their God-given resources and abilities named until the days of the judges (Jdg 18:29), and the in ways that violate God’s laws (2:17; 3:6) and hurt oth- use of a phrase that assumed the existence of Israelite er people (3:8-11; 6:5,11-12). Even so, during their life- kings (Gn 36:31). time God expects people to follow his laws (4:7), and he blesses those who live according to his ways (6:8-9; GENESIS : : The Torah (a Hebrew term for “law” or “in- 39:2,21). God wants to work through individuals to bring struction) wascrea seen ture as one— ac unit cord until ing at least to their the second kinds. ¹⁵a Two blessing a : to Gn every : humansub life side.(18:18; ² The 22:18; sources 26:4). Nev- of the wa tery depths b century BC. Sometime of ev ery crea prior ture to the that birth has of Christ, the breath the To- of lifeertheless, in : Genesis Pt :; teaches and that thebecause flood of gates sin all of human the sky were closed, and Pt : e rah was divided it came into tofive Noah separate and books, en tered later the referred ark. ¹⁶ Those beings mustc : Gn die :; (2:17; Ex 3:19; the 5:5,8,11). rain from Since the all skyhuman stopped. ³ The wa ter to as the Pentateuch (literally, five vessels). Genesis, the life is created: ; Sm in :;the Ps image of God, no person or class of that en tered, male and fe male of ev ery crea- : steadi ly re ced ed from the earth, and by the first book ofture, the Torah, en tered provides just both as Godthe universal had com his- mandhumans ed dis Ex superior :; :; Jbto others. end Humanity of days was the created wa ter to had de creased sig- tory of humankind him. Then and the the patriarchal L shut history him of in. the na- live in community.:; Ps :; The Is mostnificantly. fundamental f ⁴ The unit ark of camecom- to rest in the sev- tion of Israel. The first section (chaps. 1–11) is a general munity is :; the family:Nah : a husband (male) and wife (female) ¹⁷ The flood con tinued for for ty days on the e : Gn : enth month, on the sev en teenth day of the history commonly earth; called the wa the ter “primeval in creased history,” and show-lift ed upwith the children. f : Gn : month, on the moun tains of Ar a rat. g ing how all humanity descended from one couple and g : Kg :; Is ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The wa- :; Jr : ⁵ The wa ter con tin ued to re cede un til the became sinners. The second section (chaps. 12–50) is a : Evil and sin did94 not PHOTOGRAPHS originate with God. Adam and more specificter history surged commonly and in creased referred great to as lythe on “pa- the earth,Eve were created innocent tenth and month; with the in capacity the tenth to month, on the first triarchal history,” and the focusing ark float on the ed covenant on the sur God face made of the make wa- choices. Sin entered day the ofworld the at month, a specific the place tops of the moun tains with Abrahamter. and ¹⁹ Then his descendants: the wa ter surgedIsaac, Jacob, even and high erand on time in history. Adam were and Eve vis ichose ble. ⁶ Affreely ter tofor dis- ty days Noah opened Jacob’s 12 sons. the Genesis earth, andunfolds all God’s the high plan mounto bless tains and unobey der God, fell from innocence, the win and dow lost oftheir the freedom. ark that he had made, ⁷ and redeem humanity the whole through sky Abraham’s were cov descendants. ered. ²⁰ The mounThe Their tains sinful nature has passed he sent to out every a otherra ven. human It went back and forth book concludes were with cov the ered events as the that wa led ter to surgedthe Israelites above thembeing. Sin resulted in death,un both til the physical wa ter and had spiritual. dried up from the earth. being in the moreland of than Egypt. twen ty feet. ²¹ Ev ery crea tureSin per- has led to a world of pain⁸ Then and struggle. he sent out a dove to see wheth er the ished — those that crawl on the earth, birds, wa ter on the earth’s sur face had gone down, live stock, wildlife, and those that swarm : on Genesis is a narrative⁹ but the of dove relationships, found no and rest ing place for its : God the is earth, the sovereign as well as Lord all and man Creator kind. of²² Evcertainly ery- relationships grounded foot. Itin re covenants turned with to him God. in the ark be cause all things. Godthing created with everything the breath out of of the nothing. spir it No of lifeThese in covenants provide awa unifying ter cov principle ered the for sur under- face of the whole earth. preexistent itsmaterial nos trils existed. a — ev He ery is thingthe Creator, on dry not land a standing died. the whole of Scripture He reached and define out the and relation- brought it into the ark to cra sman. This²³ He indicates wiped that out evhe eryhas livinfinite ing thingpower that and wasship on between God and man.him The self. heart ¹⁰ of So that Noah relationship wait ed sev en more days perfect control over everything. He is separate from the is found in the phrase, “They will be my people, and I will A reproduction the face of of tablet the eleven earth, of the from Epic of man Gilgamesh kind, a Babylonian to live- account of the great flood. and sent out the dove from the ark again. stock, to crea tures that crawl, to the birds of ¹¹ When the dove came to him at eve ning, 61 TIMELINES the sky, and BC they were wiped o the earth. there BC was a plucked ol ive leaf in its beak. Only Noah was left, and those that were with So Noah knew that the wa ter on the earth’s b Job 2100?–1900? him in the ark.Abraham ²⁴ And 2166–1991 the wa ter surged on Isaac 2066–1886 surface had goneJacob down. 2006–1859 ¹² After he had wait- the earth days. ed an oth er sev en days, he sent out the dove, 01_Gen.indd 18 2134–1991 2113–2006 but it did not re turn 1991–1786 to him again. ¹³ In the28/10/16 six 12.39 hun dred and first year, in the first month, Abraham moves from GodHaran re to mem Canaan.bered 2091 Noah, c as well as allContraceptives the are developed on the in Egypt. first day 2000 of the month, the wa ter that Destruction of Sodom wildlife and Gomorrah and all2085 the live stock that wereChinese create first zoo, Park had of cov Intelligence. ered the 2000 earth was dried up. Then God’s covenant with with Abraham him in 2081? the ark. God caused a windBabylonians to and Egyptians Noah divide re days moved into thehours, ark’s minutes, cov er and saw that d Earliest pottery in pass South over America the earth,2200 and the wa ter be ganand to seconds. 2000 the sur face of the ground was dry ing. ¹⁴ By Construction of ZigguratA : Lit surgedat Ur in cubitsSumer B 2100 : Lit all the swarming swarmsMesopotamians C : Or spirit ; Gn learn : Dto : solve = of Noah’squadratic life equations. 2000 Code of medical ethics, Mesopotamia 2000 7:16 Shut him in—The author gave no details (30:22),Courier and the systems Israelites of incommunication Egypt (Ex 2:24). arecause developed it was expendable. in both The fact that it went to explain how God performed the supernat- Using languageChina and that Egypt. reflects 2000 God’s initial act back and forth from the ark means that it ural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused could find no suitable habitat. highlights the truth found elsewhere in the Bi- (Hb) ruach—“Spirit” or wind—to pass over the 8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of ble: “Salvation belongs to the L” (Jnh 2:9). waters of the earth. Immediately the water the raven or soon thereaer, Noah sent out a 7:17-20 More than twenty feet is literally fif- began to subside. 34 EXPANDEDdove ARTICLES. Since the dove ate seed and insects, it teen cubits, which is about 22½ feet. For more 8:2 Following the 150 days of ever-surging would provide a useful indication of whether on the scope of Noah’s flood, see note at 6:17. waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sourc- the water on the earth’s surface had gone 7:21 Through the use of expanded restate- es of water (from above and below) stopped down. 01_Gen.indd 2 ment the author brings the detailed account and the water began to subside. The initial 8:9 Though the ark was 28/10/16now resting 12.39 on Ararat of the flood’s destruction to a climax. downpour ended aer forty days and nights (v. 4) and mountaintops were visible (v. 5), the 7:22 For dramatic eect a second expanded (7:12), so presumably the rains that are said waters had not yet receded enough for the expression of the flood’s destructive eects im- to have ceased in the present verse were only dove to find a resting place for its foot. mediately follows the one in the previous verse. sporadic showers. 8:10-11 When the dove returned to Noah from 7:23 The overpowering presentation of death 8:3 Just as the flood had increased upon the its second foray with an olive leaf, this con- is contrasted with Noah’s preservation. earth for 150 days, so it steadily receded from firmed that the lower elevations (where olive 7:24 Though the text does not explicitly say the earth for 150 days, until the levels had de- trees grow) were now above water. Inspired so, the total of 150 days seems to include the creased significantly. by this passage, the image of a dove with an forty days of rain (see note at v. 12). The He- 8:4 Exactly five months aer the flood had olive branch in its mouth has become a uni- brew word translated as surged emphasizes begun (7:11), the ark came to rest . . . on the versal symbol of peace. the power of the waters. mountains of Ararat—modern Turkey or Ar- 8:12 When Noah sent the dove out a third 8:1 Remembered does not suggest that God menia. time and it did not return, it was clear that had ever forgotten about Noah; when used of 8:5-6 This is the only mention of a window life-sustaining conditions now existed at the God, “remember” suggests the initiation of a (Hb hallon) in the ark. Noah opened the win- earth’s more temperate, lower elevations. miraculous, saving act of God. Other instances dow to determine the earth’s readiness to 8:13-14 On Noah’s six hundred and first of God “remembering” as the first step in pro- receive the ark’s cargo of people and animals. birthday he removed the ark’s cover and viding divine help for his people include his 8:7 Rabbis have suggested that Noah first confirmed what the dove had indicated—that intervention in the lives of Lot (19:29), Rachel sent out a raven, a ritually unclean bird, be- the plains beneath the mountain range were

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39 8 A B C D

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The book of Genesis is the great book of beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of its Hebrew and Greek names (Hb bere’shith, “In Beginning” [based on :]; Gk Geneseos, “Of Birth” [based on :]), Genesis permits us to view the beginning of a multitude of realities that shape our daily existence: the creation of the universe and the planet earth; the origins of plant and animal life; and the origins of human beings, marriage, families, nations, industry, artistic expression, religious ritual, prophecy, sin, law, crime, conflict, punishment, and death.

A caravan of camels casts a long shadow in the desert.

01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

created order, and no part of creation is to be consid- : Since pre-Christian times authorship of the ered an extension of God. All that God created is good, Torah, the five books that include the book of Genesis, because he is a good and majestic God. God is Lord, has been attributed to Moses, an enormously influential maintaining sovereignty and involvement with his cre- Israelite leader from the second millennium BC with an ation. God’s control over human history is so complete aristocratic Egyptian background. Even though Genesis that even the worst of human deeds can be turned to is technically anonymous, both the Old and New Tes- serve his benevolent purposes (50:20). taments unanimously recognize Moses as the Torah’s author (Jos 8:35; 23:6; 1Kg 2:3; 8:9; 2Kg 14:6; 23:25; 2Ch : Adam and Eve were created in the image 23:18; 25:4; 30:16; 34:14; 35:12; Ezr 3:2; 6:18; Neh 8:1; of God, unique from the rest of creation, to have fellow- 9:14; Dn 9:11,13; Mal 4:4; Mk 12:19,26; Lk 2:22; 20:28; ship with him. Humans are a paradox. On the one hand, The book of Genesis is the great book of 24:44; Jn 1:17,45; 7:19; Ac 13:39; 15:21; 28:23; Rm 10:5; people are the capstone of all God’s creation, created in beginnings in the Bible. True to the meanings of 1Co 9:9; Heb 10:28). At the same time, evidence in Gen- God’s image (1:26-27) and possessing Godlike authority esis suggests that minor editorial changes dating to an- over all the created order within their realm (1:28-29; its Hebrew and Greek names (Hb bere’shith, “In cient times have been inserted into the text. Examples 9:1-3). On the other hand, they are sinners—beings Beginning” [based on :]; Gk Geneseos, “Of Birth” include the mention of “Dan” (14:14), a city that was not who have used their God-given resources and abilities [based on :]), Genesis permits us to view the named until the days of the judges (Jdg 18:29), and the in ways that violate God’s laws (2:17; 3:6) and hurt oth- use of a phrase that assumed the existence of Israelite er people (3:8-11; 6:5,11-12). Even so, during their life- beginning of a multitude of realities that shape our kings (Gn 36:31). time God expects people to follow his laws (4:7), and daily existence: the creation of the universe and he blesses those who live according to his ways (6:8-9; the planet earth; the origins of plant and animal : The Torah (a Hebrew term for “law” or “in- 39:2,21). God wants to work through individuals to bring life; and the origins of human beings, marriage, struction) was seen as one unit until at least the second a blessing to every human life (18:18; 22:18; 26:4). Nev- century BC. Sometime prior to the birth of Christ, the To- ertheless, Genesis teaches that because of sin all human families, nations, industry, artistic expression, rah was divided into five separate books, later referred beings must die (2:17; 3:19; 5:5,8,11). Since all human religious ritual, prophecy, sin, law, crime, conflict, to as the Pentateuch (literally, five vessels). Genesis, the life is created in the image of God, no person or class of punishment, and death. first book of the Torah, provides both the universal his- humans is superior to others. Humanity was created to tory of humankind and the patriarchal history of the na- live in community. The most fundamental unit of com- tion of Israel. The first section (chaps. 1–11) is a general munity is the family: a husband (male) and wife (female) history commonly called the “primeval history,” show- with children. ing how all humanity descended from one couple and became sinners. The second section (chaps. 12–50) is a : Evil and sin did not originate with God. Adam and more specific history commonly referred to as the “pa- Eve were created innocent and with the capacity to triarchal history,” focusing on the covenant God made make choices. Sin entered the world at a specific place with Abraham and his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, and and time in history. Adam and Eve chose freely to dis- Jacob’s 12 sons. Genesis unfolds God’s plan to bless and obey God, fell from innocence, and lost their freedom. redeem humanity through Abraham’s descendants. The Their sinful nature has passed to every other human book concludes with the events that led to the Israelites being. Sin resulted in death, both physical and spiritual. being in the land of Egypt. Sin has led to a world of pain and struggle.

BC BC

Job 2100?–1900? Abraham 2166–1991 Isaac 2066–1886 Jacob 2006–1859

2134–1991 2113–2006 1991–1786

Abraham moves from Haran to Canaan. 2091 Contraceptives are developed in Egypt. 2000 Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah 2085 Chinese create first zoo, Park of Intelligence. 2000 God’s covenant with Abraham 2081? Babylonians and Egyptians divide days into hours, minutes, Earliest pottery in South America 2200 and seconds. 2000 Construction of Ziggurat at Ur in Sumer 2100 Mesopotamians learn to solve quadratic equations. 2000 Code of medical ethics, Mesopotamia 2000 Courier systems of communication are developed in both A caravan of camels casts a long shadow in the desert. China and Egypt. 2000

01_Gen.indd 1 28/10/16 12.39 01_Gen.indd 2 28/10/16 12.39 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS

be their God” (Jr 32:38; cp. Gn 17:7-8; Ex 6:6-7; Lv 26:12; Dt tablished with the giving of the law. For the Israelite 4:20; Jr 11:4; Ezk 11:20). God’s cov enant with Abraham is community, the stories of the origins of humanity, sin, a major event both in Genesis and throughout the Bible. and the covenant relationship with God helped them God called Abraham out of Ur to go to Canaan, promis- understand why God gave them the law. ing to make him a great nation that in turn would bless all nations (Gn 12:1-3). God repeats his oath in Genesis 22:18, adding further that it would be through Abraham’s Genesis is chiefly a narrative. From a narrative stand- ospring (Hb zera‘ “seed”) that all nations would some- point, God is the only true hero of the Bible, and the day be blessed. Paul applies the singular noun seed as book of Genesis has the distinct privilege of introducing a reference to Christ (Gl 3:16). It is through Christ, Abra- him. God is the first subject of a verb in the book and is ham’s prophesied descendant, that the blessings of the mentioned more frequently than any other character in Abrahamic Covenant would come to every nation. the Bible. The content of the first eleven chapters is distinct from the patriarchal stories in chapters 12–50. The primary literary device is the catchphrase “these are the Genesis lays the groundwork for everything else we family records.” The phrase is broader in meaning than read and experience in Scripture. Through Genesis we simply “generation,” and refers more to a narrative ac- understand where we came from, how we got in the fall- count. This was a common practice in ancient Near East en state we are in, and the beginnings of God’s gracious writings. This phrase also serves as a link between the work on our behalf. Genesis unfolds God’s original pur- key person in the previous narrative and the one antici- pose for humanity. pated in the next section. Genesis could be described as Genesis provides the foundation from which we historical genealogy, which ties together creation and understand God’s covenant with Israel that was es- human history in one continuum.

Outline I. Creation of Heaven and Earth (1:1–2:3) D. God’s remembrance and rescue of Noah A. Creator and creation (1:1-2) (8:1-14) B. Six days of creation (1:3-31) E. Exiting the ark (8:15-19) C. Seventh day— day of consecration (2:1-3) F. Worship and the word of promise (8:20-22) II. The Human Family In and Outside the Garden G. God’s covenant with the new world (9:1-17) (2:4 – 4:26) H. Noah’s sons and future blessing (9:18-29) A. The man and woman in the garden (2:4-25) V. The Nations and the Tower of Babylon B. The man and woman expelled from the garden (10:1–11:26) (3:1-24) A. Table of Nations (10:1-32) C. Adam and Eve’s family outside the garden B. Tower of Babylon (11:1-9) (4:1-26) C. Family line of Abram (11:10-26) III. Adam’s Family Line (5:1–6:8) VI. Father Abraham (11:27–25:11) A. Introduction: Creation and blessing (5:1-2) A. Abram’s beginnings (11:27-32) B. “Image of God” from Adam to Noah (5:3-32) B. The promissory call and Abram’s obedience C. Conclusion: Procreation and perversion (6:1-8) (12:1-9) IV. Noah and His Family (6:9–9:29) C. Abram and Sarai in Egypt: Blessing begins A. Righteous Noah and the corrupt world (12:10–13:1) (6:9-12) D. Abram and Lot part: Promises recalled B. Coming judgment but the ark of promise (13:2-18) (6:13–7:10) E. Abram rescues Lot: Abram’s faithfulness C. Worldwide flood of judgment (7:11-24) (14:1-24)

BC BC

Joseph 1915-1805

Jacob wrestles with God. 1903? Khnumhotep II, an architect of Pharaoh Amenemhet II, Potter’s wheel is introduced to Crete. 1900 develops encryption. 1900 Use of the sail in the Aegean 1900 Amorite Ascendancy 1894–1595 First Chinese city is founded at Erlitou on Yellow River. 1900 Musical theory, Mesopotamia 1800 Egyptian town of El Lahun gives evidence of town planning Multiplication tables, Mesopotamia 1800 with streets at right angles. 1900 Babylonians develop catalog of stars and planets. 1800 Mesopotamian mathematicians discover what later came Book of the Dead, Egypt 1800 to be called the Pythagorean theorem. 1900 Horses are introduced in Egypt. 1800 Wooden plows, Scandinavia 1800

01_Gen.indd 3 28/10/16 12.39 INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS F. Covenant promises confirmed (15:1-21) G. Birth of Jacob’s herds (30:25-43) G. Abram’s firstborn son, Ishmael (16:1-16) H. Jacob deceives Laban (31:1-55) H. Covenant sign of circumcision (17:1-27) I. Struggle for blessing at Peniel (32:1-32) I. Divine judgment and mercy (18:1–19:38) J. Restored gi and return to Shechem (33:1-20) J. Abraham and Sarah in Gerar: Promises pre- K. Dinah, deception, and strife with the Hivites served (20:1-18) (34:1-31) K. Abraham’s promised son: The birth of Isaac L. Blessing and struggle at birth (35:1-29) (21:1-21) IX. Esau’s Family (36:1-8) L. Treaty with Abimelech (21:22-34) X. Esau, Father of the Edomites (36:9–37:1) M. Abraham’s test (22:1-19) XI. Jacob’s Family: Joseph and His Brothers N. Family line of Rebekah (22:20-24) (37:2–50:26) O. Sarah’s burial site (23:1-20) A. The early days of Joseph (37:2-36) P. A wife for Isaac (24:1-67) B. Judah and Tamar (38:1-30) Q. Abraham’s death and burial (25:1-11) C. Joseph in Egypt (39:1-23) VII. Ishmael’s Family Line (25:12-18) D. Joseph, savior of Egypt (40:1– 41:57) VIII. Isaac’s Family: Jacob and Esau (25:19–35:29) E. The brothers’ journeys to Egypt (42:1– 43:34) A. Struggle at birth and birthright (25:19-34) F. Joseph tests the brothers (44:1-34) B. Isaac’s deception and strife with the Philistines G. Joseph reveals his identity (45:1-28) (26:1-35) H. Jacob’s migration to Egypt (46:1-27) C. Stolen blessing and flight to Paddan-aram I. Joseph, savior of the family (46:28– 47:12) (27:1–28:9) J. Joseph’s administration in Egypt (47:13-31) D. Promise of blessing at Bethel (28:10-22) K. Jacob’s blessings (48:1– 49:28) E. Laban deceives Jacob (29:1-30) L. The death and burial of Jacob (49:29–50:14) F. Birth of Jacob’s children (29:31–30:24) M. The final days of Joseph (50:15-26)

01_Gen.indd 4 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a : Ps :; :; called the ex panse “ sky.” Eve ning came and In the be ginning a God cre at ed the heav ens Is :; Jn :-; then morn ing: the sec ond day. ,b Eph : and the earth. b Neh :; Is :- ⁹ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter un der the c ; :; Jr :-; h ² Now the earth was form less and emp ty, Am :; Rm :; sky be gath ered into one place, and let the dark ness cov ered the sur face of the wa tery Co :; Col :; dry land ap pear.” And it was so. ¹⁰ God called Rv : depths, and the Spir it of God was hov er ing c the dry land “ earth,” and the gath ering of the d : Jr : over the sur face of the wa ters. ³ Then God d Jb :; :; Ps wa ter he called “ seas.” And God saw that it said, “ Let there be light,” e and there was light. :; : was good. ¹¹ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro- e : Co : ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and God f : Is :; Jr : duce veg e ta tion: seed-bearing plants and fruit g : Ps : sep a rat ed the light from the dark ness. ⁵ God h trees on the earth bear ing fruit with seed in : Jb :-; Ps i called the light “ day,” and the dark ness he :; :; Jr :; it ac cord ing to their kinds.” And it was so. called “ night.” There was an eve ning, and Pt : ¹² The earth pro duced veg e ta tion: seed-bear- i : Ps :-; there was a morn ing: one day. : ing plants ac cord ing to their kinds and trees ⁶ Then God said, “ Let there be an ex panse bearing fruit with seed in it ac cording to their be tween the wa ters, separating wa ter from kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³ Eve- wa ter.” f ⁷ So God made the ex panse and sep- ning came and then morn ing: the third day. a rat ed the wa ter un der the ex panse from the ¹⁴ Then God said, “ Let there be lights in the wa ter above the ex panse. g And it was so. ⁸ God ex panse of the sky to sepa rate the day from

A : Or created the universe B : Or “heavens.”

