Genesis Flashcards
What does Genesis tell us?
- Primeval history of Creation through Flood and tower of Babel Genesis 1-11. No historic record and has parallels in ancient Mesopotamia myths, e.g. Atrahasis and Epic of Gilgamesh.
- Patriarchial stories: Abraham, Issac & Jacob Genesis 12-36. Set in historic time, but in short episodes that appear to have originated as folklore. Practically void of reference to events in other sources.
Abraham was from Ur and settled in Haran en route. Ur was a famous city in ancient south Mesopotamia in 3rd millennium BCE, i.e., 3,000 to 2,001 B.C. (Early to Middle Bronze Age)
- Joseph story Genesis 37, 29-50. Developed story, similar to a novella
- Judah Genesis 38
What is the Pentateuch?
When are they believed to have been written? What is the Jewish name for the Pentateuch?
The Pentatech is the first five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Levitus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
They are also called the five books of Moses.
Pentateuch is via Latin from the Green Penta (five) teuchoi (books)
They are believed to have been written 9th to 5th century B.C. Per Joel Baden, it was combined in the 5th or 4th century BCE. The sources were started in the 9th century and after.
The Jewish name for the Pentateuch is Torah.
What are the four strands or sources within the Pentateuch?
- J: Yahwist- calls God Yahweh. God has human characteristics, story-like, Includes story of Adam and Eve. No consensus when it was written..
- P: Priestly. Dry concerned with genealogies, and origin of rituals, e.g., Sabbath. Includes Genesis 1:1 TO 2:4a. Believed to have taken shape during Exile or a little later, may have incorporated older traditions.
- E: Elohist (not in primeval history)
- D: Deuteronomy (only in that book, not in Genesis)
Name 3 reasons why is it believed that the Patriarchal stories originated in the end of the 2nd millennium 2000 to 1001 BC) or the beginning of the 1st millennium (1000 BC) ?
- The Philistines (Gen 21:32-34, 26:1, 9, 14:15) were a sea people who invaded the coastal plain in the 12th century (1200 to 1101 BC).
- Arameans (in the Jacob stories) are attested only from the end of the 2nd millennium (1100 BCE)
- Camels as a domesticated animal aren’t mentioned until 11th century (1100 to 1001 BC) and its common use wasn’t until centuries later.
- Archeology evidence suggests Beersheba wasn’t settled before 12th century (1200 to 1101 BCE)
- Abraham was suppose to have come from Ur, but Ur was a famous and ancient souther Mesopotamia city that flourished in the 3rd millennium (3000 BC) but it wasn’t Ur of the Chaldeans until after the rise of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, in the late 7th century BCE. So the reference to Ur of the Chaldeans in 15:7 must be a later addition, unless J has a later source.
How does Gunkel differentiate between legend and history?
Per Gunkel:
LEGEND is oral tradition about private, personal e events. and frequently reports incredible things meant to inspire rather than tell what actually happened.
Etymological legends explains origins of names, rituals.
Some legends are simply entertainment.
HISTORY is usually in written form about public events
According to the Bible and archeology, where did Israelites emerge from.
According to the Bible, Israelites emerged from Mesopotamia via Syria then went back to Syria for spouses.
- Archeology suggests the Israelites emerged out of Canaan.
What is El?
- The Hebrew and Northwest Semitic (Hebrew and Aramaic, and Arabic) word for god.
- High god in the Canaanite myths from Ugair (an ancient port in north Syria). Abraham paid tithe to the king, priest of El Elyon (God Most High).
- El and YHWH are the same in the Bible.
Books of the Hebrew BIble (TNKH)
[number of weeks in Divinity School]
* included in Religious Studies Old Testament class
TORAH (means instruction or teaching or law)
During the Babylonian Exile (586-539 BCE) the books of the Torah (aka laws of Moses) were compiled and brought by Ezra to Jerusalem. But at the turn of the era, changes were still made.
