Genesis 1:1-11; the Primeval History

     In this essay I will take an interpretive look at Genesis chapters 5-9. The main focuses will be: the relationship between God, Noah, and Noah’s generation of mankind; the barriers and boundaries for

To study Genesis in terms of its literary and historical content is not to say that we are in any way being irreverent in our reading of this part of the Old Testament. In other words, it is possible to read Genesis in both a spirit of appreciation for its position as the opening exegetical narrative of the Bible and as a document that reflects literary and historical realities and influences during the time when it was being written down. This paper examines some of the contemporary sources that influenced the two sets of writers who recorded the events of Genesis.

In the Bible book of Genesis chapters one through eleven is the story of the creation of the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and civilization. This is a story created by God, written by Moses and lived out by everyone, believers and nonbelievers. The first eleven chapters of Genesis do not set out to prove the existence of God, as some are trying to do today. These chapters simply put Him at the center of everything. The beginning of Genesis contains the account of creation, the fall of mankind into sin, procreation leading to civilization, the flood to bring about the re-creation, and finally the culminating account of man marveling in his own effort - the Tower of Babel. All of which creates the foundation of theology and the Christian’s worldview of how God intended things to function in our world. Genesis also forms a foundation for other religious and secular morals which aid in forming a worldview. By placing God at the center of everything, He creates the moral foundational worldview for cultures around the globe. In his book, The Universe Next Door, James W. Sire describes worldview as essentially this: “A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, … about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides

1. Chapters one through three of Genesis are very historic in the Bible. I know the whole Bible is historic, but the first chapters of Genesis are essential to Christianity. These chapters touch base on the six days of creation, the things that are on the Earth today, and how sin entered the world. In chapter one, God is the supreme creator of the Heavens and Earth. The Earth today is inhabited by the human race, but before creation is was surrounded in darkness. The first thing God did was create light and separate it from the darkness. God was developing the Earth day to day by adding creatures, plants, food, etc. Eventually in six days,the Earth was finished in the sight of God. Although, something was still missing from God's view. The

The sin stories in the Book of Genesis address theological, cosmic, social, and ethical questions. These sin stories, The Fall of Man, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Flood, and The Tower of Babel show the functions of myths and demonstrate man's likeliness to sin. These myths let the readers learn of the culture, beliefs, and foundation of the time.

The story of the great flood is probably the most popular story that has survived for thousands of years and is still being retold today.  It is most commonly related within the context of Judeo-Christian tradition.  In the Holy Bible, the book of Genesis uses the flood as a symbol of God's wrath as well as His hope that the human race can maintain peace and achieve everlasting salvation.  The tale of Noah's Ark begins with God's expression of dismay as to the degenerate state of the human race at the time.  People were behaving wickedly and sinfully and God decided that a genetic cleansing was necessary.  He spared only Noah and his family, along with two of every type of animal; one

The first five chapters of Genesis provide not only historical information about Creation, the Fall, and the first generations of mankind, but they also describe God’s attitude toward His creation and towards sin. These chapters also provide insights into the nature of man. For example, we learn from Genesis 1 and 2 that we have been made in the image of God. This means that humans have authority, value, and purpose because God possesses these traits. The first four chapters of Genesis give us insight into how each of these traits specifically apply to human life and society.

The Drama of Scripture written by Bartholomew and Goheen takes the reader on a journey through the entire Bible in six short “acts.” The first Act discusses creation and the establishment of God’s Kingdom. In the beginning was complete darkness. Then, God created light and divided the heavens and the earth. He then split the waters and the seas, creating dry ground on which the rest of creation could walk. He proceeded to make plants and flowers and the sun, moon, and stars. He created days and seasons and animals of all shapes and sizes. And then, to add the finishing touch, God created men and women, male and female, He created them. The book states that “the Genesis story is given so that we might have a true understanding of the world in which we live, its divine author, and our own place in it” (Bartholomew, 29). Genesis 1-3, the story of Creation, is prevalent because it introduces the author of creation, humanity, and the creation upon which humanity’s drama unfolds.

