In the beginning...

1
In the beginning...

• When God began to create the heaven and the
  earth---the earth was at that time without form
  and void and darkness was upon the face of the
  deep---then God said Let there be light.
• Creation out of nothing?

2
Signs of the Priestly Writer

• God
• Six days/seven days (God keeps sabbath)
• Be fruitful and multiply--91
• Vegetarian diet 93
• Elleh toledoth
• Remoteness of God vs. immanence of Yahweh in
  chaps 2-3
• Creates vs acts, forms, breathes, plants
• male and female vs. the man and his wife
• Wild animals of the earth animals of the field
  (219)

3
The Days of Creation

• Day One Let there be light
• Day Two firmament
• Day Three land and vegetation

• Day Four big one, little oneand also the stars
• Day Five birds and fish
• Day Six animals and man-woman

4
The Sabbath

• Focus moves from heaven to earth
• artificiality of 7-day structure (8 creation
  events)
• 7 regular days in a regular 7-day week
• If God rests, why not we? (counter cultural)
• Exod 3112-17 Sabbath as sign of covenant

5
Enuma elish (when on high)

• Tiamat and Kingu challenge divine council
• Marduk elected king of the gods (word)
• Defeats Tiamat Kingu imprisoned
• creation of earth and sky from Tiamat
• gods complain about work Marduk creates humans
  out of blood of Kingu to work in place of gods
  city of Babylon and temple of Marduk

6
Contrast between Babylonian and Biblical
Worldviews

• political function--rise of city of Babylon
• Conflict among gods Genesis--only birdies,
  beasties, and fishies
• power of wordin Babylon and in Israels exile
• transcendent God (no sex, magic)
• does creation end in space (temple) or in time?

7
Message to Israel in exile

• word--power behind Gods promise Genesis 9
  only reliable basis for faith
• Be fruitful and multiply
• vs. astrology

8
The human vocation

• anthropology humans are evil and slaves in
  Enuma elish vs. very good and royal vocation in
  Genesis 1
• Psalm 8
• image of God--rulership. We are Gods good
  creatures

9
Toledoth Generations

• Heaven and earth (24a)
• Adam (51)
• Noah (69)
• Sons of Noah (101)
• Shem (1110)

• Terah (1127)
• Ishmael (2512)
• Isaac (2519)
• Esau/Edom (361, 9)
• Jacob (372)
• Aaron and Moses--Numbers 3

Asterisk followed by genealogy Italics no
longer center stage
10
Creation and evolution

• Variety of biblical pictures (Gen 1 and 2 Yahweh
  vs the sea--Isa 271-2 549-11 Psa 7412-17
  891-14 25)
• Genesis 1 is truthful expression within one
  ancient worldview
• I believe that God made ME and all creatures
• How do we affirm creation within early 21st
  century science?

11
The Structural Beauty of Genesis 1

• 7 x created (11, 21, 27-27-27, 23, 4)
• 7x good light, land and seas, vegetation,
  heavenly bodies, sea monsters and birds, animals,
  everything was very good
• Blessings announced
• 122 first biological life--fish and birds
• 128 man and woman--but not land animals
• 23 the seventh day

12
7 elements in descriptions of days

• God said
• Let there be
• It was so
• God separatedGod made
• Word of blessing or naming
• God saw it was good
• Evening and morning