questions in genesis: genesis 1.14-19

2 March 2008 — art

This passage presents the fourth day of creation where God creates “lights in the dome of the sky” in order to separate day from the night. The picture to the right represents the ANE cosmology, which is good to keep in mind when reading this passage. Here is the passage in some modern and ancient versions:

NRSV: And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. God made the two great lights Read the rest of this entry »

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.11-13

19 February 2008 — art

It’s been quite some time since we have explored the first creation narrative. You can catch up to where we are at by checking the rest of the series here.

In Genesis 1.11-13 we read about the second creative act of the third day. God had already finished separating the waters from the waters (both horizontally and vertically from the ancient Near Eastern cosmological viewpoint) and saw that it was good. You will remember that the third day is the only day recorded where God saw that it was good occurs twice. This is not found during the second day of creation. Most interpreters believe this is the case because he did not finish anything on the first day.

Moving along: in these verses we find God speaking Read the rest of this entry »

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.9-10

6 June 2007 — art

Painted by Richard McBee, Exodus, 4×5, oil on canvas

These two verses report the acts of formation of God on “day” three of creation. It is separated from what follows by the phrase, “And God saw that it was good.” These verses seem to complete what was recorded as being formed (or created) in “day” 2.
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questions in genesis: genesis 1.6-8

27 May 2007 — art

These three verses comprise the second “day” of the first creation narrative in Genesis. There are a few important things that happen in these three verses that, perhaps, serve as clues as to how we should read this ancient narrative as modern interpreters of the Hebrew Scriptures.

As always, here is the Hebrew text:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹהִ֔ים יְהִ֥י רָקִ֖יעַ בְּתֹ֣וךְ הַמָּ֑יִם וִיהִ֣י מַבְדִּ֔יל בֵּ֥ין מַ֖יִם לָמָֽיִם׃
וַיַּ֣עַשׂ אֱלֹהִים֮ אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒ וַיַּבְדֵּ֗ל בֵּ֤ין הַמַּ֙יִם֙
אֲשֶׁר֙ מִתַּ֣חַת לָרָקִ֔יעַ וּבֵ֣ין הַמַּ֔יִם אֲשֶׁ֖ר מֵעַ֣ל לָרָקִ֑יעַ וַֽיְהִי־כֵֽן׃
וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֱלֹהִ֛ים לָֽרָקִ֖יעַ שָׁמָ֑יִם וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר יֹ֥ום שֵׁנִֽי׃

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.3-5

4 May 2007 — art

Image by Jorn Olsen

By way of review, I have argued that Genesis 1.1-2 presents actions that happened before the six “days” of creation. What follows in the six “days” of creation is an artistic, theological (read: not scientific) explanation of the origins of the universe. The “days” are not supposed to be understood as literal “24″ hour days and the description of creation is not supposed to be taken “literally” (in the post-Enlightenment, scientific sense of the term). It is a beautiful narrative that tells Israel exactly what they need to hear in the way that they need to hear it.

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.2

26 April 2007 — art

As way of review, the first verse of Genesis, it has been argued, presents God as creating all things at a certain point in history preceding the events of the six “days” of creation. This first verse is foundational because it presents God as the ultimate and sovereign creator. The second verse, it will be argued, contains two of the most theologically packed words in Scripture that, once understood, lay out the groundwork for a better understanding not only of the two different creation narratives that follow, but also of the entire history of redemption.

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.1b

19 April 2007 — art

Looking back on last week’s discussion about the first part of the verse, I think the best way to take Genesis 1.1-2 is by viewing it as something apart from the rest of the first creation narrative. It is something that happened before the “week” of creation; it is something that the rest of the first creation narrative describes in greater detail (this will become even clearer next week when we discussion verse 2 and the theologically packed phrase tohu vavohu (Heb. תֹ֙הוּ֙ וָבֹ֔הוּ). How, then, are we to understand the phrase “heavens and earth”?

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questions in genesis: genesis 1.1a

12 April 2007 — art

For the past month I have been reading and re-reading the creation narrative of Genesis 1. Based on this constant reflection, I would like to start a weekly “questions in genesis” post that teases out some of my reflections and presents questions based on these reflections. The majority of my observations and reflections are speculative in nature, so I want to throw them out there and get some feedback to see what others think about the text to sharpen my understanding of the opening chapter of Scripture. Perhaps we have read the creation narrative again and again to the point where we don’t actually look closely at the text, but go to the text with the idea that we already know what it says. I want to raise some questions that will bring us back to the point where the text continues to reform our thinking and shape our thoughts.

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Posted in Questions in Genesis, Reflections. 25 Comments »