NIV, Teachings of the Torah: Weaving Jewish History with the Christian Faith

By Zondervan

Explore your twenty-first-century culture in light of the first-century world of Jesus. Teachings of the Torah allows you to study the first five books of the Bible through the eyes of a first-century disciple by exploring the text from the viewpoint of those who have also wrestled with and wondered about the Word of God. It invites you into the questions, stories, and interpretations –both ancient and modern –that prove the Bible is a living book. 

Experience these foundational books of the Bible through this in-depth study tool brought to you in a stunning full-color interior that includes photographs, maps, and illustrations.

Features include:

• The Torah, the first five books of the Bible, in the clear, accessible NIV translation
• Word studies illuminate Hebrew words and explore their meanings
• Study notes expound on the Scripture and incorporate writings from early church writers, rabbis, and extra-biblical sources. These notes offer up commentary and ask thought-provoking questions about the text and the Bible times in which they were written.
• Book introductions and outlines for each book of the Bible
• “Addressing the Text Articles" delve deeper into select passages of Scripture
• “Day in the Life Articles” illustrate what daily life was like for people in Bible times
• Foreword from pastor and author Ed Dobson

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Feb 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9780310438724

Book preview

Teachings of the Torah

Weaving Jewish History with the Christian Faith

With Notes by

Kent Dobson

Teachings of the Torah

Copyright © 2014 by Zondervan

All rights reserved

The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®

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Notes by Kent Dobson. Copyright © 2014 by Kent Dobson. All rights reserved.

Book introductions adapted from the NIV Study Bible, copyright 1985, 2011 by Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Selected charts, maps, models and illustrations, copyright 1985, 2011 by Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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eISBN: 9780310438724

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Table of Contents

How to Use This eBook

The Torah

Maps Index

Charts Index

Models Index

Textual Articles Index

Day in the Life Articles Index

Word Studies Index

Welcome to Teachings of the Torah

Preface

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Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

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Study Helps

Table of Weights and Measures

Endnotes

Bibliography

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Genesis

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50

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Exodus

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40

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Leviticus

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27

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Numbers

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36

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Deuteronomy

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34

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How to Use This eBook

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The eBook version of Teachings of the Torah includes introductory articles, the complete text of the first five books of the Bible, study notes (commentary), footnotes (translator’s notes), Textual Articles, Word Studies, Day in the Life articles, and in-text charts, maps, and models. Hyperlinks to the materials appear in the Table of Contents as well as the main Bible text.

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Textual Articles tackle topics in depth to help give you a richer understanding of the Bible and its times.

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The Torah

By three things is the world sustained: by the Law [Torah], by the Temple service, and by deeds of loving-kindness.

—Mishnah Avot 1:2

A Jewish tradition says that when God created the heavens and the earth, he first consulted the Torah (see second note on Ge 1:1). This remarkable claim highlights that in Jewish thought the Torah is at the center of everything in the lives of God’s chosen people. In synagogue worship, the main event is the public reading of the Torah, which is read from the center of the room, in the midst of the people.

What is the Torah? First and foremost, the Torah is God’s divine revelation. It is a living testament that the God of the universe is not silent. The Lord has spoken Torah throughout the history of his people—in the numerous laws of God’s people found in the Pentateuch, in the words of the prophets (see Isa 1:10, where God’s instruction through Isaiah uses the word Torah), and in the writings of the wise counselors of the nation (see teaching in Pr 3:14).

The most prominent use of the word Torah is the first five books of the Bible, the Law of Moses. The narrative arc in this traditional definition of Torah takes the reader from creation to the patriarchs to the exodus to God’s revelation on Sinai and to the edge of the promised land. But it is a narrative filled with genealogies, laws for daily living and instructions for worship. Though it is God’s revelation, it was written by human beings in a particular language, from a particular corner of the world and at a particular moment in history. It reflects the fingerprints of God and of human beings.

The composition of the Torah has traditionally been assigned to Moses, though the Torah does not make this claim (see the article Did Moses Write the Torah? Dt 32, here). Even ancient readers and interpreters had questions about this. How can a man record his own death (see note on Dt 34:1–8)? But the Torah does claim that Moses wrote at least some of it (see note on Dt 31:9). Though we can’t be certain of how much Moses wrote, it seems clear that Moses, who led the Israelites to freedom and who had some kind of speech impediment, was also a writer.

There are numerous styles and structures in the Torah. If not solely the work of Moses, it is still a masterpiece of storytelling, theology, history, politics, law, morality and ethics. In fact, all the efforts by modern scholars, many in contradiction to each other, to pull the Torah apart and divide it into sections written by various editors and writers are overshadowed by its profound sense of thematic unity and narrative flow. It is a masterpiece of literature, even to those who do not believe in its divine origins. No single work has had more influence on Western culture than the Torah.

