§ 2.
Nature and Plan.
Genesis is a historical work. Beginning
with the creation of the world, it
recounts the primal history of humanity
and the early history of the people of
Israel as exemplified in the lives of
its patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, and their families. It contains
the historical presupposition and basis
of the national religious ideas and
institutions of Israel, and serves as an
introduction to its history and
legislation. It is a well-planned and
well-executed composition of a single
writer, who has recounted the traditions
of his people with masterly skill,
combining them into a uniform work,
without contradictions or useless
repetitions, but preserving the textual
and formal peculiarities incident to
their difference in origin and mode of
transmission.
§ 3.
The author has treated the story as a
series of ten "generations" ("toledot");
namely, (1) of heaven and earth, ch. ii.
4-iv.; (2) of Adam, v.-vi. 8; (3) of
Noah, vi. 9-ix.; (4) of Noah's sons,
x.-xi. 9; (5) of Shem, xi. 10-26; (6) of
Terah, xi. 27-xxv. 11; (7) of Ishmael,
xxv. 12-18; (8) of Isaac, xxv. 19-xxxv.;
(9) of Esau, xxxvi.; (10) of Jacob,
xxxvii.-1.
§ 4.
Contents.
In the beginning God created heaven and
earth (i. 1), and set them in order in
six days. He spoke, and on the first day
there appeared the light; on the second,
the firmament of heaven; on the third,
the separation between water and land,
with vegetation upon the latter; on the
fourth, sun, moon, and stars; on the
fifth, the marine animals and birds; on
the sixth, the land animals; and,
finally, God created man in His image,
man and woman together, blessing them
and giving them dominion over all
beings. On the seventh day God rested,
and blessed and sanctified the day (i.
2-ii. 3). As regards the creation and
subsequent story of man (Adam), God
forms him out of earth ("adama"), and
breathes into him the breath of life.
Then He sets him in a pleasure-garden
(Eden), to cultivate and watch over it.
Adam is allowed to eat of all the fruit
therein except that of the "tree of the
knowledge of good and evil." God then
brings all the animals to Adam, to serve
as company for and to receive names from
him. When Adam can find no being like
himself among all these creatures, God
puts him into a deep sleep, takes a rib
from his side, and forms a woman (called
later "Eve"), to be a companion to him.
The woman is seduced by the artful
serpent to eat of the forbidden fruit,
and the man also partakes of the same.
As punishment they are driven out of
Eden (ii. 4-iii.). Adam and Eve have two
sons, Cain and Abel. Cain grows envious
of the favor found by his brother before
God, and slays him; he then wanders over
the earth as a fugitive, and finally
settles in the land of Nod. Enoch, one
of his sons, builds the first city, and
Lamech takes two wives, whose sons are
the first dwellers in tents and owners
of herds and the earliest inventors of
musical instruments and workers in brass
and iron. Cain's descendants know
nothing about God (iv.). Another son,
Seth, has in the meantime been born to
Adam and Eve in place of the slain Abel.
Seth's descendants never lose thought of
God. The tenth in regular descent is the
pious Noah (v.).
§ 5.
As mankind has become wicked, indulging
in cruelties and excesses, God
determines to destroy it entirely. Noah
only, on account of his piety, will
escape the general ruin; and God
commands him to build a large ark, since
the work of destruction is to be
accomplished by means of a great flood.
Noah obeys the command, entering the ark
together with his wife, his three sons,
Shem, Ham, and Japheth, their wives,
and, by God's instructions, with one
couple of each kind of animal on the
earth. Then the flood comes, destroying
all living beings save those in the ark.
When it has subsided, the latter leave
the ark, and God enters into a covenant
with Noah and his descendants. Noah
begins to cultivate the field that has
been cursed during Adam's lifetime (iii.
17-19; v. 29), and plants a vineyard
(ix. 20). When, in a fit of
intoxication, Noah is shamelessly
treated by his son Ham, he curses the
latter in the person of Ham's son
Canaan, while the reverential Shem and
Japheth are blessed (ix. 21-27). Ch. x.
contains a review of the peoples that
are descended fromJapheth, Ham, and Shem
(down to the chief branch of the
last-named), and are living dispersed
over the whole earth. The dispersion was
due to the "confusion of tongues," which
God brought about when men attempted to
build a tower that should reach up to
heaven (xi. 1-9). A genealogy is given
of Shem's descendants in regular line,
the tenth generation of whom is
represented by Terah (xi. 10-25).
§ 6.
Terah, who lives at Ur of the Chaldees,
has three sons, Abram, Nahor, and Haran.
Haran's son is Lot. Nahor is married to
Milcah, and Abram to Sarai, who has no
children (xi. 26-32). God directs Abram
to leave his home and kindred because He
intends to bless him. Abram obeys,
emigrating with his entire household and
Lot, his brother's son, to the land of
Canaan. Here God appears to him and
promises that the land shall become the
property of his descendants. Abram is
forced by a famine to leave the country
and go to Egypt. The King of Egypt takes
possession of the beautiful Sarai (whom
Abram has represented as his sister),
but, smitten by God, is compelled to
restore her (xii.). Abram returns to
Canaan, and separates from Lot in order
to put an end to disputes about
pasturage, leaving to Lot the beautiful
country in the valley of the Jordan near
Sodom. God thereupon again appears to
Abram, and again promises him the whole
country (xiii.). Lot is taken prisoner
during a war between Amraphel, King of
Shinar, and Bera, King of Sodom, with
their respective allies, whereupon Abram
pursues the victors with his armed
servants, liberates Lot, and seizes the
booty, refusing his share of the same
(xiv.). After this exploit God again
appears to Abram and promises him
protection, a rich reward, and, in spite
of the fact that Abram still has no
children, a numerous progeny. These
descendants must pass four hundred years
in servitude in a strange land; but
after God has judged their oppressors
they, in the possession of great wealth,
shall leave the land of their
affliction, and the fourth generation
shall return to the same land (xv.).
Sarai being still childless, Abram gets
a son, Ishmael, by her Egyptian
handmaid, Hagar (xvi.). God again
appears to Abram, and enters into a
personal covenant with him securing
Abram's future: God promises him a
numerous progeny, changes his name to
"Abraham" and that of Sarai to "Sarah,"
and institutes the circumcision of all
males as an eternal sign of the
covenant. Abraham, together with his
whole house, immediately fulfils the
rite (xvii.). God once more appears to
Abraham in the person of three
messengers, whom Abraham receives
hospitably, and who announce to him that
he will have a son within a year,
although he and his wife are already
very old. Abraham also hears that God's
messengers intend to execute judgment
upon the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and
Gomorrah, whereupon he intercedes for
the sinners, and endeavors to have their
fate set aside (xviii.). Two of the
messengers go to Sodom, where they are
hospitably received by Lot. The men of
the city wish to lay shameless hands
upon them, and, having thus shown that
they have deserved their fate, Sodom and
Gomorrah are destroyed by fire and
brimstone, only Lot and his two
daughters being saved. The circumstances
of the birth of Ammon and Moab are set
forth (xix.). Abraham journeys to Gerar,
the country of Abimelech. Here also he
represents Sarah as his sister, and
Abimelech plans to gain possession of
her, but desists on being warned by God
(xx.).
At last the long-expected son is born,
and receives the name of "Isaac." At the
instance of Sarah, the boy Ishmael,
together with his mother, Hagar, is
driven out of the house, but they also
have a great future promised to them.
Abraham, during the banquet that he
gives in honor of Isaac's birth, enters
into a covenant with Abimelech, who
confirms his right to the well Beer-sheba
(xxi.).
Now that Abraham seems to have all his
desires fulfilled, having even provided
for the future of his son, God subjects
him to the greatest trial of his faith
by demanding Isaac as a sacrifice.
Abraham obeys; but, as he is about to
lay the knife upon his son, God
restrains him, promising him numberless
descendants. On the death of Sarah
Abraham acquires Machpelah for a family
tomb (xxiii.). Then he sends his servant
to Mesopotamia, Nahor's home, to find
among his relations a wife for Isaac;
and Rebekah, Nahor's granddaughter, is
chosen (xxiv.). Other children are born
to Abraham by another wife, Keturah,
among whose descendants are the
Midianites; and he dies in a prosperous
old age (xxv. 1-18).