1:1 This opening verse of the Bible, seven The sense of v. 2 is that God created the dier over the meaning of “day” in the phrases words in the Hebrew, establishes seven key earth “formless and empty” as an unfinished “one day . . . the second day,” etc. Some argue truths upon which the rest of the Bible is based. and unfilled state. Working through an or- for twenty-four-hour periods, but other op- First, God exists. The essential first step in derly process over a period of six days, God tions are possible, especially since (1) there pleasing God is acknowledging his existence formed (days 1-3) and filled (days 4-6) his cre- was at first no sun by which to distinguish (Heb 11:6). Second, God existed before there ated handiwork. The “forming” was accom- twenty-four-hour periods, (2) “day” means was a universe and will exist a er the universe plished by means of three acts of separating the period of daylight in 1:5a, and (3) “day” perishes (Heb 1:10-12). Third, God is the main or sorting various elements of creation from refers to the whole creation period in 2:4 (“at character in the Bible. He is the subject of the one another. The “filling” was carried out the time” is lit “on the day”). Consequently, first verb in the Bible (in fact, he is the subject through five acts of populating the newly cre- some scholars understand the “days” of cre- of more verbs than any other character) and ated domains. Watery depths, a single word ation as extended periods of uncertain length performs a wider variety of activities than any in Hebrew, suggests an original state of cre- or as a rhetorical device by which the account other being in the Bible. Fourth, as Creator, ation that was shapeless as liquid water. The of creation is structured. God has done what no human could ever Hebrew verb translated was hovering, used 1:6 Based on a verb that can refer to covering do; in its active form the Hebrew verb bara’, also in Dt 32:11, suggests that the Spirit of God something with a thin sheet of metal (Nm meaning “to create,” never has a human sub- was watching over his creation just as a bird 16:39; Is 40:19), the noun expanse always re- ject. Thus bara’ signifies a work that is unique- watches over its young. fers to the vast spread of the open sky. ly God’s. Fi h, God is mysterious; though this 1:3 A foundational teaching of the Bible is that 1:7 God’s second act of separation was to particular Hebrew word for God is plural, the God speaks and does so with universe-chang- divide atmospheric water from terrestrial wa- verb form of which “God” is the subject is ing authority. The command in this verse is ter. Thus he began the process of giving form singular. This is perhaps a subtle allusion to just two words in Hebrew. to the material world. The clause it was so, God’s Trinitarian nature: He is three divine 1:4 Another basic truth of the Bible is that found six times in this chapter, emphasizes persons in one divine essence. Sixth, God is God saw; this means he is fully aware of his God’s absolute power over creation. the Creator of heaven and earth. He does not creation. Later writers directly declared that 1:8 Sky can refer to the earth’s atmospheric en- just modify preexisting matter but calls mat- God is aware of events occurring throughout velope (v. 20), outer space (v. 15), or “heaven,” ter into being out of nothing (Ps 33:6,9; Heb the earth (2Ch 16:9; Zch 4:10). The term good, the spiritual realm where God lives (Ps 11:4). 11:3). Seventh, God is not dependent on the used here for the first of seven times in this 1:9 God’s third and final act of separation cre- universe, but the universe is totally depen- chapter to evaluate God’s creative work, can ated oceans and continents. dent on God (Heb 1:3). be used to express both high quality and mor- 1:10 In his third and final act of naming, God 1:2 Bible translations since the time of the al excellence. The physical universe is a good demonstrated his authority over all of the Septuagint, the translation of the OT into place because God made it. God found satis- earth. This contrasts with what Israel’s poly- Greek (ca 175 BC), have rendered the first He- faction in his labor. This is the first instance theistic neighbors believed about the range of brew verb in this verse as was. However, in an where God separated the twin realms of light divine powers. Their gods were not all-power- eort to explain the origins of evil and/or find and darkness, day and night. God’s activity ful, but instead exercised authority over a lim- biblical evidence for an old earth, some Bible in the material world parallels the role he ited territory. The God of Gn 1 holds dominion scholars have suggested that this verb should also performs in the moral universe, that of over everything at all times and in all places. be translated as “became.” Citing portions of the righteous Judge distinguishing between 1:11-13 In preparation for the introduction Is 14:12-21 and Ezk 28:12-19, they believe a those who live in moral light and those who of animal and human life, God provided an time gap, possibly a vast one, exists between do not (1Th 5:5). abundant supply of food. The consistent bib- the first two verses of the Bible, during which 1:5 In ancient Israel, the act of naming an ob- lical teaching is that “like begets like” (Lk 6:44; Satan led a rebellion in heaven against God. ject, place, or person indicated that you held Jms 3:12); Gn 1:11-12 establishes that princi- This allows interpreters to suggest that the control over it (35:10; 41:45; Nm 32:42; Dt ple for plant life. While five of the six days con- early earth became formless and empty be- 3:14; Jos 19:47; 2Kg 23:34; 24:17). When God tain at least one act of creation evaluated as cause Satan’s rebellion marred God’s good named the light and the darkness, he asserted good, only the third and sixth days have this creation. However, the construction of this his lordship and control over all of time. There statement more than once. sentence in the original Hebrew favors the was an evening. In ancient Israelite and mod- 1:14-15 The events of day four complement traditional translation (“was” rather than ern Jewish tradition, sundown is the transi- those of day one, filling the day and night with “became”). tion point from one day to the next. Scholars finished forms of light. The various lights, or

01_Gen.indd 5 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a f the night. They will serve as signs for sea sons a : Jr : earth.” ²³ Eve ning came and then morn ing: b b Ps : and for days and years. ¹⁵ They will be lights c : Dt : ; Ps the fifth day. in the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on :- ; Is : ²⁴ Then God said, “ Let the earth pro duce liv- d : Jr : the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶ God made the two e : Ps :- ing crea tures ac cord ing to their kinds: live- great lights — the great er light to rule over the f : Gn :; : stock, crea tures that crawl, and the wildlife g : Gn :; : day and the less er light to rule over the night h of the earth ac cord ing to their kinds.” And c Gn :, ; :; Rm — as well as the stars. ¹⁷ God placed them in : ; Co :; it was so. ²⁵ So God made the wildlife of the the ex panse of the sky to pro vide light on the : ; Co :; :; earth ac cord ing to their kinds, the live stock Eph :; Col :; earth, ¹⁸ to rule the day and the night, and to Jms : accord ing to their kinds, and all the crea tures sep a rate light from dark ness. d And God saw i Gn :; Ps :-; that crawl on the ground ac cord ing to their Jms : that it was good. ¹⁹ Eve ning came and then j : Gn :; Mt :; kinds. And God saw that it was good. morn ing: the fourth day. Mk : ²⁶ Then God said, “ Let us g make man in k : Gn :, ²⁰ Then God said, “ Let the wa ter swarm with our im age, ac cord ing to our like ness. h They liv ing crea tures, and let birds fly above the will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the earth across the ex panse of the sky.” ²¹ So God sky, the live stock, the whole earth, and the creat ed the large sea-creatures and ev ery liv- crea tures that crawl on the earth.” i ing crea ture that moves and swarms in the wa- ²⁷ So God created man in his own image; ter, e ac cording to their kinds. He also cre at ed he created him in the image of God; ev ery winged crea ture ac cord ing to its kind. he created them male and female. j And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed ²⁸ God blessed them, and God said to them, “ Be them: “ Be fruit ful, mul tiply, and fill the wa ters fruit ful, mul ti ply, fill the earth, k and sub due of the seas, and let the birds mul ti ply on the it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky,

01_Gen.indd 6 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : i and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the earth.” a : Gn : ; Ps the heav ens, ⁵ no shrub of the field had yet :-; :; ²⁹ God also said, “ Look, I have giv en you ev- :- grown on the land, and no plant of the field ery seed-bearing plant on the sur face of the b : Ps : had yet sprout ed, for the L God had not c : Tm : en tire earth and ev ery tree whose fruit con- d made it rain on the land, and there was no man a : Neh :; Ps :; tains seed. This will be food for you, ³⁰ for Is :; : to work the ground. ⁶ But mist would come e : Ex :-; all the wildlife of the earth, for ev ery bird of :; Dt :-; up from the earth and wa ter all the ground. the sky, and for ev ery crea ture that crawls on Heb : ⁷ Then the L God formed the man out of f : Ex : j the earth — ev ery thing hav ing the breath of g the dust from the ground and breathed the Ex :; :; Ps k life in it — haveI giv en ev ery green plant for : breath of life into his nos trils, and the man food.” b And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he h : Gn :; :; :; be came a liv ing be ing. l c :,; :,; had made, and it was very good in deed. Eve- :,; : ⁸ The L God plant ed a gar den in Eden, ning came and then morn ing: the sixth day. i : Gn :- in the east, m and there he placed the man he j : Gn :, ; So the heav ens and the earth and ev ery thing :; Ps :; Ec had formed. ⁹ The L God caused to grow in them were com pleted. d ² On the sev enth :; Co : out of the ground ev ery tree pleas ing in ap- k Gn :; Jb :; day God had com plet ed his work that he had Is : pear ance and good for food, in clud ing the tree l Co : n done, and he rest ed on the sev enth day from m of life in the mid dle of the gar den, as well as e : Gn :; Is o all his work that he had done. ³ God blessed : ; Ezk : ; :; the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil. Jl : the sev enth day and de clared it holy, for on n ¹⁰ A riv er went out from Eden to wa ter the f ,g : Gn :; Rv :; it he rest ed from all his work of cre a tion. :, garden. From there it di vided and be came the o Pr : source of four riv ers. ¹¹ The name of the first p : Gn :,; :; Sm : is Pi shon, which flows through the en tire land ⁴ These are the rec ords h of the heav ens and of Havi lah, ,p where there is gold. ¹² Gold from the earth, con cern ing their crea tion. At the that land is pure; bdel li um and onyx are time that the L God made the earth and also there. ¹³ The name of the sec ond riv er is

A : Or and all scurrying animals that scurry B : I have given added for clarity C : Sam, LXX, Syr read sixth D : Or ceased, also in v. E : Lit work that God created to make F : Lit creation on the day G : Or earth H : Or goes I : Lit became four heads J : Or of the Havilah K : Lit good L : A yellowish, transparent gum resin M : Identity of this precious stone uncertain

tions of marriage and the family. The final even on the Sabbath (Jn 5:16-17). Also, God’s ground. But the Bible makes it very clear that two commands, to subdue the earth and rule “rest” does not imply that he was tired. It lit- people are more than just material beings. It the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing erally means “cease” and implies only that his was only when God breathed into the man’s on the use of the planet’s renewable and non- creative work was complete. nostrils the breath of life that Adam became renewable natural resources. Of course, only 2:3 This is the only instance during the cre- alive. God is Spirit (Jn 4:24); thus, when God the wise use of these resources permits peo- ation process when God blessed a unit of breathed into him, Adam and all later humans ple to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A time. The term holy is applied in the Bible to became a unique mix of the physical and the similar command to the survivors of the flood something set aside for service to God. spiritual. The Hebrew phrase translated as liv- is shorter, having only the first three verbs in 2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, translated ing being is used elsewhere in Genesis to de- it (9:1). here as records, is used eleven times in the scribe other types of living beings (1:20,24,30; 1:29-30 The repeated use of Hebrew kol, “all, book of Genesis to introduce new units of 9:12,15-16). Nevertheless, humans are con- every, entire,” in vv. 29-30 shows that the material (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; sidered to be in a class by themselves since point is to emphasize God’s abundant and 36:1,9; 37:2). Here it introduces a detailed they alone are made in God’s image. generous provision for all his creatures, rath- elaboration of some key aspects of the cre- 2:8 The location of Eden is unknown; sug- er than to specify what they were or were not ation account that opens the book of Genesis gestions include Armenia, Iraq, Africa, and supposed to eat. While seed and fruit are list- (1:1–2:3). Special emphasis is placed on the Arabia. Changes in geography caused by the ed here, Kenneth Mathews explains, “God’s events of day six. Verse 4 includes the first use flood in Noah’s day (7:11) make it unlikely dietary standards for mankind specifically of God’s personal name, rendered in English that Eden will ever be discovered. The Hebrew include meat in the postdiluvian world” (Gn as the L , the most commonly used noun word ‘eden literally means “pleasantness.” 9:3). in the OT. The Hebrew spelling is transliter- 2:9 God’s concern for beauty is seen in the fact 1:31 This is the seventh, final, and most elab- ated as “YHWH,” a word Jews considered so that the trees he caused to grow were pleas- orate use of the word good in the account of sacred that they would not permit themselves ing in appearance. The Lord’s love of beau- the seven days of creation in that it adds very to pronounce it. Its accurate pronunciation is ty will later be extended to Israel’s religion, to good. thus unknown, though common suggestions which will make use of furnishings fashioned 2:1 This verse serves as a complement to 1:1. include “Jehovah” and “Yahweh.” by expert cra§smen using expensive materi- Together, the two set the first six days of cre- 2:5 The shrub of the field and the plant of als (Ex 25–40). Of course, God’s beautiful creation apart from the sacred seventh day. the field are not the same as the vegetation ated works were also practical, being good 2:2 This is the first use of the number seven in described in Gn 1:11-12 but are the plants that for food. the Bible, a number that will play an especial- will make up the Garden of Eden. 2:10 The abundance of the waters supplied in ly significant role in the religious and social 2:6 This source of water, a bountiful blessing the garden of Eden is indicated by the fact that life of ancient Israel (4:15; 7:2-4,10; 21:28-31; that provided moisture for all the ground in it served as the headwaters for four rivers. 29:18-20). On the seventh day God rested, the time of human innocence, later became a 2:11 The location of the Pishon river is un- thus setting an example for people—who are source of judgment on humanity’s sin (7:11). known. A land known as Havilah existed in the made in his image—to follow (Ex 20:8-11; Dt 2:7 The Hebrew verb translated here as region of the Arabian peninsula at a later point 5:12-14). Though God rested from all his work formed is used elsewhere in the Bible to de- in time (1Sm 15:7), but the pre-flood land may that he had done, this is not to say that God scribe the potter’s profession (Jr 18:4; Zch have represented a dierent locale. has abandoned the universe. In the NT Jesus 11:13); God acts here as the divine potter, skill- 2:12 The gold and gems of Eden foreshadow airmed that God is still at work in the world, fully fashioning man out of the dust from the the splendor of the tabernacle and temple

01_Gen.indd 7 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : i and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the earth.” a : Gn : ; Ps the heav ens, ⁵ no shrub of the field had yet :-; :; ²⁹ God also said, “ Look, I have giv en you ev- :- grown on the land, and no plant of the field ery seed-bearing plant on the sur face of the b : Ps : had yet sprout ed, for the L God had not c : Tm : Kenneth A. Mathews en tire earth and ev ery tree whose fruit con- d made it rain on the land, and there was no man a : Neh :; Ps :; tains seed. This will be food for you, ³⁰ for Is :; : to work the ground. ⁶ But mist would come e : Ex :-; all the wildlife of the earth, for ev ery bird of :; Dt :-; up from the earth and wa ter all the ground. the sky, and for ev ery crea ture that crawls on Heb : ⁷ Then the L God formed the man out of hile there are many similarities between f : Ex : j the earth — ev ery thing hav ing the breath of g the dust from the ground and breathed the parts of Genesis and ancient Near In Genesis the Creator by inherent authority as Ex :; :; Ps k life in it — haveI giv en ev ery green plant for : breath of life into his nos trils, and the man Eastern (ANE) myths, there are also Sovereign Lord spoke creation into a functional, well- b h : Gn :; :; :; l W food.” And it was so. ³¹ God saw all that he be came a liv ing be ing. fundamental differences. These are seen especially ordered existence. There was no eternal pre-created c :,; :,; had made, and it was very good in deed. Eve- :,; : ⁸ The L God plant ed a gar den in Eden, in the significantly different views of the Creator matter, such as was believed in the ancient myths. ning came and then morn ing: the sixth day. i : Gn :- in the east, m and there he placed the man he and creation. Five features in particular distinguish Genesis says God spoke all things into origination. This j : Gn :, ; So the heav ens and the earth and ev ery thing :; Ps :; Ec had formed. ⁹ The L God caused to grow the biblical creation account and perspective. So does not mean he uttered words that possessed inherent in them were com pleted. d ² On the sev enth :; Co : out of the ground ev ery tree pleas ing in ap- distinctive theologically is the biblical teaching from magical powers. Rather, the irrevocable power of God’s k Gn :; Jb :; day God had com plet ed his work that he had Is : pear ance and good for food, in clud ing the tree that of Israel’s neighbors that it is best explained as creation words was grounded in the authority of God l Co : n done, and he rest ed on the sev enth day from m of life in the mid dle of the gar den, as well as the result of divine revelation, not the imagination himself. Unlike the nature deities whose existence e : Gn :; Is o all his work that he had done. ³ God blessed : ; Ezk : ; :; the tree of the knowl edge of good and evil. or “religious genius” of the biblical author. was limited to the world system, God existed before Jl : the sev enth day and de clared it holy, for on n ¹⁰ A riv er went out from Eden to wa ter the creation and above creation. Also, creation was not the f ,g : Gn :; Rv :; it he rest ed from all his work of cre a tion. :, garden. From there it di vided and be came the emanation of divine person or power. It was separate o Pr : source of four riv ers. ¹¹ The name of the first The basic identity of God as revealed in Genesis from him, a new reality subject to his will. p : Gn :,; :; Sm : is Pi shon, which flows through the en tire land is distinct from all other ANE conceptions. The ⁴ These are the rec ords h of the heav ens and of Havi lah, ,p where there is gold. ¹² Gold from Lord God did not have an origin and did not have the earth, con cern ing their crea tion. At the that land is pure; bdel li um and onyx are a female counterpart. In fact, Genesis does not In Genesis the Creator bestowed special value on time that the L God made the earth and also there. ¹³ The name of the sec ond riv er is present any kind of theogony (origin of the gods). humanity. Human beings in the ANE view were not God simply always existed. The concept of fertility indispensable to the operation of the world, whereas A : Or and all scurrying animals that scurry B : I have given added for clarity C : Sam, LXX, Syr read sixth D : Or ceased, also in v. E : Lit work was a common explanation among the ancients in Genesis they were essential as its chief caretakers. that God created to make F : Lit creation on the day G : Or earth H : Or goes I : Lit became four heads J : Or of the Havilah K : Lit for how the world was created. It was believed that The Lord blessed humanity, assigning man and L M good : A yellowish, transparent gum resin : Identity of this precious stone uncertain gods and goddesses joined in sexual union and woman the responsibility to propagate and to rule thus produced the world, just as man and woman over the earth (1:26-28). ANE myths explained the tions of marriage and the family. The final even on the Sabbath (Jn 5:16-17). Also, God’s ground. But the Bible makes it very clear that two commands, to subdue the earth and rule “rest” does not imply that he was tired. It lit- people are more than just material beings. It can come together to create a child. Israel’s God, purpose of humanity as servants who met the servile the animal kingdom, express God’s blessing erally means “cease” and implies only that his was only when God breathed into the man’s however, was revealed to be asexual, neither male interests of the gods. The Bible elevates the person on the use of the planet’s renewable and non- creative work was complete. nostrils the breath of life that Adam became nor female. According to other ANE religions the and role of humans who were “crowned . . . with renewable natural resources. Of course, only 2:3 This is the only instance during the cre- alive. God is Spirit (Jn 4:24); thus, when God world (or parts of it, like the sun) was a divine glory and honor” (Ps 8:5), made in the divine image. the wise use of these resources permits peo- ation process when God blessed a unit of breathed into him, Adam and all later humans ple to fulfill God’s command to fill the earth. A time. The term holy is applied in the Bible to became a unique mix of the physical and the “Thou,” whereas in Genesis the world was revealed God prepared the resplendent Garden of Eden for similar command to the survivors of the flood something set aside for service to God. spiritual. The Hebrew phrase translated as liv- to be an “it,” a non-supernatural reality brought humanity, giving humanity meaningful work and is shorter, having only the first three verbs in 2:4 The Hebrew word toledoth, translated ing being is used elsewhere in Genesis to de- into existence by a supernatural God. purpose (Gn 2:8-18). Also, Genesis presents the fi rst it (9:1). here as records, is used eleven times in the scribe other types of living beings (1:20,24,30; humanity as individuals who were the progenitors 1:29-30 The repeated use of Hebrew kol, “all, book of Genesis to introduce new units of 9:12,15-16). Nevertheless, humans are con- every, entire,” in vv. 29-30 shows that the material (5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; sidered to be in a class by themselves since of the human race. point is to emphasize God’s abundant and 36:1,9; 37:2). Here it introduces a detailed they alone are made in God’s image. While polytheistic views dominated the ANE, Genesis generous provision for all his creatures, rath- elaboration of some key aspects of the cre- 2:8 The location of Eden is unknown; sug- revealed that God has no divine rivals. A common er than to specify what they were or were not ation account that opens the book of Genesis gestions include Armenia, Iraq, Africa, and explanation for creation among the ancients was In Genesis the Creator provided the seventh day as supposed to eat. While seed and fruit are list- (1:1–2:3). Special emphasis is placed on the Arabia. Changes in geography caused by the ed here, Kenneth Mathews explains, “God’s events of day six. Verse 4 includes the first use flood in Noah’s day (7:11) make it unlikely that an epic battle had raged between creator gods a holy day of rest and celebration (2:1-3), which was dietary standards for mankind specifically of God’s personal name, rendered in English that Eden will ever be discovered. The Hebrew and anti-creation deities. Ultimately, the creator god later memorialized in Israel’s Sabbath (Ex 20:8-11). The include meat in the postdiluvian world” (Gn as the L , the most commonly used noun word ‘eden literally means “pleasantness.” overcame the anti-creation forces/gods, in some Sabbath was unique to Israel, not tied to the movement 9:3). in the OT. The Hebrew spelling is transliter- 2:9 God’s concern for beauty is seen in the fact 1:31 This is the seventh, final, and most elab- ated as “YHWH,” a word Jews considered so that the trees he caused to grow were pleas- cases using the slain bodies of their enemies to make of the stars, such as in the ancient preoccupation orate use of the word good in the account of sacred that they would not permit themselves ing in appearance. The Lord’s love of beau- the stuff of the world. In Genesis there is no rival with astrology. The Lord was revealed as Master of the seven days of creation in that it adds very to pronounce it. Its accurate pronunciation is ty will later be extended to Israel’s religion, opposing the Creator. All creation obeyed the voice the material universe and of time. All creation was to good. thus unknown, though common suggestions which will make use of furnishings fashioned of God, as expressed in the recurring phrase, “and invited to join in the knowledge of God and in the 2:1 This verse serves as a complement to 1:1. include “Jehovah” and “Yahweh.” by expert cra§smen using expensive materi- Together, the two set the first six days of cre- 2:5 The shrub of the field and the plant of als (Ex 25–40). Of course, God’s beautiful cre- it was so” (1:7). worship of him as Creator and Sustainer of all things. ation apart from the sacred seventh day. the field are not the same as the vegetation ated works were also practical, being good 2:2 This is the first use of the number seven in described in Gn 1:11-12 but are the plants that for food. the Bible, a number that will play an especial- will make up the Garden of Eden. 2:10 The abundance of the waters supplied in ly significant role in the religious and social 2:6 This source of water, a bountiful blessing the garden of Eden is indicated by the fact that life of ancient Israel (4:15; 7:2-4,10; 21:28-31; that provided moisture for all the ground in it served as the headwaters for four rivers. 29:18-20). On the seventh day God rested, the time of human innocence, later became a 2:11 The location of the Pishon river is un- thus setting an example for people—who are source of judgment on humanity’s sin (7:11). known. A land known as Havilah existed in the made in his image—to follow (Ex 20:8-11; Dt 2:7 The Hebrew verb translated here as region of the Arabian peninsula at a later point 5:12-14). Though God rested from all his work formed is used elsewhere in the Bible to de- in time (1Sm 15:7), but the pre-flood land may that he had done, this is not to say that God scribe the potter’s profession (Jr 18:4; Zch have represented a dierent locale. has abandoned the universe. In the NT Jesus 11:13); God acts here as the divine potter, skill- 2:12 The gold and gems of Eden foreshadow airmed that God is still at work in the world, fully fashioning man out of the dust from the the splendor of the tabernacle and temple 17