Most of the Old Testament was written in Hebrew (the rest was in a related language, Aramaic). Biblical Hebrew is often exceptionally concise, and connections between words and phrases need to be made in the mind of the interpreter. It contains no formal vowels, punctuation, line breaks or capital letters, and many Hebrew words have more than one meaning. Moreover, the meanings of Hebrew words (as in any language) change over time. These realities create interpretive difficulties. As ancient readers of the Bible began to read and study and question, different interpretations of the text of the Torah began to emerge.

Around the time of Jesus, many Jewish works were written that elaborate on or interpret stories and verses in the Torah. Deuterocanonical books like Enoch, Jubilees, Ben Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon and Maccabees were popular. The Dead Sea Scrolls community wrote elaborate works of interpretation on various Biblical books and laws. The Jewish works of Philo and Josephus (first century AD) display incredibly careful readings and interpretations of the Torah. Also at this time rabbis began to influence interpretation of the Torah. As Christianity began to spread, the church fathers also engaged in Biblical interpretation, looking for connections between the Torah and the life of Jesus. The Torah inspired a living culture of ongoing engagement with God’s revelation.

Make thy [study of the] Law a fixed habit; say little and do much, and receive all men with a cheerful countenance.

—Mishnah Avot 1:15

In Jesus’ day, the Torah was heard in the synagogue every Shabbat. Parts of the Torah were read in the temple service. It was discussed and interpreted and wrestled with. It was part of the daily fabric of life in the first century. Even Jews who were no longer fluent in Hebrew could access the Targums (Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Scriptures) or, in the Diaspora, the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament).

In fact, the rise of the rabbi in Jewish life reflects the centrality of the Torah. A rabbi knew the Torah, lived the Torah and interpreted the Torah. A rabbi did not hold some kind of office or formal position in Jesus’ day, rather his authority came from his commitment to the Torah and his ability to understand and interpret it faithfully. What began to well up in Jesus’ day was a sea of rabbinic interpretation and commentary on both the Torah and how to keep it. This commentary continued down through the centuries, even as Judaism and Christianity parted ways.

Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah.

—Mishnah Avot 1:1

The so-called fence around the law is a metaphor for the interpretations made by the sages, rabbis and teachers in Israel. The fence prevented the religious Jew from violating the written law by offering a kind of preventative law. This fence grew over time as rabbis disagreed and challenged one another. Jesus was no stranger to these fences around the Torah. He got caught up in debates about hand washing and what constituted work on the Sabbath, both of which were matters of Torah interpretation. This body of Torah interpretation is sometimes called the oral Law, and it was compiled into a book called the Mishnah in AD 200 (see the article The ‘Oral Law’ here). There is debate as to how much of the Mishnah really goes back to Jesus’ day and how much of it can really help modern readers understand Jesus. But what seems irrefutable is that Jesus was part of a rabbinic world and a broader Jewish world that was alive with discussion and debate about the Torah.

If modern readers want to understand Jesus, they must start where Jesus started: the Torah. After all, Jesus said, Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them (Mt 5:17). To what extent Jesus was formally educated is a matter of scholarly debate. But we can be certain that whatever kind of education Jesus received, formal or not, it was a Torah education. As a master teacher, Jesus drew on the stories and laws of the Bible. Even his most important teaching—love God and love your neighbor (Mt 22:37–40)—uses texts taken from the Torah (see Lev 19:18; Dt 6:5).

Our contemporary culture is obsessed with the latest and greatest. Why go back to such an old book? What does it really offer us? Can’t we move on? Yet when we engage with the text, it forces us out of the trappings of a highly individualized and shallow faith. It connects us to a story of faith that stretches back to antiquity. It forces us to dig deeper, to ask better questions and, most important, to listen. Christian tradition insists on the inspiration of Scripture. But not only was the Spirit of God involved in writing the Scriptures, the Spirit is also now involved in breathing life into these ancient words.

To sink into the Torah is to meet the revelation of God as understood by our ancestors in the faith. It is to see where we have been and what we have wrestled with. It is to discover a deeply human connection with the characters of the Torah, with their struggles, hopes and fears. When we let the Torah speak, we see our own stories with new eyes.

Maps Index

Genesis

Table of Nations

Abram’s Travels

Mesopotamia

Jacob’s Journeys

Egypt

Exodus

The Exodus

Numbers

Wilderness Wanderings

Cities of Refuge

Deuteronomy

The Five Major Longitudinal Zones of Israel

Agriculture in the Holy Land

Charts Index

Genesis

Major Covenants in the Old Testament

Major Types of Royal Covenants/Treaties in the Ancient Near East

Integrated Chronology of the Patriarchs

The Tribes of Israel

Exodus

Hebrew Calendar and Selected Events

Leviticus

Old Testament Sacrifices

Old Testament Festivals and Other Sacred Days

Numbers

Encampment of the Tribes of Israel

Deuteronomy

Major Social Concerns in the Covenant

Models Index

Exodus

The Tabernacle

Tabernacle Furnishings

Textual Articles Index

Genesis

Where Are You?

