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Themes & Motifs
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generations

water

separation

creation

consequence

seven

food

combination

farmer

forty

shepherd

Literary Devices
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repetition

personification

symbol

hyperbole

Authority
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commandment

declaration

punishment

obedience

reward

covenant

independence

disobedience

Values
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good

holy

bad

evil

ambiguous

Chapter 1 1In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters. 3And God said: 'Let there be light.' And there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 6And God said: 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. 9And God said: 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so. 10And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas; and God saw that it was good. 11And God said: 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.' And it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day. 14And God said: 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years 15and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so. 16And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth 18and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good. 19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day. 20And God said: 'Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.' 21And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living creature that creepeth, wherewith the waters swarmed, after its kind, and every winged fowl after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 22And God blessed them, saying: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.' 23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day. 24And God said: 'Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.' And it was so. 25And God made the beast of the earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good. 26And God said: 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.' 27And God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. 28And God blessed them; and God said unto them: 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth.' 29And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed--to you it shall be for food 30and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is a living soul, [I have given] every green herb for food.' And it was so. 31And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Chapter 2 1And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. 3And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made. 4These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made earth and heaven. 5No shrub of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground 6but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7Then the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8And the LORD God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there He put the man whom He had formed. 9And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became four heads. 11The name of the first is Pishon; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold 12and the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13And the name of the second river is Gihon; the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Cush. 14And the name of the third river is Tigris; that is it which goeth toward the east of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. 15And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat 17but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.' 18And the LORD God said: 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.' 19And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto the man to see what he would call them; and whatsoever the man would call every living creature, that was to be the name thereof. 20And the man gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a help meet for him. 21And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the place with flesh instead thereof. 22And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made He a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23And the man said: 'This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.' 24Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. 25And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Chapter 3 1Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman: 'Yea, hath God said: Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?' 2And the woman said unto the serpent: 'Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat 3but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said: 'Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.' 4And the serpent said unto the woman: 'Ye shall not surely die 5for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.' 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. 8And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him: 'Where art thou?' 10And he said: 'I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.' 11And He said: 'Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?' 12And the man said: 'The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.' 13And the LORD God said unto the woman: 'What is this thou hast done?' And the woman said: 'The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.' 14And the LORD God said unto the serpent: ''Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou from among all cattle, and from among all beasts of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. 15And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; they shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise their heel.' 16Unto the woman He said: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy travail; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' 17And unto Adam He said: 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. 18Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field 19In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.' 20And the man called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them. 22And the LORD God said: 'Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever.' 23Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way to the tree of life. Chapter 4 1And the man knew Eve his wife; and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: 'I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD.' 2And again she bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. 3And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. 4And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering 5but unto Cain and to his offering He had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6And the LORD said unto Cain: 'Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door; and unto thee is its desire, but thou mayest rule over it.' 8And Cain spoke unto Abel his brother. And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 9And the LORD said unto Cain: 'Where is Abel thy brother?' And he said: 'I know not; am I my brother's keeper?' 10And He said: 'What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto Me from the ground. 11And now cursed art thou from the ground, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand. 12When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou be in the earth.' 13And Cain said unto the LORD: 'My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14Behold, Thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the land; and from Thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth; and it will come to pass, that whosoever findeth me will slay me.' 15And the LORD said unto him: 'Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.'. And the LORD set a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him 16And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. 17And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bore Enoch; and he builded a city, and called the name of the city after the name of his son Enoch. 18And unto Enoch was born Irad; and Irad begot Mehujael; and Mehujael begot Methushael; and Methushael begot Lamech. 19And Lamech took unto him two wives; the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah. 20And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents and have cattle. 