§ 7.
After being married for twenty years
Rebekah has twins by Isaac: Esau, who
becomes a hunter, and Jacob, who becomes
a herdsman. Jacob persuades Esau to sell
him his birthright, for which the latter
does not care (xxv. 19-34);
notwithstanding this bargain, God
appears to Isaac and repeats the
promises given to Abraham. His wife,
whom he represents as his sister, is
endangered in the country of the
Philistines, but King Abimelech himself
averts disaster. In spite of the
hostility of Abimelech's people, Isaac
is fortunate in all his undertakings in
that country, especially in digging
wells. God appears to him at Beer-sheba,
encourages him, and promises him
blessings and numerous descendants; and
Abimelech enters into a covenant with
him at the same place. Esau marries
Canaanite women, to the regret of his
parents (xxvi.). Rebekah persuades Jacob
to dress himself as Esau, and thus
obtain from his senile father the
blessing intended for Esau (xxvii.). To
escape his brother's vengeance, Jacob is
sent to relations in Haran, being
charged by Isaac to find a wife there.
On the way God appears to him at night,
promising protection and aid for himself
and the land for his numerous
descendants (xxviii.). Arrived at Haran,
Jacob hires himself to Laban, his
mother's brother, on condition that,
after having served for seven years as
herdsman, he shall have for wife the
younger daughter, Rachel, with whom he
is in love. At the end of this period
Laban gives him the elder daughter,
Leah; Jacob therefore serves another
seven years for Rachel, and after that
six years more for cattle. In the
meantime Leah bears him Reuben, Simeon,
Levi, and Judah; by Rachel's maid Bilhah
he has Dan and Naphtali; by Zilpah,
Leah's maid, Gad and Asher; then, by
Leah again, Issachar, Zebulun, and
Dinah; and finally, by Rachel, Joseph.
He also acquires much wealth in flocks
(xxix.-xxx.).
In fear of Laban, Jacob flees with his
family and all his possessions, but
becomes reconciled with Laban, who
overtakes him (xxxi.). On approaching
his home he is in fear of Esau, to whom
he sends presents; and with the worst
apprehensions he turns at night to God
in prayer. An angel of God appears to
Jacob, is vanquished in wrestling, and
announces to him that he shall bear the
name "Israel," i.e., "the combatant of
God" (xxxii.). The meeting with Esau
proves a friendly one, and the brothers
separate reconciled. Jacob settles at
Shalem (xxxiii.). His sons Simeon and
Levi take bloody vengeance on the city
of Shechem, whose prince has dishonored
their sister Dinah (xxxiv.). Jacob moves
to Beth-el, where God bestows upon him
the promised name of "Israel," and
repeats His other promises. On the road
from Beth-el Rachel gives birth to a
son, Benjamin, and dies (xxxv.). A
genealogy of Esau and the inhabitants
and rulers of his country, Edom, is
given in ch. xxxvi.
§ 8.
Joseph, Jacob's favorite, is hated by
his brothers on account of his dreams
prognosticating his future dominion, and
on the advice of Judah is secretly sold
to a caravan of Ishmaelitic merchants
going to Egypt. His brothers tell their
father that a wild animal has devoured
Joseph (xxxvii.). Joseph, carried to
Egypt, is there sold as a slave to
Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials. He
gains his master's confidence; but when
the latter's wife, unable to seduce him,
accuses him falsely, he is cast into
prison (xxxix.). Here he correctly
interprets the dreams of two of his
fellow prisoners, the king's butler and
baker (xl.). When Pharaoh is troubled by
dreams that no one is able to interpret,
the butler draws attention to Joseph.
The latter is thereupon brought before
Pharaoh, whose dreams he interprets to
mean that seven years of abundance will
be followed by seven years of famine. He
advises the king to make provision
accordingly, and is empowered to take
the necessary steps, being appointed
second in the kingdom. Joseph marries
Asenath, the daughter of the priest
Poti-pherah, by whom he has two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim (xli.).
When the famine comes it is felt even in
Canaan; and Jacob sends his sons to
Egypt to buy corn. The brothers appear
before Joseph, who recognizes them, but
does not discover himself. After having
proved them on this and on a second
journey, and they having shown
themselves so fearful and penitent that
Judah even offers himself as slave,
Joseph reveals his identity, forgives
his brothers the wrong they did him, and
promises to settle in Egypt both them
and his father (xlii.-xlv.). Jacob
brings his whole family, numbering 66
persons, to Egypt, this making,
inclusive of Joseph and his sons and
himself, 70 persons. Pharaoh receives
them amicably and assigns to them the
land of Goshen (xlvi.-xlvii.). When
Jacob feels the approach of death he
sends for Joseph and his sons, and
receives Ephraim and Manasseh among his
own sons (xlviii.). Then he calls his
sons to his bedside and reveals their
future to them (xlix.). Jacob dies, and
is solemnly interred in the family tomb
at Machpelah. Joseph lives to see his
great-grandchildren, and on his
death-bed he exhorts his brethren, if
God should remember them and lead them
out of the country, to take his bones
with them (1.).
§ 9.
 Zoom
+
Aim of Work. (see image) Illuminated
Page of Genesis.
(From a manuscript formerly in the
possession of the Duke of Sussex.) In
the choice, connection, and presentation
of his material the narrator has
followed certain principles incident to
the purpose and scope of his work.
Although he adopts the universal
view-point of history, beginning with
the Creation and giving a review of the
entire human race, he yet intends to
deal particularly with Israel, the
people subsequently chosen by God, and
to give an account of its origin and of
its election, which is based on its
religious and moral character. His chief
point of view, therefore, is that of
narrator of tribal and religious
history; and only the details that bear
on this history are reported.
§ 10.
It is his primary intention to show that
the people of Israel are descended in a
direct line from Adam, the first man
created by God, through legitimate
marriages in conformity with Israelitish
moral ideals, i.e., monandric marriages.
Offshoots branch from this main line at
central points represented by Adam,
Noah, Shem, Eber, Abraham, and Isaac,
though their subsequent legitimacy can
not be guaranteed. Linguistically the
descent from the main line is always
indicated by the word , vouching for the
paternity; while descent in a branch
line is indicated by . This is the
explanation of the interchange of these
two words, a phenomenon which has never
yet been correctly interpreted. The line
branching off at any one central point
is always fully treated before the next
member of the main line is mentioned.
Only such matters are related in regard
to the branch lines as are important for
the history of humanity or that of
Israel. No fact is ever introduced
merely on account of its historical or
antiquarian value. In the main line the
interest is concentrated upon the
promised, long-expected generations of
Isaac—Jacob, his sons and grandsons—who
safely pass through all dangers and
tribulations, emphasis being laid on
their religious and moral character.
§ 11.
The events are related in definite
chronological order, the chief dates
being as follows:
see table
The year of the Creation is the year
3949 before the common era.
The ten generations before the Flood
attain to ages varying between 777 years
(Lamech) and 969 years (Methuselah),
with the exception of Enoch (365 years).
Those of the ten generations after the
Flood vary between 600 years (Shem) and
148 (Nahor). All the reasons for the
details of this chronology have not yet
been discovered. Oppert has declared (in
"R. E. J." 1895, and in Chronology) that
the figures are connected with ancient
Babylonian chronological systems. The
variations found in the Septuagint and
in the Samaritan Pentateuch were
introduced for certain purposes (see
Jacob in "J. Q. R." xii. 434 et seq.).
The correctness of the Masoretic
figures, however, is evident from the
context.
§ 12.
Anachronisms such as various critics
allege are found in Genesis do not in
reality exist; and their assumption is
based on a misunderstanding of the
historiographic principles of the book.
Thus the history of a generation no
longer of importance is closed and the
death of its last member noted, although
it may not be contemporaneous with the
next succeeding generation, to which the
attention is then exclusively directed.
This view explains the apparent
contradictions between xi. 32 and xi.
26, xii. 4; also between xxv. 7 and xxv.
