Genesis Primary Resources Calvin , John, volume 1 of Calvin’s Commentaries (1563) Archer , Gleason, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction (1974) Davis , John, Paradise to Prison: Studies in Genesis (1975) Geisler , Norman, A Popular Survey of the Old Testament (1977) Sailhamer , John, “Genesis” in volume 2 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (1990) Egner , David, “Knowing God Through Genesis” (1991) Benware , Paul, Survey of the Old Testament in Everyman’s Bible Commentary (1993) Walton , John, Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament (1994) Hamilton , Victor, The Book of Genesis (2 vols.) in The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (1990 & 1995) Mathews , Kenneth, Genesis 1-11:26 and Genesis 11:27-50:26 in The New American Commentary (1996 and 2005) Ross , Allen, Creation & Blessing: A Guide to the Study and Exposition of Genesis (1998) Walton , John, The NIV Application Commentary: Genesis (2001) Fee , Gordon & Stuart , Douglas, How to Read the Bible Book by Book: A Guided Tour (2002) Hughes , R. Kent, Genesis: Beginning & Blessing in the Preaching the Word series (2004) 1 Genesis Overview Lesson 1................................................Introduction to the Book of Genesis Lesson 2..............................................................................Genesis 1:1-2:3 Lesson 3...............................................................................Genesis 2:4-25 Lesson 4.......................................................................................Genesis 3 Lesson 5....................................................................................Genesis 4-5 Lesson 6....................................................................................Genesis 6-7 Lesson 7....................................................................................Genesis 8-9 Lesson 8................................................................................Genesis 10-11 Lesson 9................................................................................Genesis 12-14 Lesson 10..............................................................................Genesis 15-17 Lesson 11..............................................................................Genesis 18-19 Lesson 12..............................................................................Genesis 20-22 Lesson 13...................................................................... Genesis 23:1-25:11 Lesson 14.................................................................... Genesis 25:12-26:35 Lesson 15..............................................................................Genesis 27-28 Lesson 16..............................................................................Genesis 29-30 Lesson 17..............................................................................Genesis 31-32 Lesson 18..............................................................................Genesis 33-34 Lesson 19........................................................................Genesis 35:1-37:1 Lesson 20...................................................................... Genesis 37:2-38:30 Lesson 21............................................................................. Genesis 39-40 Lesson 22..............................................................................Genesis 41-42 Lesson 23..............................................................................Genesis 43-44 Lesson 24..............................................................................Genesis 45-46 Lesson 25..............................................................................Genesis 47-48 Lesson 26..............................................................................Genesis 49-50 2 Lesson 1: Introduction to the Book of Genesis The book of Genesis is the first of the sixty-six books that make up the Protestant Bible. It is the first of the five books of Moses (also known as the books of the Law or the Pentateuch 1). It derives its name from the Septuagint, a 3 rd century B.C. Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, which entitled it genesis , the Greek word for “beginning,” “origin,” or “source.” 2 Genesis is the book of beginnings or origins. It tells us of the beginning/origin of the universe, animals, mankind, sin, death, the nation of Israel, etc. In the book of Genesis, we read of Creation (chps. 1-2), the Fall (chp. 3), the story of Cain & Abel (chp. 4), Noah, the ark, and the Flood (chps. 6-9), the Tower of Babel (chp. 11), the call of Abraham (chp. 12), the birth of Ishmael (chp. 16), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (chp. 19), the offering of Isaac (chp. 22), Esau’s selling of his birthright (chp. 25), Jacob’s stealing his father’s blessing (chp. 27), Jacob’s wrestling with God (chp. 32), the selling of Joseph into slavery (chp. 37), Joseph’s flight from Potiphar’s wife and subsequent unjust imprisonment (chp. 39), Joseph’s interpreting of Pharaoh’s dream and subsequent release from prison and promotion by Pharaoh (chp. 41), and Joseph’s reunion with his brothers (chp. 45). Authorship The human author of the book of Genesis was Moses . Moses wrote more of the Old Testament (Genesis-Deuteronomy 3 and Psalm 90) than any other human writer. Moses was uniquely prepared and qualified to write Genesis-Deuteronomy. 