21And his brother's name was Jubal; he was the father of all such as handle the harp and pipe. 22And Zillah, she also bore Tubal-cain, the forger of every cutting instrument of brass and iron; and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah. 23And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; For I have slain a man for wounding me, And a young man for bruising me; 24If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. 25And Adam knew his wife again; and she bore a son, and called his name Seth: 'for God hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel; for Cain slew him.' 26And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enosh; then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. Chapter 5 1This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him 2male and female created He them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created. 3And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. 4And the days of Adam after he begot Seth were eight hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters. 5And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died. 6And Seth lived a hundred and five years, and begot Enosh. 7And Seth lived after he begot Enosh eight hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 8And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years; and he died. 9And Enosh lived ninety years, and begot Kenan. 10And Enosh lived after he begot Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 11And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years; and he died. 12And Kenan lived seventy years, and begot Mahalalel. 13And Kenan lived after he begot Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters. 14And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years; and he died. 15And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begot Jared. 16And Mahalalel lived after he begot Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 17And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety and five years; and he died. 18And Jared lived a hundred sixty and two years, and begot Enoch. 19And Jared lived after he begot Enoch eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 20And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years; and he died. 21And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begot Methuselah. 22And Enoch walked with God after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 23And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years. 24And Enoch walked with God, and he was not; for God took him. 25And Methuselah lived a hundred eighty and seven years, and begot Lamech. 26And Methuselah lived after he begot Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begot sons and daughters. 27And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years; and he died. 28And Lamech lived a hundred eighty and two years, and begot a son. 29And he called his name Noah, saying: 'This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh from the ground which the LORD hath cursed.' 30And Lamech lived after he begot Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begot sons and daughters. 31And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years; and he died. 32And Noah was five hundred years old; and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Chapter 6 1And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them 2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives, whomsoever they chose. 3And the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.' 4The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown. 5And the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And it repented the LORD that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart. 7And the LORD said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.' 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 9These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and wholehearted; Noah walked with God. 10And Noah begot three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 11And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 12And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth. 13And God said unto Noah: 'The end of all flesh is come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.' 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; with rooms shalt thou make the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is how thou shalt make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A light shalt thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17And I, behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; every thing that is in the earth shall perish. 18But I will establish My covenant with thee; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.' 22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he. Chapter 7 1And the LORD said unto Noah: 'Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before Me in this generation. 2Of every clean beast thou shalt take to thee seven and seven, each with his mate; and of the beasts that are not clean two [and two], each with his mate 3of the fowl also of the air, seven and seven, male and female; to keep seed alive upon the face of all the earth. 4For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I blot out from off the face of the earth.' 5And Noah did according unto all that the LORD commanded him. 6And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of waters was upon the earth. 7And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 8Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing that creepeth upon the ground 9there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female, as God commanded Noah. 10And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. 11In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 13In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark 14they, and every beast after its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15And they went in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. 16And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded him; and the LORD shut him in. 17And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth. 18And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; and the ark went upon the face of the waters. 19And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered. 20Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered. 21And all flesh perished that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, and every swarming thing that swarmeth upon the earth, and every man 22all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, whatsoever was in the dry land, died. 23And He blotted out every living substance which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven; and they were blotted out from the earth; and Noah only was left, and they that were with him in the ark. 24And the waters prevailed upon the earth hundred and fifty days. Chapter 8 1And God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark; and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged 2the fountains also of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained. 3And the waters returned from off the earth continually; and after the end of a hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 5And the waters decreased continually until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. 6And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made. 7And he sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. 8And he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from off the face of the ground. 9But the dove found no rest for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole earth; and he put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her in unto him into the ark. 10And he stayed yet other seven days; and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark. 11And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth. 12And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the dove; and she returned not again unto him any more. 13And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was dried. 14And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 15And God spoke unto Noah, saying 16'Go forth from the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. 17Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee of all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may swarm in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.' 18And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him 19every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moveth upon the earth, after their families; went forth out of the ark. 20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar. 21And the LORD smelled the sweet savour; and the LORD said in His heart: 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.' Chapter 9 1And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth.. 2And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all wherewith the ground teemeth, and upon all the fishes of the sea: into your hand are they delivered. 3Every moving thing that liveth shall be for food for you; as the green herb have I given you all. 4Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 5And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it; and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man. 6Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. 7And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; swarm in the earth, and multiply therein.' 8And God spoke unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: 9'As for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your seed after you; 10and with every living creature that is with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. 11And I will establish My covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of the flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.' 12And God said: 'This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations 13I have set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow is seen in the cloud 15that I will remember My covenant, which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.' 17And God said unto Noah: 'This is the token of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is upon the earth.' 18And the sons of Noah, that went forth from the ark, were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth; and Ham is the father of Canaan. 19These three were the sons of Noah, and of these was the whole earth overspread. 20And Noah the husbandman began, and planted a vineyard. 21And he drank of the wine, and was drunken; and he was uncovered within his tent. 22And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 23And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness. 24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his youngest son had done unto him. 25And he said: Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren. 26 And he said: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; And let Canaan be their servant. 27God enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; And let Canaan be their servant. 28And Noah lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years. 29And all the days of Noah were nine hundred and fifty years; and he died. Chapter 10 1Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and unto them were sons born after the flood. 2The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 3And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 4And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 5Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations. 6And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. 7And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan. 8And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty one in the earth. 9He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; wherefore it is said: 'Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD.' 10And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 11Out of that land went forth Asshur, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah 12and Resen between Nineveh and Calah--the same is the great city. 13And Mizraim begot Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim 14and Pathrusim, and Casluhim--whence went forth the Philistines--and Caphtorim. 15And Canaan begot Zidon his firstborn, and Heth 16and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite 17and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite 18and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite; and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad. 19And the border of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha. 20These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations. 21And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born. 22The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. 23And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 24And Arpachshad begot Shelah; and Shelah begot Eber. 25And unto Eber were born two sons; the name of the one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan. 26And Joktan begot Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah 27and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah 28and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba 29and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. 30And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, unto the mountain of the east. 31These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 32These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations; and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood. Chapter 11 1And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech. 2And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there. 3And they said one to another: 'Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar. 4And they said: 'Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.' 5And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6And the LORD said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. 7Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.' 8So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city. 9Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 10These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood. 11And Shem lived after he begot Arpachshad five hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 12And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. 13And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 14And Shelah lived thirty years, and begot Eber. 15And Shelah lived after he begot Eber four hundred and three years, and begot sons and daughters. 16And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begot Peleg. 17And Eber lived after he begot Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters. 18And Peleg lived thirty years, and begot Reu. 19And Peleg lived after he begot Reu two hundred and nine years, and begot sons and daughters. 20And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begot Serug. 21And Reu lived after he begot Serug two hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters. 22And Serug lived thirty years, and begot Nahor. 23And Serug lived after he begot Nahor two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters. 24And Nahor lived nine and twenty years, and begot Terah. 25And Nahor lived after he begot Terah a hundred and nineteen years, and begot sons and daughters. 26And Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 27Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. 28And Haran died in the presence of his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram's wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah. 30And Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 32And the days of Terah were two hundred and five years; and Terah died in Haran. Chapter 12 1Now the LORD said unto Abram: 'Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto the land that I will show thee. 2And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing. 3And I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse; and in thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' 4So Abram went, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. 6And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the terebinth of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 7And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said: 'Unto thy seed will I give this land'; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 8And he removed from thence unto the mountain on the east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el on the west, and Ai on the east; and he builded there an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD. 9And Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South. 