Desert Law

The Encounter at Night

Exodus

How Many Commandments?

Numbers

Wearing the Commandments

Deuteronomy

The Shema

The Oral Law

Did Moses Write the Torah?

Day in the Life Articles Index

Genesis

Desert Shepherds

Exodus

Midwives

Leviticus

Priests and Levites

Deuteronomy

Israelite Family (Children)

Word Studies Index

Genesis

Spirit

LORD God

Righteous

Blameless

Violence

Earth (land)

Blessing

Hebrew

God Most High

Sovereign LORD

I am the LORD

God who sees

God Almighty

Isaac

Prophet

Tamarisk

Virgin

To meditate

Red

Jacob

Place

Pillar

Silver

Ben-Oni

Benjamin

Ornate robe

Cloak/garment

Dungeon/pit

Honey

Sacrifices

Exodus

Labor

Leprous

Work harder

Bread made without yeast

Yeast

The LORD

Unfailing love

Eagles

Thunder

Sanctuary

Tabernacle

Cherubim

Curtain

HOLY TO THE

LORD

Refreshed

Glory

Leviticus

Offering

Burnt offering

Anyone

Grain offering

Fellowship offering

Fat

Regulations

Holy

Fresh water

Day of Atonement

Tabernacles

The Name

Numbers

Foreigner

They prophesied

Joshua

Tassels

Corners

Scepter

Sabbath

New moon

Passover

Weeks

Trumpets

Deuteronomy

Law

Hear, O Israel

The LORD our God, the LORD is one

To fear the LORD

Forbidden

Amen

Return

Jeshurun

Welcome to Teachings of the Torah

The Teachings of the Torah contains features to help you get more from the Scriptures. This Bible contains the full text of the NIV Bible along with inserted features that will help you better understand what the text is saying. Below is a list of the features you’ll find in this Bible.

Book Introductions: At the beginning of each Bible book, you’ll find an extensive book introduction adapted from the NIV Study Bible book introductions. These comprehensive introductions will give you information on the background in which the book was written, details about the author (if known), date, theme and more. Also, at the end of each introduction, an outline (or outlines) will aid your understanding of the structure of each book. Full color photos provide context for your understanding of the times in which each book was written.

Day in the Life Articles: What was it like to be a shepherd in Bible times? What did a midwife do? The Day in the Life articles give you a peek into the world of Bible times. These informative and unique articles help you experience what life was like during the days of the Bible, giving you a greater background for understanding the Scriptures in their cultural and historical context.

Study notes: These insightful notes are tied to verses in the Bible text. These notes will unpack difficult passages, give you greater historical context and help you to see the text differently through the eyes of commentators of old—rabbis, scholars and the church fathers and mothers. In the spirit of rabbinic thought, sometimes the notes raise questions so that you as the reader can wrestle with the text as generations have done before you.

Textual Articles: Sometimes passages in the Bible require greater in-depth treatment. Textual articles tackle topics that arise through your reading of the text. Articles such as Wearing the Commandments, give you a richer understanding of the Bible and its times.

Word Studies: The Bible was written in ancient languages by people who lived many years ago. This Bible pulls out significant words and explores their meanings both for the people of the time and for readers today. You’ll find that the text comes alive when you have a greater understanding of the original meaning of a word.

Maps, charts, photos, illustrations: Full color maps, charts, illustrations and photographs give you a greater understanding of the text. Some of these materials were originally published in the NIV Study Bible.

The Word of God: More important than any of the features we’ve added to this Bible is the text itself, the Word of God. The New International Version of the Bible is a scholarly translation that accurately expresses the original Bible texts in clear and contemporary English while remaining faithful to the original intentions of the Biblical writers. These inspired words are God’s words written for you. May he bless your reading.

Preface

The goal of the New International Version (NIV) is to enable English-speaking people from around the world to read and hear God’s eternal Word in their own language. Our work as translators is motivated by our conviction that the Bible is God’s Word in written form. We believe that the Bible contains the divine answer to the deepest needs of humanity, sheds unique light on our path in a dark world and sets forth the way to our eternal well-being. Out of these deep convictions, we have sought to recreate as far as possible the experience of the original audience—blending transparency to the original text with accessibility for the millions of English speakers around the world. We have prioritized accuracy, clarity and literary quality with the goal of creating a translation suitable for public and private reading, evangelism, teaching, preaching, memorizing and liturgical use. We have also sought to preserve a measure of continuity with the long tradition of translating the Scriptures into English.