26; xxi. 5 and xxv. 20; xxxv. 28 (Jacob
was at that time 120 years old) and
xlvii. 9; xxxvii. 2, xli. 46; etc. In ch.
xxxiv. Dinah is not six to seven years
old, nor Simeon and Levi eleven and ten
respectively, but (xxxv. 27, xxxvii. 1
et seq., xxxiii. 17) each is ten years
older. The events in ch. xxxviii. do not
cover twenty-three years—from the sale
of Joseph in his seventeenth year to the
arrival of Judah's grandsons in Egypt
(xlvi. 12) in Joseph's fortieth year—but
thirty-three years, as the words
(elsewhere only in xxi. 22 and I Kings
xi. 29) refer back in this case to
xxxiii. 17. The story is introduced at
this point to provide a pause after ch.
xxxvii.
§ 13.
Nor are there any repetitions or
unnecessary doublets. If ch. ii. were an
account of the Creation differing from
that found in ch. i., nearly all the
events would have been omitted; it is,
however, the story in detail of the
creation of man, introduced by a summary
of what preceded. Neither are there two
accounts of the Flood in ch. vi.-ix., in
which no detail is superfluous. The
three accounts of the danger of Sarah
and Rebekah, ch. xii., xx., and xxvi.,
are not repetitions, as the
circumstances are different in each
case; and ch. xxvi. refers expressly to
ch. xx. The account in xix. 29 of the
destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and
the rescue of Lot, is but a summary
introducing the story that follows,
which would not be comprehensible
without xix. 14, 23, 28. Repeated
references to the same place (Beth-el,
xxviii. 19, xxxv. 15), or renewed
attempts to explain the same name (Beer-sheba,
xxi. 31, xxvi. 33; comp. xxx. 20 et
seq.), or several names for the same
person (xxvi. 34, xxvii. 46-xxxvi. 2 for
Esau's wives) are not contradictions.
The change of Jacob's name into that of
"Israel" is not narrated twice; for
xxxii. 29 contains only the announcement
by the messenger of God. Apparently no
exegete has noted that is a parenthesis
often found in prophetic speeches ("Not
Jacob—thus it will be said [i.e., in
xxxv. 10]—shall be thy name"); is an
impossible construction in Hebrew;
xxxii. 4 et seq. and xxxiii. 1 et seq.
do not prove, contrary to xxxvi. 6-7,
that Esau was living at Seir before
Jacob's return. The account of the sale
of Joseph as found in xxxvii. 1-25, 28,
29-36; xl. 1 et seq. does not contradict
xxxvii. 25-27, 28; xxxix. ; forthe
Midianites were the middlemen between
the brothers and the Ishmaelites, on the
one hand, and between the latter and
Potiphar, on the other. Potiphar is a
different person from the overseer of
the prison; and Joseph could very well
say that he had been stolen, i.e., that
he had been put out of the way (xl. 15).
§ 14.
It is the purpose of the book, on its
religious as well as its historic side,
to portray the relation of God to
humanity and the behavior of the latter
toward Him; His gracious guidance of the
history of the Patriarchs, and the
promises given to them; their faith in
Him in spite of all dangers,
tribulations, and temptations; and,
finally, the religious and moral
contrasts with Hamitic (Egyptian and
Canaanite) behavior.
§ 15.
Religion of Genesis.
Being a historical narrative, no formal
explanations of its religious views are
found in Genesis; but the stories it
contains are founded on such views, and
the author furthermore looks upon
history as a means of teaching religion.
He is a historian only in virtue of
being a theologian. He inculcates
religious doctrines in the form of
stories. Instead of propounding a system
he describes the religious life. The
book therefore contains an inexhaustible
fund of ideas. The most important among
these, regarding God, the Creation,
humanity, and Israel's Patriarchs, may
be mentioned here.
§ 16.
There is only one God, who has created
heaven and earth (that is, the world),
and has called all objects and living
beings into existence by His word. The
most important point of the theology of
Genesis, after this fundamental fact, is
the intentional variation in the name of
God. It is the most striking point of
the book that the same God is now called
"Elohim" and now "Yhwh." In this
variation is found the key to the whole
book and even to the whole Pentateuch.
It is not accidental; nor are the names
used indifferently by the author, though
the principle he follows can not be
reduced to a simple formula, nor the
special intention in each case be made
evident.
§ 17.
"Yhwh" is the proper name of God (= "the
Almighty"; see Ex. iii. 12 et seq., vi.
2), used wherever the personality of God
is to be emphasized. Hence only such
expressions are used in connection with
"Yhwh" as convey the impression of
personality, i.e., anthropomorphisms.
Eyes, ears, nose, mouth, face, hand,
heart are ascribed only to "Yhwh," never
to "Elohim." These anthropomorphisms are
used merely to suggest the personal life
and activity of God, and are not literal
personifications, as is conclusively
proved by the fact that phrases which
would be actual anthropomorphisms—e.g.,
"God sees with His eyes"; "He hears with
His ears"; "one sees God's face"
("head," "body," etc.)—never occur. The
expression "Yhwh's eyes" indicates
divine knowledge of what may be seen
through personal apperception; "Yhwh's
ears," what may be heard; = "God's
anger" indicates the reaction of God's
moral nature against evil; "Yhwh's
mouth" indicates the utterances of the
God who speaks personally; "Yhwh's face"
indicates immediate personal intercourse
with the God who is felt to be present;
"Yhwh's hand" indicates His sensible
manifestations of power; "Yhwh's heart"
indicates His thoughts and designs. The
phrase "Yhwh, a personal God,"
characterizes fully the use of this
name. A person or a nation can have
personal relations with the personal
Yhwh only; and only He can plan and
guide the fate of either with a personal
interest. Yhwh is the God of history and
of the education of the human race. Only
Yhwh can exact a positive attitude
toward Himself, and make demands upon
man that are adequate, i.e., moral: Yhwh
is the God of positive morality. A
personal, inner life longing for
expression can be organized into
definite form and find response only if
Yhwh be a personal, living God. Yhwh is
the God of ritual, worship, aspiration,
and love.
§ 18.
"Elohim" is an appellative, and the
general name for the divinity, the
superhuman, extramundane being, whose
existence is felt by all men—a being
that possesses intelligence and will,
exists in the world and beyond human
power, and is the final cause of all
that exists and happens. "Yhwh" is
concrete; "Elohim" is abstract. "Yhwh"
is the special," Elohim" the general,
God. "Yhwh" is personal; "Elohim."
impersonal. Yet there is no other Elohim
but Yhwh, who is "ha-Elohim" (the Elohim).
The following points may be observed in
particular: (a) "Elohim," as genitive of
a person, indicates that the latter has
superhuman relations (xxiii. 6;
similarly of an object, xxviii. 17, 22).
(b) It also indicates ideal humanity
(xxxiii. 10; comp. xxxii. 29).
(c) "Elohim" expresses the fate imposed
by a higher power. The statement "A
person is prosperous" is paraphrased by
"Elohim is with him," which is
distinctly different from "Yhwh is with
him." While the former indicates
objectively a person's prosperity with
regard to a single event, the latter
expresses the higher intentions and
consecutive plans of the personal God in
regard to the person in question.
Abimelech says to Abraham, "Elohim is
with thee in all that thou doest" (xxi.
22), while he says to Isaac, "Yhwh is
with thee," and "thou art now the
blessed of Yhwh" (xxvi. 28, 29). For
Abimelech had at first tried in vain to
injure Isaac; but later he convinced
himself () that evidently () it was the
Yhwh worshiped by Isaac that designedly
protected and blessed the latter. Again,
in xxi. 20: "And Elohim was with the
lad"; for Ishmael did not belong to the
chosen line, concerning which God had
special plans. Yhwh, however, is always
with Israel and its heroes (xxvi. 3, 28;
xxviii. 15 [xxxii. 10, 13]; xlvi. 4; Ex.
iii. 12; Num. xxiii. 21; Deut. ii. 7;
xx. 1; xxxi. 8, 23; Josh. i. 5, 9, 17;
iii. 7; Judges ii. 18; vi. 12, 16; I
Sam. iii. 19; xvi. 18; xviii. 12, 14;
xx. 13; II Sam. vii. 3, v. 10; I Kings i.
37; II Kings xviii. 7). Particularly
instructive is Jacob's vow, xxviii. 20
et seq., "If Elohim will be with me . .