10And there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was sore in the land. 11And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Egypt, that he said unto Sarai his wife: 'Behold now, I know that thou art a fair woman to look upon. 12And it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say: This is his wife; and they will kill me, but thee they will keep alive. 13Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister; that it may be well with me for thy sake, and that my soul may live because of thee.' 14And it came to pass, that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the woman that she was very fair.15And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16And he dealt well with Abram for her sake; and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and men-servants, and maid-servants, and she-asses, and camels. 17 And the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's wife. 18And Pharaoh called Abram, and said: 'What is this that thou hast done unto me? why didst thou not tell me that she was thy wife? 19Why saidst thou: She is my sister? so that I took her to be my wife; now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.' 20And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him; and they brought him on the way, and hiswife, and all that he had. Chapter 13 1And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the South. 2And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold. 3And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai 4unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first; and Abram called there on the name of the LORD. 5And Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents. 6And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together; for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together. 7And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle. And the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelt then in the land. 8And Abram said unto Lot: 'Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we are brethren. 9Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me; if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou take the right hand, then I will go to the left.' 10And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of the Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou goest unto Zoar. 11So Lot chose him all the plain of the Jordan; and Lot journeyed east; and they separated themselves the one from the other. 12Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the Plain, and moved his tent as far as Sodom. 13Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the LORD exceedingly. 14And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him: 'Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art, northward and southward and eastward and westward 15for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for unto thee will I give it.' 18And Abram moved his tent, and came and dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD. Chapter 14 1And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim 2 that they made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela--the same is Zoar. 3All these came as allies unto the vale of Siddim--the same is the Salt Sea. 4Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled. 5And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim 6and the Horites in their mount Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. 7And they turned back, and came to En-mishpat--the same is Kadesh--and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazazon-tamar. 8And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela--the same is Zoar; and they set the battle in array against them in the vale of Siddim 9against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings against the five. 10Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and they fell there, and they that remained fled to the mountain. 11And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way. 12And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. 13And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew--now he dwelt by the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner; and these were confederate with Abram. 14And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued as far as Dan. 15And he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus. 16And he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people. 17And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at the vale of Shaveh--the same is the King's Vale. 18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High. 19And he blessed him, and said: 'Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth 20and blessed be God the Most High, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand.' And he gave him a tenth of all. 21And the king of Sodom said unto Abram: 'Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.' 22And Abram said to the king of Sodom: 'I have lifted up my hand unto the LORD, God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth 23that I will not take a thread nor a shoe-latchet nor aught that is thine, lest thou shouldest say: I have made Abram rich 24save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their portion.' Chapter 15 1After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying: 'Fear not, Abram, I am thy shield, thy reward shall be exceeding great.' 2And Abram said: 'O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?' 3And Abram said: 'Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed, and, lo, one born in my house is to be mine heir.' 4 And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying: 'This man shall not be thine heir; but he that shall comeforth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.' 5And He brought him forth abroad, and said: 'Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if thou be able to count them'; and He said unto him: 'So shall thy seed be.' 6And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness. 7And He said unto him: 'I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.' 8And he said: 'O Lord GOD, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?' 9And He said unto him: 'Take Me a heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and a young pigeon.' 10And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not. 11And the birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. 12And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him. 13And He said unto Abram: 'Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years 14and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 15But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age. 16And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.' 17And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces. 18In that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: 'Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates 19the Kenite, and the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite 20and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Rephaim 21and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Girgashite, and the Jebusite.' (The phrase "It was good" is repeated 6 times throughout Genesis 1, referring to a handful of different creations that God wills into existence during the creation myth. The speaker of these words is ambiguous, however, we are granted the insight at least that God sees these things and notices that they are good. From the beginning, it appears that God Himself has a concrete understanding or at the very least an idea of what makes something good, and whether or not something is good. He exercises this deliberately throughout Genesis 1, taking note of each thing that impresses upon him its goodness. However, God creates more than 6 things throughout Genesis 1, and the remaining objects are omitted from this declaration of good. On a moral spectrum, "good" is most commonly seen as a positive description, compared often against "bad", and at times "neutral." Given the more black-and-white nature of the description of "good" in Genesis, the omission raises an ambiguity. If these things are not declaratively "good," then are