The complete NIV Bible was first published in 1978. It was a completely new translation made by over a hundred scholars working directly from the best available Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts. The translators came from the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, giving the translation an international scope. They were from many denominations and churches—including Anglican, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Brethren, Christian Reformed, Church of Christ, Evangelical Covenant, Evangelical Free, Lutheran, Mennonite, Methodist, Nazarene, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and others. This breadth of denominational and theological perspective helped to safeguard the translation from sectarian bias. For these reasons, and by the grace of God, the NIV has gained a wide readership in all parts of the English-speaking world.

The work of translating the Bible is never finished. As good as they are, English translations must be regularly updated so that they will continue to communicate accurately the meaning of God’s Word. Updates are needed in order to reflect the latest developments in our understanding of the biblical world and its languages and to keep pace with changes in English usage. Recognizing, then, that the NIV would retain its ability to communicate God’s Word accurately only if it were regularly updated, the original translators established The Committee on Bible Translation (CBT). The committee is a self-perpetuating group of biblical scholars charged with keeping abreast of advances in biblical scholarship and changes in English and issuing periodic updates to the NIV. CBT is an independent, self-governing body and has sole responsibility for the NIV text. The committee mirrors the original group of translators in its diverse international and denominational makeup and in its unifying commitment to the Bible as God’s inspired Word.

In obedience to its mandate, the committee has issued periodic updates to the NIV. An initial revision was released in 1984. A more thorough revision process was completed in 2005, resulting in the separately published Today’s New International Version (TNIV). The updated NIV you now have in your hands builds on both the original NIV and the TNIV and represents the latest effort of the committee to articulate God’s unchanging Word in the way the original authors might have said it had they been speaking in English to the global English-speaking audience today.

The first concern of the translators has continued to be the accuracy of the translation and its faithfulness to the intended meaning of the biblical writers. This has moved the translators to go beyond a formal word-for-word rendering of the original texts. Because thought patterns and syntax differ from language to language, accurate communication of the meaning of the biblical authors demands constant regard for varied contextual uses of words and idioms and for frequent modifications in sentence structures.

As an aid to the reader, sectional headings have been inserted. They are not to be regarded as part of the biblical text and are not intended for oral reading. It is the committee’s hope that these headings may prove more helpful to the reader than the traditional chapter divisions, which were introduced long after the Bible was written.

For the Old Testament the standard Hebrew text, the Masoretic Text as published in the latest edition of Biblia Hebraica, has been used throughout. The Masoretic Text tradition contains marginal notations that offer variant readings. These have sometimes been followed instead of the text itself. Because such instances involve variants within the Masoretic tradition, they have not been indicated in the textual notes. In a few cases, words in the basic consonantal text have been divided differently than in the Masoretic Text. Such cases are usually indicated in the textual footnotes. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain biblical texts that represent an earlier stage of the transmission of the Hebrew text. They have been consulted, as have been the Samaritan Pentateuch and the ancient scribal traditions concerning deliberate textual changes. The translators also consulted the more important early versions—the Greek Septuagint, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion, the Latin Vulgate, the Syriac Peshitta, the Aramaic Targums and, for the Psalms, the Juxta Hebraica of Jerome. Readings from these versions, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the scribal traditions were occasionally followed where the Masoretic Text seemed doubtful and where accepted principles of textual criticism showed that one or more of these textual witnesses appeared to provide the correct reading. In rare cases, the committee has emended the Hebrew text where it appears to have become corrupted at an even earlier stage of its transmission. These departures from the Masoretic Text are also indicated in the textual footnotes. Sometimes the vowel indicators (which are later additions to the basic consonantal text) found in the Masoretic Text did not, in the judgment of the committee, represent the correct vowels for the original text. Accordingly, some words have been read with a different set of vowels. These instances are usually not indicated in the footnotes.

The Greek text used in translating the New Testament is an eclectic one, based on the latest editions of the Nestle-Aland/United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament. The committee has made its choices among the variant readings in accordance with widely accepted principles of New Testament textual criticism. Footnotes call attention to places where uncertainty remains.

The New Testament authors, writing in Greek, often quote the Old Testament from its ancient Greek version, the Septuagint. This is one reason why some of the Old Testament quotations in the NIV New Testament are not identical to the corresponding passages in the NIV Old Testament. Such quotations in the New Testament are indicated with the footnote (see Septuagint).

Other footnotes in this version are of several kinds, most of which need no explanation. Those giving alternative translations begin with Or and generally introduce the alternative with the last word preceding it in the text, except when it is a single-word alternative. When poetry is quoted in a footnote, a slash mark indicates a line division.