. then shall Yhwh be my Elohim." Adverse
fate especially is, out of fear,
euphemistically ascribed to the general
Elohim, the impersonal God, rather than
to Yhwh xlii. 28).
(d) As "Elohim" designates the universal
ruler of the world, that term is used in
ch. i. in the story of the Creation; but
in order to designate this Elohim as the
true God the word "Yhwh" is always
addedin the following chapters (ii.,
iii.). (e) In so far as man feels
himself dependent upon Elohim, whom he
needs, the latter becomes his Elohim. As
the term "Elohim" includes the idea of
beneficent power, this relation becomes,
on the part of God, that of the
omnipotent patron, and, on the part of
man, that of the protégé, the one who
needs protection and offers respect and
obedience (xvii. 7, xxviii. 22). The
same interpretation applies to "Elohim"
followed by the genitive of a person.
(f) Elohim is the religious
meeting-ground between the believer in
Yhwh and persons of a different faith
(xiv. 22; xx. 13; xxi. 23; xxxix. 9;
xli. 16, 25, 28, 32, 38). (g) "Elohim"
is the appellation of God used in
connection with the person who is
inclined toward Yhwh, but whose faith is
not yet fully developed; for the one who
is on the way to religion, as
Melchizedek (ch. xiv.) and Abraham's
servant (ch. xxiv.; comp. Jethro in
Exodus and Balaam in Numbers; see §§ 28,
31). (h) "Elohim" represents God for
those whose moral perception has been
blunted by sin (iii. 3, 5); from the
mouths of the serpent and the woman
instead of "Jahweh" is heard "Elohim";
they desire to change the idea of a
living God, who says, "Thou shalt," into
a blurred concept of an impersonal and
indefinite God. But the God who
pronounces judgment is Yhwh (ch. ii.,
iii.; on Cain, ch. iv.; in connection
with the Flood, vi. 3-8; the tower of
Babel, xi. 5 et seq.; Sodom and
Gomorrah, xviii. 19; Er and Onan,
xxxviii. 7, 10). (i) Although the
personality of Elohim is indistinct, he
yet is felt to be a moral power making
moral demands. The moral obligation
toward him is the negative virtue of the
"fear of God," the fear of murder (xx.
11), unchastity (xxxix. 9), injustice
(xlii. 18), and renunciation (xxii. 12).
(k) "Elohim" also means the appearance
of the Deity, and hence may be
synonymous with "mal'ak" It may also
designate an object of the ritual
representing or symbolizing the Deity
(xxxv. 2).
§ 19.
"Elohim" is more explicitly defined by
the article; "ha-Elohim," i.e., "the
Elohim" or "of the Elohim," is sometimes
used to identify an "Elohim" previously
mentioned (xvii. 18; comp. verse 17; xx.
6, 17; comp. verse 3). The single,
definite, previously mentioned
appearance of an Elohim is called "ha-Elohim,"
being as such synonymous with "Mal'ak
Yhwh" (xxii. 1, 3, 9, 11, 15), both
speaking for Yhwh (verse 16; comp.
xlviii. 15). "Ha-Elohim," when derived
from "Elohim," is a preparation for "Yhwh";
when derived from "Yhwh" it is a
weakening of the idea of God (see §§ 31
et seq.). Although these examples do not
exhaust the different uses of these two
names, they are sufficient to show the
author's intentions.
§ 20.
A rare term for "God" is "El Shaddai"
(xvii. 1, xxviii. 3, xxxv. 11, xliii.
13, xlviii. 13; "Shaddai" in xlix. 25).
The usual translation and
interpretation, "Almighty," is entirely
unsupported. The term, when closely
examined, means "the God of faith,"
i.e., the God who faithfully fulfils His
promises. Perhaps it also means a God of
love who is inclined to show abundant
love.
§ 21.
God as a personal being is not only
referred to in anthropomorphistic and
anthropopathic terms, but He also
appears to man and speaks with him. Thus
He speaks with Adam and Eve, Cain, Noah,
Abraham, Hagar, Abimelech, Isaac, Jacob,
and Laban. But He appears only from the
time of Abraham, and in different ways.
An Elohim "appears" to Abimelech and
Laban in a dream at night (xx. 3, xxxi.
24); a mal'ak Yhwh appears to Hagar
(xvi. 7 et seq.), being called in verse
13 simply "Yhwh." Yhwh appears to Abram
(xii. 7, xv. 1); in a vision (xii. 1, 7)
apparently accompanied by darkness, a
pillar of smoke, and fire; in xvii. Yhwh,
who is subsequently called "Elohim"
(verses 9, 15, 19), appears, and then
ascends (verse 22); in xviii. Yhwh
appears in the form of three men who
visit Abraham, but these speak as one
Yhwh in verses 13, 17, 20, 26, and 33,
who then leaves, while the two
messengers go to Sodom. Yhwh appears to
Isaac on a certain day (xxvi. 2), and
again that night (verse 24). Jacob is
addressed in a dream by Yhwh (xxviii. 12
et seq.). In xxxi. 3 Yhwh speaks to
Jacob; Jacob says (verse 11) that a
mal'ak of Elohim appeared to him in a
dream. In xxxv. 9 Elohim again appears
to him, in reference to the nocturnal
encounter with a "man" (xxxii. 14 et
seq.), and ascends (xxxv. 13). In xlvi.
2 Elohim speaks to him in a vision of
the night.
Hence, the appearance of God means
either a dream-vision, or the appearance
of a messenger sent by God, who speaks
in His name, and may therefore himself
be called "Elohim of Yhwh."
§ 22.
"Mal'ak of God" signifies, in the first
place, the fortunate disposition of
circumstances (xxiv. 7, 40; comp.
xlviii. 16), in which case it is
parallel to "ha-Elohim," the divine
guidance of human life; more often,
however, it denotes the "angels" ("mal'akim"),
messengers of God in human shape who
carry His behests to men and who seem to
enter and leave heaven through a gate
(xxviii. 11); e.g., "Yhwh's messenger"
(xvi. 7, 11; xxii. 11, 15); "Elohim's
messenger" (xxi. 17; in the plural, xix.
1, 15; xxviii. 12; xxxii. 2); or "ha-Elohim's
messenger" (xxxi. 11). The "man" who
wrestled with Jacob likewise seems to
have been a mal'ak (xxxii. 25, 29, 31),
and the men whom Abraham entertained and
who saved Lot were also mal'akim
(xviii., xix.). According to the popular
belief, it is disastrous to meet them
(xvi. 13, xxxii. 31). On this point,
more than on any other, the author seems
to have followed popular ideas.
§ 23.
It appears from the foregoing that the
conception of God found in Genesis is
throughout a practical, religious one.
God is treated exclusively with
reference to His dealings with the world
and with man, and to the interest that
He takes in man's fate and behavior. He
guides, educates, and punishes. He
assigns to the first of mankind a
habitation in Eden, sets them a task,
and commands them not to do a certain
thing. When they break this command He
punishes them; but even after that He
cares for them. Although punishing the
murderer Cain, He affords him
protection; the cruelties and unnatural
sins of the generation of the Flood
arouse His sorrow and anger; He
humiliates the pride of the men who are
planning to build a tower that shall
reach to heaven; He utterly destroys
with fire and brimstone the sinful
generation of Sodom and Gomorrah. The
punishments are either the natural
consequences of sin—the first of mankind
have robbed the earth, which had
willingly offered the fruit of its
trees, hence it is cursed and paralyzed,
and can no longer give its fruit freely,
so long as Adam is living; Eve has
succumbed to desire, hence she has
become the slave of desire; Cain has
defiled the earth by murder, hence he
has deprived it of its strength—or they
correspond exactly to the sins; e.g.,
men build a tower in order to remain
united, hence they are dispersed; Jacob
wishes to rule his brother, therefore he
must humiliate himself before that
brother; he deceives, and is deceived in
return; he dresses up in a goatskin in
order to obtain a blessing fraudulently,
therefore he is terribly deceived and
plunged in sorrow through a goatskin;
Judah advises the sale of Joseph as a
slave, therefore he himself is forced to
offer himself as a slave.