01_Gen.indd 7 28/10/16 12.39 01_Gen.indd 8 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

Gihon, which flows through the en tire land of a : Dn : a liv ing crea ture, that was its name. ²⁰ The a b Gn : Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third riv er is Ti gris, c : Gn :- man gave names to all the live stock, to the which runs east of As syr ia. And the fourth d : Gn :; Dt birds of the sky, and to ev ery wild ani mal; b :,-; Rm riv er is the Eu phra tes. :; Tm : ; Jms but for the man no help er was found cor re- ¹⁵ The L God took the man and placed : spond ing to him. ²¹ So the L God caused e : Pr :-; Co g him in the gar den of Eden to work it and :; Tm : a deep sleep to come over the man, and he watch over it. ¹⁶ And the L God com- f : Ps : slept. God took one of his ribs and closed g : Gn : mand ed the man, “ You are free to eat from h the flesh at that place. ²² Then the L God c : Co :, any tree of the gar den, ¹⁷ but you must not i : Eph :- made the rib he had tak en from the man eat from the tree of the knowl edge of good into a wom an and brought her to the man. h and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you ²³ And the man said: will cer tain ly die.” d ¹⁸ Then the L God This one, at last, is bone of my bone said, “ It is not good for the man to be alone. and flesh of my flesh; I will make a help er cor re spond ing e to him.” this one will be called “woman,” ¹⁹ The L God formed out of the ground for she was taken from man. i ev ery wild an i mal and ev ery bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he ²⁴ This is why a man leaves his fa ther and would call it. f And what ev er the man called mother and bonds with his wife, and they

A : Or for Adam

and the priestly garments. They symbolize the The penalty for disobedience was stated espe- 2:19 Like man, animals were formed out of presence of God and show Eden to function as cially forcefully in the original language, with the ground, but they received neither the the original temple of God. a two-verb construction, “dying you shall die” breath of life from God (v. 7) nor the image of 2:13 The locations of the Gihon river and (you will certainly die). Death would certainly God. By giving names to the animals, Adam Cush are unknown. A later Cush was located come to Adam and all humanity aer him; but showed that he ruled the animals and that in the region of modern Ethiopia and Sudan the death that God warned about would be he perceived the nature of each animal (see (Est 1:1). more than physical (3:19). Besides severing the note at 1:5). 2:14 The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, as well cord of life, sin would shatter the harmonious 2:20 Adam’s understanding of the nature of as Assyria, probably correspond to geograph- relationship that existed between Adam and his the animals he named only highlighted the ical features associated with modern Iraq. environment (3:17-18), his wife (3:16), and God. dierences that existed between him and the 2:15 The Hebrew word translated as placed Although Adam and Eve did not die physically rest of God’s creatures: no helper was found literally means, “caused to rest”; this pre-sin on the day they ate the fruit, they died spiritu- corresponding to him. state of rest anticipates the rest (“relief”; 5:29) ally, and all their descendants have been spiri- 2:21 At what must have been a moment of that again would come to humanity because tually dead unless they are made alive by God’s loneliness in Adam’s life, God stepped in to of righteous Noah, as well as the rest God Spirit. See Jn 5:24-25; Rm 6:13; 7:13,24; Eph create one who would perfectly meet Adam’s again would give Israel following its episode 2:1-5; Col 2:13; 1Tm 5:6; 1Jn 3:14; Jd 12; Rv 3:1. need. Because God took one of his ribs to of calf worship (Ex 32:1-21; 33:14). As a being 2:18 The theme of God providing for Adam’s use as his raw material, the woman would created in God’s image, Adam, like God, was to needs (see note at 2:9) is picked up again here, correspond perfectly—though not identi- be a worker. Without the taint of sin, work was as God declared that Adam’s being alone is cally—to Adam. Like Adam, the woman pos- an undiluted blessing. The verb translated not good. God created the man with a need sessed God’s image. The fact that she was here as “work” literally means “serve.” Adam’s to relate to one corresponding to him, and not taken either from the man’s head or his second task in the garden was to watch over now God will meet that need. foot may suggest that the woman was not to it. The verb is used elsewhere to rule over the man (1Co 11:3), nor refer to the action of God toward was the man to oppress the his people (Ps 121:3-4) or the woman (1Pt 3:7). work of a military guard (Sg 5:7). ’ishshah 2:22-23 Adam’s first recorded 2:16 The seriousness of God’s or- Hebrew pronunciation [eesh SHAH] words express his delight with der is reflected in the fact that it is CSB translation woman God’s handiwork and his recog- introduced by a two-verb phrase Uses in Genesis 152 nition of the unique suitability in Hebrew, rendered simply as Uses in the OT 781 of God’s last recorded acts in the commanded in the CSB. This for- Focus passage Genesis 2:22-25 creation accounts. As with no oth- mula was used frequently to ex- er work of divine crasmanship, press royal decrees (1Sm 18:22; ’Ishshah may not be related to a Hebrew word for man in this one was singularly suited for 2Sm 18:5). God gave Adam both Gn 2:22-25 that looks and sounds like it (’iysh). ’Ishshah the man, being bone of his bone freedom and limits. The God-giv- resembles a word for woman in several Semitic languages, and and flesh of his flesh. Adam ex- en freedoms vastly outnumbered may derive from a verb meaning “be weak” that could also lie presses dominion by choosing the limitations. After all, Adam behind ’enosh, “man” (Jb 25:4,6). The phrase “born of woman” a name for God’s final created was free to eat from any tree of (Jb 14:1) points to mankind’s weaknesses. ’Ishshah has two being, but the name he chose the garden except one. basic meanings, woman and wife. Both ideas are present in the suggests that he viewed her 2:17 The only limit God placed on word’s first occurrences (Gn 2:22-25). ’Ishshah connotes fiancée as his equal. The Hebrew term Adam was eating from the tree of or bride (Dt 22:24; 24:5). It signifies woman without implying ’ishshah, woman, identifies her the knowledge of good and evil, marriage (Ec 7:28). It may be untranslated when describing as the feminine complement to which apparently imparted divine female bodily functions (Gn 31:35). Sometimes ’ishshah ’ish, the man. wisdom (3:22). Eating the for- describes a kind of woman, like a prophetess (Jdg 4:4). Fearful 2:24 God’s timeless design for bidden fruit represented Adam’s soldiers are compared to women (Nah 3:13). ’Ishshah functions marriage is declared here. The rejection of God as the source of as a feminine distributive meaning each, referring to women one flesh relationship certainly divine wisdom and his choice to (Ru 1:8), animals, or even things. “Each to each” appears as involves sexual union, but also pursue wisdom apart from God. together (Ex 26:5). includes a husband and wife

01_Gen.indd 9 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a be come one ﬂesh. ²⁵ Both the man and his a : Mal :; Mt opened, and they knew they were na ked; so :; Mk :- ; Co wife were na ked, yet felt no shame. : ; Eph : they sewed ﬁg leaves to gether and made cov- b : Mt : ; Co er ings for them selves. :; Rv :; : c : Gn : Now the ser pent was the most cun ning d : Jn : ’ e : Tm :; Jms ⁸ of all the wild ani mals that the L God :-; Jn : Then the man and his wife heard the sound had made. He said to the wom an, “ Did God f : Jb :- of the L God walk ing in the gar den at the real ly say, ‘ You can’t eat from any tree in the g : Jb :; Pr time of the eve ning breeze, and they hid from b : f gar den’? ” h : Rm :; Co the L God among the trees of the gar den. ² The wom an said to the ser pent, “ We may :; Tm : ⁹ So the L God called out to the man and eat the fruit from the trees in the gar den. ³ But said to him, “ Where are you? ” about the fruit of the tree in the mid dle of the ¹⁰ And he said, “ I heard you in the gar den, garden, God said, ‘ You must not eat it or touch and I was afraid be cause I was na ked, so I hid.” it, or you will die.’ ” c ¹¹ Then he asked, “ Who told you that you ⁴ “ No! You will not die,” the ser pent said to were na ked? Did you eat from the tree that I the wom an. d ⁵ “ In fact, God knows that when com mand ed you not to eat from? ” you eat it your eyes will be opened and you ¹² The man re plied, g “ The wom an you gave will be like God, know ing good and evil.” to be with me — she gave me some fruit from ⁶ The wom an saw that the tree was good for the tree, and I ate.” food and de light ful to look at, and that it was ¹³ So the L God asked the wom an, “ What de sir able for obtaining wis dom. So she took is this you have done? ” some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some And the wom an said, “ The ser pent de ceived to her hus band, who was with her, and he me, and I ate.” h ate it. e ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were ¹⁴ So the L God said to the ser pent:

A : Lit on the day B : Or gods, or divine beings C : Lit at the wind of the day D : Lit the sound of you

coming together in spiritual, mental, and 3:4-5 The serpent, recognizing the woman’s of it as much as the woman did, but fearing the emotional harmony. confusion, found a point of attack. Knowing consequences, used his wife as a “guinea pig” 2:25 Because the devastating eects of sin that the woman would not die by merely to make sure it would not cause instant death. had not yet ravaged nature or humanity, touching the fruit, he boldly contradicted 3:7-8 As the serpent had indicated, the eyes there was no need for clothing. Adam and what she had reported to be God’s command. of both of them were opened, and they Eve could live without the barriers needed to He then skillfully lied (Jn 8:44) by distorting knew, but instead of producing godlike pow- shield them from their environment and each God’s word (Mt 4:6), implying that God had er, the knowledge brought only a sense of hu- other without a sense of shame. Later, in the prohibited people from eating the fruit only man inadequacy, fear, and shame. time of the patriarchs and kings, clothing was to keep them from becoming as knowledge- 3:9 God took the initiative in reaching out to associated with dignity. Accordingly, prison- able as he. The woman was now fully deceived sinful humanity. This pattern—humanity sin- ers of war were not permitted to wear any (1Tm 2:14). ning, then God seeking out sinners—becomes clothing, slaves wore very little clothing, and 3:6 Since the woman did not die when she the primary theme of the rest of the Bible. Its higher social classes wore more clothing than touched the fruit—in contradiction to what ultimate expression is found in Jesus Christ, anyone else in society. she had thought God said (v. 3.)—she ate it. who came to seek and to save people alien- 3:1 Though we know the serpent was an instru- Though Adam was with her at the time, he did ated from God because of their sin (Lk 19:10); ment of Satan (Rm 16:20; Rv 12:9; 20:2), it was nothing to stop her. Perhaps he wanted to eat in him God once again walked on the earth in just a created being. Its description search of sinners. The all-know- as cunning suggests it oered a ing God asked Adam, Where are wisdom not based on the fear of you? for Adam’s benefit, to en- God. It tried to take Eve’s focus o nachash courage Adam to face his sin. the abundance of God’s provision. Hebrew pronunciation [nah KHASH] 3:10 When Adam heard God, he 3:2-3 The woman’s claim that CSB translation serpent, snake was afraid. Rather than walking God said, You must not . . . touch Uses in Genesis 6 with God as righteous men of lat- the tree, or you will die, goes be- Uses in the OT 31 er generations would do (Enoch, yond anything recorded in God’s Focus passage Genesis 3:1-2,4,13-14 5:22; Noah, 6:9), Adam hid from instructions to Adam. Therefore him. it seems that Adam had given his Although nachash is the most prevalent of eight OT terms for 3:11 Through the use of two di- wife an additional command be- snake (Nm 21:6), the usage is broader than that. The nachash rect questions God brought Adam yond what God said, or else Eve in Gn 3:1,14 was the shrewdest animal and did not crawl on to accountability for his sin. God herself exaggerated the command its belly before the curse. The nachash Leviathan was a sea does not overlook sin, but he can as Satan tempted her to view God monster (Is 27:1), and there were other sea serpents (Am 9:3). be gently firm in confronting it. as selfish and overly restrictive. If Associated with nachash are slithering motion (Pr 30:19), flying 3:12 Adam answered neither Adam added to God’s command, (Is 14:29), sudden attack (Gn 49:17), poisonous venom (Ps 58:4), of God’s questions; instead, he he almost certainly had a good sharp bite (Ps 140:3), hissing (Jr 46:22), eggs (Is 14:29), and sought to shi¢ the blame for his motive—after all, if Eve never licking of dust (Gn 3:14; Mc 7:17). Five times nachash occurs sin first to the woman, and then touched the tree, she certainly with words meaning “viper.” The Middle East has large desert to God. would not eat its fruit. However, areas that are habitats for serpents. The serpent of Genesis 3, 3:13 The woman passed the the sad truth is that when people an enemy of man linked with evil, is particularly identified with blame to the serpent and admit- add to the word of God, they cre- Satan in Rv 12:9, where he is also called a “dragon,” based on ted that prior to eating, she was ate confusion and trouble. the Greek drakōn, which can mean “serpent.” deceived (1Tm 2:14). 19

01_Gen.indd 10 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

Because you have done this, a : Is :; Mc all the days of your life. : you are cursed more than any livestock b : Heb : ; ¹⁸ It will produce thorns and thistles and more than any wild animal. Jn : for you, You will move on your belly c : Jn :; Tm and you will eat the plants a : f and eat dust all the days of your life. d Gn : of the ﬁeld. ¹⁵ e : Gn :; Rm ¹⁹ I will put hostility between you :-; Heb : You will eat bread by the sweat and the woman, f : Gn : of your brow and between your ospring g : Ps : ; until you return to the ground, g :; Ec : and her ospring. h : Gn :; Rv : since you were taken from it. He will strike your head, i : Ex : -; Ps For you are dust, b : ; Ezk :-; and you will strike his heel. Heb : and you will return to dust.”

¹⁶ He said to the wom an: ²⁰ The man named his wife Eve be cause she I will intensify your labor pains; was the moth er of all the liv ing. ²¹ The L you will bear children with painful God made cloth ing from skins for the man eort. c and his wife, and he clothed them. Your desire d will be ²² The L God said, “ Since the man has be- for your husband, come like one of us, know ing good and evil, he yet he will rule over you. must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live for ev er.” h ²³ So the L God sent ¹⁷ And he said to the man, “Be cause you lis- him away from the gar den of Eden to work tened to your wife and ate from the tree about the ground from which he was tak en. ²⁴ He which I com manded you, ‘ Do not eat from it’: drove the man out and sta tioned the cher u- The ground is cursed because of you. e bim and the ﬂam ing, whirl ing sword east of You will eat from it by means of the gar den of Eden to guard the way to the painful labor tree of life. i

A : Lit it through pain B : Or food C : Lit Living, or Life

3:14 Though accountability began with God’s in the universe (God said he would intensify, counteracts the curse of sin, which is death. confrontation of Adam, judgment began with not originate, woman’s labor pains). Marriage Yet the divine order calls for a reciprocity the serpent. Because of the serpent’s key role would also be marred; though the woman’s exhibited in male servant leadership and fe- (being used of Satan) in bringing sin into the desire would be for her husband, sin would male submission, both of which are modeled human experience, it would be permanently mar God’s plan for marriage and create tor- in Jesus himself. consigned to the position of ultimate shame, menting inequality and subjugation. The latter 3:21 By making clothing from skins, the L under the foot. Just as conquered kings were is a description of the ravaging eect of sin on God graciously provided for humanity’s need made to lie on the ground under the foot of a husband-wife relationship, not a prescrip- in a way superior to what Adam and Eve had their conquerors (Jos 10:24), so now the ser- tion for abusing one’s wife. The NT teaches done with fig leaves. The use of animal skins pent would live under the feet of humanity. that marriage should reflect the relationship anticipates the OT system of animal sacrifices 3:15 Hostility between the first woman and of Christ with the church (Eph 5:24-25) and be (Lv 1; 3–7; Nm 15:1-31). In the NT, the apostle the serpent would be passed on to future gen- characterized by a husband’s understanding of Paul spoke of a day when God would clothe erations. This verse is known in Christendom and respect for his wife (1Pt 3:7). his people with immortality (1Co 15:53-54; as the protoevangelium, or “first good news,” 3:17 Because Adam listened to and obeyed 2Co 5:4), thus providing the complete undo- because it is the first foretelling of the gospel his wife in preference to what God command- ing of the curse of humanity’s sin. of Jesus Christ. Using an emphatic Hebrew ed (2:17), a curse would strike at the heart of 3:22 Because of sin, people now knew good construction, God announced here that a a fundamental relationship in his life as well. and evil experientially. Since the gi¥ of life male descendant—He—would someday deal Adam’s relationship with the ground would was directly tied to obedience, man’s sin the serpent (meaning Satan) a fatal blow. The now be damaged by sin. All the days of his meant that the penalty of death must be en- NT writers understood Jesus Christ to have life he would experience painful labor (cp. forced. Expulsion was at the same time an act fulfilled this prophecy (Heb 2:14; 1Jn 3:8). In the woman’s labor pains, v. 16) as he worked of mercy. Banning the humans from the tree an extended sense, the NT also indicates that to bring forth the fruit of the earth. Because of of life allowed for their redemption rather God would work through the church—those sin, all creation is cursed and longs for its day than for them to live a life of perpetual sin in indwelt by the Spirit of Christ—to destroy the of deliverance (Rm 8:19-22). an unredeemed condition. works of the devil (Rm 16:20). The assertion 3:18 Prior to the first couple’s sins God is only 3:23 As the Hebrew text ironically expresses that the snake would only strike his oppo- recorded as having put trees in the garden it, the L God sent Adam from the garden nent’s heel (as opposed to head) suggests (2:8-9); now there would also be thorns and so that he would not send forth (“reach out”; that the devil will be defeated in the ensuing thistles. Prior to sin, humanity had only to v. 22) his hand for the garden’s fruit. struggle (Rv 2:2,7-10). reach up to get food; now they would have to 3:24 Following their sin, the first couple went 3:16 Even though the woman had been de- bend their backs to gather plants of the field. east, a direction associated with departure ceived into eating the forbidden fruit, she was 3:19 The simple plucking of fruit in order to from God in numerous biblical examples. Oth- still held accountable for her act. Notably, how- eat food (lit “bread”) would now be replaced er instances of eastward movement in Gene- ever, the word cursed is not contained in God’s by back breaking labor and the sweat of the sis include Cain’s journeys after judgment words to her (v v. 14,16). Two penalties were brow. Working daily in the soil, Adam would (4:16), humanity’s migration toward Babylon imposed; both struck at the heart of a wom- be continually reminded that he was dust and (11:2), and the migration of Keturah’s sons an’s roles in life. More than would have been that he would return to dust. (25:6). Cherubim are used as an artistic motif the case had sin not entered creation, bearing 3:20 The new name Adam gave his wife em- in the tabernacle (Ex 25:18-22; 26:1) and are children would add to the sum of painful eort phasizes the woman’s life-giving role that also mentioned in Ezk 10 and 11. The ironies

01_Gen.indd 11 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

a : Ex :; : ; ¹⁰ Then he said, “ What have you done? Your Neh : The man was inti mate with his wife Eve, and b broth er’s blood cries out to me from the : Ex :; Nm g she con ceived and gave birth to Cain. She :; Pr : ground! ¹¹ So now you are cursed, alien at ed c Heb : said, “ I have had a male child with the L ’ s d from the ground that opened its mouth to : Jnh : help.” ² She also gave birth to his brother Abel. e : Gn : re ceive your broth er’s blood you have shed. f : Mt :; Lk ¹² Now Abel be came a shep herd of flocks, but :; Jn :-; If you work the ground, it will nev er again Cain worked the ground. ³ In the course of time Jd give you its yield. You will be a rest less wan- Cain pre sented some of the land’s pro duce as g : Nm :; Dt der er on the earth.” h a :-; Heb :; Rv an o ering to the L . ⁴ And Abel also pre- :- ¹³ But Cain an swered the L , “ My pun- sented an o er ing — some of the first born h : Dt : -; ish ment is too great to bear! ¹⁴ Since you are b Is : of his flock and their fat por tions. The L i : Nm : - banishing me to day from the face of the earth, had re gard for Abel and his o ering, c ⁵ but he j : Ex :; Ezk and I must hide from your pres ence and be- :, ; Rv : - did not have re gard for Cain and his o ering. come a rest less wan der er on the earth, who- Cain was fu ri ous, and he looked de spon dent. ev er finds me will kill me.” i ⁶ Then the L said to Cain, “ Why are you ¹⁵ Then the L re plied to him, “ In that fu rious? d And why do you look de spon dent? case, who ev er kills Cain will su er ven- ⁷ If you do what is right, won’t you be ac cept- geance sev en times over.” And he placed a ed? But if you do not do what is right, sin is mark j on Cain so that who ev er found him crouch ing at the door. Its de sire is for you, would not kill him. ¹⁶ Then Cain went out from but you must rule over it.” e the L ’s pres ence and lived in the land of ⁸ Cain said to his brother Abel, “ Let’s go out Nod, east of Eden. to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain at tacked his broth er Abel and killed him. f ⁹ Then the L said to Cain, “ Where is your ¹⁷ Cain was in ti mate with his wife, and she broth er Abel? ” con ceived and gave birth to Enoch. Then Cain “ I don’t know,” he re plied. “ Am I my broth- be came the build er of a city, and he named er’s guard ian? ” the city Enoch af ter his son. ¹⁸ Irad was born A : Lit the L B : Lit and his face fell C : Lit why has your face fallen D : Sam, LXX, Syr, Vg; MT omits “Let’s go out to the field.” E : Lit blood from your hand F : Or sin G : LXX, Syr, Vg read “Not so!” H : Or suffer severely

continue as the man who was once com- this verse and 3:16 suggests that sin wishes to lihood as a farmer and turned him into a rest- manded to “watch over” the garden (Gn 2:15) be as intimate with humanity as a woman is less wanderer. is now banned from the garden. with her husband. The only way to avoid this 4:13 Cain’s response has several possible 4:1 Adam and Eve now begin to fulfill God’s is to be its master, not its companion. English renderings. The CSB—which reflects original command to them, to “be fruitful” 4:8 In a move that demonstrates premedita- the unrepentant attitude Cain showed earli- and “multiply” (1:28). Eve, whose name tion, Cain led Abel to the field and attacked er—expresses Cain’s anguish, but no remorse. means “life,” now becomes the life-giver. Eve him in a place where there were no human The Septuagint and Martin Luther translated knew that the child was more than the result witnesses. Though the blood of animals had it as, “My sin is too great to be forgiven,” while of her and her husband’s love; he came into been shed prior to this (v. 4), Cain’s killing early rabbis took it as a question: “Is my sin being with the L’s help. A wordplay in the of his brother brought about the first death too great to forgive?” In view of Cain’s previ- Hebrew suggests that the name Cain (qayin) of a human. The curse of human death pro- ous and later actions, the CSB’s translation came from the verb had (qaniti) in Eve’s com- nounced against Adam (2:17; 3:19) had now seems best. ment, I have had a male child. been realized. 4:14 Just as his father Adam had been driven 4:2 The name Abel means “breath”; the term 4:9 God’s use of questions with guilty sinners out (Hb garash) of the garden, Cain noted that is used elsewhere in the OT to refer to that continues here (v. 6; cp. 3:9-13). By claiming God was banishing (Hb garash) him from the which passes away quickly and is insubstan- he did not know where his brother was, Cain face of the earth. Since he would hide (or tial (Ps 62:10; Ec 1:2). added lying to his sin of murder. God once possibly, “be hidden”) from God’s protective 4:3 Cain’s sacrifice marks the first mention of made Adam a guardian (Hb shamar) of the presence, he feared that other descendants of an oering to the L in the Bible. The He- garden (2:15). Cain now asked if he was to be Adam and Eve (5:4) would kill him to avenge brew term used here suggests a freewill gi his brother’s guardian (Hb shamar). The Bi- Abel’s murder. given to an authority. ble’s answer to Cain’s question is yes (Lv 19:18; 4:15 True to his compassionate and forgiving 4:4-5 Ironically, the first recorded oering Mt 22:39; Gl 5:14). nature (Ex 34:6-7), God made two provisions given to God was also the first one rejected 4:10 Unlike his father Adam (3:12), Cain never for Cain to protect him despite his sin. by him. Since grain offerings were autho - confessed his guilt, even though God directly 4:16 Cain’s departure from the L’s pres- rized in the law of Moses, the fact that Cain’s confronted him with his sin. Though Abel nev- ence was both physical and spiritual (Jnh oering was of vegetation rather than an er spoke in the preceding narrative, his blood 1:3,10). Nod means “wandering.” The land animal is not why God did not have regard now cried out from the ground. of Nod is never mentioned again in the Bible. for it. Cain’s furious reaction suggests that 4:11 God’s judgment began with a curse Perhaps the phrase simply referred to any the oering was rejected because of sin in whose wording in the Hebrew parallels the location in which Cain resided. The notation his heart, not the nature of his oering. See curse placed on the snake. This is particularly that Cain departed to live east of Eden iden- note at vv. 6-7. fitting since both were liars and murderers tifies him with other sinners who also moved 4:6-7 The Bible makes it clear that God had (Jn 8:44). It is possible to translate God’s east (see note at 3:24). rejected Cain’s offering because of Cain’s statement here as “You are more cursed than 4:17 The parallel tracks of Adam’s and Cain’s wicked lifestyle (1Jn 3:12). The animal-like de- the ground.” The curse against a murderer is lives—sin, judgment by God, banishment, and scription of sin as crouching is reused in 49:9 repeated in the law of Moses (Dt 27:24). eastward movement—continue with the nota- to describe a lion. The parallel use of desire in 4:12 Cain’s punishment destroyed his live- tion that aer these things Cain was intimate 21