Genesis * [8 weeks]
Exodus * [8 weeks]
Leviticus * [Leviticus,Numbers & Deuteronomy 7 weeks]
Numbers * [see Leviticus]
Deuteronomy * [see Leviticus]
NEVI’IM (means prophets)
Joshua [Joshua & Judges 8 weeks]
Judges [ see Joshua}
1 Samuel [Books of Samuel 8 weeks]
2 Samuel [See 1 Samuel]
1 Kings [Kings and Chronicles 6 weeks]
2 Kings [see Kings 1]
Isaiah * [1st Isaiah 8 weeks; 2nd Isaiah 8 weeks]
Jeremiah *
Ezekiel *
THE TWELVE
Hosea *
Joel
Amos *
Obadiah
Jonah *
Micah * Sephaniah, Nahum?
Nahum
Habakkuk *
Zechariah
Malachi
KETHUVIUM (means writings)
Psalms * [8 weeks]
Proverbs * [Wisdom Literature: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes * (Qoheleth) & Job 8 weeks]
Job * [see Proverbs]
THE FIVE MEGILLOT (SCROLLS)
The Song of Songs * [Ruth, Song of Songs, Lamentations, & Esther [8 weeks]
Ruth * [see The Song of Songs]
Lamentations * [see The Song of Songs]
Ecclesiastes [see Proverbs]
Esther * [see The Song of Songs]
Daniel * [8 weeks]
Ezra *
Nehemiah *
1 Chronicles * [see Kings 1]
1 Chronicles * [see Kings 1]
Historical TImeline
1250 ? Exodus
1200-1020 Period of the Judges
1020-1000 Saul
1000-960 David
960-922 Solomon
922-724 Kings of Israel
722 Fall of Samaria to the Assyrians
928-586 Kings of Judah
586 Destruction of the 1st temple by Babylonians
596-539 Babylonian Exile
538-70 CE 2nd temple period
538-325 Persian Period
325-164 Hasmonean period
164-63 Hasmonean period
63 BC -325 Roman Period
39-4 King Herod the Great
66CE-73 Jewish Revolt Against Rome
70 Destruction of the temple
325-625 Byzantine period
570-632 Mohammed
Name 5 ethical issues in the Bible?
- Child abuse (e.g., Psalm 137:8-9)
- Genocide (e.g., Canaanites, Duet. 7)
- Patriarchy
- Slavery (Eph 6:5-8; Col 3-22025; 1 Tim 6:1-2)
- Same Sex Sexuality (Lev 18:22; 20:13)
When was the Hebrew Bible written?
Approximately 1000 BCE to 160 BCE, although may contain oral legend from an earlier time.
What language was the Hebrew Bible written in?
Hebrew and a few passages in Armenic
What was the Bible for Jewish people.
A record of God’s eternal covenant with Jewish people.
Name 9 things unique about the beliefs in the Hebrew Bible versus Mesopotamia.
- one god that transcended nature (however in some passages there is a counsel of gods or gods worshiped by other nations). About eight century BCE and for several centuries, monotheism was projected onto earlier stories, so Israelite monotheism didn’t begin with Abraham, but much later, then was projected back over the Israel’s history by final editors of the Bible. The creation story was probably added about the 6th century.
- kept their culture have being conquered
- no metadivine, primordial realm that god must obey
- god is not limited in his power or wisdom
- no life story about god
- humans don’t become gods (howoever Genesis 6 human females made with nephilim (divine beings)
- the universe is not amoral. evil isn’t caused but an independent power, but occurs due to the clash of the will of god and the will of humans who have the freedom to rebel. No devil
- instead of gods acting on whim, god punishes evil
- God is not known through natural manifestations. He’s known by his action in the world in historical time and his relationship with a historical people.
But they still had little household idols such as fertility deities. Scholars conjecture that in the first millennium BCE, the Judean religion was monolatrist, i.e., the promoted the worship of one god, Yahweh, but didn’t deny the existence of other gods and engaged in a variety of practices.
Also, in someways Yahweh was similiar to many Canaanite gods.
Name the three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible.
- torah - instruction
- Nevi’im - prophets
- Ketuvim - writings.