they "neutral" or even "bad?" The most relevant omission to us is when humans are created and apparently omitted from the "good." Simply put, why? Is it a comment on the possibly subpar nature of our form or creation, or a notice of something more intimate? It is possible that here, God sees the human capacity, the exceptional "good" juxtaposed with the deplorable "bad." Regarding humanity, this omission is worrisome, but lends some understanding of "good" as perhaps relating to the capacity for "good" or "evil" that humans inherently have available to them. -Mark M.) (This verse along with verse 9 is curious because it is difficult to imagine what pre-existence looked like. With the description we have available to us, it seems like the universe is a congealed mass of water that contains G-d, and as time progresses, He seperates the water. Sometimes He leaves it as is, such as when he makes the seas, and other times he turns it into the land, or the sky. It's awkward to imagine, though, since creating everything out of water doesn't make sense. I suppose this is just a testament to how powerful G-d really is. -Hailey A.) (This description of the universe's basic state being water is interesting given water's chaotic connotations in mythology, such as Poseidon's tempermental moods and the Sumerian gods of the randomly flooding Tigris and Euphrates rivers. In addition, the only way for the universe as we understand it to exist is for a force of great order, such as God, setting boundaries and dividing the chaotic waters to separate the Heavens from the Earth. This understanding lends to the idea of the 6 Days of creation being the first signs of a natural order forming in the universe. -Noah C.) (A contradiction appears here. If the fruit of all trees is food for humans, why is there a restriction on the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge? Most likely however, this contradiction is an artifact from the fact that Genesis 1 and 2 are from seperate scrolls, thus the several differences in the story of creation between the two. -Joshua I.) (Vegetation being described in its usefulness to people is interesting, especially since in Genesis 2:15, God charges mankind with tending to the plants, hinting at a planned, symbiotic relationship between mankind and the crops they plant. In addition, this is a mark of how an agrarian society would understand the vegetation around them. -Noah C.) (In the article "#CharlestonShooting: How Long White America? How Long-Pt. 2," the writer challenges white Christian Americans to see African Americans being made in the image of God. The writer makes a good point, as the text never states the race or ethnicity of God, but man was made in "Our image." Noticing the plurality of the word, the writer interprets this as the human race as a whole, not just white people. White Americans can make the country better for Black Americans by imaging the inclusiveness of the creation story of man. All these points can further be stronger by remembering the first Christians were not white, so Christianity is not just for white people. Similiarly, America is not just for white people, it is for everyone. -Kelley O.) (The Patheos article titled "The #Ferguson Declaration: A Black Lives Matter Creed" points out this verse in particular to show that God loves everyone equally, and thus "we believe Black Lives Matter." I find this particularly signficicant because even though the movement is reasonably about the awareness of mistreatment of black Americans, man being made in Gods image would make it seem as if we should all look the same, yet we dont and we get treated differently based on our appearance. They state God loves our differences. -Kelley O.) (Heb.: 'adam (Alter 18) Alter: "a human" Kass: "the human being" NRSV: "humankind" Kass says, "Though the noun is male in gender... its meaning is sex neutral..." (36) -Jason P.) (This statement appears at the end of Genesis 1, and could be significant in how it affects the use of "good" throughout the rest of Genesis 1. Specifically, "good" appears very deliberately throughout Genesis 1 to state what particular items are good. However, there are a few notable exceptions to this that pose an interesting threat, but depending on what this passage is trying to say, this issue may become a non-issue. Individually, is "every thing" that God made good? If so, then these omissions are not significant and there irrelevant. However, is "every thing" on the whole good, in spite of the potential bad that was created? This generates an extremely compelling narrative, fitting in to the notion of potential balance in the world with consideration to good and bad, but it also concretely shows that God created some things that were bad. Why would he do this? Given the importance of language and deliberate use of language throughout Genesis on the whole, this appears to be the case with the omission of "good" from these certain things, and this statement at the end appears to explore if these things that are not necessarily "good" are actually "bad" on the whole. -Mark M.) (According to a video on The HistoryMakers titled "Dawn Wright Describes the Non-Conflicting Emphasis on Religion and Science at Wheaton College," [n.b.: video available by institutional subscription] Dr. Wright, an esteemed geographer and oceanographer, shares an intriguing comment about how the Bible is meant to teach us about our spiritual relationship with G-d and that Genesis is not meant to teach us about geology or science. Furthermore, she goes on to talk about how what may be seven days for us, may not be seven days for Him. He had not created the sun or the moon, yet "days" existed. Since the sun is the way we determine our days, it's impossible to really say how long a day was for G-d. It could have been the billions of years the Big Bang Theory states is true. There is also a movie called G-d's not Dead where similar themes are present. A boy tries to convince his college class that G-d exists with actual science. What both of these sources are trying to say is this: science and Genesis can work together if you look to each thing for what it is meant to represent. For the big bang, it is science, and for Genesis, it is religion. -Hailey A.) (This text presents a unique expression on how God works. Instead of as in Genesis 1, where God speaks the universe into existence, here it is as if he walks upon the Earth like a man, constructing these creations with his hands. He acts in a very human manner here, almost as if he is a craftsman. On God, this makes him appear with more care and attention to his creation, as a creator concerned with the beauty and art of his craft, just as an artificer or master artisan might be. Yet, there is also the notion that this brings God closer to humans, and humans closer to God. Humans have the ability to create, and must toil with skill and energy to do so, yet they can still create nonetheless. In this sense, they are as God is, crafting the world and breathing life into metal and earth to suit their needs, though admittedly not quite on the level that God is portrayed to have done. -Mark M.) (The powers of God and potential differences between Him and humanity are a large part of my problem statement, here explained by a difference between His creation of the universe/world and his more minute work as a craftsman, working personally like a human would do. -Noah C) (The translation of this term is consequential for how one understands the tree and also, perhaps, anything that has been labeled "good" thus far in Genesis. Some translators render it just as the first JPS translation has done so here (e.g., Umberto Cassuto (1944), the New Revised Standard Version (1989), and Robert Alter (1996)). Others, such as the JPS 2nd edition (1985) and Robert Sacks (1971) translate the word as "bad." Leon Kass (2003) writes, "The Hebrew word... has a much broader meaning than moral evil" (63). -Jason P.) (Assigned value... Interesting. -Kelley O.) (Foreshadowing word choice, as Adam and Eve are currently naked and unaware of what "dressing" means. The track for civilization has been set. -Kelley O.) (From the beginning, Eve is uniquely set apart by the temptation of the Tree of Knowledge, and interestingly created after God's initial warning against eating from the tree. More acutely obvious in Genesis 3 is how