01_Gen.indd 12 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

to Enoch, Irad fa thered Me hu ja el, Me hu ja el a : Lk : ²⁵ Adam was in ti mate with his wife again, fa thered Me thusha el, and Me thusha el fa- b Gn :; : ; Kg and she gave birth to a son and named him : ; Ps :; thered La mech. ¹⁹ Lamech took two wives Jl :; Zph :; Seth, for she said, “ God has giv en me an oth er Co : for him self, one named Adah and the oth- c : Gn : child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” er named Zil lah. ²⁰ Adah bore Ja bal; he was ²⁶ A son was born to Seth a also, and he named the fa ther of the nomadic herds men. ²¹ His him Enosh. At that time peo ple be gan to call broth er was named Ju bal; he was the fa ther on the name of the L . b of all who play the lyre and the flute. ²² Zil- lah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. Tubal-cain’s sis ter This is the doc u ment con taining the fam i- was Na a mah. ly rec ords c of Adam. On the day that God ²³ La mech said to his wives: cre at ed man, he made him in the like ness of Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; God; ² he cre at ed them male and fe male. When wives of Lamech, pay attention they were cre at ed, he blessed them and called to my words. them man kind. For I killed a man for wounding me, ³ Adam was years old when he fa thered a young man for striking me. a son in his like ness, ac cord ing to his im age, ²⁴ If Cain is to be avenged and named him Seth. ⁴ Adam lived years seven times over, af ter he fa thered Seth, and he fa thered oth- then for Lamech it will be er sons and daugh ters. ⁵ So Adam’s life lasted seventy-seven times! years; then he died.

A : Lit the dweller of tent and livestock B : The Hb word for given sounds like the name “Seth.” C : Lit seed D : Lit written family E : Or mankind F : Or Adam, human beings G : Hb ‘adam

with his wife (cp. v. 1). In spite of his grave veloping two of the most important musical Only the Sethite genealogy is called the sin, Cain still fulfilled the divine command instruments of the ancient world, the lyre and family records of Adam, even though Cain’s to be fruitful and multiply (1:28). But Cain’s the flute. descendants are equally related. The reason eorts to become the builder of a city were 4:22 Tubal-cain’s metallurgical advances in for this is undoubtedly the contrasting de- one more expression of disobedience to God, creating bronze (made by combining copper scendants within the brothers’ genealogies; for God had ordained Cain to be a wanderer and tin) and smelting iron would prove crucial only offspring in Seth’s line are noted as (v. 12). The city of Enoch is not mentioned for craing tools and weapons. being righteous. In this genealogy, empha- elsewhere in the Bible, and its location is 4:23 Lamech’s so-called “Song of the Sword,” sis is given to the fact that Adam was creat- unknown. the longest recorded speech by a human to this ed in God’s likeness, a characteristic that Cain’s genealogy in vv. 17-24 has similar- point in the Bible (twenty-one Hebrew words), would be passed along to future generations ities with Seth’s genealogy (5:3-32). Two of represents the dark climax of the Cainite ge- (v. 3). the names in both lines are identical (Enoch, nealogy. His level of retaliation against a man 5:2 Key themes of chap. 1 are repeated and Lamech) and others are similar (Cain/Kenan; and a young man goes far beyond the biblical extended in the Sethite genealogy: (1) God Methushael/Methuselah). In addition, the limits (Ex 21:23-25), and his boast of killing for created both male and female, thus making seventh member of both genealogies (Cain’s vengeance foreshadows the conditions that it possible for humanity to fulfill the divine Lamech, Seth’s Enoch) are given special em- led to the flood in Noah’s day (Gn 6:11). mandate to create offspring; (2) people, phasis, and both conclude with a person who 4:24 Using twisted logic, Lamech seemed though made in God’s image, are not God; has three named sons. Notable dierences to suggest that God would provide him with they were created; (3) humanity has been exist as well: Seth’s genealogy is longer and greater protection than he did Cain since he specially blessed by God; and (4) humanity contains life span details, but it omits any had killed double the number of men. is under God’s authority, as demonstrated mention of occupations or wives’ names. 4:25 The name Seth (Hb sheth) is a wordplay by the fact that God assigned them the name 4:18 Three individuals here—Irad . . . Mehu- on the verb translated has given (Hb shath). mankind. jael, and Methushael—are mentioned in the Once again (v. 1), Eve recognized God as the 5:3 Adam’s role in Seth’s life both compares Bible only in this verse. ultimate source of her ospring. The expecta- and contrasts with God’s role with Adam. 4:19 More details are provided in this ge - tion that Seth would be more righteous than Whereas God “created” Adam, Adam fathered nealogical section for Lamech, the seventh Cain is established by Eve’s statement that Seth. Whereas Adam was made in God’s im- member of Adam’s line through Cain, than for God gave him to her in place of Abel. In fact, age, Seth was made in Adam’s image. Like any other. His three named sons made crucial the family line that ultimately produced Jesus God, Adam named the one he was responsi- contributions to human culture. However, the is traceable through Seth (Lk 3:38). ble for bringing into being. description of Lamech’s life paints a troubling 4:26 The name Enosh, like the name Adam, 5:4 The phrase fathered other sons and picture of an individual who lacked respect for means “humanity.” In a very real sense daughters is repeated ten times in the Sethite marriage or human life. By taking two wives Enosh’s birth marks a new and brighter be- genealogy, but it never occurs in the Cainite for himself Lamech became the first polyga- ginning for humanity, as people now began genealogy. The clear implication is that the mist, a violation of God’s intentions for mar- to call on the name of the L , “Yahweh.” line of Seth more faithfully fulfilled God’s riage (2:22; Mk 10:6-8). Yahweh is God’s personal name (Ex 3:15). command to be fruitful and multiply (1:28). 4:20 Jabal brought about key advances in the 5:1 This is the second of eleven (Hb) toledoth 5:5 Only three individuals are said to have profession of the nomadic herdsmen—those sections in Genesis (2:4; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10,27; lived longer than Adam’s 930 years. They who cared for sheep, goats, and cattle (Hb 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). The Hebrew term tole- are Noah (950), Jared (962), and Methuselah miqneh). This represents an advance beyond doth (“family records”) refers to “those who (969). The notation that he died emphasizes what Abel had done since he is only known to were given birth.” Each section contains gene- the solemn truth of God’s curse following Ad- have tended sheep and goats (v. 2; Hb tso’n). alogical information and/or accounts regard- am’s sin (3:19). The fact that it is repeated sev- 4:21 Jubal advanced civilization in the area ing the descendants of the people or things en other times in this chapter demonstrates of the musical arts, playing a key role in de- named in the section title. the lasting consequences of Adam’s sin.

01_Gen.indd 13 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a ⁶ Seth was years old when he fa thered a : Gn :; :; Methu se lah, Enoch walked with God :; :; Mc :; Enosh. ⁷ Seth lived years af ter he fa thered Mal :; Th : years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh- Enosh, and he fa thered oth er sons and daugh- b : Kg :; ters. ²³ So Enoch’s life last ed years. ²⁴ Enoch Heb : ters. ⁸ So Seth’s life lasted years; then he died. c walked with God; then he was not there be- : Gn :-; b ⁹ Enosh was years old when he fa thered : cause God took him. Ke nan. ¹⁰ Enosh lived years af ter he fa- d : Jb :; :; : ²⁵ Methu se lah was years old when he fathered Ke nan, and he fa thered oth er sons and thered La mech. ²⁶ Methu se lah lived years daugh ters. ¹¹ So Enosh’s life last ed years; after he fa thered La mech, and he fa thered then he died. other sons and daugh ters. ²⁷ So Me thuse lah’s ¹² Ke nan was years old when he fa thered life last ed years; then he died. Ma ha la lel. ¹³ Ke nan lived years af ter he ²⁸ Lamech was years old when he fa- fa thered Ma hala lel, and he fa thered oth er thered a son. ²⁹ And he named him Noah, sons and daugh ters. ¹⁴ So Ke nan’s life lasted say ing, “ This one will bring us re lief from years; then he died. the ag o niz ing la bor of our hands, caused by ¹⁵ Ma ha la lel was years old when he fa- the ground the L has cursed.” c ³⁰ La mech thered Ja red. ¹⁶ Ma ha la lel lived years af- lived years af ter he fa thered Noah, and ter he fa thered Ja red, and he fa thered oth er he fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ³¹ So sons and daugh ters. ¹⁷ So Ma hala lel’s life last- La mech’s life last ed years; then he died. ed years; then he died. ³² Noah was years old, and he fa thered ¹⁸ Ja red was years old when he fa thered Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth. Enoch. ¹⁹ Ja red lived years af ter he fa thered Enoch, and he fa thered oth er sons and daughters. ²⁰ So Ja red’s life last ed years; then When man kind be gan to mul ti ply on the he died. earth and daugh ters were born to them, ²¹ Enoch was years old when he fa- ² the sons of God d saw that the daugh ters thered Me thu se lah. ²² And af ater he f thered of man kind were beau ti ful, and they took

A : In Hb, the name Noah sounds like “bring us relief.”

5:6-31 The name Kenan (Hb qeynan) is close- Methuselah’s 969 years marks him as the to this section of Genesis and a subtle intro- ly linked to Cain (Hb qayin), and may mean oldest person in the Bible. Ancient genealo- duction of the central human character in its “metalworker.” gies commonly attribute long life spans to next major section. A similar technique will The name Mahalalel may mean “one who people. While the Bible’s numbers are excep- be used in the case of Terah and Abraham (cp. praises God.” tionally large compared to modern life spans, 5:32 and 6:9 with 11:26-27). The name Enoch means “dedication.” they seem much more credible than those 6:1-4 The first four verses of this chapter serve Enoch, as the seventh member of the found in the Sumerian king list, which states as a transition introducing the account of Sethite genealogy, is given special emphasis. that one individual reached the age of seven- God’s greatest act of nature-based judgment The name Methuselah may mean either “man ty-two thousand! on sinful humanity. Positively, these opening of the spear” or “man of Shelah.” The Lamech of the Sethite genealogy (v. verses demonstrate humanity’s faithfulness Enoch’s life stands in stark contrast to 28) stands in sharp contrast to the Lamech in fulfilling God’s command to “multiply, fill Lamech, the seventh member of Cain’s line. of the Cainite genealogy. Both Lamechs are the earth” (1:28). This brief portion of Gene- Whereas Lamech was notorious for his immo- the only individuals in their respective ge- sis is one of the most controversial sections rality and violence, Enoch walked with God, nealogies to have quotations attributed to of the entire Bible. Major disagreements sur- much as Adam must have done before his them, but Cain’s Lamech spoke of murder round each of these verses. Careful study of sin in the garden (3:8) and as Noah did later and vengeance (4:23-24), while the Lamech in the Hebrew text does not end the debates; if (6:9). The phrase “walked with God” suggests this chapter spoke words of hope and deliver- anything, it only sharpens them. The contro- living a life consistent with God’s will as well ance. The name Noah means “rest/relief.” Pro- versies are listed below. as experiencing fellowship with him. Perhaps phetically, Lamech declared that the son born 6:2 This verse begins to build the case that it was Enoch’s entrance into parenthood with to him would live up to his name: he would there was something terribly wrong about the the birth of Methuselah that inspired him bring . . . relief to humanity from the agoniz- way in which God’s command to multiply was to take his relationship with God seriously. ing labor that had resulted from Adam’s sin. being fulfilled. Using language that parallels Imagine the level of spiritual maturity Enoch The Hebrew verb “relief” is more commonly the sequence leading to humanity’s first sin must have attained aer 300 years of living translated “comfort.” in the garden (3:6), the sons of God first saw wholeheartedly for God! Jude 14 indicates A final point of comparison between the something that they thought was good, and that Enoch was a prophet. Cainite and Sethite Lamechs is the use of sev- then took what they desired for themselves. The description of Enoch’s life diers from ens. The first Lamech mentioned Cain’s seven- Controversy (cp. Jdg 14:1-2) surrounds the the others in two remarkable ways: (1) His righ- fold curse and pronounced a 77-fold curse on phrase “the sons of God.” Three dierent basic teousness is highlighted through the double anyone who would bring death to him, while positions have been staked out regarding the notation that Enoch walked with God. (2) The Seth’s Lamech lived 777 years before death identity of these “sons.” They have been un- description of the end of his life is mysterious: came to him. For the numbers-conscious derstood as heavenly beings (an ancient Jew- he was not there because God took him. original audience, the author’s inclusion of a ish position, still accepted by many today), as The NT confirms the meaning of this phrase: figure consisting of three sevens would have kings or men of high social status, and as men “Enoch was taken away, and so he did not trumped the first Cain’s numbers and would from the godly family line of Seth. experience death” (Heb 11:5). Enoch’s experi- have added a sense of completeness and per- Favoring their identity as heavenly beings— ence, like Elijah’s later (2Kg 2:11), anticipates fection to the portrait of this man’s life. likely angels—is the fact that elsewhere in the an experience reserved for Christians living at 5:32 The mention of Noah at the end of the OT the phrase “sons of God” refers only to the end of time (1Co 15:51-55; 1Th 4:17). Sethite genealogy serves as both a conclusion heavenly creatures (Jb 1:6; 2:1; 38:7) and that 23

01_Gen.indd 14 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a any they chose as wives for them selves. a : Pt :-; Jd ³ And the L said, “ My Spir it will not re- b : Gl : -; Pt ⁵ When the L saw that hu man wick edness b : main with man kind for ev er, be cause c Ps : was wide spread on the earth and that ev ery they are cor rupt. ,c Their days will be d : Gn :; Ps :- in cli na tion of the hu man mind was noth ing ; Pr :; Mt :; d years.” ⁴ The Nephi lim were on the earth Rm :- but evil all the time, ⁶ the L regretted that both in those days and af ter ward, when e : Nm :; Sm he had made man on the earth, e and he was :,; Sm : ; the sons of God came to the daugh ters of Jl : deep ly grieved. ⁷ Then the L said, “ I will mankind, who bore chil dren to them. They wipe man kind, whom I cre at ed, o the face were the pow er ful men of old, the fa mous of the earth, to gether with the ani mals, crea- men. tures that crawl, and birds of the sky — for

A : Or women B : Or strive C : Or in D : Lit ﬂesh E : Possibly means “fallen ones”; traditionally, “giants”; Nm :- F : Lit was grieved to his heart

the NT refers to fallen angels (2Pt 2:4; Jd 6). translation of the phrase rendered in the CSB Were the Nephilim products of the mar- Those who accept this view hold that the sin as remain with. Significant variations include riages between the sons of God and the that prompted God’s anger in this passage was “abide in” (ESV) and “contend with” (NIV). daughters of mankind (v. 2)? Possibly, but in a violation of Gn 2:24, brought about by sexual Complicating the issue still further is the the Hebrew text there is no explicit connec- relations between human and angelic beings, Hebrew word basar, which is normally trans- tion between them. Moreover, the fact that resulting in the creation of the Nephilim. But lated “flesh” (KJV) but which can be taken they were on the earth . . . in those days, i.e., this view has its diiculties. For instance, Jesus figuratively to refer to that which is corrupt. before and during the sinful unions, leads indicated that angels do not marry (Mt 22:30) 6:4 Two major questions arise in this verse: some to suggest that their origins are else- and Paul used the phrase “sons of God” to refer who are the Nephilim and what if anything where. Whatever their ancestry, as powerful to godly people, not angels (Gl 3:26). is the connection of the Nephilim to the sons and famous men they played a significant The view that the “sons of God” are of God and the daughters of mankind? The role in pre-flood society. kings or aristocrats is supported by the fact word Nephilim is actually a transliteration— 6:5 God, who alone can observe both peo- that Elohim, the common Hebrew word for not a translation—of the Hebrew word; trans- ple’s outward actions (Jb 34:21) and their “God,” is sometimes applied to persons lated, it means “fallen ones,” a phrase that thoughts (1Sm 16:7), saw what was visible— who have great social power (Ps 82:6-7; could mean morally or physically degraded that human wickedness was widespread— Jn 10:34-35). Advocates of this position individuals, or possibly angels who fell from and what was invisible—that every inclina- say that the “daughters of mankind” were heaven (Is 14:12). tion of the human mind was nothing but evil people of lower social status. Thus the pas - In spite of its literal meaning, many ver- all the time. The word translated “mind” is sage is thought to indicate possible abuse sions (e.g., KJV, NLT) have followed the Sep- literally “heart,” reflecting the ancient con- of lower class women by licentious men of tuagint in translating it as “giants,” a guess ception that this organ was the seat of the privilege. Interpreters who take this view do seemingly based on the mention of Nephilim intellect, emotion, and will. not necessarily connect the Nephilim with in Nm 13:33. This proposal appears unlikely, 6:6 For the first time in the Bible, the L these marriages. however, since no Nephilim would have sur- regretted something that he had made. The third position is the most popular vived the flood (Gn 7:22-23) and thus could However, his regret did not stem from some- view among evangelical Christians. It as - not have lived during the post-flood events thing he had done wrong, but rather from sumes that the “sons of God” were descen- narrated in Numbers. Further, the Nephilim what humanity was doing wrong. The fact dants of godly Seth, while the “daughters are never mentioned as one of the groups that people had become totally preoccupied of mankind” were descendants of ungodly to be wiped out by the Israelites when they with evil grieved him deeply, much as Isra- Cain. Assuming the descendants of both men entered Canaan. Their mention in Nm 13 el’s sin would later grieve him (Ps 78:40-41; kept true to the moral examples set by their probably came from the lips of a fear-crazed Is 63:10). respective ancestors, the union of these two spy who misinterpreted what he had seen in 6:7 Humanity was created to obey, worship, spiritually incompatible lines was contradic- Canaan. and fellowship with God. However, the mag- tory to God’s will (2Co 6:14) and nitude of people’s sin had pro- resulted in the total corruption gressively increased from that of humanity, represented by the of eating forbidden fruit (3:6), to Nephilim. ‘atsab murder (4:8), to polygamy and 6:3 The meaning of this verse Hebrew pronunciation [ah TSAV] multiple murders (4:23), and is one of the most disputed in CSB translation grieve finally to worldwide preoccu- the Bible: Is it about God short- Uses in Genesis 3 pation with evil (6:6). God’s pa- ening humanity’s life spans, or Uses in the OT 15 tience had come to an end, and about God setting a time for Focus passage Genesis 6:6 the curse pronounced against the universal flood? There is Adam would now be amplified no general agreement as to its ‘Atsab is in a word family concerned with emotional and in a single catastrophic act. Since meaning, so the various Bible physical pain. The active regular verb means infuriate (1Kg humanity was the capstone of translations reflect translators’ 1:6) and experience pain (1Ch 4:10); the passive connotes God’s creation, the elimination diering viewpoints. According- wounded (Is 54:6). Reflexive-passive forms indicate be grieved of people would take away any ly, disagreement exists among (Gn 6:6; 45:5) or grieve (Neh 8:10). ‘Etseb (6x) is painful eort need for the ecological support translators regarding the refer- (Gn 3:16; Pr 10:22), hard work (Ps 127:2), hard-earned pay (Pr system that sustained them; ence to Spirit; some understand 5:10), and harsh (Pr 15:1). ‘Atstsebet (5x) denotes sorrows (Ps therefore, it was expedient to the Hebrew word to refer to the 16:4), wounds (Ps 147:3), pains (Jb 9:28), grief (Pr 10:10), and destroy the animals, creatures animating force present in living sad (Pr 15:13). ‘Otseb (3x) suggests oensive (Ps 139:24). It is that crawl, and birds as well. beings—thus rendering it “spirit” pain (1Ch 4:9), and the name Jabez is derived from it. ‘Itstsabon Even as Adam’s sin had caused (KJV)—while many others, such (3x) implies painful eort (Gn 3:16), painful labor (Gn 3:17), him to lose the garden of Eden as the CSB, understand it to refer or agonizing (Gn 5:29). ‘Atseb refers to oppressed workers (Is and Cain’s sin drove him from the to the Holy Spirit. Closely related 58:3). Ma‘atsebah signifies place of torment (Is 50:11). The word soil, the sins of humanity would to this issue is the appropriate family shows that labor involves pain. now cause them to lose the earth.