God, on the other hand, is pleased with
the pious, with Enoch and Noah, and
especially with Abraham's unshakable
faith (xv. 6); his righteousness and
justice, which he recommends to his
children and household (xviii. 19); his
implicit obedience, which is ready to
make the supreme sacrifice (xxii. 12,
16). For Abraham's sake God saves Lot
(xix. 19); blesses Abraham's son Isaac
(xxvi. 5), his children, and his
children's children; protects them
through all dangers; prevents others
from doing evil to them (xii. 17, xiv.,
xv., xx. 3, xxvi., xxxi. 24); and leads
them in a marvelous manner. He gives
commands to men, and binds them to
Himself by covenants and promises. They
are the objects of His designs, as they
are His work.
§ 24.
The Creation.
The entire universe is the work of God;
this proposition is the necessary
consequence of the idea of God as found
in Genesis and the Pentateuch and in the
whole Bible generally. From this arises
doubtless the author's belief that God
created the world out of nothing. He
does not say how this primal act of
creation was accomplished. In the
beginning the earth was a desolate
watery chaos ("tohu wa bohu"), over
which the spirit of God brooded, and
which God divided into heaven and earth
and arranged and peopled in six days.
The living beings are created in an
orderly sequence, proceeding from the
inorganic to the organic, from the
incomplete to the complete, man being
the crown. In the beginning God creates
light together with time and the day.
The outer firmament separates the waters
above and below it; then when the lower
waters recede the land appears; the
earth produces grass and trees; and
plants and animals are created, each
"after its kind," and endowed with the
faculty of propagating within their kind
in their respective elements. Every
organic being, therefore, is endowed
with a nature of its own, which the
Creator intends it to keep by pairing
only with its own kind. The lights that
God has fixed in the firmament serve to
separate the day from the night; they
shall be for "signs, periods, seasons,
and years," and shall give light to the
earth. The sun is the greater light,
that rules the day; the moon is the
lesser light, that rules the night.
§ 25.
The Creation is, in the judgment of God,
good in particular, and very good in
general, i.e., fit for life,
commensurate to its purpose, salutary,
harmonic, and pleasing. The book
expresses an optimistic satisfaction and
pleasure in the world, a lively
veneration for God's arrangements and
the peculiar dignity of each being as
determined by God. The simplicity,
sublimity, depth, and moral grandeur of
this story of the Creation and its
superiority to every other story dealing
with the subject are universally
recognized.
§ 26.
Humanity.
Man, the crown of Creation, as a pair
including man and woman, has been made
in God's image. God forms the first man,
Adam, out of earth ("adamah"). This
indicates his relation to it in a manner
that is fundamental for many later laws.
Man is a child of the earth, from which
he has been taken, and to which he shall
return. It possesses for him a certain
moral grandeur: he serves it; it does
not serve him. He must include God's
creatures in the respect that it demands
in general, by not exploiting them for
his own selfish uses. Unlawful robbery
of its gifts (as in paradise), murder,
and unchastity anger it, paralyze its
power and delight in producing, and
defile it. God breathed the breath of
life into the nostrils of man, whom He
formed out of earth. Therefore that part
of him that is contrasted with his
corporeal nature or supplements it—his
life, soul, spirit, and reason—is not,
as with the animals, of earthly origin,
existing in consequence of the body, but
is of divine, heavenly origin. Man is "toledot"
(ii. 4) of heaven and earth.
The creation of man also is good, in the
judgment of God; the book, therefore, is
cognizant of nothing that is naturally
evil, within man or outside of him.
After God has created man, He says: "It
is not good that the man should be
alone; I will make him an help meet for
him" (ii. 18). In order that man may
convince himself that there is no being
similar to him among all the creatures
that have been made, God brings all the
animals unto Adam, that he may name
them, i.e., make clear to himself their
different characteristics. Hence man,
looking for a being like unto himself
among the animals, finds language. God
thereupon creates woman out of the rib
of man, who gladly recognizes her as
bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh.
"Therefore shall a man leave his father
and his mother, and shall cleave unto
his wife: and they shall be one flesh";
meaning that the mature man may and
shall leave the paternal house, where he
has been merely a dependent member of
the family, and, urged by the longing
for a sympathetic being that will
supplement him, shall live with the
woman of his choice, and found with her
a family of his own, where the two shall
be combined in an actual and a spiritual
unity. In this passage the relation
between man and woman is expressed, and
also the nature of marriage, which is a
life partnership in which one helps and
supplements the other. Procreation is
not its purpose, but its consequence.
God has given to man, as to all living
beings, the faculty of multiplying.
§ 27.
God gives to man dominion over the earth
and over all living beings. The food of
the first man consists solely of the
fruits of the field, that of the animals
being grass (i. 29). His occupation is
to cultivate and watch over the Garden
of Eden (ii. 15), the only restriction
placed upon its enjoyment being that he
shall not eat of the fruit of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. In
the Garden of Eden men go naked and know
no shame; this feeling is aroused only
after they have broken God's command,
and then He makes them garments of skins
to cover their nakedness.
§ 28.
All men on earth are descended from the
first pair, Adam and Eve, and are
therefore also of the image of God. This
statement expresses the unity of the
whole human race. Man is a created
being, made in the image of God, and all
men are related: these doctrines are
among the most fundamental and weighty
of the whole Bible.
The branch descended from Cain, the
fratricide, the eldest son of the first
pair, is the founder of civic and
nomadic culture. The branch descended
from Seth develops along religious
lines: from Elohim (Seth, in iv. 25)
through ha-Elohim (Enoch, in v. 22) to
Yhwh (Noah, in vi. 8). But punishment
has been made necessary on account of
Adam's sin; the human race must be
destroyed on account of its cruelties
and excesses. A new race begins with
Noah and his sons, and God promises that
He will neither curse the earth again,
nor destroy all living beings, but that,
on the contrary, "seed-time and harvest,
and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night shall not
cease" (viii. 22). He blesses Noah and
his family, that they may multiply and
fill the earth and be spiritually above
the animals. He permits men to eat meat,
but forbids them to eat blood, or meat
with the blood thereof. God will demand
the blood (life) of every man or animal
that spills it. "Whoso sheddeth man's
blood, by man shall his blood be shed"
(ix. 6). God enters into a covenant with
Noah and his descendants, promising them
that He will not again send a general
flood upon the earth, and instituting
the rainbow as a token thereof (ch.
ix.). The God whom all the Noachidæ
worship is Elohim (ix. 1, 7, 8, 12, 16,
17), Yhwh being worshiped by Shem and
his descendants. All the peoples
dispersed over the earth are grouped as
descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The genealogy of these peoples which the
author draws up in ch. x. according to
the ethnographic knowledge of his time,
finds no parallel in its universality,
which includes all men in one bond of
brotherhood. In this way have originated
the peoples that shall be blessed in
Abraham.
§ 29.
Israel's Patriarchs.
Terah, the descendant of Shem and Eber,
has three sons, one of whom, Abraham, is
destined by God for momentous events. He
shall leave his home; and God says to
him: "I will make of thee a great
nation, and I will bless thee and make
thy name great; and thou shalt be a
blessing: And I will bless them that
bless thee, and curse him that curseth
thee; and in thee shall all families of
the earth be blessed" (xii. 2-3). God
often repeats the promise that Abraham's
descendants shall be as numerous as the
stars in heaven and as the sand on the
seashore (xv. 5, xxii. 17); that He will
make him a father of many nations, and
cause him to be exceedingly fruitful;
that kings and nations shall be
descendants of him and Sarah (xvii. 5,
6, 16); that he shall become a great
people; that all nations of the earth
shall be blessed in him (xviii. 18,
xxii. 18); and that his descendants
shall receive the entire land of Canaan
as a hereditary possession (xiii. 14 et
seq., xv. 7, xvii. 18). But before all
this comes to pass Israel shall be
sorely oppressed for four hundred years
as servants in a strange land, after
which they shall go out with rich
possessions, and God shall judge their
oppressors (xv. 13 et seq.). In
confirmation of these promises God
enters twice into a covenant with
Abraham: the first time (xv. 18 et seq.)
as an assurance that his descendants
shall possess Canaan; and the second
time, before Isaac's birth, as a sign
that He will be their God. In token
thereof God changes Abram's and Sarai's
names into "Abraham" and "Sarah" (),
combining His own name with theirs, and
institutes the circumcision of all the
men of Abraham's household and their
male descendants as an eternal sign of
the covenant between Himself and
Abraham. Abraham acknowledges Yhwh (xiv.