Eve takes direct interest in the tree, the only active actor in the scene with the serpent, where Adam is notably absent. This does much to characterize her inherent curiosity, which is instrumental in differentiating the two characters. Adam only does as directed by God, and what is made available to him, where Eve appears to more fundamentally realize her capabilities as a human. Yet she appears to be concerned with things other than gaining knowledge for herself, but perhaps in the potential of humans in the future, taking advantage of their skills of creation and free will. God is often regarded as having created the Tree of Knowledge, which is problematic in itself. If he created the tree, why tempt humanity? What does this add to the experience of living in Eden? Simply put, it is difficult to understand his motivations at this moment, because this leads to him having to apparently punish Adam and Eve when the disobey him. However, there is also the possibility that God did not create the Tree of Knowledge, or the serpent. God appears to be wary of the Tree, and of its inherent danger and apparent corruption. This creates the notion that perhaps he did not create it, as it was not intentional, and as such problematic for him as well as Adam and Eve. The serpent itself provides a unique presence in the Garden, and is often interpreted differently as Satan or a Spirit. Yet, God does appear to be able to exert his will over it, ensuring that it is a being less than divine. Overall, the presence of these things is definitively problematic, and poses an interesting crack in the paradise of Eden. -Mark M.) (Last semester, I took a class called "Ancient Worlds" and we read Genesis. In that class, we wrote essays and one of the ones I wrote was about how G-d is like a casino owner. He's manipulative and very protective of his regulars (the covenant), yet self serving, as I imagine a casino owner would be. He tests and checks his creations to see their constitution, perhaps like a watchful owner would, to ensure there isn't any misconduct going on in the casino. Inevitably, however, something will go wrong, and he starts back at square two (since there are still some humans alive) after the flood because he realises there was some corruption and the games were not going as he had intended. -Hailey A.) (In the New Standard Revised Version, the phrase is replaced with "helper." -Hailey A.) (Heb.: ezer kenegdo = help opposite Heb.: neged = opposite (Kass 72-73) Kass: "help opposite him" -Jason P.) (God puts Adam in a deep sleep as if to avoid hurting him. -Kelley O.) (Or perhaps it was to keep Adam from stopping Him. -Hailey A.) (Heb.: 'ishah (Kass 77). -Jason P.) (This is the first occurrence in Genesis of the Hebrew word 'ish, meaning "male human being" (see Kass, page 77). Previously, the grammatically masculine but semantically gender-neutral 'adam (meaning "human" or perhaps "earthling") has been used. Thus, only after the creation of the first woman do we have the first definitive reference to a person who is sexually male. -Jason P.) (Does the existence of evil or some other force that opposes the will of God in Eden hint that God is imperfect and capable of imbuing creatures with flaws such as the snake's trickery? Alternatively, does it indicate that the search for knowledge is not necessarily a morally wrong one, just one that God does not want man to search for? Is knowledge sacreligious, or is God simply testing mankind? Is the snake a tool in such a test? These are the questions that can be raised by the existence of evil in a world created by a supposedly all-powerful God. -Noah C.) (Or it could be that there are multiple deities. There are lots of instances of "us" in creation as well. Like maybe G-d created other spirits, like this "snake" spirit and then realized that perhaps not everything he created was good. Or maybe this was born out of the darkness he keeps separating from the light. -Hailey A.) (Our first interaction with the being "woman" in Genesis is the prior exchange between the serpent and Eve, and her subsequent disobedience towards God. Simply put, this is a bad foot to start off on for characterizing females as a gender in Genesis, and the blame appears to be lead to Eve practically immediately. Adam is nowhere to be seen during the exchange, and follows complacently with what Eve does, eating the fruit. Moreover, this is the first exhibition of real human independence and an attempt at understanding in Genesis. -Mark M.) (Mark points out in the previous comment that this is a bad foot to get started on, and I agree. However, I think a different, more pressing question arises from asking "why did Adam let Eve eat the fruit to begin with?" G-d created Eve after He told Adam not to eat from tree, and while she knows she's not supposed to (since she tells the serpent that she knows she will die if she eats from the tree), she may not fully understand the implications if she does eat. "Dying" means nothing to someone if they have never seen it before, and clearly she isn't afraid of it. Adam may understand more, since he existed while G-d was still creating, so he knows His power more than Eve does. But even if she did know that dying wasn't a good thing, why did Adam just stand by and allow her to be "beguiled" by the serpent? He could have stepped in to prohibit the conversation, but he doesn't. He enables Eve to make the decision to eat the fruit. And instead of refusing the fruit, he willingly takes it from Eve's hands and takes a bite. Then Adam has the audacity to tell G-d that Eve forced him to eat the fruit. This doesn't seem right. Especially because Eve inarguable receives a worse punishment than Adam. -Hailey A.) (Basically, what I'm looking for here is a statement on culpability. Is Adam complicit since he didn't say anything? Is Eve more culpable because she chose to pick the fruit and eat it, where Adam apparently just... does? What's the balance here? -Mark M.) (Heb.: ta'awah = intensely desired; Alter: "lust". -Jason P.) (The implications of Alter's translation of "deight" in 3.6 and the original Hebrew "ta'awah" as more akin to "lust" demonstrates the fruit's power over Eve and serves to explain why Adam and Eve would eat from the one tree they were instructed to not touch. This change in understanding could have drastic implications for my problem statement. -Noah C.) (Genesis seems to indicate that part of what separates mankind from animals is the recognition that one is naked, seen here as something to be ashamed of that must be resolved before they can be in the presence of God. If Adam and Eve were unashamed of their nakedness prior to eating the fruit of knowledge, then perhaps mankind was no different from other animals aside from being made in the image of God. Does this lead to the conclusion that God is curious, can be ashamed? Is mankind the link between the animalistic nature of beasts and the perfect form of God? -Noah C.) (The idea that God could potentially feel shame definitely makes his later actions, specifically the flood, more interesting. Was he really trying to wipe his regrets away? This could add an angle to his actions that adds depth to his choices. -Mark M.) (Here, Adam and Eve realized their shame and nakedness, a strange first conclusion after they ate of the Tree of Knowledge. Moreover, they felt shame for it, a development that raises questions after the promise from the serpent that they would become as God(s). Perhaps it is possible that God experienced a far wider breadth of emotion than Adam and Eve did before eating the fruit, making him decidedly human in his perceptions and decisions. If he is susceptible to shame, it follows that he is susceptible to anger, sadness, happiness, and the whole gamut human emotion. Moreover, this conclusion leads us to wonder at the nature of God's choices later on, when he cleanses the Earth of life during the flood, or when he burns Sodom and Gomorrah. Overall, this presents a God intimately concerned with the happenings on Earth, but also a divine entity who is emotional and is affected by these actions. -Noah C.) (Does G-d have legs? Is he a corporeal being? -Hailey A.) (He's probably like a Greek god and can take forms, as evident that he makes himself a burning bush in his encounter with Moses. -Kelley O.) (Is this personification? Does God have a body? If he