As Genesis is the first book of the bible and verses 1:1-2:3 are the first accounts, it is essential that the story that proceeds be examined. What is then discovered is another account about creation. This creation story is similar to the first account but it can be seen that God ‘is not working to a pre-planned strategy’ , this then ‘hints at a measure of vulnerability in the Creator’ in the second creation account which is a stark difference to the first story of creation where God is viewed as ‘is a king who does all things well: in his own judgement, it is 'very good'. He alone is responsible for creation: his voice alone is heard; he consults no one for wisdom or advice’ . Incorporating the world behind the text and the world of the text we are able to get a more cohesive experience about what the story is telling us, in this case what Genesis 1:1-2:3 is actually referring to. The tools used to analyse the text allows the audience to develop greater insight about the purpose of the text, it also allows the audience to change their previous viewpoint with integrated gained depth and

The first eleven chapters of the book of Genesis describe many significant events that happened. Warren W. Wiersbe describes these chapters as the one that “deal the humanity in general” (Wiersbe, 2007, p.12). Genesis starts with the creation, the fall, the great flood and when the languages were confused at Babel. These are the four most important parts found within the first eleven chapters of Genesis.

The book of Genesis is often referred to as the book of beginnings. Genesis is the first book that begins the Old Testament, it is also the first book of the entire Bible. The Lord also began the world in the book of Genesis, He made the heavens and the earth, man and woman. In Genesis chapters one through eleven, the Bible teaches us stories that most of us have grown up hearing in Sunday School such as the creation account, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood and the tower of Babel. In this book of beginnings, we are shown some of Gods characteristics; we see that God is love and He showed His love by creating us and the world, on the other extreme, we also see the wrath of God. Through these teachings, we are able to see that God ultimately in control and holds everything in His balance. The stories of Genesis aren’t just stories; they are real life accounts that can help build and shape a worldview on things regarding the natural world, human identity, human relationships and civilization.

Did you know that the Holy Bible was written over 3500 years ago ("When Was the Bible Written?" - Biblica. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.)? In Genesis 1-4, by God this book was written over thousands ago. This story in the Bible is about one great God putting everything we know into existing and creating human however one of the human named Cain gets jealous of his younger brother Abel and kills him. Ultimately, the story portrays the relationship between creation story, jealousies, love, murder and punishment in mankind. In return of God’s creation being jealous, God states the punishment upon Cain however, God still shows love by letting Cain Know that if anybody body tries to kill will suffer sevenfold vengeance (The Norton Anthology World

The first time in the Bible is the age of creation. This is the time from when the world was created to when Abraham was called (Genesis 1-11:9). The Bible contains four important events that are the Creation of the Universe, the Fall of Man, the Flood of Noah, and the Tower of Babel. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh day. He made the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, in the image of God, and made them live in the Garden of Eden. By Satan's trick, he ate the forbidden fruit of God, and Adam and Eve sinned, and they were deported of the Garden of Eden. The human race that has been driven out of Paradise was corrupted and sinned. God judged the world by the flood, and the righteous Noah made an ark and survived by burning families and a pair of animals. But Noah's descendants did not fear God again, built the Tower of Babel.

Genesis illustrates the way Biblical writers J (Yahwist), E (Elohist) and P (Priestly) drew upon the cultural and religious legacy of the Ancient Near East (ANE) along with its stories and imagery and transformed it to conform to a new vision of a non-mythological God and a monotheistic, superior religion.

Genesis starts off with creation. God spoke into nothing and said, “ Let there be light” and there was light. God then created the sky, land, nature, animals, and humans. It was good until sin entered the world and corrupted it. Adam and Eve sinned against God and here was the start of man’s sinful downfall. Adam and Eve had two sons Cain and Abel. Cain was jealous of God’s favor towards Abel’s sacrifice, and so he killed Abel. Cain’s ungodliness leads to a flood that was supposed to destroy man kind except for one family. God chose Noah and faithful righteous man to build an ark big enough for his family and a pair of every kind of animal to survive. God continues his plan of salvation with Noah’s family and decedents. Noah’s son Ham lead to the start of another sinful downfall. The time of the Tower of Babel came along, and a group of men wanted to build a tower tall enough to reach the heavens. God was angry, so sent confusion to the men by giving them different languages causing them to separate. God begins once again with a chosen man named Abraham. God told him to be faithful, and that he would be blessed with many descendants. Abraham wasn't patient with God and wanted to do things his own way. He went ahead and made a child with his wife’s maid