22), builds altars to Him (xii. 7, 8;
xiii. 18); calls upon His name (xii. 8,
xiii. 4, xxi. 33); shows an invincible
faith in His promises, whatever present
circumstances may be; is ready for the
greatest sacrifice; and proves himself,
by his human virtues—his helpfulness,
unselfishness, hospitality, humanity,
uprightness, dignity, and love of
peace—worthy of divine guidance.
§ 30.
Of Abraham's two sons Ishmael shall be
blessed, and become the father of twelve
princes and the progenitor of a great
people (xvi. 10, xvii. 20, xxi. 18).
Ishmael himself becomes an archer, lives
in the wilderness, and marries an
Egyptian woman (xxi. 20 et seq.). But
the one to inherit the promises and the
land is Isaac (xvii. 21, xxi. 12),
Sarah's son. Therefore his father
chooses for him a wife from among his
own relations (ch. xxiv.). God renews to
him the promises given to Abraham (xxvi.
3, 24). Isaac is truly the son of his
great father, though he has a somewhat
passive nature. He also builds an altar
to Yhwh, and calls upon His name (xxvi.
2).
§ 31.
Isaac's sons are twins; Esau, the elder,
scorns the rights of the first-born,
leaving them to Jacob (xxv. 34). Esau is
a hunter, whose fate it is to live by
the sword and be subject to his brother,
though in time he will throw off his
yoke (xxvii. 40). He is also called
"Edom," and subsequently lives in the
land of that name in the mountainous
region of Seir. He is loved by his
father, but Rebekah loves Jacob; and
when Esau marries a Canaanite woman,
Isaac, deceived by a trick, blesses
Jacob, who, before he sets out for Haran,
receives from his father Abraham's
blessing also (xxviii. 4). Jacobattains
to right relations with God only after
mistakes, trials, and struggles. He
knows Yhwh, whose hand he has seen in
his father's life (xxvii. 20); he
recognizes Him in the divine appearance
(xxviii. 16); but he has not experienced
God in his own life. God has not yet
become his God; hence he avoids the name
of Yhwh so long as he is in a strange
country (xxx. 2; xxxi. 7, 9, 42, 53;
xxxii. 3); but the narrator does not
hesitate to say "Yhwh" (xxix. 31; xxxi.
3; xxxviii. 7, 10), that name being also
known to Laban (xxx. 27, 30) and his
daughters (xxix. 32 et seq., xxx. 24).
Not until a time of dire distress does
Jacob find Yhwh, who becomes for him
Elohim when the vow turns to a prayer.
He has overcome Elohim, and himself
receives another name after he
hasamended his ways (i.e., has gained
another God), namely, "Israel," i.e.,
"warrior of God." God now gives him the
same promises that were given to Abraham
and Isaac (xxxv. 11 et seq.), and Jacob
builds an altar to God ("El"), on which
he pours a drink-offering. Similarly he
brings offerings to the God of his
father when he leaves Canaan to go with
his family to Egypt, God promising to
accompany him and to lead his
descendants back in due time. Jacob
finds the name of Yhwh again only on his
death-bed (xlix. 18).
§ 32.
With Jacob and his twelve sons the
history of the Patriarchs is closed; for
the seventy persons with whom Jacob
enters Egypt are the origin of the
future people of Israel. God does not
appear to Jacob's sons, nor does he
address them. Joseph designedly avoids
the appellation "Yhwh"; he uses "Elohim"
(xxxix. 9; xl. 8; xli. 16, 51, 53; xlv.
5, 9; xlviii. 9; 1. 25; "ha-Elohim,"
xli. 25, 28, 32; xlii. 18 [xliv. 16];
xlv. 9; and the Elohim of his father,"
xliii. 23). The narrator, on the other
hand, has no reason for avoiding the
word "Yhwh," which he uses intentionally
(xxxix. 2, 3, 5). Yhwh takes a secondary
place in the consciousness of Israel
while in Egypt, but becomes
all-important again in the theophany of
the burning bush.
The book prescribes no regulations for
the religious life. The Patriarchs are
represented in their family relations.
Their history is a family history. The
relations between husband and wife,
parents and children, brother and
sister, are displayed in pictures of
typical truthfulness, psychologic
delicacy, inimitable grace and
loveliness, with an inexhaustible wealth
of edifying and instructive scenes.
§ 33.
Scientific Criticism.
Since the time of Astruc (1753) modern
criticism has held that Genesis is not a
uniform work by one author, but was
combined by successive editors from
several sources that are themselves
partly composite, and has received its
present form only in the course of
centuries; its composition from various
sources being proved by its repetitions,
contradictions, and differences in
conception, representation, and
language. According to this view, three
chief sources must be distinguished,
namely, J, E, and P. (1) J, the Jahvist,
is so called because he speaks of God as
"Yhwh" In his work (chiefly in the
primal history, ch. i.-xi., as has been
asserted since Budde) several strata
must be distinguished, J1, J2, J3, etc.
(2) E, the Elohist, is so named because
down to Ex. iii. he calls God "Elohim."
A redactor (RJE) at an early date
combined and fused J and E, so that
these two sources can not always be
definitely separated; and the critics
therefore differ greatly in regard to
the details of this question. (3) P, or
the Priestly Codex, is so called on
account of the priestly manner and
tendencies of the author, who also calls
God "Elohim." Here again several strata
must be distinguished, P1, P2, P3, etc.,
though only P2 is found in Genesis.
After another redactor, D, had combined
Deuteronomy with JE, the work so
composed was united with P by a final
redactor, who then enlarged the whole
(the sequence J, E, D, P is, however,
not generally accepted). Hence the
present Book of Genesis is the work of
this last redactor, and was compiled
more than one hundred years after Ezra.
The works of J, E, and P furnished
material for the entire Pentateuch (and
later books), on whose origin, scope,
time, and place of composition see
Pentateuch.
As it would take too much space to give
an account of all the attempts made to
separate the sources, the analysis of
only the last commentator, namely, of
Holzinger, who has made a special study
of this question, will be noted. In his
"Einleitung zum Hexateuch" he has given
a full account of the labors of his
predecessors, presenting in the "Tabellen"
to his work the separation into sources
laid down by Dillmann, Wellhausen,
Kuenen, Budde, and Cornill. The
commentary by Gunkel (1901) is not
original as regards the sources.
§ 34.
see Analysis of the Sources. "a" and "b"
denote respectively the first and second
half of the verse; ?, ?, ?, etc., the
smaller parts; * ="worked over"; "s"
added to a letter means that the matter
contains elements belonging to R or J or
E or to the latter two ; "f" = " and the
following verse " or "verses."
§ 35.
Objections.
Serious objection may be brought to this
analysis of sources on the following
grounds: (1) It is unsupported by any
external proof whatever; there is no
authentic information showing that the
Pentateuch, or Genesis in particular,
was compiled from various sources, much
less have any such sources been
preserved in their original form. (2)
Hence the critics must rely solely upon
so-called internal evidence. But the
subjective state of mind with which the
final decision rests is unstable and
deceptive. It is hazardous to apply
modern criteria and rules of composition
and style to such an ancient and peculiar
work, whose origin is entirely unknown.
(3) Even if it be demonstrated that
Genesis has been compiled from various
sources, yet the attempt to trace the
origin of each verse and of each part of
a verse will never meet with success;
the critics themselves confess that the
process of combination was a most
complicated one. (4) If the
contradictions and repetitions said to
be found in the book really existed,
this would not necessarily prove that
there had been more than one author; for
the literatures of the world furnish
numerous similar examples. The existence
of such repetitions and contradictions,
however, has never been demonstrated.
(5) The theory of sources is at best a
hypothesis that is not even necessary;
for it is based on a total misconception
of the dominant ideas, tendencies, and
plan of the book. Its upholders have
totally misconceived the theology of
Genesis; transforming the interchange of
the name of God, which is the soul of
the book, into an external criterion for
distinguishing the different authors.