did, does he no longer have one? What is the relationship between body and spirit? -Kelley O.) (Heb.: hishi'ani = lifted me (Kass 93). -Jason P.) (Here the order of judgement flows from the causal chain of their deception: from the serepent, then to Eve, and then to Adam. -Aidan S.) (In the context of the story of Genesis, this could be punishment for their breaking the one rule of the Garden of Eden, but as a creation story, it explains why our species must propogate while childbirth is so terribly painful. -Noah C.) (This punishment, or declaration, seems like G-d is formally making woman unequal to man. Woman's punishment is to be inherently less than man, now. -Hailey A.) (As a product of its times, this line can be seen as an excuse for men to abuse women. -Noah C.) (God appears to be an entity outside of our understanding of the self, as he refers often to what we perceive as a single entity with "our" or "us," which could be evocative of a kinship with humanity, or suggestive of a multi-faceted self that we can not understand. Moreover, God in this statement suggests that humanity is apparently equal with God on some level, a strange development when it appears they have no chance of exerting their will against him. Perhaps it is that this is the path that sets them onto becoming divine one day, but also it could be that they are only his equal one on level. That is to say, in how they experience life and emotions. They can feel everything in the way that God can, just not on the same scale, and as such there is a division between humans and God. Moreover, God still appears to hold onto vast understanding and power far beyond what humans are able to bring to bear, though in a sense, humans carry a slice of divinity within them in how they create and experience life. In equal measure, however, it could mean that God carries a slice of humanity within Himself. -Mark M.) (Maybe this line means something along the lines of "now man has become closer to a god because he knows good and evil." God did say "be fruitful and multiply" and people live for centuries, now that they have their own authority, they are more immortal than before. -Kelley O.) (Commentary I've read on this (unsure where) says that eating of the tree of life would cause man to be immortal, implying that knowledge and immortality are two aspects of being "like a god." This can then be read as a warning towards the historical pursuit of immortality (e.g. fountain of youth). -Aidan S.) (The previous three comments on this one quoation are all really interesting because this is a confusing line, especially because G-d says "us," yet there is only supposed to be one god. Are there other deities? Furthermore, since humans now know good and evil, wouldn't they be closer to G-d, now? And isn't that what Eve really wanted to begin with, to be closer to G-d (i.e., to be lifted up to G-d's level). It's also necessary to consider that "know" doesn't always mean "to be familiar with." It can also mean to "have sexual intercourse" and "be capable of," which would have incredible implications about G-d (e.g., does this mean that G-d is also capable of being evil?). Lastly, the comment that Aidan wrote made me think that being fruitful and multiplying is, in a way, immortality, since humanity will be immortal, even if the individual isn't. -Hailey A.) (When God offers to let him come clean for his actions or possibly even to lament on what he had done, Cain fails God completely. Abel's murder is an incredibly morally black event that occurs as we understand it, and God reflects this, when he is suitably angry and curses Cain. God wants to show Cain that what he did was wrong or at least inconvenient for him, and as such is dismayed when he fails the test of his basic loyalty and faith after murdering Abel and ultimately lying to God himself. The other potential explanation is that God did in fact, not know that Cain had killed Abel, or at least had not yet realized it. This means that God is merely a fallible observer with immense power, and colors his actions with genuine concern or interest. He does not know where Abel went, and that troubles him. The revelation that Cain had murdered him is a betrayal of the highest order for God's expectations, and He takes action in accordance with this anger. -Mark M.) (This is the second time that God has asked a question He already knew the answer to. First in the Garden when looking for Adam and Eve, now in the fields where Cain murdered Abel. God finds how mankind will respond to questions He already knows the answer to interesting, as can be seen when He, immediately after hearing Cain's deflection of His question, accuses and curses Cain for committing murder. -Noah C.) (Cain is allowed to have children after his punishment, these offspring multiplying and prospering to form civilization, associating civilization and Cain intimately with the first instance of fratricide. These cities foster music, art, and culture, but also tools for violence and perpetuates the notion of glory in conflict. Overall, there is a very intimate association with evil and civilization here, apparently saying that civilization is inherently flawed in its conception, especially with the blood of Cain guiding them. -Mark M.) (This line repeats the wording of humanity’s original creation, where God says “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (1.26). Though the likeness and image are switched when Adam begets Seth, it can be inferred that Adam and Eve are channeling God’s creation in making a son, just as Eve says after bearing Cain “I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD” (4.1). The connection between humanity’s propagation and the channeling of God’s divinity indicates a trend towards humanity reaching their own divinity. As such, if man was made in the likeness of God, is the creation of another life a step towards mankind’s divinity? -Noah C.) (Humans are similar to God here, as they are creating life parallel to how God created them. The difference, though, is that this result of procreation occured after humans ate from the Tree of Knowledge; now they are for certain capable of dying. As far as we know, God is an eternal character, so as much as mankind as individuals would like to act and be like God, they cannot. But the human race can continue to exist as long as God can. Humans can create time-limited individuals. Perhaps this is why in the text, it does not state God begot a son named Adam, while it does say Adam has a son. There is a difference in the significance of their creations, but they are the same in type of creations. -Kelley O.) (Limiting humankind's lifespan is a momentous event that often goes unchecked here, where it is rather important that mankind can no longer live past 120. This means that humans can only accrue so much prestige and ability before invariably dying, their lifespan being concretely limited beyond their control by the divine. This is rather important, since it feeds into the notion that God has a specific idea for what humans should learn in their lives, and that their potential must be limited for one reason or another. This hard limit on human life is also indicative that God wants mankind to develop more slowly, possibly because he feels that humans need to learn certain things before pushing forward harder in both age and knowledge. Essentially, it appears that He wants to limit the ascension of mankind for a time. -Mark M.) (Here, humankind is displayed as potentially inherently evil, but to build on that notion, that God does not control whether or not we are good or evil. Instead, it appears that this is created of our own free will, as God observes in rapt fascination, or maybe even horror. Either way, he deems this development as highly questionable and even condemnable, and as a result prepares to flood the Earth. Ultimately, God has an aversion to evil, but the reasoning behind this is undeniably ambiguous. Does he prefer no evil so that humankind is given a more substantial opportunity to live longer? Or is the situation one of personal disdain for the evil? -Mark M.) (This is one of the early lines that speaks to the capacity of G-d to change H-s mind and to reflect over time; suggesting not only that H- is not unchanging, but is also within Time, instead of strictly apart from it. -Aidan S.) (Here, the notion