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I re gret that I made them.” ⁸ Noah, how ev er, a : Gn :; Ex earth is filled with wick edness be cause of a :; Lk : found fa vor with the L . b : Gn : them; there fore I am go ing to de stroy them c Ps :; Pt : along with the earth. d Gn :; Dt :; ¹⁴ “Make your self an ark of gopher wood. b Jb : ⁹ These are the fam i ly rec ords of Noah. Noah e Gn : Make rooms in the ark, and cov er it with pitch was a righ teous man, c blame less among his f : Jb :-; Ps in side and out side. ¹⁵ This is how you are to d e : -; : - contemporaries; Noah walked with God. g : Gn : ; Pt : make it: The ark will be feet long, feet ¹⁰ And Noah fa thered three sons: Shem, Ham, wide, and feet high. ¹⁶ You are to make a and Ja pheth. roof, fin ish ing the sides of the ark to with in ¹¹ Now the earth was cor rupt in God’s sight, eigh teen inch es of the roof. You are to put a and the earth was filled with wick ed ness. door in the side of the ark. Make it with low- ¹² God saw how cor rupt the earth was, for er, mid dle, and up per decks. ev ery crea ture had cor rupt ed its way on the ¹⁷ “Under stand that I am bring ing a flood earth. f ¹³ Then God said to Noah, “ I have de- — flood wa ters on the earth g to de stroy ev ery cid ed to put an end to ev ery crea ture, for the crea ture un der heav en with the breath of life

A : Or injustice, also in v. B : Unknown species of tree; perhaps pine or cypress C : Or cubits long, cubits wide, and cubits high D : Or window, or hatch ; Hb uncertain E : Lit to a cubit

6:8 This contrast to the rest of humanity an- shape, six times longer than it was wide, and Noah’s flood covered the entire globe. The ticipates Noah’s contrasting destiny. The word ten times longer than it was high. These ratios apostle Peter seems to airm this (2Pt 2:5; favor means undeserved blessing given by a have been used to produce seaworthy cra 3:6). That the flood was global has been the powerful being to one who is less powerful. for centuries. In the Hebrew text the measure- dominant Christian understanding through- Noah did not earn his salvation, but his life ments are expressed as “cubits,” a cubit being out history and remains so today. Defenders did demonstrate that he possessed saving the length from a person’s elbow to the end of of this view oer models to explain the flood’s faith (Heb 11:7). A wordplay exists in Hebrew the fully extended middle finger—about eigh- impact on the geological column. They also between the words for “Noah” and “favor,” as teen inches. The 450-foot length made the ark tackle questions such as how much water was both contain the same two consonants but the largest ship known to be constructed in an- required to flood the entire globe. If geogra- use them in reverse order: n-ch/ch-n. cient times. The ark was to contain an unspec- phy today reflects pre-flood geography, scien- 6:9-10 The family records of Noah is the third ified number of rooms—literally, “nests”— tists estimate that Earth would have needed of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Genesis and was to have two layers of pitch, (that is, four times the current quantity of water for (2:4; 5:1; 10:1; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; 37:2). asphalt or bitumen) painted over the boards. the flood to cover the highest mountains 6:11-12 Within these two verses three dier- 6:16 The Hebrew word translated roof can also (Gn 7:19-20). In this light some defenders of ent forms of the verb corrupt are used to de- be translated “window” or “hatch.” If the term a global flood have suggested that pre-flood scribe what humanity had done to itself and means “roof,” then the text probably indicates geography diered from today’s geography. the world in Noah’s day. The Hebrew word that it was to extend eighteen inches over the Specifically, they suggest that Earth’s land- translated “corrupt” means “to bring to ruin, sides of the boat. If the term means “window,” scape was flatter in the pre-flood era, thus to destroy.” then it refers to an eighteen-inch high gap sep- requiring less water to flood, and that the 6:13 For the first time in the Bible—but by no arating the four sides of the boat from its roof. violent flood created many of today’s geo- means the last (18:17; Am 3:7)—God is shown 6:17 Only aer he commanded Noah to make graphical and geological features. Others take expressing to one person what his intentions the ark did God tell him why it was to be built: a dierent approach, suggesting that pre- and were for others. Noah is thus established God was bringing a flood—a term used only post-flood geography is largely the same, that as a prophet, a role that he would faithfully in connection with the massive, all-destroying the flood did indeed require a greater quan- fulfill (2Pt 2:5). As indicated first in Gn 6:5-7, flood in Noah’s day. Everything on earth will tity of water than is now present on Earth, God would put an end to every creature . . . perish. The biblical language here and else- and that by an unknown mechanism Earth’s because of human sin. But judgment would where in Gn 6–8 most naturally indicates that quantity of water has greatly diminished aer not be limited to people; God the flood. would also destroy . . . the earth. Citing the flexible application Sadly, one of the victims of human of some terms used to describe sin is the earth on which we live tamiym the flood (e.g., kol ha’arets is (Lv 26:18-20; Is 24:4-7; Jr 12:11; Hebrew pronunciation [tah MEEM] rendered as “throughout the Hs 4:1-3). CSB translation blameless, mature, perfect earth” in 7:3 but legitimately 6:14 Because of God’s grace (v. 8) Uses in Genesis 2 can refer to limited areas of and Noah’s relationship with God Uses in the OT 91 land), the inclusion of details (v. 9), Noah and his family would Focus passage Genesis 6:9 that could indicate a regional be saved in an ark, along with the flood (e.g., the dove returning land and air animals. The Hebrew Tamiym, an adjective from tamam, “be complete,” has both with a “plucked olive leaf” in its term translated “ark” is used only physical and spiritual significance. Fiy-one occurrences beak just as soon as the waters in the Noah account and the story describe animals as unblemished (Ex 12:5) or without blemish, subsided despite the fact that of Moses’s early childhood (Ex 2:3); thus qualified to be sacrificial victims. Related ideas are entire low-lying areas where olive trees as used in the Bible it refers to a (Lv 3:9), complete (Lv 23:15), whole (Pr 1:12; Ezk 15:5), and full now grow would have been fully watertight vessel used to preserve (Lv 25:30). A frequent spiritual meaning is blameless, devout, or submerged for roughly a year, human life from impending disas- upright (Gn 6:9; 17:1; Jb 12:4). A synonym is yashar (“upright”; 8:11), and the diiculty of finding ter. Gopher is the transliteration Pr 2:21). This is God’s standard for human behavior (Dt 18:13) traces of a global flood in earth’s of a Hebrew word whose meaning echoed in the NT by the word translated “perfect” (teleios) geological record, some evangel- is unknown; gopher wood may in Mt 5:48. Tamiym means perfect when describing God’s icals conclude that Noah’s flood be pine or cypress or something ways, knowledge, or word (Dt 32:4; 2Sm 22:31; Jb 37:16). He covered only that portion of extinct. can make our way perfect (2Sm 22:33). Tamiym can function the earth that was inhabited by 6:15 Noah was to make the ark nominatively as integrity or sincerity (Jos 24:14; Am 5:10), and humans. In this view the flood rectangular and barge-like in adverbially as honestly (Jdg 9:16). destroyed all humans except 25

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in it. Ev erything on earth will per ish. ¹⁸ But a : Gn :-; : He did ev erything that God had com mand- a b : Gn : b I will es tab lish my cov enant with you, and c : Mt :-; Lk ed him. you will en ter the ark with your sons, your :-; Heb : d : Gn : ; Lv :- wife, and your sons’ wives. ¹⁹ You are also to ; Dt :- bring into the ark two of all the liv ing crea- Then the L said to Noah, “En ter the tures, male and fe male, to keep them alive ark, you and all your house hold, for I have with you. ²⁰ Two of ev erything — from the seen that you alone are righ teous be fore me birds ac cord ing to their kinds, from the live- in this gen er ation. c ² You are to take with stock ac cording to their kinds, and from the you sev en pairs, a male and its fe male, of an imals that crawl on the ground ac cording all the clean ani mals, d and two of the ani- to their kinds — will come to you so that you mals that are not clean, a male and its fe- can keep them alive. ²¹ Take with you ev ery male, ³ and sev en pairs, male and fe male, of kind of food that is eat en; gath er it as food the birds of the sky — in order to keep off- for you and for them.” ²² And Noah did this. spring alive through out the earth. ⁴ Sev en

the persons on Noah’s ark, but did not need 6:22 As other heroic men of the Bible would taken aboard the ark, all the clean animals— to cover the whole globe to do so, since the do in later times—Moses and Aaron (Ex 7:6), both those of the land and among the birds flood of Noah occurred before the dispersion Aaron’s sons (Lv 8:36), Joshua (Jos 11:9), of the sky—were to have seven pairs of males of the nations in Gn 10. Gideon (Jdg 6:27), Samuel (1Sm 16:4), Da- and females onboard. The concept of clean 6:18 The term covenant refers to a binding, vid (2Sm 5:25), and Elijah (1Kg 17:5)—Noah animals is explained elsewhere in the Torah formal agreement between two parties—a did everything that God had commanded (Lv 11:1-46); essentially, these were animals sort of treaty, pact, or contract. him. An undetermined amount of time had that were fit for human consumption and 6:19 God’s preservation of Noah meant that passed between this verse and the previ- could be oered as sacrifices to God. On the earth and humanity would still need the ous verses in this chapter. Certainly the meaning of throughout the earth, see note ecological support network of animals. Con- construction of the ark would have been a at 6:17. sequently, Noah was to bring into the ark lengthy endeavor. 7:4 The advance warning God gave Noah one male and one female of all the living 7:1 Following the ark’s completion, the L here about the onset of rain was necessary, creatures. Representatives of all vulnerable gave Noah the order to begin the complex for it almost certainly would have taken sev- species were to be preserved. process of boarding the craft. Because of en days to finish boarding the ark. Loading, 6:20-21 Noah would not have to go on safaris Noah’s righteous walk with God he and his securing, and tending to the dietary needs of to collect the various animals. They would household would be saved. The concept of all the wild animals onboard the three-level come to him so he could keep them alive. On sparing many because of the righteousness of barge-like structure was a complicated and at least three other occasions in the Bible God a few occurs elsewhere in the Bible (18:24-32). dangerous task. directed animals to go to people (Ex 16:13; 7:2-3 While one male and one female of ev- Here rain was the mechanism for the Nm 11:31; 1Kg 17:2-6). ery species of air and land animal were to be deadly act of judgment that would wipe off

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days from now I will make it rain on the earth a : Gn : b : Gn :; Pr :; for ty days and for ty nights, and ev ery liv ing Am : ¹¹ In the six hun dredth year of Noah’s life, in thing I have made I will wipe off the face of c Kg :; Ps : ; the sec ond month, on the sev enteenth day of the earth.” ⁵ And Noah did ev ery thing that Is :; Mal : the month, on that day all the sources of the the L com mand ed him. a vast wa tery depths burst open, b the flood- ⁶ Noah was six hun dred years old when the gates of the sky were opened, c ¹² and the rain flood came and wa ter cov ered the earth. ⁷ So fell on the earth for ty days and for ty nights. Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives ¹³ On that same day Noah along with his sons en tered the ark be cause of the flood wa ters. Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth, Noah’s wife, and his ⁸ From the clean ani mals, un clean ani mals, three sons’ wives en tered the ark with him. birds, and ev ery crea ture that crawls on the ¹⁴ They en tered it with all the wildlife ac cord- ground, ⁹ two of each, male and fe male, came ing to their kinds, all live stock ac cord ing to to Noah and en tered the ark, just as God had their kinds, all the crea tures that crawl on the com mand ed him. ¹⁰ Sev en days lat er the flood- earth ac cord ing to their kinds, ev ery fly ing wa ters came on the earth. crea ture — all the birds and ev ery winged

from the face of the earth . . . every living judges and kings ruled over Israel for forty is meant by all the sources of the vast watery thing. Elsewhere in the OT God caused burn- years (Othniel, Jdg 3:11; Deborah, Jdg 5:31; depths is unknown; the phrase appears to re- ing sulfur (19:24) and hailstones (Ex 9:18,23) Gideon, Jdg 8:28; Eli, 1Sm 4:8; David, 2Sm fer to a massive outflow of pressurized water to “rain” from the sky as a mechanism of 5:4; Solomon, 1Kg 11:42; Joash, 2Kg 12:1; from underground sources that burst out of judgment against sinners. The rains would Saul, Ac 13:21). the ground with devastating eect. No known continue unabated for forty days and forty 7:5 This is parallel to 6:22. phenomenon in nature today corresponds to nights. The number forty played a signifi- 7:6-10 Noah’s age at the onset of the flood— this description. cant role throughout the OT: Isaac and Esau six hundred years old—will be used to indi- 7:12 Exactly as God had indicated (v. 4), the were forty when they married (25:20; 26:34), cate the duration of the flood (8:13). No other rain fell on the earth forty days and forty Moses was on Mount Sinai forty days and human aer Noah will be said to live to this nights. God’s word to Noah is once again nights receiving the law from God (Ex 24:18; age. On the scope of the flood, see note at 6:17. shown to be trustworthy. 34:28; Dt 9:11,18,25), Israel spent forty years Seven days later, exactly when God said it 7:13-15 The same day Noah completed the in the wilderness following their disobedi- would occur, the floodwaters began. task of loading the ark; that is, the seventh ence (Nm 32:13), the Philistines oppressed 7:11 Water came from two dierent sourc- day (v. 10) aer God’s command was given, Israel for forty years (Jdg 13:1), and several es—one below and one above. Exactly what Noah and his family entered the ark.

A reproduction of tablet eleven of the Epic of Gilgamesh, a Babylonian account of the great flood. 27

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crea ture — ac cord ing to their kinds. ¹⁵ Two a : Gn : sub side. ² The sources of the wa tery depths of ev ery crea ture that has the breath of life in b : Pt :; and the flood gates of the sky were closed, and Pt : e it came to Noah and en tered the ark. ¹⁶ Those c : Gn :; Ex the rain from the sky stopped. ³ The wa ter : ; Sm :; Ps that en tered, male and fe male of ev ery crea- : steadi ly re ced ed from the earth, and by the ture, en tered just as God had com mand ed d Ex :; :; Jb end of days the wa ter had de creased sig- :; Ps :; Is f ⁴ him. Then the L shut him in. :; Nah : nificantly. The ark came to rest in the sev- ¹⁷ The flood con tinued for for ty days on the e : Gn : enth month, on the sev en teenth day of the earth; the wa ter in creased and lift ed up the f : Gn : month, on the moun tains of Ar a rat. g g : Kg :; Is ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The wa- :; Jr : ⁵ The wa ter con tin ued to re cede un til the ter surged and in creased great ly on the earth, tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first and the ark float ed on the sur face of the wa- day of the month, the tops of the moun tains ter. ¹⁹ Then the wa ter surged even high er on were vis i ble. ⁶ Af ter for ty days Noah opened the earth, and all the high moun tains un der the win dow of the ark that he had made, ⁷ and the whole sky were cov ered. ²⁰ The moun tains he sent out a ra ven. It went back and forth were cov ered as the wa ter surged above them un til the wa ter had dried up from the earth. more than twen ty feet. ²¹ Ev ery crea ture per- ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see wheth er the ished — those that crawl on the earth, birds, wa ter on the earth’s sur face had gone down, live stock, wildlife, and those that swarm on ⁹ but the dove found no rest ing place for its the earth, as well as all man kind. ²² Ev ery- foot. It re turned to him in the ark be cause thing with the breath of the spir it of life in wa ter cov ered the sur face of the whole earth. its nos trils a — ev ery thing on dry land died. He reached out and brought it into the ark to ²³ He wiped out ev ery liv ing thing that was on him self. ¹⁰ So Noah wait ed sev en more days the face of the earth, from man kind to live- and sent out the dove from the ark again. stock, to crea tures that crawl, to the birds of ¹¹ When the dove came to him at eve ning, the sky, and they were wiped o the earth. there was a plucked ol ive leaf in its beak. Only Noah was left, and those that were with So Noah knew that the wa ter on the earth’s him in the ark. b ²⁴ And the wa ter surged on surface had gone down. ¹² After he had wait- the earth days. ed an oth er sev en days, he sent out the dove, but it did not re turn to him again. ¹³ In the six hun dred and first year, in the first month, God re membered Noah, c as well as all the on the first day of the month, the wa ter that wildlife and all the live stock that were had cov ered the earth was dried up. Then with him in the ark. God caused a wind to Noah re moved the ark’s cov er and saw that pass over the earth, d and the wa ter be gan to the sur face of the ground was dry ing. ¹⁴ By A : Lit surged cubits B : Lit all the swarming swarms C : Or spirit ; Gn : D : = of Noah’s life

7:16 Shut him in—The author gave no details (30:22), and the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 2:24). cause it was expendable. The fact that it went to explain how God performed the supernat- Using language that reflects God’s initial act back and forth from the ark means that it ural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused could find no suitable habitat. highlights the truth found elsewhere in the Bi- (Hb) ruach—“Spirit” or wind—to pass over the 8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of ble: “Salvation belongs to the L” (Jnh 2:9). waters of the earth. Immediately the water the raven or soon thereaer, Noah sent out a 7:17-20 More than twenty feet is literally fif- began to subside. dove. Since the dove ate seed and insects, it teen cubits, which is about 22½ feet. For more 8:2 Following the 150 days of ever-surging would provide a useful indication of whether on the scope of Noah’s flood, see note at 6:17. waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sourc- the water on the earth’s surface had gone 7:21 Through the use of expanded restate- es of water (from above and below) stopped down. ment the author brings the detailed account and the water began to subside. The initial 8:9 Though the ark was now resting on Ararat of the flood’s destruction to a climax. downpour ended aer forty days and nights (v. 4) and mountaintops were visible (v. 5), the 7:22 For dramatic eect a second expanded (7:12), so presumably the rains that are said waters had not yet receded enough for the expression of the flood’s destructive eects im- to have ceased in the present verse were only dove to find a resting place for its foot. mediately follows the one in the previous verse. sporadic showers. 8:10-11 When the dove returned to Noah from 7:23 The overpowering presentation of death 8:3 Just as the flood had increased upon the its second foray with an olive leaf, this con- is contrasted with Noah’s preservation. earth for 150 days, so it steadily receded from firmed that the lower elevations (where olive 7:24 Though the text does not explicitly say the earth for 150 days, until the levels had de- trees grow) were now above water. Inspired so, the total of 150 days seems to include the creased significantly. by this passage, the image of a dove with an forty days of rain (see note at v. 12). The He- 8:4 Exactly five months aer the flood had olive branch in its mouth has become a uni- brew word translated as surged emphasizes begun (7:11), the ark came to rest . . . on the versal symbol of peace. the power of the waters. mountains of Ararat—modern Turkey or Ar- 8:12 When Noah sent the dove out a third 8:1 Remembered does not suggest that God menia. time and it did not return, it was clear that had ever forgotten about Noah; when used of 8:5-6 This is the only mention of a window life-sustaining conditions now existed at the God, “remember” suggests the initiation of a (Hb hallon) in the ark. Noah opened the win- earth’s more temperate, lower elevations. miraculous, saving act of God. Other instances dow to determine the earth’s readiness to 8:13-14 On Noah’s six hundred and first of God “remembering” as the first step in pro- receive the ark’s cargo of people and animals. birthday he removed the ark’s cover and viding divine help for his people include his 8:7 Rabbis have suggested that Noah first confirmed what the dove had indicated—that intervention in the lives of Lot (19:29), Rachel sent out a raven, a ritually unclean bird, be- the plains beneath the mountain range were