They have not understood the reason for
the variation in the use of and , which
in itself is a proof of uniform
composition; and they have, therefore,
missed a second fundamental idea,
namely, that implied in the genealogies
and their intimate relation to the
Israelite concept of the family. In
criticizing the unequal treatment of the
various portions of the material, the
theory misconceives the different
degrees of their importance for the
author. Difference in treatment is
proof, not of different authors, but of
different subjects and of the different
points of view in one author. (6) This
would also explain the variations in the
language of different passages. But
criticism on this point runs in a
circle, diversity of sources being
proved by differences of language, and
vice versa. (7) The separation into
sources in particular is based on
numberless exegetic errors, often of the
most obvious kind, showing not only a
misconception of the scope and spirit of
the book, and of its mode of narration,
but even of the laws of language; and
this separation is in itself the
greatest barrier to a correct insight
into the book, in that it encourages the
student to analyze difficult passages
into their sources instead of
endeavoring to discover their meaning.
§ 36.
Notwithstanding all these objections,
however, it can not be denied that
various portions of Genesis palpably
convey the impression of difference in
origin and a corresponding difference in
conception; but as the impression that
the work gives of having been uniformly
planned in every detail is still
stronger, the explanation given in § 2
is here repeated; namely, Genesis has
not been compiled from several sources
by one redactor or by several redactors,
but is the work of one author, who has
recorded the traditions of his people
with due reverence but independently and
according to a uniform plan. Genesis was
not compiled from various books.
§ 37.
Historical Criticism.
The historicity of the Book of Genesis
is more or less denied, except by the
representatives of a strict inspiration
theory. Genesis recounts myths and
legends. It is generally admitted that
the primal story is not historical (ch.
i.-xi.); but critics vary in ascribing
to the stories of the Patriarchs more or
less of a historical foundation. For
details see the articles under their
respective names; here only a summary
can be given:
(a)
The story of the Creation can not be
historically true, for the reasons
(1)
that there can be no human traditions of
these events;
(2)
its assumption of a creation in six
days, with the sequence of events as
recounted, contradicts the theories of
modern science regarding the formation
of the heavenly bodies during vast
periods of time, especially that of the
earth, its organisms, and its position
in the universe. The popular view of
Genesis can not be reconciled with
modern science. The story is a religio-scientific
speculation on the origin of the world,
analogous to the creation-myths found
among many peoples. The similarities to
the Babylonian creation-myth are most
numerous and most striking. The extent
of its dependence on other myths, the
mode of transmission, and the age and
history of the tradition and its
adaptation are still matters of dispute.
(b)
The story of the Garden of Eden (ch.
ii., iii.) is a myth, invented in order
to answer certain questions of religion,
philosophy, and cultural history. Its
origin can not be ascertained, as no
parallel to it has so far been found.
(c)
The stories of Cain and Abel and the
genealogies of the Cainites and Sethites
are reminiscences of legends, the
historical basis for which can no longer
be ascertained. Their historical truth
is excluded by the great age assigned to
the Sethites, which contradicts all
human experience. A parallel is found in
the ten antediluvian primal kings of
Babylonian chronology, where the figures
are considerably greater.
(d)
The story of the Flood is a legend that
is found among many peoples. It is
traced back to a Babylonian prototype,
still extant. It is perhaps founded on
reminiscences of a great
seismic-cyclonic event that actually
occurred, but could have been only
partial, as a general flood of the whole
earth, covering even the highest
mountains, is not conceivable.
(e)
The genealogy of peoples is a learned
attempt to determine genealogically the
relation of peoples known to the author,
but by no means including the entire
human race; this point of view was
current in antiquity, although it does
not correspond to the actual facts.
(f)
The stories of the Patriarchs are
national legends. Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob and his sons are idealized
personifications of the people, its
tribes, and families; and it can not now
be ascertained whether or not these are
based on more or less obscure
reminiscences of real personages. In any
case, these legends furnish no
historically definite or even valuable
information regarding the primal history
of the people of Israel. The whole
conception of the descent of one people
from one family and one ancestor is
unhistorical; for a people originates
through the combination of different
families. It has also been maintained
that the stories of the Patriarchs are
pale reflections of mythology or
nature-myths.
Bibliography: Commentaries: Calvin, In
Librum Geneseos Commentarius, ed.
Hengstenberg, Berlin, 1838;
J. Gerhard, Commentarius Super Genesin,
Jena, 1637;
Von Bohlen, Die Genesis
Historisch-Kritisch Erläutert,
Königsberg, 1832;
Friedrich Tuch, Halle, 1838; 2d ed.
(Arnold and Merx), 1871;
C. F. Keil, Leipsic, 1878;
Franz Delitzsch, Neuer Commentar zur
Genesis, 1887;
M. Kalisch, 1858;
A. Knobel, revised by Dillmann 1892;
J. P. Lange, 2d ed., 1877;
E. Reuss, La Bible, pt. iii., 1897;
E. H. Brown, 1871 (Speaker's
Commentary);
R. Payne Smith (Ellicot's Commentary,
1882);
G. I. Spurrell, Notes on the Hebrew Text
of the Book of Genesis, 1887;
M. Dods, The Book of Genesis, 4th ed.,
1890;
A. Tappehorn, Erklärung der Genesis
(Roman Catholic), 1888;
Strack, in Kurzgefasster Commentar (Strack-Zöckler),
1894;
Holzinger, in Kurzer Handcommentar, ed.
Marti, 1898;
H. Gunkel, in Handkommentar zum A. T.
ed. Nowack, 1901.
Criticism: Astruc, Conjectures surles
Mémoires Originaux Dontil Paroitque
Moyses' Est Servi pour Composer le Livre
de la Gènèse, Brussels, 1753;
Karl David Ilgen, Die Urkunden des
Jerusalemischen Tempelarchivs, etc.: I.
Urkunden des Ersten Buches von Moses,
Halle, 1798;
F. Bleek, De Libri Geneseos Origine
Atque Indole Historica, Bonn, 1836;
I. Stähelin, Kritische Untersuchungen
über die Genesis, Basel, 1830;
H. Hupfeld, Die Quellen der Genesis und
die Art Ihrer Zusammensetzung, Berlin,
1853 (this work laid the foundation for
the modern theory of sources, i.e., the
compilation of Genesis from three
independent works);
E. Böhmer, Liber Geneseos Pentateuchicus,
Halle, 1860 (first graphical distinction
of the sources by means of different
type);
idem, Das Erste Buch der Thora,
Uebersetzung Seiner Drei
Quellenschriften und Redactionszusätze
mit Kritischen, Exegetischen, und
Historischen Erörterungen, ib. 1862;
T. Nöldeke, Untersuchungen zur Kritik
des A. T. Kiel, 1809;
J. Wellhausen, Die Composition des
Hexateuchs, in Jahrbücher für Deutsche
Theologie, xxi., xxii., reprinted 1885,
1889, 1893;
Karl Budde, Die Biblische Urgeschichte,
Giessen 1883;
Kautzsch and Socin, Die Genesis mit
Aeusserer Unterscheidung der Quellen,
Freiburg-in-Breisgau, 1888, 1891;
D. W. Bacon, Pentateuchical Analysis, in
Hebraica, iv. 216- 243, v. 7-17: The
Genesis of Genesis, Hartford, 1892;
E. C. Bissell, Genesis Printed in Colors
(transl. from Kautzsch-Socm), Hartford,
1892;
E. I. Fripp, The Composition of the Book
of Genesis, 1892;
C. I. Ball, Genesis, 1896 (critical text
in colors in S. B. O. T. ed. Haupt).
Compare also the introductions to the
Old Testament by Kuenen, Cornill, Strack,
Driver, and König, and to the Hexateuch
by Holzinger, 1893, and Steuernagel,
1901;
A. Westphal, Les Sources du Pentateuque,
Paris, 1888, 1892;
W. E. Addis, The Documents of the,
Hexateuch Translated and Arranged in
Chronological Order, 1893, 1898;
I. E. Carpenter and G. Hartford
Battersby, The Hexateuch, 1900.
Anti-Criticism: C. H. Sack, De Usu
Nominum, Dei et in Libro Geneseos, Bonn,
1821;
H. Ewald, Die Composition der Genesis
Kritisch Untersucht, Brunswick, 1823
(subsequently retracted for the greater
part by the author);
E. W. Hengstenberg, Die Authentie des
Pentateuchs, Berlin, 1836, 1839 (i.
