Introduction to Genesis

Title of the Book

• The designation, Genesis, “takes its name from the title given to it in the Septuagint Version, which is derived from the heading of its ten parts, he biblos geneseos (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12; 36:1; 37:2)” (Unger, pp. 189-190).

• “The Jews, following the custom of designating a book by its opening word or words, called it Bere’shith, “In the beginning” (p. 190).

Authorship• Within the Pentateuch, there are numerous

statements of Mosaic authorship (Ex. 17:14; 24:4-8; 34:27; Num. 33:1,2; Deut. 31:9; 31:22).

• Jesus attributed the Pentateuch to Moses (John 5:45-47; 7:19) and used it in his explanation to his apostles (Luke 24:27, 44).

• “John 7:23 has Jesus assigning the commandment regarding circumcision to Moses. The commandment instituting circumcision and governing its practice is given in Genesis 17:9-14” (Jones p. v).

Historically Reliable

• Jesus made it clear he believed in the historical reliability of Genesis.– Matthew 10:15; 19:4-5; Mark 12:26; Luke

17:26

• Other New Testament spokesmen also viewed it as historically accurate.– Romans 5:12-14; 1 Corinthians 11:8-9; 1

Timothy 2:12-14; Hebrews 2:14-16; 5:5-11; 7:1-10; 11:3-22; 12:15-17; James 2:21-2; 3; 1 Peter 3:20; 2 Peter 2:5-9; 3:1-6; 1 John 3:10-12; Jude 7, 14-15

Theme

• “The main theme or subject matter consists of origins; the origin of the created world, of the human race, of the various nations of earth, and then particularly of the covenant family which composes the redeemed people of God” (Archer, p. 193).

• “Genesis confronts us with the origin and full meaning of sin” (Jones, vi).

Purpose

• Jones sees two purposes for the book of Genesis, both of which can be seen in Genesis 12:1-3 (p. vi).

• “The lesser reason behind God’s development of Genesis is to record the beginning of the universe and then relate that to a particular people, the Jews, and their own history. The second and overriding intention behind Genesis is to provide a foundation for the development of salvation history. The two intertwine.”

Fellowship with God

• Lost– Man’s fellowship with God, prior to the

entrance of sin into the world, was marvelous.

• Regained• God was so intent upon restoring

fellowship that he preplanned to send his Son into the world to shed his blood and give man a means of having it restored (Genesis 3:15; Ephesians 1:9-10; 3:10-11)

Genesis Presents a Full View of God

• Hugo McCord, in his book Getting Acquainted with God, shows the character of God through discussing the various names used for him.– God, The Spirit of God, Jehovah God, The

True God, God Most High, My Lord Jehovah, The Angel of Jehovah, The God Who Sees Me, God Almighty, Judge, God Everlasting, Jehovah Provides, Fear, God the God of Israel, The God of Bethel, The Mighty One of Jacob, Shepherd and The Stone of Israel.

Matters for Further Study

• In the introduction to Studies in Genesis, Edwin Jones briefly reviews the documentary hypothesis (pp. x-xiv).

• He also looks at creation versus special evolution (pp. xiv-xvi).

• Thoroughly review these discussions and be prepared to discuss them in future classes.