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : crea ture — ac cord ing to their kinds. ¹⁵ Two a : Gn : sub side. ² The sources of the wa tery depths of ev ery crea ture that has the breath of life in b : Pt :; and the flood gates of the sky were closed, and Pt : e it came to Noah and en tered the ark. ¹⁶ Those c : Gn :; Ex the rain from the sky stopped. ³ The wa ter : ; Sm :; Ps that en tered, male and fe male of ev ery crea- : steadi ly re ced ed from the earth, and by the Kenneth A. Kitchen ture, en tered just as God had com mand ed d Ex :; :; Jb end of days the wa ter had de creased sig- :; Ps :; Is f ⁴ him. Then the L shut him in. :; Nah : nificantly. The ark came to rest in the sev- ¹⁷ The flood con tinued for for ty days on the e : Gn : enth month, on the sev en teenth day of the eliability” is the quality of being dependable human generations, but they kept a living memory of earth; the wa ter in creased and lift ed up the f : Gn : month, on the moun tains of Ar a rat. g and truthful. Is the Old Testament (OT) reliable momentous events. For instance, other cultures told g : Kg :; Is ark so that it rose above the earth. ¹⁸ The wa- :; Jr : ⁵ The wa ter con tin ued to re cede un til the “ Rin what it says about God’s dealings with stories that are strikingly similar to Noah’s fl ood. This ter surged and in creased great ly on the earth, tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first humanity in the ancient Near East? Discoveries from is indirect proof for the reliability of the OT. The Genesis and the ark float ed on the sur face of the wa- day of the month, the tops of the moun tains that early world often illustrate the factual reality schema of documenting creation and listing two sets ter. ¹⁹ Then the wa ter surged even high er on were vis i ble. ⁶ Af ter for ty days Noah opened of OT history. of eight or ten representative generations living the earth, and all the high moun tains un der the win dow of the ark that he had made, ⁷ and before and after the fl ood also fi nds commonality the whole sky were cov ered. ²⁰ The moun tains he sent out a ra ven. It went back and forth in ancient Sumerian and Babylonian literature. This were cov ered as the wa ter surged above them un til the wa ter had dried up from the earth. Shared memories represent one proof of the reliability demonstrates that the OT fi ts the literary forms and more than twen ty feet. ²¹ Ev ery crea ture per- ⁸ Then he sent out a dove to see wheth er the of the OT. Far antiquity saw the passing of countless practices of the era it documents. Finally, long lives ished — those that crawl on the earth, birds, wa ter on the earth’s sur face had gone down, like Methuselah’s 969 years are no bar to personal live stock, wildlife, and those that swarm on ⁹ but the dove found no rest ing place for its historicity; ancient Sumerian documents maintain the earth, as well as all man kind. ²² Ev ery- foot. It re turned to him in the ark be cause that King (En)-me-bara-gisi reigned for 900 years. thing with the breath of the spir it of life in wa ter cov ered the sur face of the whole earth. The 900-year reign is not credible, but King (En)- its nos trils a — ev ery thing on dry land died. He reached out and brought it into the ark to me-bara-gisi was not fi ctional. He is known to be ²³ He wiped out ev ery liv ing thing that was on him self. ¹⁰ So Noah wait ed sev en more days historical because archaeologists have discovered the face of the earth, from man kind to live- and sent out the dove from the ark again. inscriptions bearing his name. It was a widespread stock, to crea tures that crawl, to the birds of ¹¹ When the dove came to him at eve ning, ancient convention to “stretch” spans of true events the sky, and they were wiped o the earth. there was a plucked ol ive leaf in its beak. and ages of people that hailed from primeval times. Only Noah was left, and those that were with So Noah knew that the wa ter on the earth’s him in the ark. b ²⁴ And the wa ter surged on surface had gone down. ¹² After he had wait- the earth days. ed an oth er sev en days, he sent out the dove, With Abraham we enter the era of the patriarchs (ca but it did not re turn to him again. ¹³ In the six 2000–1600 BC). Historical records are more plentiful hun dred and first year, in the first month, from this point on in history. The patriarchs herded God re membered Noah, c as well as all the on the first day of the month, the wa ter that sheep and cattle, ranging from Ur (modern Iraq) wildlife and all the live stock that were had cov ered the earth was dried up. Then down to Egypt. Data from Ur during this era record with him in the ark. God caused a wind to Noah re moved the ark’s cov er and saw that large fl ocks of sheep, which fi ts with OT depictions. pass over the earth, d and the wa ter be gan to the sur face of the ground was dry ing. ¹⁴ By Archives from Mari mention Haran, where Abraham A : Lit surged cubits B : Lit all the swarming swarms C : Or spirit ; Gn : D : = of Noah’s life once lived. From the time of Abraham down to Jacob, Canaan was a land of independent “city-states” like Shechem, (Jeru)salem, and Gerar. These population 7:16 Shut him in—The author gave no details (30:22), and the Israelites in Egypt (Ex 2:24). cause it was expendable. The fact that it went to explain how God performed the supernat- Using language that reflects God’s initial act back and forth from the ark means that it centers were sustained by pastures, frequented by ural act of shutting Noah in. This divine act of creating the universe (Gn 1:2), God caused could find no suitable habitat. local herdsmen and visitors like Abraham and his highlights the truth found elsewhere in the Bi- (Hb) ruach—“Spirit” or wind—to pass over the 8:8 Perhaps simultaneous with the release of descendants (Gn 37:12-13). Egyptian “execration-texts” ble: “Salvation belongs to the L” (Jnh 2:9). waters of the earth. Immediately the water the raven or soon thereaer, Noah sent out a provide extrabiblical evidence of this practice. The war 7:17-20 More than twenty feet is literally fif- began to subside. dove. Since the dove ate seed and insects, it teen cubits, which is about 22½ feet. For more 8:2 Following the 150 days of ever-surging would provide a useful indication of whether between the Canaanite kings and eastern rulers from on the scope of Noah’s flood, see note at 6:17. waters, a turnabout occurred: all the sourc- the water on the earth’s surface had gone Babylonia (Shinar, Ellasar—see Gn 14) and Iranian 7:21 Through the use of expanded restate- es of water (from above and below) stopped down. Elam is true to this period. The Mari archives verify ment the author brings the detailed account and the water began to subside. The initial 8:9 Though the ark was now resting on Ararat of the flood’s destruction to a climax. downpour ended aer forty days and nights (v. 4) and mountaintops were visible (v. 5), the that this was the only period in which Elam’s forces 7:22 For dramatic eect a second expanded (7:12), so presumably the rains that are said waters had not yet receded enough for the reached so far west and when many war alliances expression of the flood’s destructive eects im- to have ceased in the present verse were only dove to find a resting place for its foot. fl ourished. Patriarchal customs involving things mediately follows the one in the previous verse. sporadic showers. 8:10-11 When the dove returned to Noah from like marriage and covenant-formation refl ect this 7:23 The overpowering presentation of death 8:3 Just as the flood had increased upon the its second foray with an olive leaf, this con- is contrasted with Noah’s preservation. earth for 150 days, so it steadily receded from firmed that the lower elevations (where olive period, as does the sum of 20 shekels paid to purchase 7:24 Though the text does not explicitly say the earth for 150 days, until the levels had de- trees grow) were now above water. Inspired Joseph (Gn 37:28). Egyptian details mentioned in the so, the total of 150 days seems to include the creased significantly. by this passage, the image of a dove with an OT (personal names, deadly famines, the practice of forty days of rain (see note at v. 12). The He- 8:4 Exactly five months aer the flood had olive branch in its mouth has become a uni- “reading” dreams, etc.) match what is learned about brew word translated as surged emphasizes begun (7:11), the ark came to rest . . . on the versal symbol of peace. the power of the waters. mountains of Ararat—modern Turkey or Ar- 8:12 When Noah sent the dove out a third Egypt from other ancient sources. 8:1 Remembered does not suggest that God menia. time and it did not return, it was clear that The Merneptah Stele (above) dates to the late thirteenthth century BC. In Egypt the enslaved Hebrews labored to build had ever forgotten about Noah; when used of 8:5-6 This is the only mention of a window life-sustaining conditions now existed at the Pharaoh Merneptah (1212–1203 BC) memorializes his victories against cities such as Rameses and Pithom. One view is that God, “remember” suggests the initiation of a (Hb hallon) in the ark. Noah opened the win- earth’s more temperate, lower elevations. Libya and in Canaan on this granite stele. Outside the Bible, this is the this took place under Ramesses II (1279–1213 BC). miraculous, saving act of God. Other instances dow to determine the earth’s readiness to 8:13-14 On Noah’s six hundred and first earliest reference to Israel to date: “Israel is laid waste, its seed is not.” of God “remembering” as the first step in pro- receive the ark’s cargo of people and animals. birthday he removed the ark’s cover and The Merneptah Stele was discovered in 1896 by Flinders Petrie at Thebes Another view is that the exodus took place around viding divine help for his people include his 8:7 Rabbis have suggested that Noah first confirmed what the dove had indicated—that and is currently in the Cairo Museum, Egypt. 1446 BC. Archaeology reveals that Rameses included intervention in the lives of Lot (19:29), Rachel sent out a raven, a ritually unclean bird, be- the plains beneath the mountain range were 29

01_Gen.indd 19 28/10/16 12.39 01_Gen.indd 20 28/10/16 12.39 chariotry-stables (see Ex 14:25). During the exodus from Egypt, God led the Hebrews not by the nearby northern route to Canaan (cp. Ex 13:17-18), which was infested with Egyptian military stations, but by Mount Sinai, which was safely south of Egyptian control. The covenant Moses mediated between God and Israel at Mount Sinai includes features (historical introduction, identification of witnesses, the naming of covenant blessings and curses) that refl ect known usage in the fourteenth and thirteenth centuries BC, and the tabernacle (Ex 25:9; 26:1 ) echoes a long regional tradition (ca 2800–1000 BC) of building sacred tents and sanctuaries. By 1209 BC, tribal Israel was already in Canaan. Extrabiblical proof for this is found on Pharaoh Merneptah’s Victory Stele. After the troubled times of the judges, Saul, David, and Solomon ruled Israel. “The House of David” is named on an Aramean stele from Dan, and likewise on the stele of Mesha, king of Moab. Less than 50 years after David, the place-name “Heights of Davit” (Egyptians used t for fi nal d) is included in the geographic list of Palestine drawn up for Shoshenq I (“Shishak” ca 924 BC). The design of Solomon’s temple refl ected trends that were current in neighboring Syria, though the temple’s décor was modest by comparison. Solomon’s wisdom-writings fi t his epoch in format and content. After Solomon’s death (930 BC), Israel and Judah The House of David Inscription is the earliest reference to David outside split into two kingdoms. The Assyrians advanced the Bible. This inscription was part of a victory monument erected by southward and came into repeated contact with an Aramean king in the ninth century BC. He celebrates victories over a “king of Israel” and a king of the “House of David”—a reference to Ju- Hebrew rulers. Thus Ahab and Jehu of Israel are dah. This artifact was discovered in 1994 at Tell Dan in Northern Israel. mentioned in texts of Shalmaneser III, while his It resides currently in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. successors mention Jehoash, Menahem, Pekah, and Hoshea. We have Hebrew seals identifying servants We have discovered ration-tablets from Babylon for of Jeroboam II and Hoshea. From Judah, Jotham, the banished Judean king Jehoiachin and his family for Ahaz, and Hezekiah are included on o icial seal- 594–570 BC. The well-documented Persian triumph impressions, while Assyrian records name (Jeho)- in 539 BC enabled many exiles to return to Judah ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh. All these kings appear and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, just as the OT in the same sequence and epochs in both biblical and says. Other biblical fi gures now verifi ed through Assyrian records. archaeological discoveries include: Sanballat I of Mesha of Moab left a stele mentioning Omri and Samaria from Aramaic papyri; the later family of Ahab of Israel. In turn, the narratives in Kings and Tobiah of Ammon from tombs at Iraq al-Amir; and Chronicles mention, in correct periods and order, Gashmu/Geshem as an Arabian king in Qedar, from the following kings of Egypt: Shoshenq I [Shishak], a bowl belonging to his son Qaynu. Osorkon IV [So], Taharqa [Tirhakah], Necho (II), The historicity of the OT should be taken seriously. and Hophra [Apries]. Also mentioned are Assyrian As for the OT text itself, the Dead Sea Scrolls (ca 150 rulers Tiglath-pileser III, Shalmaneser (V), Sargon (II), BC–AD 70) provide good evidence of a carefully Sennacherib, and Esar-haddon. Finally, the Babylonian transmitted core-text tradition through almost a rulers Merodach-baladan (II), Nebuchadrezzar thousand years down to the Masoretic scribes (ca (II), and Evil-Merodach are named. Various events eighth–tenth centuries AD). Thus, the basic text of OT are documented in both biblical and external sources Scripture can be established as essentially soundly through 200 years for Israel and 340 years for Judah. transmitted, and the evidence shows that the form and The falls of Samaria (722/720 BC) and Judah (605– content of the OT fi t with known literary and cultural 597 BC) are mentioned in Assyrian and Babylonian realities of the ancient Near East. For more, see chronicles respectively. K. A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament.

01_Gen.indd 21 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

the twenty-seventh day of the sec ond month, a : Gn :,; : summer and winter, and day and night b : Ex :; Lv f the earth was dry. :; Ezk :; : ; will not cease.” Co :; Eph :; ’ Php : ’ c Gn :; :; :; ¹⁵ Then God spoke to Noah, ¹⁶ “ Come out of Is : God blessed Noah and his sons and said to d Gn :; Ps :; Jr the ark, you, your wife, your sons, and your :; Rm :; :; them, “ Be fruit ful and mul tiply and fill the g sons’ wives with you. ¹⁷ Bring out all the liv- Eph :- earth. ² The fear and ter ror of you will be in ing crea tures that are with you — birds, live- e Gn :, ev ery liv ing crea ture on the earth, ev ery bird f : Jr : , stock, those that crawl on the earth — and g : Gn :; :; of the sky, ev ery crea ture that crawls on the :; : they will spread over the earth and be fruit ful h ground, and all the fish of the sea. They are a : Dt :; Tm and mul tiply on the earth.” ¹⁸ So Noah, along :- placed un der your au thor ity. ³ Ev ery crea ture with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, i :- Gn :- that lives and moves will be food for you; h as j : Lv :; : ; came out. ¹⁹ All the an i mals, all the crea tures : - ; : ; Dt I gave the green plants, I have giv en you ev- that crawl, and all the fly ing crea tures — ev- : ,; :; Sm ery thing. i ⁴ How ev er, you must not eat meat : ; Ac : , j erything that moves on the earth — came out k : Ex : with its life blood in it. ⁵ And I will re quire a l Gn :, of the ark by their fam i lies. m pen al ty for your life blood; I will re quire it : Ex :- ; Lv k ²⁰ Then Noah built an al tar to the L . He :; Nm :; Mt from any ani mal and from any hu man; if : took some of ev ery kind of clean ani mal and n some one mur ders a fel low hu man, I will re- Gn : - ,l ev ery kind of clean bird and o ered burnt of- o : Gn : quire that per son’s life. fer ings on the al tar. ²¹ When the L smelled p : Gn :; :; ⁶ Whoever sheds human blood, b :; Ex : ; :; m the pleas ing aro ma, he said to him self, “ I will Lv : by humans his blood will be shed, nev er again curse the ground c be cause of hu- for God made humans in his image. n man be ings, even though the in cli na tion of ⁷ But you, be fruit ful and mul tiply; spread out the hu man heart is evil from youth onward. d over the earth and mul ti ply on it.” o And I will nev er again strike down ev ery liv- ⁸ Then God said to Noah and his sons with ing thing as I have done. e him, ⁹ “Un der stand that I am es tab lish ing my ²² As long as the earth endures, covenant p with you and your de scendants af- seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, ter you, ¹⁰ and with ev ery liv ing crea ture that

A : Lit creatures of all ﬂesh B : Lit are given in your hand C : Lit And your blood belonging to your life I will seek D : Lit any human; from the hand of a man his brother I will seek the life of the human.

drying. Some fiy-seven days (one 29½ day onward (Ps 14:1; Rm 3:9,23). The flood did 9:4 Though meat would be permissible as cycle of the moon plus 27 days) later, the not significantly change the human heart food, blood would not. God required Noah and earth was dry. (cp. Gn 6:5). Yet in spite of humanity’s sinful his ospring to drain the lifeblood from any 8:15-19 Perhaps this is the first time God had nature, God’s grace and love would prevail: animal before eating it. This guideline would spoken to Noah since before the flood; during He would never again destroy all life as he be expanded and clarified in Israel’s Sinai law the entire year of the catastrophic flood no had done in Noah’s day. code (Lv 7:26-27; 17:10-14; 19:26; Dt 12:16,24; record shows that God communicated direct- 8:22 The terrifying chaos of the flood would 15:23). To avoid oending Jewish Christians, ly with the patriarch or his family. What faith give way to the predictable, comforting first-century Gentile Christians were also en- Noah demonstrated during that terrifying rhythms of life—the harvest, the seasons, day couraged not to eat blood (Ac 15:20,29). time in the ark’s dark interior! and night—for as long as the earth endures. 9:5-6 Because God made humans in his 8:20 Noah’s first act following his departure 9:1-2 This blessing fortifies the parallels beimage, the taking of a human life by either from the ark was to worship God by giving a tween Noah and Adam (1:28), as both bless- an animal or another person was not treat- burnt oering. Since every kind of clean an- ings began with the command to be fruitful ed like the death of an animal. Any animal imal and bird—that is, one of every mammal and multiply and fill the earth. However, in and any human who killed a human was to that chewed the cud and possessed split hoofs, Noah’s day the blessing is altered. Mankind is have its own blood . . . shed . . . by humans as well as one representative of every kind of still to take dominion over creation (1:28), but as a just punishment. This verse establishes bird that did not eat carrion—was oered, it due to the presence of sin, the harmony that that unauthorized taking of a human life is must have been an impressive sacrifice. existed in the garden of Eden had ended; now a capital oense and implicitly authorizes 8:21 Using anthropomorphic language— animals were filled with the fear and terror of properly credentialed authorities to execute words that describe God’s actions in human humans. Terrorized animals can be danger- murderers. Other verses in the law of Moses terms—the text notes that the L smelled ous; even so, God placed the animals under reinforced this concept (Ex 20:13; 21:23; Dt the pleasing aroma. The phrase means that people’s authority, ensuring that humans 19:21). No such law exists for the killing of God accepted Noah’s sacrifice. Elsewhere in would prevail over the animal kingdom. animals; the Bible consistently teaches that the Torah, God’s refusal to smell a sacrifice 9:3 The original dietary regulations given to humans are of superior worth to animals. meant he rejected the offering (Lv 26:31). Adam and Eve (1:29) were now expanded. An- 9:7 God’s blessing of humanity in Noah’s day Acceptable offerings in other parts of the imal proteins would join green plants within begins (v. 1) and ends with the command to Bible are said to have a pleasing aroma the human diet. The phrase referring to ani- be fruitful and multiply. This repetition un- (Ex 29:25; Lv 1:9; 2:2; 3:16; Nm 18:17). mal food sources can be translated literally as derscores the sacredness and desirability of Following Noah’s sacrifice the Lord made “every creeping/gliding animal” and would human reproduction within God’s plan. a solemn promise never again to curse the normally be understood to refer to smaller 9:8-11 These verses are the formal conclusion ground as he had done following Adam’s animals on land or sea, but it is usually un- of the covenant first mentioned in 6:18. The ini- sin (Gn 3:17; 5:29). Almost with a sense of derstood here to mean every creature that tial expression of the covenant unconditionally resignation, God noted that the inclination moves. Israelites would later be limited to oered safety in the ark to Noah’s family and of the human heart was evil from youth eating only clean animals (Lv 11). many classes of animals. In the style of a royal 31

01_Gen.indd 22 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

is with you — birds, live stock, and all wildlife a : Is :- ²⁰ Noah, as a man of the soil, be gan by plant- b : Gn : of the earth that are with you — all the an- c : Ezk : ; Rv ing a vine yard. ²¹ He drank some of the wine, i mals of the earth that came out of the ark. :; : became drunk, and un cov ered him self in side d : Lv : ,; ¹¹ I es tab lish my cov enant with you that nev- Dt :; Kg : ; Ezk his tent. ²² Ham, the fa ther of Ca naan, saw his er again will ev ery crea ture be wiped out by : fa ther na ked and told his two broth ers out- flood wa ters; there will nev er again be a flood e : Gn :; Sm side. g ²³ Then Shem and Ja pheth took a cloak a :; Ch :; to de stroy the earth.” Is : and placed it over both their shoul ders, and ¹² And God said, “ This is the sign of the cov- f : Gn :,; : ; walking back ward, they cov ered their fa ther’s b Ch : enant I am mak ing be tween me and you and g : Lm : ; Hab naked ness. Their fac es were turned away, and ev ery liv ing crea ture with you, a cov enant for : they did not see their fa ther na ked. h : Dt : all fu ture gen er ations: ¹³ I have placed my bow i Jos : ; Jdg : ; ²⁴ When Noah awoke from his drink ing and in the clouds, c and it will be a sign of the cov- Kg : - learned what his youn gest son had done to j : Gn : enant be tween me and the earth. ¹⁴ When ev- him, ²⁵ he said: er I form clouds over the earth and the bow Canaan is cursed. h ap pears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will re mem ber my He will be the lowest of slaves cov enant d be tween me and you and all the to his brothers. i liv ing crea tures: wa ter will nev er again be- ²⁶ He also said: come a flood to de stroy ev ery crea ture. ¹⁶ The Blessed be the L, the God of Shem; bow will be in the clouds, and I will look at Let Canaan be Shem’s slave. it and re mem ber the per ma nent cov enant e ²⁷ Let God extend Japheth; be tween God and all the liv ing crea tures on let Japheth dwell in the tents of Shem; earth.” ¹⁷ God said to Noah, “ This is the sign of let Canaan be Shem’s slave. the cov enant that I have es tab lished be tween me and ev ery crea ture on earth.” ²⁸ Now Noah lived years af ter the flood. ²⁹ So Noah’s life last ed years; then he died. ’ ¹⁸ Noah’s sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth. Ham was the fa ther These are the fami ly rec ords j of Noah’s of Ca naan. ¹⁹ These three were Noah’s sons, and sons, Shem, Ham, and Ja pheth. They also from them the whole earth was populated. f had sons af ter the flood.

A : Lit and creatures of all ﬂesh B : Lit creatures of all ﬂesh C : Or Noah began to be a farmer and planted D : As a wish or prayer; others interpret the verbs in vv. - as prophecy: Canaan will be . . . E : In Hb, the name Japheth sounds like the word “extend.”

grant or unilateral agreement, this portion of the wine and became drunk. Aer sin entered Ham’s son, Canaan, who would be the lowest the Noahic covenant unconditionally promises the world, shattering innocence, nakedness of slaves to his brothers, that is, the slave of that there will never again be a flood of the was associated with shame (cp. 2:25; 3:10). In the descendants of Shem and Japheth. This same destructive scale as Noah’s flood. this case Noah brought the shame on himself curse on Canaan had prophetic implications. 9:12-17 Accompanying the covenant was a through his sinful drunkenness. A minimum of In later centuries the Canaanites, the descen- visible confirmation of the agreement be- two years likely elapsed between vv. 20 and 21 dants of Canaan, were pressed into slavery tween God and the earth that would continue since grapevines must grow that long before by the Israelites (Jos 17:13; Jdg 1:28-35; 1Kg for all future generations: God’s bow in the they can produce grapes. 9:20-21). This curse does not refer to the de- clouds represented his promise that he would 9:22 Noah “uncovered himself,” and Ham scendants of Ham who settled in Africa. never again send a flood to destroy every saw Noah naked. This passage does not 9:28-29 Noah’s 950 years mark him as the creature. From this point forward the rainbow say that Ham “uncovered the nakedness of third-oldest human in biblical history, behind would have profound significance as an air- Noah,” which would be a euphemism for per- Methuselah (969 years) and Jared (962 years). mation of God’s grace and peace. Elsewhere verted sexual activity (Lv 18:6-19). A parent’s 10:1 The family records of Noah’s sons is the in the Bible the rainbow is associated with the sin oen becomes a child’s stumbling block fourth of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Gen- presence of God or his angelic representative (Ex 34:7). In this case, Ham dishonored his fa- esis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 11:10,27; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; (Ezk 1:28; Rv 4:3; 10:1). This covenant is one of ther and thus sinned (Ex 20:12; Dt 5:16) in two 37:2). The purpose of this section is twofold: to three in the Bible that were accompanied by ways: First, he dishonored his father by star- show that Noah’s sons fulfilled the command a sign; the other signs were circumcision (Gn ing at his nakedness (Hab 2:15). Second, he to be fruitful, multiply, and spread out over the 17:11) and the Sabbath (Ex 31:16-17). increased both his sin and his father’s shame earth (9:7), and to distinguish the “unchosen” 9:18-19 Beginning with repeated material by reporting his father’s condition to others. lines of Noah’s descendants (the Japhethites (5:32; 6:10), the writer launches into a new Later, the law stipulated curses for dishonor- and Hamites) from the line that would be both narrative designed to prepare readers for ing a parent (Ex 21:17; Dt 27:16). the recipient and the agent of God’s special God’s judgment on the nation of Canaan. The 9:23 Shem and Japheth demonstrated their blessing to the rest of humanity (the Shem- familiar genealogy is extended with the note nobler natures by reacting to their father’s ites). Gn 10:1-32 lists a total of seventy descen- that Ham was the father of Canaan. At the condition far differently from Ham. First, dants in the family lines of Shem, Ham, and same time v. 19 prepares readers for chap. 10. they did not look upon their father’s shame- Japheth. Seventy, a multiple of two numbers 9:20 The parallels continue between Noah ful condition. Second, they covered their that suggest completeness (seven, the number and Adam as Noah is now shown to be a farm- father’s nakedness, thus ending his shame. of days of creation week; ten, the number of er (lit man of the soil [Hb ’adamah]) in the new Their action parallels God’s clothing of Adam fingers), would have suggested to ancient Isra- world prepared for him by God. following Adam’s sin (3:21). elites a satisfying completeness to the quantity 9:21 As Adam had sinned through the con- 9:24-27 When Noah learned what his youn- of persons and nations that came into being sumption of fruit (3:6), so Noah drank some of gest son had done, he placed the curse on aer the flood. This is labeled a list of clans,

01_Gen.indd 23 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS : a ² Ja pheth’s sons: Go mer, Ma gog, Mad ai, a :- Ch :-; ⁸ Cush fa thered Nim rod, who be gan to be Ezk :- Ja van, Tu bal, Me shech, and Ti ras. ³ Go mer’s b : Kg :; pow erful in the land. ⁹ He was a pow erful hunt- sons: Ash ke naz, Ri phath, and To gar mah. Is : er in the sight of the L . That is why it is b c : - Ch : - ⁴ And Ja van’s sons: Eli shah, Tar shish, Kit- d said, “ Like Nim rod, a pow er ful hunt er in the : Gn : tim, and Dodanim. ⁵ From these de scen- e Gn :; : sight of the L .” ¹⁰ His king dom start ed with f : Mc : d dants, the peo ples of the coasts and is lands g Babylon, Erech, Ac cad, and Cal neh, in the : - Ch ,e spread out into their lands ac cording to their :- land of Shi nar. ¹¹ From that land he went to clans in their na tions, each with its own h : Jr :; As syr ia f and built Nine veh, Re ho both-ir, Ca- Am : lan guage. lah, ¹² and Re sen, be tween Nin e veh and the ⁶ Ham’s sons: c Cush, Miz ra im, Put, and Ca- great city Ca lah. naan. ⁷ Cush’s sons: Seba, Havi lah, Sab tah, ¹³ Mizra im ,g fa thered the peo ple of Lud, Ra a mah, and Sab te ca. And Ra a mah’s sons: Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh, ¹⁴ Pathrus, Casluh ( the She ba and De dan. Phi lis tines came from them), and Caph tor. h

