CREATION AND COVENANTS GENESIS

CREATION STORIES J rainless empty desert Designs human creature “adam” a mortal duality of earth and divine energy ‘adam’ here means humankind; it is not used as the first man’s personal name until later Yahweh plants a garden in “eden” Only after adam is in eden does Yahweh notice that total solitude is not good for him Woman’s appearance “she is called Eve later” inspires first poetry “bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh: Introduces a talking animal, common motif of earlier myths; examine the language about the serpent, as it is not specifically ‘evil’; but it is stripped of its limbs and becomes an object of fear P From the oceanic abyss: chaos into cosmos Highly methodical creation with specific times and tasks Man woman created simultaneously Some interpret that God created out of nothing, but this says God used preexisting material, a boundless, formless abyss of water

FLOOD STORIES JP

COVENANT WITH NOAH It is universal, encompassing the entire world population “See, I establish my Covenant with you, and with your descendants after you; also with every living creature to be found with you... Genesis 9:9-10

COVENANT WITH NOAH It is “ everlasting ” declaring life sacred “... for all generations...” Genesis 9:12

COVENANT WITH NOAH “I establish my Covenant with you: no thing of flesh shall be swept away again by the waters of the flood. There shall be no flood to destroy the earth again.” Genesis 9:11 It contains a promise that God will not drown the earth again.

COVENANT WITH NOAH The “sign” of the covenant is the rainbow “I set my [rain] bow in the clouds and it shall be a sign of the Covenant between me and the earth. When I gather the clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the Covenant between myself and you and every living creature of every kind.” Genesis 9:13-15

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Genesis has four different versions of a covenant between God and Abraham Genesis 12:2-3 Genesis 15:1-21 Genesis 17: 1-22 Genesis 22:15-18

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM The story of Abraham introduces a positive new phase in the divine-human partnership. In primeval history, God’s relationship with humanity has been mostly adversarial, culminating in the deluge With Abraham (Genesis 12) Yahweh is more accepting of human wrongdoing and is prepared to be more flexible

GENESIS 15:18-21 COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Boundaries of the “Promised Land” “that day Yahweh made a Covenant with Abram in these terms: ‘To your descendants I give this land, from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the river Euphrates...”

PROMISED LAND COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Scholars believe that because Israel’s frontiers did not reach that extent until the reigns of David and Solomon (1000 BCE) that this form of the promises cannot be dated to Abraham, but many centuries later.

“SIGN” COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Genesis 17:11 “You shall circumcise your foreskin, and this shall be the sign of the Covenant between myself and you.” The ritual was not widely observed until much later in Israel’s history. Moses was unaware of the practice. And before invading Canaan, Joshua ordered his troops to submit to mass circumcision, a practice with which they were apparently unfamiliar Joshua 5:2-7

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Passing through two halves of a slaughtered animal “seals the deal” making it a contractual agreement

COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM Yahweh promises a son to Abraham and Sarah Sarah laughs Their son, Isaac, means literally “laughter” Because of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, Yahweh vows that Abraham will be the source of universal blessing

CHILD SACRIFICE First born of flocks and herds had traditionally been sacrificed to the gods Canaanites sometimes offered a child as a sacrifice to gods “saving power of spiritual discernment” i.e. Abraham “listens” and knows not to sacrifice Isaac The prophet Ezekiel later asserts people should have an ethical vision to know what comes from God; perhaps a law that supposedly comes from God does not actually do so

SODOM AND GOMORRAH Abraham asks God if he will spare the corrupt city if some righteous people can be found. “Will the Judge of all the earth not administer justice?” God agrees to Abrahams persistent requests Some suggest God set about to destroy Sodom because of homosexuality Genesis 19, however describes the attempted gang rape of two male visitors, not sexual activity between consenting adults

CONCLUSION OF GENESIS The vow that Yahweh made to Abraham at firs(12:1-3)—that all earth’s families would find blessing through Abraham’s progeny—is already being fulfilled.