It should be noted that references to diseases, minerals, flora and fauna, architectural details, clothing, jewelry, musical instruments and other articles cannot always be identified with precision. Also, linear measurements and measures of capacity can only be approximated (see the Table of Weights and Measures). Although Selah, used mainly in the Psalms, is probably a musical term, its meaning is uncertain. Since it may interrupt reading and distract the reader, this word has not been kept in the English text, but every occurrence has been signaled by a footnote.

One of the main reasons the task of Bible translation is never finished is the change in our own language, English. Although a basic core of the language remains relatively stable, many diverse and complex linguistic factors continue to bring about subtle shifts in the meanings and/or connotations of even old, well-established words and phrases. One of the shifts that creates particular challenges to writers and translators alike is the manner in which gender is presented. The original NIV (1978) was published in a time when a man would naturally be understood, in many contexts, to be referring to a person, whether male or female. But most English speakers today tend to hear a distinctly male connotation in this word. In recognition of this change in English, this edition of the NIV, along with almost all other recent English translations, substitutes other expressions when the original text intends to refer generically to men and women equally. Thus, for instance, the NIV (1984) rendering of 1 Corinthians 8:3, But the man who loves God is known by God becomes in this edition But whoever loves God is known by God. On the other hand, man and mankind, as ways of denoting the human race, are still widely used. This edition of the NIV therefore continues to use these words, along with other expressions, in this way.

A related shift in English creates a greater challenge for modern translations: the move away from using the third-person masculine singular pronouns—he/him/his—to refer to men and women equally. This usage does persist at a low level in some forms of English, and this revision therefore occasionally uses these pronouns in a generic sense. But the tendency, recognized in day-to-day usage and confirmed by extensive research, is away from the generic use of he, him and his. In recognition of this shift in language and in an effort to translate into the common English that people are actually using, this revision of the NIV generally uses other constructions when the biblical text is plainly addressed to men and women equally. The reader will frequently encounter a they, them or their to express a generic singular idea. Thus, for instance, Mark 8:36 reads: What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? This generic use of the indefinite or singular they/them/their has a venerable place in English idiom and has quickly become established as standard English, spoken and written, all over the world. Where an individual emphasis is deemed to be present, anyone or everyone or some other equivalent is generally used as the antecedent of such pronouns.

Sometimes the chapter and/or verse numbering in English translations of the Old Testament differs from that found in published Hebrew texts. This is particularly the case in the Psalms, where the traditional titles are often included in the Hebrew verse numbering. Such differences are indicated in the footnotes. In the New Testament, verse numbers that marked off portions of the traditional English text not supported by the best Greek manuscripts now appear in brackets, with a footnote indicating the text that has been omitted (see, for example, Matthew 17:[21]).

Mark 16:9–20 and John 7:53—8:11, although long accorded virtually equal status with the rest of the Gospels in which they stand, have a very questionable—and confused—standing in the textual history of the New Testament, as noted in the bracketed annotations with which they are set off. A different typeface has been chosen for these passages to indicate even more clearly their uncertain status.

Basic formatting of the text, such as lining the poetry, paragraphing (both prose and poetry), setting up of (administrative-like) lists, indenting letters and lengthy prayers within narratives and the insertion of sectional headings, has been the work of the committee. However, the choice between single-column and double-column formats has been left to the publishers. Also the issuing of red-letter editions is a publisher’s choice—one the committee does not endorse.

The committee has again been reminded that every human effort is flawed—including this revision of the NIV. We trust, however, that many will find in it an improved representation of the Word of God, through which they hear his call to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and to service in his kingdom. We offer this version of the Bible to him in whose name and for whose glory it has been made.

The Committee on Bible Translation

September 2010

The Torah

Introduction

Title

The first phrase in the Hebrew text of 1:1 is bereshith (In [the] beginning), which is also the Hebrew title of the book (books in ancient times customarily were named after their first word or two). The English title, Genesis, is Greek in origin and comes from the word geneseos, which appears in the pre-Christian Greek translation (Septuagint) of 2:4; 5:1. Depending on its context, the word can mean birth, genealogy or history of origin. In both its Hebrew and Greek forms, then, the traditional title of Genesis appropriately describes its content, since it is primarily a book of beginnings.

In [the] beginning (bereshith) from the fifteenth-century Shocken Bible.