181-414 contains an epoch-making proof
of the meaning and intentional use of
the names of God);
M. Drechsler, Die Einheit und Echtheit
der Genesis, 1838 (including Nachweis
der Einheit und Planmässigkeit der
Genesis);
F. H. Ranke, Untersuchungen über den
Pentateuch, Erlangen, 1834-40;
I. H. Kurtz, Die Einheit der Genesis,
1846;
C. Keil, Ueber die Gottesnamen im
Pentateuch, in Zeitschrift für
Lutherische Theologie und Kirche, 1851,
pp. 215-280;
J. Halévy, Recherches Bibliques, i.
1895;
W. H. Green, criticism of Harper, in
Hebraica, v., vi., vii.;
idem, The Unity of Genesis;
E. C. Bissell, The Pentateuch, Its
Origin and Structure, pp. 410-475, New
York, 1885 (includes a voluminous
bibliography on the Pentateuch). B. J.
—Critical View:
Genesis forms part of the Hexateuch. As
such it is regarded by the critical
schools as a composite work, containing
data from P and JE, the latter a history
which, itself a combination of two
distinct compilations—one, northern or
Israelitish, E; the other, southern or
Judean, J—tells in detail and in popular
style the story of Israel from the
beginning of things to the completed
conquest of Canaan. In addition to these
elements, some independent material is
distinguished from that ascribed to the
sources named; and editorial comments
(R) and changes have been separated in
the critical analysis. There is
practical unanimity among critics with
regard to the character of P and what
must be assigned to him.
Elements.
The P elements in Genesis consist of a
series of interconnected genealogies,
uniform in plan, and always prefaced by
the introductory phrase "These are the
generations of." Connected with them is
a scheme of Chronology around which a
few historical glosses are grouped. In
fuller detail the stories of Abraham's
covenant and his purchase of a
burial place at Hebron are elaborated.
The accounts of Creation (see Cosmogony)
and of the Flood are also given fuller
treatment. It would thus seem that P
presupposes acquaintance with and the
existence of a history or histories of
the Patriarchs and of the times
preceding theirs. P is thus a work of a
student aiming to present certain ideas
and emphasizing certain conclusions. He
traces the origin of Israel and his
descendants as the one family chosen
from among all the children of Adam. He
lays particular stress on the religious
institutions; e.g., the Sabbath ordained
by God Himself at the completion of the
week of Creation; the command to abstain
from partaking of blood; the covenant of
circumcision; and the purity of the
Israelitish stock (contrast Esau's
marriages with Jacob's).
The theory has been advanced that P is
based on J, his story of Creation
presupposing the use of historical and
traditional material collected in J. On
the whole, this may be admitted; but it
is also plain that for the P account of
the Creation and the Flood Babylonian
sources and information were drawn upon.
The theology of P is of a high order.
God is One; He is supramundane. Creation
is a transcendental, free act of the
Absolute Creator (hence ). In history
are revealed a divine plan and purpose.
God communicates His decrees directly
without the intervention of angels or
dreams, and without recourse to
theophanies. He is Elohim for Noah, El
Shaddai for Abraham, and Yhwh for
Israel. Anthropomorphisms are few and
inoffensive. This theology reveals the
convictions and reflections of a late
epoch in Israel's religious and
historical development.
JE, after the elimination of P, presents
an almost unbroken narrative. In the
earlier chapters J alone has been
incorporated; E begins abruptly in Gen.
xx. It is a moot point whether E
contained originally a primeval history
parallel to that now preserved in
Genesis from J. That of the latter, as
incorporated in the pre-Abrahamic
chapters, is not consistent throughout;
especially do the account of the Flood,
the fragments of a genealogy of Seth,
and other portions suggest the use of
traditions, probably Babylonian, which
did not originally form part of J.
Legends.
JE, as far as Genesis is concerned, must
be regarded as compilations of stories
which long before their reduction to
written form had been current orally
among the people. These stories in part
were not of Canaanitish-Hebrew origin.
They represent Semitic and perhaps other
cycles of popular and religious tales ("Sagen")
which antedate the differentiation of
the Semitic family into Hebrews, Arabs,
etc., or, migrating from one to the
other of the Semitic groups after their
separation, came to the Hebrews from
non- Semitic peoples; hence the traces
of Babylonian, Egyptian, Phenician,
Aramaic, and Ishmaelitish influence.
Some of the narratives preserve ancient
local traditions, centered in an ancient
religious sanctuary; others reflect the
temper and exhibit thecoloring of
folk-tales, stories in which the rise
and development of civilization and the
transition from pastoral to agricultural
life are represented as the growth and
development of individuals. Others,
again, personify and typify the great
migratory movements of clans and tribes,
while still others are the precipitate
of great religious changes (e.g., human
sacrifices are supplanted by animal
ones). The relations and interrelations
of the tribes, septs, and families,
based upon racial kinship or
geographical position, and sometimes
expressive of racial and tribal
animosities and antipathies, are also
concreted in individual events. In all
this there is not the slightest trace of
artificiality. This process is the
spontaneous assertion of the folk-soul
("Volksseele"). These traditions are the
spontaneous creation of popular
interpretation of natural and historical
sentiments and recollections of remote
happenings. The historical and
theological interpretations of life,
law, custom, and religion in its
institutions have among all men at one
time taken this form. The mythopeic
tendency and faculty are universal. The
explanations of names which exhibit
signs of being the result of intentional
reflection, are, perhaps, alone
artificial.
Compilation.
Naturally, in the course of oral
transmission these traditions were
modified in keeping with the altered
conditions and religious convictions of
the narrators. Compiled at a time when
literary skill had only begun to assert
itself, many cycles of patriarchal
histories must have been current in
written form prior to the collections
now distinguished by critics as E and J.
Criticism has to a great extent
overlooked the character of both of
these sources as compilations. It has
been too free in looking upon them as
works of a discriminating litterateur
and historian. P may be of this nature,
but not J and E. Hence any theory on the
literary method and character of either
is forced to admit so many exceptions as
to vitiate the fundamental assumption.
In E are found traits (elaborations,
personal sentiment) ascribed exclusively
to J; while J, in turn, is not free from
the idiosyncrasies of E.
Nor did R (the editor, editors, or
diaskeuasts) proceed mechanically,
though the purely literary dissection on
anatomical lines affected by the higher
criticism would lead one to believe he
did. He, too, had a soul. He recast his
material in the molds of his own
religious convictions. The Midrashic
method antedates the rabbinical age.
This injection of life into old
traditional material unified the
compilation. P's method, rightly
regarded as under theological intention
("Tendenz"), was also that of R. Hence
Genesis, notwithstanding the compilatory
character of its sources, the many
repetitions and divergent versions of
one and the same event, the duplications
and digressions, makes on the whole the
impression of a coherent work, aiming at
the presentation of a well-defined view
of history, viz., the selection of the
sons of Israel as the representative
exponents of Yhwh's relations to the
sons of Adam, a selection gradually
brought about by the elimination of side
lines descended, like Israel, from the
common progenitor Adam, the line running
from Adam to Noah—to Abraham—to Jacob =
Israel.
Later Additions.
Chapter xiv. has been held to be a later
addition, unhistorical and belonging to
none of the sources. Yet the story
contains old historical material. The
information must be based on Babylonian
accounts (Hommel, "Alt-Israelitische
Ueberlieferung," p. 153, speaks of an
old Jerusalem tradition, and Dillmann,
in his commentary, of a Canaanitish
tradition; see Eliezer); the literary
style is exact, giving accurate
chronological data, as would a
professional historian. The purpose of
the account is to glorify Abraham. Hence
it has been argued that this chapter
betrays the spirit of the later Judaism.
Chapter xlix., the blessing by Jacob, is
also an addition; but it dates from the
latter half of the period of the Judges
(k Kohler, "Der Segen Jacob's").
The theory that the Patriarchs
especially, and the other personages of
Genesis, represent old, astral deities,
though again advanced in a very learned
exposition by Stucken ("Astral Mythen"),
has now been generally abandoned. |
