The Pentateuch

Table of Contents Genesis: “In the beginning” Exodus: “Departure/Going Out” Leviticus: “Book of Levi” Numbers: “Census” Deuteronomy: “Second Law”

The firmament on which the Temple is built Torah: The firmament on which the Temple is built Hebrew concept of the universe. The ancient peoples based their belief on appearance of things, they thought the earth was flat and the sky was a dome or a firmament that held the waters above it from flooding the earth. They also believed that rain was caused by God opening the floodgates to let the water above leak out over the earth. You will see this idea in the story of Noah and the Flood. The ancient peoples thought the earth stood still and that the sun, moon and stars rotated around it, each one having its own path across the sky. They say the Sun got around to the east again in the morning by traveling under the earth during the night.

Author’s background: Hebrew concept of the universe— language of appearances (e.g. “sunrise,” “sunset” – the earth moves not the sun, but we still use these words!)

Author’s intention: to teach the truths about the relationship between God, creation and man (not a scientific account of exactly how the world was made)

“…the first eleven chapters of Genesis, although properly speaking not conforming to the historical method used by … competent authors of our time, do nevertheless pertain to history in a true sense... (Humani Generis 38, Pope Pius XII).” The first 11 chapters of Genesis are frequently misunderstood b/c the literary form is so ancient that there are no modern equivalents to which it can be compared. The closest thing to it would be the parables of the NT. A parable is a simple story that teaches a truth. However, saying that it is like a parable, is not to say that it is just a parable. The Creation and sin stories contained in this part of Genesis are stories teaching about the relationships between God, man and creation, but real historical facts and events are included in these stories. For example, the names of Adam and Eve are Hebrew names, meaning “man” and “Mother of the living”. The first parents did not call each other these names. Hebrew would not have existed yet. The historical fact is that there was a real first couple from which all human beings descended. Creation Stories

a) Direct creation of the human soul (not a product of evolution) Genesis and Evolution (Humani Generis 36-37) three truths we must believe even if we believe in evolution a) Direct creation of the human soul (not a product of evolution) b) Derivation of first woman from first man (men and women share the same nature) c) Monogenism: one set of first parents (cf. Rm. 5:12+) Genesis and myths: literary allusion to myths ≠ belief Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Humani Generis, basically states that belief in evolution does not exclude belief in revelation or vice versa if 3 truths from revelation are held…(slide) the Catholic faith obliges us to hold that souls are immediately created by God. Another common difficulty is some want to write off Genesis as a myth. The sacred write is in fact making literary allusions to creation myths commonly known at the time he wrote, but that does not mean that he believed in them.

Creation Stories Six days of Creation: Genesis 1 – 2:4 Create: To make something out of nothing. Everything that exists was created by God. Creation of natural laws: beauty, order, design, time, gravity, etc. How does He create? By His WORD. He simply speaks the world into being. This same WORD became flesh among us. Creation Stories

Days of Creation: Gen. 1:1-2:4a (general pattern) Separation Decoration 1st Day: Light from Darkness 4th Day: sun, moon and stars 2nd Day: Sky from Sea 5th Day: Birds and Fish 3rd Day: Land from Sea 6th Day: Animals and finally … Man 7th Day: God rested There was no structure on the earth and no one to live there. The first 3 days God creates the place. The second set of 3 days he decorates the place, or fills them with inhabitants. God in creating the world in 7 days is making a covenant with the universe. On the 7th day God blessed it, this day represents the covenant relationship with his creation. All creation is a temple for God the creator.