Z. Radovan/www.BibleLandPictures.com

Background

Chapters 1–38 reflect a great deal of what we know from other sources about ancient Mesopotamian life and culture. Creation, genealogies, destructive floods, geography and mapmaking, construction techniques, migrations of peoples, sale and purchase of land, legal customs and procedures, sheepherding and cattle-raising—all these subjects and many others were matters of vital concern to the peoples of Mesopotamia during this time. They were also of interest to the individuals, families and tribes whom we read about in the first 38 chapters of Genesis. The author appears to locate Eden, humankind’s first home, in or near Mesopotamia; the tower of Babel was built there; Abram was born there; Isaac took a wife from there; and Jacob lived there for 20 years. Although these patriarchs settled in Canaan, their original homeland was Mesopotamia.

The closest ancient literary parallels to Ge 1–38 also come from Mesopotamia. Enuma elish, the story of the god Marduk’s rise to supremacy in the Babylonian pantheon, is similar in some respects (though thoroughly mythical and polytheistic) to the Ge 1 creation account. Some of the features of certain king lists from Sumer bear striking resemblance to the genealogy in Ge 5. The 11th tablet of the Gilgamesh epic is quite similar in outline to the flood narrative in Ge 6–8. Several of the major events of Ge 1–8 are narrated in the same order as similar events in the Atrahasis epic. In fact, the latter features the same basic motif of creation-alienation-flood as the Biblical account. Clay tablets found in 1974 at the ancient (c. 2500–2300 BC) site of Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh) in northern Syria may also contain some intriguing parallels.

This part of the Enuma elish was found in Nineveh and dates to the 7th century BC.

© 2013 by Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Two other important sets of documents demonstrate the reflection of Mesopotamia in the first 38 chapters of Genesis. From the Mari tablets, dating from the patriarchal period, we learn that the names of the patriarchs (including especially Abram, Jacob and Job) were typical of that time. The letters also clearly illustrate the freedom of travel that was possible between various parts of the Amorite world in which the patriarchs lived. The Nuzi tablets, though a few centuries later than the patriarchal period, shed light on patriarchal customs, which tended to survive virtually intact for many centuries. The inheritance right of an adopted household member or slave (see 15:1–4), the obligation of a barren wife to furnish her husband with sons through a servant girl (see 16:2–4), strictures against expelling such a servant girl and her son (see 21:10–11), the authority of oral statements in ancient Near Eastern law, such as the deathbed bequest (see 27:1–4,22–23,33; 49:28–33)—these and other legal customs, social contracts and provisions are graphically illustrated in Mesopotamian documents.

As Ge 1–38 is Mesopotamian in character and background, so chapters 39–50 reflect Egyptian influence—though in not quite so direct a way. Examples of such influence are: Egyptian grape cultivation (40:9–11), the riverside scene (ch. 41), Egypt as Canaan’s breadbasket (ch. 42), Canaan as the source of numerous products for Egyptian consumption (ch. 43), Egyptian religious and social customs (the end of chs. 43; 46), Egyptian administrative procedures (ch. 47), Egyptian funerary practices (ch. 50) and several Egyptian words and names used throughout these chapters. The closest specific literary parallel from Egypt is the Tale of Two Brothers, which bears some resemblance to the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife (ch. 39). Egyptian autobiographical narratives (such as the Story of Sinuhe and the Report of Wenamun) and certain historical legends offer more general literary parallels.

Author and Date of Writing

Historically, Jews and Christians alike have held that Moses was the author/compiler of the first five books of the Old Testament (see notes on Ex 34:27; Dt 31:9; 33:4; 34:1–8). These books, known also as the Pentateuch (meaning five-volumed book), were referred to in Jewish tradition as the five fifths of the Law (of Moses). The Bible seems to suggest Mosaic authorship of Genesis since Ac 15:1 refers to circumcision as the custom taught by Moses, an allusion to Ge 17. If Moses was indeed the author of Genesis, or parts of Genesis, there are a few indications the book was edited at a later date (see Ge 14:14; 36:31; 47:11).

The historical period during which Moses lived seems to be fixed with a fair degree of accuracy by 1 Kings. We are told that the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel was the same as the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt (1Ki 6:1). Since the former was c. 966 BC, the latter—and thus the date of the exodus—was c. 1446 BC (assuming that the 480 in 1Ki 6:1 is to be taken literally). The 40-year period of Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness, which lasted from c. 1446 to c. 1406, would have been the most likely time for Moses to write the bulk of what is today known as the Pentateuch.