4 Besides internal evidence (evidence within the book of Genesis), external evidence (evidence outside the book of Genesis) also points to Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch (and, thus, Genesis). None other than Jesus Christ Himself affirmed that Moses wrote the Law (see Matthew 8:4, 19:7-8, Mark 7:10, 12:26, Luke 16:29, 31, 24:44, John 5:46, and 7:19). Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch was virtually unquestioned until the last few centuries, when theological liberals began to teach the so-called “documentary 1 The word Pentateuch literally means “five-volumed book.” It comes from the Greek words penta , meaning “five” and teuchos , meaning “scroll.” 2 Similarly, the Hebrew title is bereshith (“in the beginning”), the first word of the book in the Hebrew Old Testament. Ancient books were often named according to the first words of the book. 3 It is unlikely that Moses wrote the final chapter of the Pentateuch (Deuteronomy 34), seeing it records his death. 4 “Judging therefore by the internal evidence of the Pentateuchal text, we are driven to the conclusion that the author must have been originally a resident of Egypt (not Palestine) [notice Genesis 13:10 in this regard], a contemporary eyewitness of the exodus and wilderness wandering, and possessed of a very high degree of education, learning, and literary skill. No one else conforms to these qualifications as closely as Moses the son of Amram” (Archer, p. 115). 3 hypothesis,” “the theory that the Pentateuch was a compilation of selections from several different written documents [these documents were labeled J, E, D, and P] composed at different places and times over a period of five centuries, long after Moses” (Archer, pp. 83-84). 5 This theory has been soundly refuted by conservative scholars. 6 Date Among the few writers who suggest a date of writing for the book of Genesis, some (such as Archer, p. 122) suggest that it was written during the forty years Moses and the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness (i.e., desert) of Sinai (1447-1407 B.C.). 7 Accordingly, Benware (p. 26) assigns a date of 1425 B.C. Others (such as Geisler, p. 38) suggest it was written during the first 40 years of Moses’ life, while he was still in Egypt (1527-1487 B.C.). Purpose Genesis is historical in nature. 8 Rather than seeking to be exhaustive, the Jewish historians were selective in their retelling of history, including only those items that fit their purpose in writing and in proportions consistent with their purpose. 9 With this fact in mind, the purpose for the book of Genesis seems to be to inform the Jews of their origin as a people . Accordingly, the overwhelming majority of the book (chapters 12-50) focuses on the Jews in particular. 10 5 Hamilton (1:17) speaks of a so-called “Rainbow Bible,” which color codes the books of Genesis-Numbers according to three alleged different underlying documents (one color for J, one for E, and one for P), aptly commenting: “To some this project will be helpful. To others it will be dismissed as nothing more than an exercise in coloring.” 6 “The modern theories which reject Mosaic authorship put more of a strain upon human credulity than can reasonably be borne” (Archer, p. 123). 7 Moses’ life can be neatly divided into three 40-year segments: 1) 40 years in Egypt (1527- 1487 B.C.); 2) 40 years in Midian (1487-1447 B.C.); and 3) 40 years in the wilderness (1447- 1407 B.C.). The dates are those of Geisler (p. 38). 8 One key distinction that must be made when interpreting an historical book is determining what is descriptive (describing what they did) and what is prescriptive (prescribing what we must also do). 9 What F. Duane Lindsey (“Judges” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary , OT vol., p. 373) calls “theological selective history.” Commenting on Genesis 1, Hamilton (1:55) states: “The writer’s concerns, then, were theological and historical—what happened, and why, and so what.” 10 Hamilton (1:10-11) alludes to this fact when he states: “It is hardly accidental that four-fifths of Genesis (chs. 12-50) describes the history of only four generations (Abraham to Joseph), while one-fifth of Genesis (chs. 1-11) describes the history of twenty generations (Adam to Abraham). Why is Genesis preoccupied