that God is potentially uncaring and inconvenienced by humanity in this sense because he created them and they spiraled out of control, or that God wanted to take full and utter punishment for mankind's transgressions is a compelling one. This stands apart from the ideas on forgiveness or education in Genesis, where God instead of doing either of these purges the entirety of the globe save for Noah, a bizarre turn of events that is highly violent and indiscriminate. God minimizes the variables, focusing only on Noah, who has certain expectations for and believes in, making Noah what God expects to be the ideal human to keep alive. -Mark M.) (The eradication of all life is confusing, especially since only humans are capable of being wicked as far as we know. -Noah C.) (In an article I read called "God is a Brown Girl Too" from Patheos, the author mentioned this part of the scripture, which is a theme throughout the whole book of Genesis: rarely is a woman involved in the "begetting" even though a requirement of birth is a woman. It's odd for texts to write like without women, especially in modern times where, at least in the west, we recognize that a woman is included in the birthing of a child and it is her child or both of theirs. What does the man do besides plant the seed? It's the woman who grows the child, and ultimately bears the fruit after 9 months of tender care. -Hailey A.) (God is notably and exceptionally concerned for the corruption of mankind, especially with violence. This concern for violence appears to be a core tenet of God's philosophy, starting as far back as Cain murdering Abel, this notion of violence carries on until now. God appears to abhor violence, only resorting to it when absolutely necessary, or simply finds it to be incredibly inconvenient to what happens under his watch on Earth. Regardless, in some measure it is clear that these issues are directly contrary to what God would want to see. He floods the Earth because of this, a strong implication of an emotional attachment to what is occurring indicated when his hand is forced and he tires of such violence. -Mark M.) (The symmetry of "the Earth is filled with violence through them" with "I will destroy them with the earth" is more clear in the ESV translation [1], but reminds me of the contrapassos from Dante's inferno. -Aidan S.) (This event takes place at the end of the flood, when Noah and his family are disembarking from the Ark. God gives Noah a mandate on how to leave, and he disobeys it, relegating his wife to a position behind his son. This could be indicative a bias that God is not subject to- after all, he put Noah's wife before Noah's sons, suggesting a hierachy. The Patriach, followed by the Matriarch, then the offspring and their wives, repeating the formula of husband to wife. However, Noah elevates his sons, even in spite of God's own orders, putting his sons before his wife. This could be indicative of merely preferring to attend to his sons, but perhaps more significantly, associates Noah with subjugating women beneath men. -Mark M.) ("be fruitful and multiply" is quite possibly one of the most famous quotes from G-d. This commandment is the base for the rest of the text (i.e., the covenant). We see this quote twice before (Gen. 1:22, 1:28) and again once after this (Gen. 9:1), but I feel like this is the most important time. The first time He says it to Adam and Eve, it's important, but, except for Noah, G-d destroys all their progeny because they were corrupt, so their fruitfulness and multiplication was for naught. -Hailey A.) (Directly subsequent to the Flood, Noah builds an altar and sacrifices to the Lord. The Lord, upon smelling the sacrifice, realizes he was wrong and admits as much. At times, this scene is characterized as God lamenting over his prior actions, and ensuring that he never will do such a thing again. Given the earlier discussion on God feeling the full range of human emotions, as implied by humans eating from the Tree of Knowledge, we see an interesting situation here where God is potentially wracked with regret in this instance. Apparently, God can make mistakes, and this is instrumental in understanding his at times confusing relationship with mankind. The article "The Politics of Immigration" discusses this section as God quite literally "recoiling in horror" at what he had done, and this genuine sense of remorse colors both God and his actions differently. -Mark M.) (Mimics the dominion given to Adam, but this time with more of an enmity and consumption. -Aidan S.) (This quotation is saying that God made man in his image, yet in context, as it relates to the Covenant, implies that this image alone is enough to associate mankind with divinity and thereby grant them a significant measure of dominion over the rest of the world. The mere visage of God is enough to grant humans the right to rule under the Covenant, and they are God's chosen. When mankind was created, they were allowed this degree of divinity by God himself, and this divinity is exercised through humans creating. However, this creation is exercised by humans as relating to the divine, but not necessarily an extension. With toledot, or generations, there is a theme of humanity continuing its lineage. This is mandated by God, and while it is in certain measure humans exercising their ability of creation, it is more intimately related with further mankind under God's own word. -Mark M.) (The motivations for building this great city are shown to be in direct opposition to the charge G-d gives so many times to all Life and specifically to Man several times. -Aidan S.) (In this instance, another situation of dubious forgiveness in Genesis under God is demonstrated. God does not give the humans an opportunity to learn or change here, but scatters them without warning and confounds their language so they may not communicate. In a sense, this is a total condemnation of cooperation for quite some time to come, putting an innate barrier between all of these different language and developing peoples. However, this may fit into the notion that God wants humanity to learn- in this case, how to cooperate in the face of exceptional adversity insofar as they may not be able to speak the language. It is equally possible or even likely that this was done simply to see what mankind would do if God put one of its greatest obstacles yet in the way, the language barrier. -Mark M.) (Why aren't Sarai's parents mentioned at all? It seems like everyone else in Genesis always has who they are related to mentioned but not Sarai? That is really odd because Sarai, compared to Milcah, is way more important to the story. -Hailey A.) (Here, God intentionally limits the heights that mankind can reach. This is one of the instances where God's reasoning for this is entirely ambiguous, however, one might infer that this is because humanity simply is not ready yet. Mankind requires the limitations to grow and understand the world around them, instead of aspiring to these heights and building a tower to Heaven before their time. In a sense, they tried to reach the conclusion before they went through the body of their experience. God wants humanity to be better before they ascend, but through what measure, this is unclear. -Mark M.) (In these genealogy monologues, they always say “[father’s name] begot sons and daughters.” Clearly, females are being born and later used to create the next generation biologically. Even though women evidently exist in the book of Genesis, why do daughters ever receive the covenant from God or their fathers? -Kelley O.) (In reference to the previous comment, our feminist glasses should be put on here. We've been trying to read Genesis, keeping our eyes peeled and supplementing our knowledge with more info on how women are written and treated in Genesis. It's true that women don't have the covenant, but it's untrue that there aren't important women. There is Sarah, Hagar, Rebecca, Leia and Rachel. But they don't have G-d's protection or promise. -Hailey A.) themes and motifs Generations in Genesis water separation creation consequence seven food combination farmer forty shepherd literary devices repetition personification symbol hyperbole WHAT DO WE WRITE HERE? commandment declaration punishment obedience reward covenant independence disobedience the good-vs-evil scale good holy bad evil ambiguous ()