A : Some Hb mss, Sam, LXX read Rodanim ; Ch : B : Or Uruk C : Or Akkad D : Or and all of them E : Or in Babylonia F : = Egypt

languages, nations, and lands (vv. 5,20,31; cp. been lost in history, but they are associated he was also famous as a powerful hunter. Rv 14:6). Thus some of the names refer to the with regions in Africa and Arabia. Mizraim is Nimrod’s origins are from Cush, that is, Afri- regions where that person’s descendants set- the Hebrew word for Egypt. Havilah probably ca; his empire was Asian, stretching across tled; some refer to people groups. refers to a dierent geographic region than the the Tigris-Euphrates river basin. The order of 10:2-5 Fourteen of Japheth’s descendants Havilah of 2:11. Two dierent persons by the place names suggests that Nimrod’s empire are listed here. Peoples of the coasts and is- name of Sheba are listed in Genesis genealo- expanded from south to north, and included lands refers to people living in areas reachable gies (v. 28; 25:3); Dedan is also found in 25:3. It Babylon and Nineveh, the capital cities of two by ship, especially in the Mediterranean basin. is best to understand each of these as dierent of Israel’s most formidable future enemies. The fact that each group had its own language persons, and the founders of dierent people Shinar corresponds to the ancient regions suggests that this listing refers to the situation groups. of Sumer and Accad; Erech to ancient Uruk; a er the Tower of Babylon event (11:1-9). 10:8-12 Nimrod . . . began to be powerful Calah to Nimrod; Rehoboth-ir may be ancient 10:6-7 Thirty of Ham’s descendants are in- in the land, that is, he was successful as an Asshur. cluded in this list. The geographic or ethnic aggressive empire builder. Like many other 10:15-20 The most complex portion of the identifications of most of the names have ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian kings, Hamite list is the Canaan branch, with eleven

THE TABLE OF NATIONS Genesis 10 City 10 E 40 E ASHKENAZ 50 E TARSHISH 20 E 30 E Pontus BLACK City (uncertain location) SEA 40 N TIRAS GOMER MAGOG LUD Descendants of Japheth LUD Anatolian Plateau RIPHATH Lake CASPIAN AEGEAN MESHECH TOGARMAH Van Lake SEA PUT Descendants of Ham SEA TUBAL JAVAN Asia Minor Urmia JAPHETH MADAIE UZAL Descendants of Shem rus lbu au . EBER T Nineveh rz Mts. T ts ig M HAMATHITES PELEG ri Calah s Z RHODANIM HETH Arpachshad ag Great Salt Desert ASSHURR ro Eup . s ELISHAH ARAM h ra MEDITERRANEAN SEA KITTIM te s M LUDIM UZ o Plateau CAPHTORIM Area Akkad u n of enlarged HUL ta R i below Babylon . Erech MASH n Iran LEHABIM s CASLUHIM PUT SHINAR ELAM 30 N NAPHTUHIM CANAAN 30 N Libyan Qattara

Plateau Depression M

SINITES e 60 E SIDONIANS HAM il AMORITES N Desert PERIZZITES SEA JOBAB 20 N HITTITES HIVITES

CANAAN JEBUSITES GIRGASHITES RAAMAH UZAL SEBA

OBAL SHEBA SHELEPH HAZARMAVETH ARABIAN SEA 0 200 400 Miles HAVILAH SABTAH 0 200 400 Kilometers 20 E 30 E 40 E OPHIR 50 E

01_Gen.indd 24 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

¹⁵ Ca naan fa thered Si don his first born and a : Gn :- ³¹ These are Shem’s sons by their clans, ac- b : Gn :- Heth, ¹⁶ as well as the Jebu sites, the Amo rites, c cording to their lan guages, in their lands and a :- Ch the Gir gashites, ¹⁷ the Hi vites, the Ar kites, the : - their na tions. d : Gn :; Si nites, ¹⁸ the Ar vad ites, the Zem a rites, and the Lk : ³² These are the clans of Noah’s sons, ac- Ha math ites. Af ter ward the Ca naan ite clans e : Gn :; Ps cord ing to their fami ly rec ords, in their na- : scat tered. ¹⁹ The Ca naanite bor der went from f tions. The na tions on earth spread out from : Gn : f Si don go ing to ward Ge rar as far as Gaza, and g : Gn :; :; these af ter the flood. going to ward Sod om, Go morrah, Ad mah, and Dn : h : Gn :; Ex : Ze boi im as far as La sha. i : Dt :; :; Ps : ²⁰ These are Ham’s sons by their clans, ac- j The whole earth had the same lan guage : Gn :; Ex cording to their lan guages, in their lands and :; :,, and vo cab u lary. ² As peo ple migrated their na tions. from the east, they found a val ley in the land ²¹ And Shem, Ja pheth’s old er broth er, also of Shi nar and set tled there. g ³ They said to each had sons. Shem was the fa ther of all the sons oth er, “ Come, let us make oven-fired bricks.” of Eber. b ²² Shem’s sons c were Elam, As shur, ( They used brick for stone and asphalt h for Ar pach shad, Lud, and Aram. mor tar.) ⁴ And they said, “ Come, let us build ²³ Aram’s sons: Uz, Hul, Ge ther, and Mash. our selves a city and a tow er with its top in ²⁴ Ar pach shad fa thered She lah, d and She- the sky. i Let us make a name for our selves; lah fa thered Eber. ²⁵ Eber had two sons. One oth er wise, we will be scat tered through out was named Pe leg, for dur ing his days the the earth.” earth was di vid ed; e his broth er was named ⁵ Then the L came down j to look over Jok tan. ²⁶ And Jok tan fa thered Al modad, She- the city and the tow er that the humans were leph, Ha zar ma veth, Je rah, ²⁷ Ha do ram, Uzal, building. ⁶ The L said, “ If they have be gun Diklah, ²⁸ Obal, Abim a el, She ba, ²⁹ Ophir, Hav- to do this as one people all hav ing the same i lah, and Jo bab. All these were Jok tan’s sons. lan guage, then noth ing they plan to do will ³⁰ Their set tlements ex tended from Me sha to be im possi ble for them. ⁷ Come, let’s go down Se phar, the east ern hill coun try. there and con fuse their lan guage so that they A : LXX reads fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered ; Gn :-; Lk :- B : = Division C : Lit one lip and the same words D : Lit they E : Or migrated eastward F : Or the descendants of Adam

named descendants or people groups. The should not be equated with Cush’s Havilah, tants of the land used asphalt for mortar. relative size and detail reinforces the signifi- though the two share the same name. 11:4 The people’s pride and ambition is ex- cance of the Canaanites for later Israelite his- 10:21 The phrase Japheth’s older brother is pressed in three dierent ways: (1) the five- tory. This genealogical section indicates that diicult in the Hebrew: several other versions fold use of the first-person pronouns—us many of the earliest inhabitants of Canaan (KJV, NKJV, NIV) understand it to mean that (three times), ourselves (twice), and we; were non-Semitic peoples. Japheth was the older brother. (2) their desire to build . . . a tower into the 10:21-31 The genealogy of Shem, portions of 10:25 A wordplay exists between the name sky, thus giving them access to “the heavens,” which will be repeated in 11:10-17, represents Peleg and the verbal phrase “was divided.” the domain of God; and (3) their attempt at the “chosen” line of Noah’s descendants. Both are based on the Hebrew sound se - self-glorification—let us make a name for From Shem’s line will come Abraham, the Isra- quence p-l-g. Exactly what is meant by the ourselves. Because they did it to avoid being elites, and ultimately Jesus. Larger and more earth was divided is uncertain. It may be a scattered throughout the earth, all their ef- complex than the Shemite genealogy in chap. reference to the tower of Babylon event (11:9), forts amounted to a rebellion against God and 11 (26 vs. 12 names) this presentation diers a devastating earthquake, a large Mesopota- his command to fill the earth (9:1). from the other mainly in that it includes the mian canal project, or a political division. 11:5 In spite of their best eorts to elevate “unchosen” branches of Shem’s lineage, es- 11:1-9 The account of Adam and Eve’s sin in themselves to God’s domain, the Lord still pecially that of Joktan with his thirteen sons. the garden of Eden (chap. 3) and the tower had to come down to look over the city and The mention of all the sons of Eber brings at- of Babylon narrative share many similarities the tower. Human attempts to achieve glory, tention to the point in Shem’s line where the in plot, vocabulary, and theme. Both show which belongs to God alone, always fall piti- “chosen” branch splits from the rest of the people acting with sinful pride to try to make fully short. family. The word Hebrew is oen understood themselves godlike, and both show God ex- 11:6 God’s concern that nothing the people to be derived from Eber’s name. pelling sinners from their homes as punish- might plan to do would be impossible for Names in the Shemite genealogy that ment for their sin. them does not express a divine fear that hu- scholars have linked to various people groups 11:1 The tower of Babylon incident occurred mans might someday become as powerful as or locations include Elam, modern southwest earlier than at least some of the events of God. Rather, it conveys dismay that people, Iran; Asshur, along the Tigris river in Iraq; chap. 10 since the whole earth still had the unchecked, would undertake extraordinary Aram, eastern Iraq near the Iranian border; same language and vocabulary (10:5,20,31). deeds of evil and defiance. Uz, the Arabian peninsula or Edom; and Mash, 11:2 The land of Shinar corresponds to an- 11:7 On God’s reference to himself in the plu- central Asia Minor. All of the thirteen sons of cient Babylonia and includes the region of ral, see note at 1:26. Perhaps the most dramat- Joktan that can be confidently connected to the cities of Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Cal- ic Hebrew wordplay in the tower of Babylon a location are associated with locations in the neh (10:10). Migrated from the east can be episode involves the deliberate reversal of Arabian peninsula. translated “migrated eastward.” sounds between vv. 3 and 7. Humans creat- The name Ophir may not be connected 11:3 Unlike the original readers’ homeland of ed brick—a word that contains the sound se- with the Ophir mentioned elsewhere in Scrip- Israel, with its extensive quantity of limestone quence l-b-n in Hebrew—to rebel against God. ture (1Kg 9:28; Jb 22:24; Ps 45:9) since the building material, the people of Babylonia In response God created confusion—a Hebrew latter name appears to be a distant location, used oven-fired bricks. Archaeological exca- word containing n-b-l—to reverse the evil hu- possibly in Africa or India. Joktan’s Havilah vations have confirmed that ancient inhabi- man plot.

01_Gen.indd 25 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

will not un derstand one an other’s speech.” ⁸ So a : Gn :; Ps ²⁵ Af ter he fa thered Te rah, Na hor lived :; Lk : from there the L scat tered them through- b years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. a : Gn : out the earth, and they stopped build ing the c : Gn :; : ²⁶ Te rah lived years and fa thered Abram, ,,b d : Jos : city. ⁹ Therefore it is called Bab ylon, for e : Gn :; Na hor, and Ha ran. there the L con fused the lan guage of the : ²⁷ These are the fam i ly rec ords of Te rah. Te- f Gn : , ; : whole earth, and from there the L scat- g : Gn :; rah fa thered Abram, Na hor, and Ha ran, and tered them through out the earth. : ; Ex :; Jdg Ha ran fa thered Lot. ²⁸ Ha ran died in his na- :- ; Sm :; Jb tive land, in Ur of the Chal de ans, dur ing his :; Is :; Lk : ; :; Gl : ; fa ther Te rah’s life time. ²⁹ Abram and Na hor c Heb : e ¹⁰ These are the fam i ly rec ords of Shem. h took wives: Abram’s wife was named Sa rai, : Gn : ; Neh f Shem lived years and fa thered Ar pach- : ; Ac : and Na hor’s wife was named Mil cah. She was shad two years af ter the flood. ¹¹ After he i : Gn : ; Ac : ; the daugh ter of Ha ran, the fa ther of both Mil- Heb : g fa thered Ar pach shad, Shem lived years j : Gn :-; cah and Is cah. ³⁰ Sarai was un able to con ceive; :; : ; Dt : and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ¹² Ar- k she did not have a child. Gn : pach shad lived years and fa thered She- l Zch : ³¹ Te rah took his son Abram, his grand son lah. ¹³ Af ter he fa thered She lah, Ar pach shad Lot (Ha ran’s son), and his daughter-in-law lived years and fa thered oth er sons and Sa rai, his son Abram’s wife, and they set out daugh ters. ¹⁴ She lah lived years and fa- to geth er from Ur of the Chal de ans h to go to thered Eber. ¹⁵ Af ter he fa thered Eber, She- the land of Ca naan. But when they came to lah lived years and fa thered oth er sons Ha ran, they set tled there. ³² Te rah lived and daugh ters. ¹⁶ Eber lived years and fa- years and died in Ha ran. thered Pe leg. ¹⁷ Af ter he fa thered Pe leg, Eber lived years and fa thered oth er sons and daughters. ¹⁸ Pe leg lived years and fa thered The L said to Abram: Reu. ¹⁹ Af ter he fa thered Reu, Pe leg lived Go out from your land, years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh- your relatives, ters. ²⁰ Reu lived years and fa thered Se- and your father’s house rug. ²¹ Af ter he fa thered Se rug, Reu lived to the land that I will show you. i years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. ² I will make you into a great nation, j ²² Se rug lived years and fa thered Na hor. I will bless you, k ²³ Af ter he fa thered Na hor, Se rug lived I will make your name great, years and fa thered oth er sons and daugh ters. and you will be a blessing. l ²⁴ Na hor lived years and fa thered Te rah. d ³ I will bless those who bless you,

A : Hb Babel B : In Hb, the name for “Babylon,” babel sounds like the word for “confuse,” balal. C :- LXX reads years and fathered Cainan. ¹³After he fathered Cainan, Arpachshad lived years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died. Cainan lived years and fathered Shelah. After he fathered Shelah, Cainan lived years and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died ; Gn :; Lk : -

11:8 What the people did not want, to be (12 vs. 26) than the genealogy in chap. 10, it esis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 25:12,19; 36:1,9; “scattered” (v. 4), was what happened aer all. traces out more generations (10 vs. 6) and 37:2). Far more than a simple genealogical ta- 11:9 Most English versions refer to “Babel” includes chronological data as well. Its style ble, this section stretches across parts of fieen here, but this is the same Hebrew word links it with the genealogy in chap. 5, which chapters and includes a rich supply of informa- translated “Babylon” throughout the OT. The also traces the “chosen” line and contains ten tion about the life of Terah’s most famous son, connection between the words Babylon and generations. Whereas chap. 5 stretches from Abram (later called Abraham). In the Hebrew, confused (Hb babel and balal ) constitute an- Adam to Noah (the pre-flood world), this table the spelling of the personal name Haran diers other of the many wordplays in this chapter. connects Seth to Abram/Abraham (the post- from the place name Haran (charan; v. 31). The Lord’s action had two positive outcomes: flood world). Nahor’s wife . . . Milcah eventually pro- first, because it confused the language of 11:12 Departing from the Hebrew text, both duced eight sons (22:20-23); her most famous the whole earth, it ended the possibility of Lk 3:35-36 and the septuagintal version of son, Bethuel, became the father-in-law of large-scale evil ventures; second, it caused this verse indicate that Arpachshad’s actu- Abraham’s son Isaac (25:20). humanity to scatter throughout the earth, al son was Cainan. Because the inspired NT In contrast to Milcah, Sarai (later called Sar- thus bringing people into compliance with author confirms the Septuagint’s reading, ah) was unable to conceive. This painful fact God’s command to fill the earth (9:1). Cainan should be accepted as Arpachshad’s is emphasized by the biblical writer restating 11:10-26 The family records of Shem consti- son. Thus it is best to accept Arpachshad as the fact: she did not have a child. God’s provi- tute the fih of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections Shelah’s father in an indirect sense, and to sion of an heir for Abraham in spite of Sarah’s in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:27; 25:12,19; view the Hebrew version here as a stylized barrenness is a major theme in the narratives 36:1,9; 37:2). Whereas the previous toledoth genealogy shaped for thematic purposes. A that follow (15:2-4; 17:15-21; 21:10). section (“the family records of Noah’s sons,” similar technique appears to have been used 11:31-32 Until Terah’s death Abram was un- 10:1–11:9) presented Noah’s “unchosen” by Matthew in his presentation of Jesus’s ge- der the authority of his father. No clue is given descendants, this one traces the “chosen” nealogy in Mt 1. as to why Terah chose to leave Ur or why he ospring. 11:17 Eber lived a total of 464 years. This dis- decided to settle in Haran. This genealogical table, which partially tinguishes him as the longest living person in 12:1-3 According to Ac 7:2, the L spoke to repeats information provided in 10:21-25, the Bible who was born aer the flood. Abram while he was still in Mesopotamia (Gn connects Noah’s son Shem to Abram/Abra- 11:27-30 The family records of Terah is the 11:31). God gave Abram a one-verb command ham. Though this list contains fewer names sixth of eleven (Hb) toledoth sections in Gen- with four aspects to it. Abram was to go out 35

01_Gen.indd 26 28/10/16 12.39 01_Gen.indd 27 GEN

28/10/16 12.39 The distance from Ur to Haran was approximately 700 miles. Abraham’s journey from Haran to Bethel was another 700 miles. ESIS GENESIS : f I will curse anyone who treats you a : Gn :; Nm called on the name of the L . ⁹ Then Abram a : with contempt, b jour neyed by stages to the Ne gev. Gn :; :; and all the peoples on earth :; Ac : ; ,b Gl : will be blessed through you. c : Gn :, g d : Gn :; Dt ¹⁰ There was a fam ine in the land, so Abram ⁴ : ; Heb : So Abram went, as the L had told him, e : Gn : ; Ex went down to Egypt to stay there for a while and Lot went with him. Abram was seven- :; Ps :-; Ac be cause the fam ine in the land was se vere. ty-ﬁve years old when he left Ha ran. c ⁵ He took : ; Gl : ¹¹ When he was about to en ter Egypt, he said f : Gn :; : his wife Sa rai, his neph ew Lot, all the pos ses- g : Gn :; : to his wife Sa rai, “ Look, I know what a beau ti- sions they had ac cu mu lat ed, and the peo ple h : Gn :-; ful wom an you are. ¹² When the Egyp tians see :- they had ac quired in Ha ran, and they set out you, they will say, ‘ This is his wife.’ They will for the land of Ca naan. When they came to kill me but let you live. h ¹³ Please say you’re my the land of Ca naan, ⁶ Abram passed through sister so it will go well for me be cause of you, the land to the site of She chem, d at the oak of and my life will be spared on your ac count.” Mo reh. ( At that time the Ca naan ites were in ¹⁴ When Abram en tered Egypt, the Egyp tians the land.) ⁷ The L ap peared to Abram and saw that the wom an was very beau ti ful. ¹⁵ Pha- said, “ To your o spring e I will give this land.” raoh’s o i cials saw her and praised her to So he built an al tar there to the L who had Pharaoh, so the wom an was tak en to Pha- ap peared to him. ⁸ From there he moved on raoh’s house hold. ¹⁶ He treat ed Abram well to the hill coun try east of Beth el and pitched be cause of her, and Abram ac quired ﬂocks his tent, with Beth el on the west and Ai on the and herds, male and fe male don keys, male east. He built an al tar to the L there, and he and fe male slaves, and cam els.

A : Lit clans B : Or will ﬁnd blessing C : Or will bless themselves by you

from (1) his land, (2) his relatives, and (3) his most repeated airmation in the Torah. At 12:10 The only river that flowed year-round in father’s house, (4) to a land chosen by God. least thirty-seven references are made to it in Israel was the Jordan, and it was completely Obedience to God oen means leaving one the books of Moses. The altar Abram built at below sea level (minus 686 . at its highest thing in order to receive something else even Shechem is the first of four he is said to have point, and minus 1,300 at its lowest). Canaan better. Saying I will five times, God unilater- built; others were set up between Bethel and relied heavily on rainfall for its drinking water ally promised Abram progeny, prominence, Ai (v. 8), at Hebron (13:18), and at Mt. Moriah and crops. When there was no rain there was and protection. (22:9). a famine. To avoid the famine, Abram went 12:4 Having migrated with his father’s 12:8 As a shepherd, Abram frequently moved down to Egypt, the location with the best wa- household from Ur (11:31), Abram stayed an to new locations to provide food for his an- ter supply. This meant abandoning the land uncertain amount of time in Haran. Since imals. Bethel, modern Beitin, was about God had promised to his descendants. Terah lived 145 years aer the birth of Abram twenty miles south of Shechem. This altar 12:11 Even though Sarai was at least sixty-five (11:26,32) and Abram was seventy-five is the second of the four that Abram built in years old at this time (Sarai was ten years years old when he le Haran, Abram literal- the land of Canaan (v. 7). When Abram called younger than Abram [17:17], and he was at ly fulfilled the command to leave his father’s on the name of the L here, he identified least seventy-five [v. 4]), she was still consid- house (v. 1). It later becomes clear that, at this himself as a true member of the godly line of ered beautiful. Her desirability was due in point, Abram did not fully understand God’s Seth (4:26). This is the first of three occasions part to the fact that she was the most powerful commands and promises. In matters of faith, on which Abram is said to do this (13:4; 21:3). woman in a wealthy clan. understanding oen follows obedience. 12:9 The Negev is the semidesert region west 12:12-13 By telling his wife to say that she 12:5 Abram was apparently his nephew Lot’s and south of the Dead Sea. About fiy miles was his sister, Abram was technically asking protector since Lot’s father had died in Ur south of Bethel, this area has been inhabited her to be truthful since Sarai was his half sister (11:28). The group’s journey to Canaan was by nomads since ancient times. (20:12). about 450 miles. 12:14-15 Since Abram’s group 12:6 Shechem is in north central had many people and animals, Israel on the slope of Mount Ebal. zera‘ they had to be given special per- Abram’s grandson Jacob would Hebrew pronunciation [ZEH ra] mission to live and trade in Egypt. live for a time in this region as CSB translation seed, o spring Important economic and political well (33:18-19). Later, Abram’s Uses in Genesis 59 contracts in the ancient world great grandson Joseph would be Uses in the OT 229 were sometimes finalized by the buried there (Jos 24:32). The Ca- Focus passage Genesis 12:7 weaker party giving a woman to naanites were a distinct cultural the leader of the stronger party. group (Gn 15:21), but the term Ca- Zera‘ appears 15 times with related zara‘ (sow; Ex 23:10). Zera‘ The woman would then become naanite is also an umbrella term means seed (Nm 24:7), seedtime (Gn 8:22), crop (Dt 22:9), or part of the leader’s harem (this for many dierent people groups grain (Is 23:3). Zera‘ indicates human or animal seed (Jr 31:27), probably explains why Solomon who were living in the region, in- semen (Lv 22:4), or o spring (Gn 3:15; 46:6). It signifies child (Gn had seven hundred wives, 1Kg cluding the Hethites, Amorites, 4:25) or son (1Sm 1:11), descendants (Ps 18:50), heirs (2Kg 11:1), 11:3). Sarai was the most desir- Perizzites, Girgashites, Hivites, family (1Kg 11:14), a nation’s kindred (Est 10:3), and people (Is able woman in Abram’s group, and Jebusites. 61:9). It connotes brood (Is 1:4), line or bloodline (Gn 19:32), lin- so when Pharaoh’s o icials . . . 12:7 This is the first of three times eage (Nm 16:40), race (Is 57:4), or ancestral families (Ezr 2:59). praised her to Pharaoh, she was Scripture indicates that the Lord Zera’ implies fertile (Ezk 17:5). Zara‘ (56x) also denotes sowed taken to Pharaoh’s harem. physically appeared to Abram seed (Gn 26:12), plant, become pregnant (Lv 12:2), conceive (Nm 12:16 Perhaps because of gifts (cp. 17:1; 18:1). The Lord’s prom- 5:28), and have o spring (Nah 1:14). It functions figuratively (Hs from Pharaoh, perhaps because ise to give the land of Canaan to 8:7). Participles with zera‘ indicate seed-bearing (Gn 1:12,29). of favorable business deals, Abram’s offspring is the single Zerua‘ (3x) is sowing, what is sown, or vegetables (Dn 1:12). Abram acquired much wealth. 37

01_Gen.indd 28 28/10/16 12.39 GENESIS :

Paintings from the tomb of Knumhotep found in the noblemen cemetery of Beni-Hasan, a village on the east bank of the Nile River about 130 miles south of Cairo. The paintings date from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt (ca 1099 BC) and show a group of 37 Asiatics as they enter Egypt. This painting provides us with an idea of how Abraham might have dressed.