During the last three centuries many interpreters have claimed to find in the Pentateuch four underlying sources. The presumed documents, allegedly dating from the tenth to the fifth centuries BC, are called J (for Jahweh/Yahweh, the personal Old Testament name for God), E (for Elohim, a generic name for God), D (for Deuteronomic) and P (for Priestly). Each of these documents is claimed to have its own literary characteristics and its own theology. The Pentateuch is thus depicted as a patchwork of stories, poems and laws. Such a theory seems to require the work of a master editor or redactor who compiled the material into a document that still maintains a great deal of literary uniformity despite its apparent diversity. This view continues to be challenged, however, by ongoing literary research, and the debate is far from settled as to how exactly the Torah came into its final form. The oldest Hebrew copies of Genesis were discovered in the caves of Qumran among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Theological Theme and Message

Genesis speaks of beginnings—of the heavens and the earth, of light and darkness, of seas and skies, of land and vegetation, of sun and moon and stars, of sea and air and land animals, of human beings (made in God’s own image, the climax of his creative activity), of marriage and family, of society and civilization, of sin and redemption. The list could go on and on. A key word in Genesis is account, which also serves to divide the book into its ten major parts (see Literary Features and Literary Outline) and which includes such concepts as birth, genealogy and history.

The book of Genesis is foundational to the understanding of the rest of the Bible. Its message is rich and complex, and listing its main elements gives a succinct outline of the Biblical message as a whole. It is supremely a book that speaks about relationships, highlighting those between God and his creation, between God and humankind, and between human beings. It is thoroughly monotheistic, taking for granted that there is only one God worthy of the name and opposing the ideas that there are many gods (polytheism). It clearly teaches that the one true God is sovereign over all that exists (that is, his entire creation), and that he often exercises his unlimited freedom to overturn human customs, traditions and plans. It introduces us to the way in which God initiates and makes covenants with his chosen people, pledging his love and faithfulness to them and calling them to promise theirs to him. It establishes sacrifice as the substitution of life for life (ch. 22). It gives us the first hint of God’s provision for redemption from the forces of evil (compare 3:15 with Ro 16:17–20) and contains the oldest and most profound statement concerning the significance of faith (see Ge 15:6 and notes there). More than half of Heb 11—a New Testament list of the faithful—refers to characters in Genesis.

Literary Features

The message of a book is often enhanced by its literary structure and characteristics. Genesis is divided into ten main sections, each identified by the word account (see 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 25:19; 36:1—repeated for emphasis at 36:9—and 37:2). The first five sections can be grouped together and, along with the introduction to the book as a whole (1:1—2:3), can be appropriately called primeval history (1:1—11:26). This introduction to the main story sketches the period from Adam to Abraham and tells about the ways of God with the human race as a whole. The last five sections constitute a much longer (but equally unified) account and relate the story of God’s dealings with the ancestors of his chosen people Israel (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph and their families)—a section often called patriarchal history (11:27—50:26). This section is in turn composed of three narrative cycles (Abraham-Isaac, 11:27—25:11; Isaac-Jacob, 25:19—35:29; 37:1; Jacob-Joseph, 37:2—50:26), interspersed by the genealogies of Ishmael (25:12–18) and Esau (ch. 36).

The narrative frequently concentrates on the life of a later son in preference to the firstborn: Seth over Cain, Shem over Japheth (but see NIV text note on 10:21), Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Judah and Joseph over their brothers, and Ephraim over Manasseh. Such emphasis on divinely chosen men and their families is perhaps the most obvious literary and theological characteristic of the book of Genesis as a whole. It strikingly underscores the fact that the people of God are not the product of natural human developments but are the result of God’s sovereign and gracious intrusion in human history. He brings out of the fallen human race a new humanity consecrated to himself, called and destined to be the people of his kingdom and the channel of his blessing to the whole earth.

Numbers with symbolic significance figure prominently in Genesis. The number ten, in addition to being the number of sections into which Genesis is divided, is also the number of names appearing in the genealogies of chapters 5 and 11 (see note on 5:4–32). The number seven also occurs frequently. The Hebrew text of 1:1 consists of exactly seven words and that of 1:2 of exactly 14 (twice seven). There are seven days of creation, seven names in the genealogy of chapter 4 (see 4:15,17–18,24; 5:31), various sevens in the flood story, 70 descendants of Noah’s sons (ch. 10), a sevenfold promise to Abram (12:2–3), seven years of abundance and then seven of famine in Egypt (ch. 41), and 70 descendants of Jacob (ch. 46). Other significant numbers, such as 12 and 40, are used with similar frequency.

The book of Genesis is basically prose narrative, punctuated here and there by brief poems (the longest is the so-called Blessing of Jacob in 49:2–27). Much of the prose has a lyrical quality and uses the full range of figures of speech and other devices that characterize the world’s finest epic literature. Vertical and horizontal parallelism between the two sets of three days in the creation account (see first note on 1:1); the ebb and flow of sin and judgment in chapter 3 (the serpent, woman and man sin successively; God questions them in reverse order; then he judges them in the original order); the powerful monotony of and then he died at the end of paragraphs in chapter 5; the climactic hinge effect of the phrase But God remembered Noah (8:1) at the midpoint of the flood story; the hourglass structure of the account of the tower of Babel in 11:1–9 (narrative in vv. 1–2,8–9; discourse in vv. 3–4,6–7; v. 5 acting as transition); the macabre pun in 40:19 (see 40:13); the alternation between brief accounts about firstborn sons and lengthy accounts about younger sons—these and numerous other literary devices add interest to the narrative and provide interpretive signals to which the reader should pay close attention. The various literary devices reveal the human skill and care involved in creating such a masterpiece within the Hebrew language and culture of the ancient world. This in no way diminishes the notion of divine inspiration, but rather locates it in specific cultural context. We can only marvel at the mysterious work of the Spirit (see 2Ti 3:16; 2Pe 1:21).