01_Gen.indd 29 28/10/16 12.39 39

01_Gen.indd 30 28/10/16 12.39

Philippians is Paul’s most warmly personal letter. A er initial di iculties in the city of Philippi (Acts ), a strong bond developed between Paul and the converts there. Paul wrote to thank the church for a gi it had recently sent him in prison and to inform them of his circumstances.

Philippi’s acropolis seen from the hill where Cassius’s forces camped in BC. The Battle at Philippi was one of the strategic engagements between Julius Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius, and his avengers, Mark Antony and Octavius. The victory of the latter forces was a critical step toward Octavius becoming Caesar Augustus (Lk :). 40

50_Phil.indd 1889 28/10/16 12.40 INTRODUCTION TO PHILIPPIANS

mended him and sent him home. Perhaps Epaphro- : Paul the apostle wrote this short letter, a fact that ditus carried this letter with him. no scholar seriously questions. : The traditional date for the writing of Phi- One purpose of this letter was for Paul to explain his situa- lippians is during Paul’s first Roman imprisonment (AD tion at Rome (1:12-26). Although he was concerned about 60–62); few have challenged this conclusion. the divided Christian community at Rome, his outlook Paul planted the church at Philippi during his second was strengthened by the knowledge that Christ was being missionary journey (AD 50) in response to his “Mace- magnified. Paul’s theology of life formed the basis of his donian vision” (Ac 16:9-10). This was the first church in optimism. Whether he lived or died, whether he contin- Europe (Ac 16). ued his service to others or went to be in Christ’s presence, The text of this letter from Paul suggests several char- or whether he was appreciated or not, he wanted Christ to acteristics of the church at Philippi. First, Gentiles pre- be glorified. Within this explanation are several messages. dominated. Few Jews lived in Philippi, and, apparently, the church had few. Second, women had a significant : Paul exhorted the church to unity (1:27–2:18). Two role (Ac 16:11-15; Php 4:1-2). Third, the church was gen- factors influenced him. The church at Rome was divided, erous. Fourth, they remained deeply loyal to Paul. and he lived with a daily reminder of the e¡ects of dis- Philippi, the ancient city of Krenides, had a military unity. Further, similar disunity threatened the Philippian significance. It was the capital of Alexander the Great, church as two prominent women di¡ered with each oth- who renamed it for his father Philip of Macedon, and it er. Selfishness lay at the heart of the problems at Rome became the capital of the Greek Empire (332 BC). The and Philippi. Paul reminded the believers of the humili- Romans conquered Greece, and in the civil war aer Jul- ty of Jesus. If they would allow the outlook of Christ to ius Caesar’s death (44 BC), Antony and Octavius repop- guide their lives, harmony would be restored. The hymn ulated Philippi by allowing the defeated armies (Brutus to Christ (2:5-11) is pivotal to the epistle. and Cassius) to settle there (eight hundred miles from Christian unity results when individuals develop the Rome). They declared the city a Roman colony. It flour- mind of Christ. In more di¡icult situations, the church ished, proud of its history and entrenched in Roman collectively solved problems through the involvement political and social life. In his epistle to the Philippians, of its leadership (4:2-3). Harmony, joy, and peace char- Paul alludes to military and political structures as meta- acterize the church that functions as it should. phors for the church. Paul thanked the church for their financial support : Paul warned the church to be- (4:10-20). He also addressed disunity and the threat of ware of Jewish legalists (3:2-21). Legalistic Jewish teach- heresy. Disunity threatened the church, spawned by ers threatened to destroy the vitality of the congregation personal conflicts (4:2) and disagreements over the- by calling it to a preoccupation with external religious ology (3:1-16). The heresy came from radical Jewish matters. Paul countered the legalists with a forceful teachers. Paul addressed both issues personally and teaching about justification by faith. He chose to express warmly. his theology through his personal experience. He had per- The church at Philippi sent Epaphroditus to help Paul sonal experience with their message and found it lacking. in Rome. While there he became ill (2:25-28). The church learned of Epaphroditus’s illness, and Paul wished to : Salvation was provided by Christ, who became ease their concern for him. Some people possibly blamed obedient to death (2:6-8). It was proclaimed by a host of Epaphroditus for failing his commission, but Paul com- preachers who were anxious to advance the gospel. It

– BC BC–AD

Settlers from Thasos occupy what would later be called A decade later Octavius (Augustus) prevails against Mark Philippi and named it Krenides. 500 Antony in the Battle of Actium, aer which Philippi Philip II of Macedon invests in the development of the area became a colony where veterans of the Roman civil war and so the city was named in his honor. 358 were settled and enjoyed the privileges of those who lived The Romans win an overwhelming victory over the in Rome. 31 BC Macedonians at the battle of Pydna, aer which Philippi Jesus’s trials, death, resurrection Nisan 14–16 or April 3–5, came under Roman control. 168 AD 33 The Battle of Philippi, a strategic turning point in Roman Pentecost AD 33 history, is fought between the army of Cassius and Brutus Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road October AD 34 against that of Octavius and Mark Antony. 42 Paul, Barnabas, and John Mark make first missionary journey. AD 47–49 Paul and Silas begin second missionary journey overland through Cilicia to Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch. AD 49

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was promoted through varying circumstances of life— found elsewhere in Scripture, it is within this letter that both good and bad—so that the lives of believers became we can see how those themes and messages impact powerful witnesses. Finally, salvation would transform life. Within the NT, Philippians contributes to our under- Christians and churches into models of spiritual life. standing of Christian commitment and what it means to be Christlike. : Paul thanked the Philippian believers for their financial support. The church had sent money and a trusted servant, Epaphroditus, to care for Paul. Their gen- Philippians can be divided into four primary sections. erosity encouraged Paul at a time of personal need, and Paul had definite concerns that he wanted to express, he took the opportunity to express the rewards of giving and he also wrote to warn about false teachers who and to teach Christian living. threatened the church. Many of Paul’s letters can be The church at Philippi had reached a maturity re- divided into theological and practical sections, but Phi- garding material possessions. It knew how to give out lippians does not follow that pattern. Paul’s theological of poverty. It knew the value of supporting the gospel instruction is woven throughout the fabric of a highly and those who proclaim it, and it knew that God could personal letter. provide for its needs as well. Paul also demonstrated his attitude toward material things. He could maintain spiritual equilibrium in the midst of fluctuating financial cir- I. Salutation (1:1-2) cumstances. Christ was his life, and Christ’s provisions II. Explanation of Paul’s Concerns (1:3–2:30) were all he needed. In everything, Paul’s joy was that A. Paul’s thanksgiving and prayer (1:3-11) Christ was glorified in him. B. Paul’s joy in the progress of the gospel (1:12-26) : The epistle abounds with Christian models C. Exhortation to Christlike character for imitation. Most obviously, the church was to imitate (1:27–2:18) Jesus, but other genuine Christians also merited appre- D. Paul’s future plans (2:19-30) ciation. Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus embodied the III. Exhortations to Christian Living (3:1–4:9) selflessness that God desires in his people. A. Exhortations to avoid false teachers (3:1-21) B. Miscellaneous exhortations (4:1-9) IV. Expression of Thanks and Conclusion (4:10-23) Paul’s letter to the Philippians teaches us much about A. Repeated thanks (4:10-20) genuine Christianity. While most of its themes may be B. Greetings and benediction (4:21-23)

AD – AD –

Paul, Silas, and Timothy continue through North Galatia to Paul’s third missionary journey takes him to Ephesus. 54 Troas. 49 Paul’s extended ministry in Ephesus 54–56 Paul and his companions arrive in Philippi and plant the Paul likely revisits Philippi collecting funds for the church at first Christian church in Europe. 50 Jerusalem. 57 Paul’s ministry in the Macedonia cities of Thessalonica and Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome 60–62 Berea 50 Paul writes his letter to the church Paul plants the church at Corinth. 50–51 at Philippi. 62 Paul concludes second missionary journey, returning to Antioch of Syria. 52

50_Phil.indd 1891 28/10/16 12.40 PHILIPPIANS : s t u a : Ac : be pure and blame less in the day of Christ, a b b Ac : ; Tm : v w Paul and Tim o thy, ser vants of Christ Jesus: c ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righ teous ness that Ac : -; :-; x To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Th : comes through Jesus Christ to the glo ry and d c d Ac :; Ti : Phi lip pi, in clud ing the over seers and dea- e praise of God. e Co : cons. f : Ac : - ² Grace to you and peace from God our Fa- g Co : - ; Co :-; Php ther and the Lord Jesus Christ. : , , ¹² Now I want you to know, broth ers and sis- h : Co :; Gl : i ters, that what has hap pened to me has ac- Co : y j : Rm : tu al ly ad vanced the gos pel, ¹³ so that it has ³ I give thanks to my God for ev ery re mem- k Php : - , - become known through out the whole im peri al , ,; : ,; brance of you, ⁴ al ways pray ing with joy : guard, and to ev ery one else, that my im pris on- for all of you in my ev ery prayer, ⁵ because l Ac : ment is be cause I am in Christ. ¹⁴ Most of the m : Rm : of your part nership in the gos pel from the n broth ers have gained con fi dence in the Lord f g Th : first day un til now. ⁶ I am sure of this, that o : Co : from my im pris on ment and dare even more h p Co : ,z he who start ed a good work in you will car- q to speak the word fear less ly. ¹⁵ To be sure, i Eph : aa ry it on to com ple tion un til the day of Christ r :- Rm : some preach Christ out of envy and ri val ry, j s : Pt : Jesus. ⁷ In deed, it is right for me to think this t but oth ers out of good will. ¹⁶ These preach out Ac : ; Co : ab way about all of you, be cause I have you in u Php :, of love, know ing that I am ap pointed for the v : Mt :; Gl : my heart, and you are all part ners with me w de fense of the gos pel; ¹⁷ the oth ers pro claim k Rm : ac in grace, both in my im prison ment and in x Lk :; Jn :; Christ out of selfi sh am bi tion, not sin cere- l Co : ; Pt : the de fense and con firma tion of the gos- y ly, think ing that they will cause me trou ble m : Mk :; Ac pel. ⁸ For God is my wit ness, how deep ly I – in my im pris on ment. ¹⁸ What does it mat ter? miss all of you n with the a ec tion of Christ z : Lk : ; Jn :; Only that in ev ery way, wheth er from false o Ac : ; Heb : ad Jesus. ⁹ And I pray this: that your love will aa : Rm :; Ti : motives or true, Christ is pro claimed, and in p keep on grow ing in knowl edge and ev ery ab : Co : this I re joice. Yes, and I will con tinue to re joice q ac : Rm : kind of dis cern ment, ¹⁰ so that you may ap- ad ¹⁹ be cause I know this will lead to my sal va- r : Th : ,ae prove the things that are su pe ri or and may ae : Jb : - tion through your prayers and help from

A : Or for your every remembrance of me B : Or work among you C : Or because you have me in your heart D : Other mss add of God E : Or vindication

1:1a Timothy was with Paul and Silas when occurs only here in the NT and connotes mor- him preached the gospel out of envy and they planted the church at Philippi (2:19-24; al sensitivity. Love enriched by knowledge rivalry. They hoped to cause Paul greater Ac 16). Servants expresses humility. and moral discernment leads believers to diiculty, perhaps an unfavorable trial ver- 1:1b Saints are believers. Overseers and experience what really matters. The word dict. Their motivation was selfish ambition, deacons (lit “servants”) indicate an emerging pure emphasizes personal integrity; blame- intending to cause . . . trouble by social tur- church structure that became full-blown in less means good character that survives all moil. Paul does not say what drove the rivalry, later years. On qualifications for overseers, accusations. but apparently they felt Christianity ought to see 1Tm 3:1-7; Ti 1:5-9; for deacons, see 1Tm 1:11 The phrase filled with the fruit of righ- have a dierent spokesperson than Paul. The 3:8-13. teousness expresses how a person attains group that supported Paul was motivated by 1:2 Grace and peace, jointly from God and purity and blamelessness. Righteousness is good will and love. They realized Paul was Jesus Christ, attest to the deity and equality the character of those whom God declares appointed (lit “set”) by God for defending of both. righteous. the gospel, especially to Gentiles. Neither 1:3-4 When a church embraced the Lord and 1:12 Paul’s attitude was that all that had hap- of these groups is identified. Both seem to the gospel message as enthusiastically as the pened to him served to promote the gospel. have held correct doctrine and proclaimed Philippians did, it was cause for great thanks- Advancement meant to blaze a trail (e.g., Christ, yet their disparate treatment of Paul giving, even if there was cause for concern for an army). Paul’s diicult circumstances indicates that even “correct” believers can over unity. opened new opportunities for gospel wit- behave wrongly. 1:5 Partnership (lit “fellowship”) expresses ness. 1:18 Paul accepted the message and work of participation, including giving (4:10-20) and 1:13 The first opportunity (see v. 12 and both groups. Trusting God’s sovereignty, he sending Epaphroditus (2:25). From the first note) for gospel witness involved the im- refused to condemn improper motivations day shows Paul’s continued joy in these be- perial guard, an elite military force charged as long as the end result was Christ . . . pro- lievers, in spite of his initial diiculty in the with protecting the Roman emperor and his claimed. city of Philippi (Ac 16). concerns. As the soldiers rotated shis, each 1:19 Paul remained optimistic. Salvation 1:6-8 Paul’s confidence in prayer resulted heard Paul’s message. Paul’s imprisonment may recall Job’s attitude (Jb 13:13-18). Paul from the principle that God finishes what was for Christ (lit “a prisoner of Christ”). expected exoneration because Christianity he begins, and the fact that the Philippi- The guard knew that Paul’s commitment was not illegal throughout the Roman Em- ans demonstrated their Christian charac- to Christ had led to his arrest and imprison- pire at this time. Paul hoped for prayers, the ter by joining in the support of the gospel ment. “human” side, and help, divine assistance. work. 1:14-17 The second opportunity for gospel “Prayers” implies intense intercession. God 1:9-10 Paul prayed two petitions: a growing witness involved the church itself. Respond- answers prayers with help, either some - love (v. 9) and complete character (v. 10). ing to Paul’s imprisonment, Christians divid- thing the Holy Spirit provides (a resource), Love (Gk agape-) is selfless action for another ed into those who supported him and those or the presence of the Holy Spirit (the “Com- person. Knowledge and discernment togeth- who opposed him. Paul’s imprisonment forter”). The grammar of this verse joins er foster mature love. “Knowledge” is both spawned renewed enthusiasm for preaching “prayers” and “help,” indicating Paul’s de - intellectual and experiential. “Discernment” in both groups, but the group that opposed pendence on both working together. 43

50_Phil.indd 1892 28/10/16 12.40 PHILIPPIANS : a b s the Spir it of Jesus Christ. ²⁰ My ea ger ex pec- a : Gl : fright ened in any way by your op po nents. This ta tion and hope c is that I will not be ashamed b Ac :; Rm : ; is a sign of de struc tion for them, t but of your Pt : u about any thing, but that now as al ways, with c : Ac :; Th : sal va tion — and this is from God. ²⁹ For it has d Jn : all cour age, Christ will be high ly hon ored in e been grant ed to you on Christ’s be half not only d e Jn : v my body, wheth er by life or by death. f : Rm :- ; Gl to be lieve in him, but also to su er for him, : -; Php :,; ³⁰ since you are en gaged in the same strug gle Col :– : g Rm : - ; Php : that you saw I had and now hear that I have. ²¹ For me, to live is Christ f and to die is gain. g h : Mt : ; Rm : ; Gl : ²² Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruit- i Mk :; Gl :; Jms ful h work i for me; and I don’t know which one :- If then there is any encouragement in j : Rm : ; Co w I should choose. ²³ I am torn be tween the two. :; :-; Th Christ, if any con so la tion of love, if any j x I long to de part and be with Christ — which :; : - fel low ship with the Spir it, if any a ection and k k Jn : y is far bet ter — ²⁴ but to re main in the flesh l mer cy, ² make my joy com plete by think ing : Mt :; Ac z aa is more nec es sary for your sake. ²⁵ Since I am :; Rm : ; Co the same way, hav ing the same love, unit ed per suad ed of this, I know that I will re main :; Gl :; Tm :; in spir it, in tent on one ab pur pose. ³ Do noth- Heb :; Jd ac ad and con tinue with all of you for your pro- m : Co : ing out of selfi sh am bi tion or con ceit, but gress and joy in the faith, l ²⁶ so that, be cause n Rm :; Eph :; in hu mil ity ae con sider oth ers as more im por- m Pt : af of my com ing to you again, your boast ing o : Ac : tant than your selves. ⁴ Ev ery one should look in Christ Jesus n may abound. p Co : ; Gl :; out not only for his own in ter ests, ag but also Eph : -; Php :; ah ²⁷ Just one thing: As citi zens of heav en, live Th : for the in ter ests of oth ers. your life o wor thy of the gos pel of Christ. Then, q Jn : r Tm : ; :,; : ; v : Mk :; Jn :; Ac : ; Rm : ; Pt : - w : Rm : ; wheth er I come and see you or am ab sent, I :, x p : ; Th :; Jn :; : -, Co : ; Co : ; Eph : will hear about you that you are stand ing firm s : Co : y Col : z : Rm :; :; Co :; Php : aa Th : ; Jn : q t Mt : ; Rm : ab Jn : ac : Rm : ad Gl : ae Col : af Rm :; Php : ; in one spir it, in one ac cord, con tend ing to- u ag ah r Ac :; Co :; :; Pt : : Rm : Lv : ; Mk :; : ; Co :; gether for the faith of the gos pel, ²⁸ not be ing Heb : :; Php :

A : Lit soul

1:20 Ashamed implies cowering, running flected military pride. Roman armies stood frightened . . . by your opponents. Soldiers from battle, or embarrassment. Paul expect- ready for combat regardless of the enemy’s used “frightened” to describe horses that ed that Christ would be highly honored in his level of strength and preparedness or the dis- might easily be startled. body. The physical body symbolizes earthly tracting enticements of culture. The church 1:29-30 Granted (lit “by grace”) indicates that life. On earth, if Christ is not glorified in the must manifest the same readiness. “One spir- God “graces” Christians to believe and suer body, he is not glorified at all. Further, Paul it” expresses the believer’s unified attitude. on Christ’s behalf. Both contribute to Christ’s hoped Christ would also be glorified in his One accord (lit “same soul”) means that glory. death. believers share “life.” Together they prevent 2:1-2 Four if statements in this verse form the 1:21-24 To live is Christ restates the theme divisiveness like Paul witnessed at Rome (vv. basis of Paul’s appeal. These phrases express of v. 20. If he carried on living, every aspect 14-17). Standing firm involves contending conditions that are assumed for the sake of of Paul’s life would continue to reveal Christ, together. “Contending” comes from athletics argument. Both Paul and his readers will be which would make his life fruitful and worth- where teams contended for a prize (cp. 4:3). inclined to believe the truth of these condi- while. Likewise, his death would be gain since Harmony, not individualism, achieves God’s tions. Make my joy complete, not “make Paul it would usher him into Christ’s presence. Paul purposes. Standing also involves not being happy,” reminded them that their steadfast- felt torn between the two (lit “in ness completed God’s call on a dilemma”), acknowledging his life. Four actions on the Phi- the benefits of both outcomes. lippians’ part explain what Paul The phrase is more necessary euangelion meant. Two verbs translate the for your sake expresses Paul’s Greek pronunciation [yoo ahn GEHL ee ahn] Greek word phroneō—thinking servant heart. A selfish outlook CSB translation gospel and being intent on. Beyond would make Paul prefer glori- Uses in Philippians 12 mere “thinking,” this addresses fication and reward (via death) Uses in the NT 76 values. The Philippians were to over continued life and ministry, Focus passage Philippians 1:27 value the same way and with but his priority was that Christ be one purpose. Between these honored and glorified. The Christian euangelion (gospel) is the universal good news two, Paul included shared love 1:25-26 Because Paul knew his of God’s saving grace through faith in Christ, and the message and spirit. work, even among the Philippi- of his kingdom over which Jesus reigns. Jesus preached the 2:3-4 Selfish ambition or con- ans, was unfinished, he was con- good news of God’s coming kingdom (Mt 4:23), and substan- ceit recalls the problem Paul vinced that he would be released. tiated his message by miracles (Mt 9:35). The gospel of the condemned (1:15,17). Humility, He apparently planned a trip to kingdom’s arrival will be preached to the world (Mk 13:10) the antidote for wrong attitudes, Philippi following that release. and is worthy of sacrificial labor (Mk 8:35). Paul believed the results in considering others as 1:27-28 Live your life (lit “con- gospel was an extension of OT promises, where it lay hidden in more important. Additionally, duct yourselves as citizens”; mystery form (Rm 1:1-3; 16:25-26). Paul’s gospel encompasses humility considers the interests cp. Ac 23:1) alludes to Philippi’s Jesus’s entire life: his incarnation, sacrificial death, burial, of others. Proper relationships political history, reminding the resurrection, post-resurrection appearances, and ascension include the contrast “not only, church of its higher citizenship (Rm 1:1-6; 1Co 15:1-8; Php 2:9). It is the Spirit-empowered but also.” Personal responsibili- (in the kingdom of God). Paul’s message (1Th 1:5) by which God calls the elect (2Th 2:13-14) ties demand consideration, but primary concern, that you are and reconciles people to himself (2Co 5:18-21). Men will one the concerns of others are equally standing firm in one spirit, re- day be judged by it (Rm 2:16; 2Th 1:8). important.

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