Outlines

Literary Outline:

I. Introduction (1:1—2:3)

II. Body (2:4—50:26)

A. The account of the heavens and the earth (2:4—4:26)

B. The written account of Adam’s family line (5:1—6:8)

C. The account of Noah (6:9—9:29)

D. The account of Shem, Ham and Japheth (10:1—11:9)

E. The account of Shem’s family line (11:10–26)

F. The account of Terah’s family line (11:27—25:11)

G. The account of the family line of Abraham’s son Ishmael (25:12–18)

H. The account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac (25:19—35:29)

I. The account of the family line of Esau (36:1—37:1)

J. The account of Jacob’s family line (37:2—50:26)

Thematic Outline:

I. Creation (1:1—2:3)

II. Primeval History (2:4—11:26)

A. Adam and Eve in Eden (2:4–25)

B. The Fall and Its Consequences (ch. 3)

C. Sin’s Progression (4:1–16)

D. The Genealogy of Cain (4:17–26)

E. The Genealogy of Seth (ch. 5)

F. God’s Response to Human Depravity (6:1–8)

G. The Great Flood (6:9—9:29)

1. Preparing for the flood (6:9—7:10)

2. Judgment and redemption (7:11—8:19)

a. The rising of the waters (7:11–24)

b. The receding of the waters (8:1–19)

3. The flood’s aftermath (8:20—9:29)

a. A new promise (8:20–22)

b. Renewed benediction and new ordinances (9:1–7)

c. A new relationship (9:8–17)

d. A new temptation (9:18–23)

e. A final word (9:24–29)

H. The Spread of the Nations (10:1—11:26)

1. The diffusion of nations (ch. 10)

2. The confusion of languages (11:1–9)

3. The first Semitic genealogy (11:10–26)

III. Patriarchal History (11:27—50:26)

A. The Life of Abraham (11:27—25:11)

1. Abraham’s background (11:27–32)

2. Abraham’s call and response (chs. 12–14)

3. Abraham’s faith and God’s covenant (chs. 15–22)

4. Abraham’s final acts (23:1—25:11)

B. The Descendants of Ishmael (25:12–18)

C. The Life of Jacob (25:19—35:29)

1. Jacob at home (25:19—27:46)

2. Jacob abroad (chs. 28–30)

3. Jacob at home again (chs. 31–35)

D. The Descendants of Esau (36:1—37:1)

E. The Life of Joseph (37:2—50:26)

1. Joseph’s career (37:2—41:57)

2. Jacob’s migration (chs. 42–47)

3. Jacob’s final days (48:1—50:14)

4. Joseph’s final days (50:15–26)

Genesis 1

The Beginning

¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Word Study: Spirit

³And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. ⁴God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

⁶And God said, Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water. ⁷So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. ⁸God called the vault sky. And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day.

⁹And God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters he called seas. And God saw that it was good.

¹¹Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. ¹²The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

¹⁴And God said, Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth. And it was so. ¹⁶God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, ¹⁸to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

²⁰And God said, Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky. ²¹So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth. ²³And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

²⁴And God said, Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind. And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,a and over all the creatures that move along the ground.

²⁷So God created mankind in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

²⁸God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.

²⁹Then God said, I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. ³⁰And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food. And it was so.

³¹God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Genesis 2

¹Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

²By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. ³Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Adam and Eve

⁴This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. Word Study:

LORD

God

⁵Now no shrub had yet appeared on the eartha and no plant had yet sprung up, for the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work the ground, ⁶but streamsb came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground. ⁷Then the LORD God formed a manc from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

⁸Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. ⁹The LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

¹⁰A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. ¹¹The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is good; aromatic resind and onyx are also there.) ¹³The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush.e ¹⁴The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.

¹⁸The LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

¹⁹Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the wild animals.

But for Adamf no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribsg and then closed up the place with flesh. ²²Then the LORD God made a woman from the ribh he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

"This is now bone of my bones

and flesh of my flesh;

she shall be called ‘woman,’

for she was taken out of man."

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

²⁵Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Genesis 3

The Fall

¹Now the serpent was more crafty than